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Archive 2014 · D800/Microscope

  
 
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · D800/Microscope


Does anyone have any experience using the D800 with an adapter as a microscope? or converting an existing microscope to be compatible with the D800?

Any input is appreciated.



Jan 13, 2014 at 11:36 PM
Lovesong
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · D800/Microscope


What kind of a scope are you trying to attach your camera to? An upright epifluorescent? Inverted? Stereoscope?

Chances are that you'll need one that has a C-mount, and will have to get an F-to-C-mount adapter. Some Nikon scopes have a dedicated F-mount.

I've used my D700 on an Eclipse E600FN, which is an epifluorescent scope. The hard bit was finding the right number of extension tubes to get things in focus. Once that's done, you should be able to adjust the DIC/fluorescence/whatever excitation you're using with your probe and your SS to fit. I remember the aperture giving me fits (reading EE) and I think I had to assign the scope to one of the lens banks.

Sounds fun. What are you shooting- something artsy with a scope, or something sciency with an SLR?



Jan 14, 2014 at 01:22 AM
LeifG
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · D800/Microscope


What magnification do you want?

For high magnification you need a trinocular compound microscope which has two eyepieces and a photo tube. You simply buy the adapter for the photo tube, which allows you to attach the camera. Generally the adapter accepts a projection eyepiece which is lower power than the viewing eyepieces. All three should be parfocal, meaning that you can focus visually using the binocular eyepieces, then take the photo. You can also remove the projection eyepiece, but then you have to focus through the camera.

Focussing by looking through the camera is rather tough, perhaps due to the type of focussing screen currently in use by Nikon.

Generally with a compound microscope you need to prepare the specimen. by for example sectioning and staining, and then mounting it on a slide. Here is an example:

http://www.leifgoodwin.co.uk/Fungi/4__DSC0344%20Hohenbuehelia%20auriscalpium%20metaloids.jpg


You can also get low power microscopes, which I have never used.



Jan 14, 2014 at 02:35 AM
tkhasawinah
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · D800/Microscope


I'm also interested in learning how to use my D800E with a microscope. What kind of microscope and accessories do you need to get results similar to the winners of the 2013 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition? Here's the link to their photos:

http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photo/2013-photomicrography-competition

I'm sure that there's a myriad choice of techniques and gear but what do you recommend in terms of gear to achieve results at that level? Thanks.



Jan 14, 2014 at 02:51 AM
LeifG
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · D800/Microscope


They will have used a compound microscope with visual magnifications between x100 and x1000. They will also have used stacking software to increase depth of field, which is very shallow with a microscope. And they might have used a high quality microscope with more expensive objectives, such as APO plan, or whatever the manufacturer calls them. Your best bet is to buy a used microscope. New ones cost a packet, good quality used ones such as an Olympus BH2 are much cheaper, albeit still not cheap. And they use the older style objectives standardised over many manufacturers. Modern instruments use brand specific objectives which cost a fortune and are hard to find used.


Jan 14, 2014 at 05:00 AM
LeifG
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · D800/Microscope


To add to the above, the best microscopes are from Nikon, Olympus, Zeiss and Leica in no particular order. Modern Chinese instruments can be quite good and much cheaper but you need to be careful and buy from a reputable supplier.

Generally you would want what is called a brightfield microscope where light shines from below the specimen and is imagined by a simple objective and eyepeice. Other kinds such as DIC cost a lot more.



Jan 14, 2014 at 08:23 AM
MalbikEndar
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · D800/Microscope


I have done this with a D7000, an existing microscope and a found adapter. Had moderate success although I have now moved to a dedicated sensor (of which there are a great many) because of easier interface to a PC.

You will find a huge number of accessories and imagers at www.scientificsonline.com.

A thought- a good quality microscope plus accessories will cost more than a D700 (indeed, an ADAPTER might cost a comparable amount). To the point that you might want to go directly to a dedicated sensor.








Jan 14, 2014 at 10:16 AM
Lovesong
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · D800/Microscope


tkhasawinah wrote:
I'm also interested in learning how to use my D800E with a microscope. What kind of microscope and accessories do you need to get results similar to the winners of the 2013 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition? Here's the link to their photos:

http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photo/2013-photomicrography-competition

I'm sure that there's a myriad choice of techniques and gear but what do you recommend in terms of gear to achieve results at that level? Thanks.


