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Microscope Objectives: The Set Up

Lesson 5 from: Beyond Macro Photography: Into the Microscopic World

Charles Krebs

Microscope Objectives: The Set Up

Lesson 5 from: Beyond Macro Photography: Into the Microscopic World

Charles Krebs

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Lesson Info

5. Microscope Objectives: The Set Up

Next Lesson: The Microscope

Lesson Info

Microscope Objectives: The Set Up

Okay. How can I use these? Well, the microscope, It's a no brainer. You screwed it to the hurt, and you use it on a camera. Well, there's one very simple way out of thanks to eBay. And in Chinese manufacturers, we got some of these guys to make adapters for these different microscope projectors. And so here is the stream microscope objectives there, tucked into ah, um, these adapters and they could be attached directly to the front of the camera lenses. Now, this is an affinity. What does it mean? What is infinitive lens needs? It needs another optic between the lens of center. Lo and behold, you can actually use a camera. Linda. He's like, This is this requires a 200 millimeter lens. This is a 55 to tour the millimeter lands attached with this adapter that adapters air. I don't know what 10 15 bucks. I got the lands. It's a kit lens. I have to assume the lens out to 200 cause that's what the objective was designed for. But I'm often working here more from working at five x or 10 X or ...

or whatever. It's just a simple flat glass list adapted here. I'm using a camera lens as the two blends. Um, here I've gotten a little more sophisticated. I'm using Bellows. Give me a little more versatility on an indoor set up, and I have actually put a Nikon to blends here so I can attach my affinity optics to those bellows and use them. And I have the lens in between. Here we have, ah, a finite lands that just needs extension tubes. No optics in between here these air like set eight for eight bucks Chinese extension tubes. That's all I need in the lens with the adapter in front and I'm ready to roll. I'm ready to work a 10 x to do any of these types of pictures that I've kind of showed you here tonight and again. I get a little since I have the bellows and I get a little you can get a little more sophisticated and you can put the finite lands on a bellows. Pure extension. That's the only reason it's there. One thing I will say if you if you do, try this and you get these adapters double check if you have a lens where some lenses that the front element really comes very close to the filter. The front of the lens, the front element is not recessed. It all some of these adapters when you screw the objective and they jut out of it. So I don't want you to screw this in and have the objective scratching the front of lens. You get space of rings if needed. Just make sure that the objective is not gonna hit the front of your lens. Depends on the adapter that you get. The other thing is always, always look at the back. A lot of the objectives have very shiny rims that show through. You can cover them with a little piece of black tape or cardboard or something. You want to try to reduce flare as much as possible. Now, I don't wanna get into Ah whole whole lot here, but of specifics. But I hate to throw you out there, um, without any sense at all of what's good and what's not good. So there's some recommendations. These the ones I've used, these air ones that worked really well. Mitutoyo is an industrial lens manufacturer. They have a whole different Siri's. This particular syriza long working in distance. Siri's is superb. I mean, this is sort of this is sort of the cream. This is what you know, if you can, if you can afford it, This is what you want. The working distances are superior, their remarkable. The optics are remarkably good. The prices are remarkable. Um, they're available, used their current manufactures, but it'll vary a five x brand new might be, Ah, $800. Ah, 20 x brand new. And I'm guessing him, you know, maybe 16 $1700 on the used market. You'll see him very often for somewhere between three and $600. Okay, the Olympics, plant floor rides or ones I used to, and they're also pretty pricey. They were also very, very good. You'll notice that the working distances a lot less, but that they're they're very their current there. Martin lenses. They're very good. These air, both infinity types an older Siris are are a Nikon implant. Akram at these aren't, uh, acrobats. So they're not the super highly corrected, but they're very good. And there there are a lot of them out there in the used market. Um, and they're available five tens twenties notice on the 20 and 40 I said. Long working distance. An extra long working distance LW do. There's no hard and fast rule as to ah, what that means, but it typically denotes a longer working distance. You have to just track down the specs. Um Nikon cf Syriza's a couple of old biological objectives that that work well there. And for some reason, PowerPoint just got really nasty on my on my tabs and spacing on that slide and these air No worthy. I just want to point thes two Adami making out these air new Nikon lenses. Their infinity lands is they're very, very good, but they're sort of started lenses, and they're cheap for new lands. The four X that I list their show there is about bucks new this middle one. The 10 X is about 85 bucks new and the one below. That is about $250 new. That's kind of a step up. You could see the working distances 6.7 ability. That's that's a little too close for my taste. But yeah, it'll work. And the other piece of equipment that you're going to need a some sort of focusing platform to do, um, to enable you to move the camera forward and backward and very small increments. Okay, Because when we shoot a stack, that's what we have to do. We have to gradually move the camera. Take a picture. Move it, move it, move it. Now, you know I'm moving it. That much you're moving it with in microns with a little micrometer scale over here. So the typical focusing stages that we have for close up work of far too crude for this, so you'll have to you have to find something. And this is where you need to look a little bit. I use This is Ah, Olympus B h M J ah. Focusing rack that you confined separately. Used A lot of people will use in the optical industry. They have these translation stages. This is Ah, Newport. They make a lot of these other manufacturers to I just pointed out the Newport one, and the camera gets mounted on that and you adjust it with a micrometer. This is ah, cognisant makes is from called a stack shot. This is actually designed for taking stacks. It's got a little computerized control. You basically tell it where to start, Where to stop Hit a button and it moves. The camera takes a picture, lose the camera, takes a picture. You go have a sandwich while you're photographing stack instead of sitting there turning this. And so this is you know, this is just basically the setups that I'll use. And with these microscope lenses again, these are These are the types of pictures. No, I have spent a lot of time in another anti, but these are the type of pictures you can expect when you get into the 10 x 20 x, um 50. This is actually 50 X. These, I believe, are 10 X. Okay, um, this is a 50 X, and we're not gonna talk about lighting at all. But just to show you how this was illuminated, the link scales air inside that little little cup, which is cut out of a ping pong ball. And on the coming in from the right is a Nike A lamp cost 9 99 at I k OK. Little L e d lamp I use. I have three or four of those. I use those a lot. There's a peacock feather where I needed a lot Look, a lot more diffused light, So I covered it with a dome. Okay. Okay. And, uh, illuminated from the outside with those aqui alights.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Beyond Macro Photography: Into the Microscopic World Slides

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Like the other reviewers I enjoyed this class but would like a very in-depth part 2. He just mention lighting, a ping pong ball and a white dome. I'd like to learn how those are used. Where do you get the dome, what material is it, etc. I'd also like to learn about his specimens. While he mentions what they are, how do you use the water from your bird bath? Does it go on a slide? Please do a part 2. Thanks!

Sara Zancotti
 

Super interesting but too short. I would love to have a longer course with Charles! Thank you Charles, you made me remember my childhood. I had a simple little microscope that my father gave me back in the 90s - sweet memories!

stamage
 

I found this course very interesting. I, like other reviewers, would have enjoyed a longer presentation with more hands on instruction. I'd like something that goes from A-Z, everything from acquiring your subjects (Are they purchased, caught, frozen, pinned, etc) to the photographing of the subject (lighting, etc.), to the end result. The focus stacking was the most hands on portion while other sections were just informative. I really enjoyed the class and Mr. Krebs knows his stuff but I would pay to have another more in depth and hands-on kind of class with Mr. Krebs,

Student Work

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