A binocular stereo microscope has two separate objectives. A transmission light microscope a 'compound microscope' has one objective, but may have a binocular head, or even a head with a binocular and a vertical photo tube. The beam is split and 50% goes to each ocular. But both eyes see the same view. In a stereo microscope the eyes are seeing a true stereo picture through two separate objectives spaced some centimetres apart and focussed (angled) at the same spot in the centre of the stage.
The magnifications obtainable with a good compound microscope approach the theoretical limit of about 1250X for visible light. Stereo microscopes work between 5X and 200X although some go higher. Anything about 150X is impractical. By putting a camera on one of the oculars (eyepieces) of your microscope you got 50% of the available light, but also added noise to your picture from reflections inside the unused side of the optical system and the beam splitter and prism. There are at least ten glass surfaces that would have been bouncing light up and down the tube. The only way to take decent pictures with a compound microscope is through a vertical phototube without any extra glass surfaces to degrade the image. I've just had a look at Microscopes from Nightingales in Florida. They have a number of beautiful instruments for sale. Many have solid stands that would support a camera perfectly well. There is even one, a Leitz Ortholux, with an automatic camera included. I think it was about $3500 and quite reasonable at that. Perfect for an amateur who is really serious about the job. The objectives and eyepieces included were Planachromats, specially made for photomicrography. There were a few others like the fine Zeiss GFL ( I had two of those) but they don't support cameras very well, an external stand is always needed. Quite a few of the instruments offered are modern enough so that it would be possible to buy a vertical phototube to which the Pentax K adaptor could be fitted. An LX would be the ideal camera for the job. Dr E D F Williams http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams Author's Web Site and Photo Gallery Updated: March 30, 2002 ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Robb" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 2:12 PM Subject: Re: Advice for a microscope for photog. purpose? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dr E D F Williams > Subject: Re: Advice for a microscope for photog. purpose? > > > > The binocular head that camera is attached to belongs to a > transmission > > light microscope not a stereo instrument. And to get a decent > picture with > > that arrangement would be very difficult. > > > > I seriously doubt it would work very well. > > That was the set-up I used for my film granularity tests. It > worked well enough for that purpose. > > Here is a sample from that set-up. > > http://users.accesscomm.ca/wrobb/Superia100/ > > Also, could you explain the difference between a transmission > light instrument and a stereo instrument. > I was under the impression that because the instrument has 2 > eyepieces, it would be considered a binocular. > > William Robb > >