Can't speak for the rest of the images, as I'm not in the field, but looking at 5th and 17th place I can give you a good guess. 17th place is a neuron in the V1 cortex (in a thin slice of brain tissue), which has been filled with a fluorescent dye via the patch electrode (the bright glass thing on the bottom right), and then has been imaged on epifluorescent scope with a 40x lens on a CCD camera (or maybe even an SLR). This setup will run you ~$6k for the lens, $5k for the light, and between $15 and $35k for the scope. 5th place is an immunocytochemical image, where a mossy cell in the hippocampus was tagged for some protein on receptors. The image was made on a Zeiss confocal microscope (~$150k system) or, more likely, on a two-photon scope (>$200k) with a 63x lens.

The point here is that most of those images were done by scientists who (like me) have access to systems that costs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's pretty difficult to get anything similar using inexpensive scopes and an SLR. Some of the larger things (the snail larvae or the chameleon ) might be visualized with a stereoscope, which runs between $1k-$3k, though you'd still be looking at additional adapters.



Jan 14, 2014 at 05:06 PM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · D800/Microscope


It will be used to generate textures for particle CGI generation in Adobe After Effects and maybe some other 3D type CGI programs.

I kind of figured it would be an expensive venture as the last response points out, does anyone know of any places that rent/lease this type of equipment, preferably NYC based?



Jan 14, 2014 at 06:17 PM
LeifG
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · D800/Microscope


I've seen excellent images taken with secondhand lab scopes, but preparation is key. I do not agree that you need very expensive equipment. But it does require a lot of skill. A modern DSLR such as a D800 is ideal as you need fairly high shutter speeds to counteract vibrations, which are an issue especially with a x100 objective, and the high ISO performance is excellent.

The images I take require a fair bit of work and they are not a patch on the ones in the link, but that is not the goal. The images in the link are exceptional. Sectioning tissue is a skill in itself requiring specialist equipment.



Jan 14, 2014 at 06:49 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · D800/Microscope


Man I dig it when some obscure topic comes up and multiple FMers quickly chime in on such a specialized question.

Ya gotta love this community.



Jan 14, 2014 at 08:28 PM
Lovesong
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · D800/Microscope


For what the OP needs, ie- generation of textures, a pretty inexpensive scope will be pretty sufficient.
I've used one of these with an SLR:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIKON-SMZ800-STEREO-ZOOM-MICROSCOPE-W-CAMERA-LIGHT-ADJUSTABLE-ARM-/261371417666

and all you'd need to add is a Nikon F adapter (something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microscope-F-Mount-Camera-Tube-Adapter-for-Nikon-and-Leica-microscopes-/321258790550 though it's sold) and you're golden.

LeifG- yes, I understand that you can take images with SLRs and have them be decent. The question I was answering was what equipment was used for the award winning images linked. As good as modern cameras have become, they will still pale in comparison to PMTs. The difference in dynamic range, sensitivity, and absolute resolution here is the same reason that a drum scanner produces better images than a coolscan.



Jan 14, 2014 at 10:22 PM
LeifG
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · D800/Microscope


The OP might find this web site of interest:

Photomicrography

The author explains how he took the photos using relatively modest equipment. The key was the use of older microscopes which take the old DIN objectives, allowing him to purchase very high quality but used ones at reasonable prices. I seem to recall that this chap got an award in the Nikon competition, though I would not sweat to it.

That said, I still think the OP might have underestimated the amount of skill required, no disrespect intended to him.



Jan 15, 2014 at 03:38 PM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · D800/Microscope


LeifG wrote:
The OP might find this web site of interest:

Photomicrography

The author explains how he took the photos using relatively modest equipment. The key was the use of older microscopes which take the old DIN objectives, allowing him to purchase very high quality but used ones at reasonable prices. I seem to recall that this chap got an award in the Nikon competition, though I would not sweat to it.

That said, I still think the OP might have underestimated the amount of skill required, no disrespect intended to him.


No disrespect taken. Skills are meant to be learned.

Thanks for all the great info everyone.



Jan 15, 2014 at 04:47 PM





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