New member looking for some guidance

[cassian]

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone would be so kind as to offer me some advise. I am looking to adapt a Zeiss Photomicroscope III to be able to capture digital images on to a computer, and for these images to be measured quite accurately.

My subject is meiofauna - organisms that live within aquatic sediments - such as nematodes, copepods, turbellarians etc. They range in size from ~500um down to ~50um. To be specific, I am working on marine nematodes as part of a PhD in marine ecology.

I have about £500 to spend (~US$900), but I am not sure the best way to progress.

If I was to go over budget I could stretch to something like the Pixera Professional camera setup, but besides having specific needs I would also dearly like to be able to take, in-essence, some beautiful pictures I think the Pixera would meet my needs, but not necessarily my appreciation for a poignant picture print.

Other options I have thought of would be to utilise a digital stills camera, like I see so many here doing so with great effect. Or perhaps to go for a 480 lines composite CCTV camera linked to a video-editing PC card, such as a second-hand Pinnacle Studio 8 deluxe which I have seen on ebay for about £30/US$50..

I already own a nice Nikon Coolpix 800, so maybe I could use that to good effect..

Ultimately I have to get up and running ASAP as I have a pressing need to obtain data.

I know there are many relevant articles here, of which I am reading, but as I said I would be very grateful if anyone can offer some advise and help me make an educated choice.

Many thanks in advance,

cassian

[Steve West]

HI and Welcome,

I'm not sure what to say about the microscope and price range. Hopefully you could find something used for that price. It sounds like a brightfield scope only will suit your needs which will help in the pricing. 50 to 500 um is a large range size. It sounds like you will need 5, 10, 20, and 40x objectives at least.

Try to get a trinocular scope to make photographing more convenient.

The Nikon 800 should work very well. It has the 28mm threads which will allow you to screw it right into many eyepiece relays and take very good photos. The coolpix has 2MP on a 1/1.8 chip, so it should be quite low noise.

If you can't get a trinocular, the Nikon 800 with eyepiece relay will work in directly in your eyepiece port.

Ebay may be your only hope for getting a Zeiss in this price range.

Steve

[micron]

Hi cassian - I use a Coolpix 4500 which fits to a Leitz Periplan 10x eyepiece (part number 518748) – the eyepiece thread matches the inside threading of the camera lens (I am not familiar with the 800 camera – it may be different). Pick up a Zeiss monocular tube for your PM3 camera port. If you would like to see a pic of my set-up here is the URL (I am using a Leitz tube but the Zeiss one will do the job) - http://www.microimaging.ca/setup.jpg

You may be interested in reading an article I put together a while back on using a Coolpix for photomicrography, if so here is the URL - http://www.microimaging.ca/article.doc

[cassian]

Steve,

Many thanks indeed for your reply...I should have said tho' that I already have a 'scope! But thanks anyway for your input.

micron - I have had a look at your setup and pictures..very impressive I don't have time for a full reply now but will do shortly.

Thanks all...cassian

[cassian]

Hi guys and girls,

I am getting a little closer to setting up my scope But I am also starting to get a little bit lost..!!

A very kind person has offered me use of a second-hand 1/2" cctv camera, along with a C-mount. However I have been informed that I would need a reducing lens adaptor to be able to see focused images both through the eyepiece as well as on a monitor at the same time. I have a lot of animals to measure, so this would be of benefit as well as a timer saver.

micron - do you know if this is essentially similar to the part you mentioned - albeit for a different type of camera/spacer etc? I wish I knew a little more about this...

I have seen that Thales Optem sell a DC50ZO which apparently is built for the job; the problem being it costs a LOT of money!! (Including shipping US$500 to be precise)...OUCH..and out of the question..

Can anyone offer me any advise? Or point me to some reading matter which will help me understand more about the different couplings and types of reducer/adaptor lenses?

I keep reading here as much as possible...so forgive me if it has been covered..

cass

[rene]

Hi guys, this is my first post on these fora, hope you don't mind me bumping in to this discussion.

Have you checked the latest Micscape page at
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/x_indexmag.html

Dave Walker tested a dedicated microscope camera (Moticam) which is well within your price range, which comes with a complete software package for measuring things. I think it's the best option for your work.

I am using a Coolpix 990 myself, screwed on a Leitz eyepiece. These two together are also within your pricerange on ebay.
However, I have also used a Cp995 on a Zeiss with infinity optics, I needed to buy a proper relay lens for this (which is not really more then an eyepiece, but different for an old vs new Zeiss). This thing from Nikon alone cost me $500... And I still didn't have any proper software for measuring.

There's not really much to say about resolution even though many people are shouting megapixels. All the resolution a microscope can give is captured with a 1.3 Mp ccd at normal magnification. More is nice when you want to enlarge directly without pixellation, but it will NOT give more information.

HTH, Rene.

[cassian]

Rene,

Sorry for the delay in replying, and thank you for your message. I had a look at the page you mentioned; it was very interesting. However I now have on order some new parts Once everything has arrived and is set up I will be able to post some pictures. What they will be like I don't know!! But I am getting more excited by the minute.

Happy Easter everyone,

Cass