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Nikon microscopes

Condensers
DIC
Labophot 1
LED conversion
Metaphot, first CF 210mm tube length microscope
Objectives
Optiphot 1
Optiphot 66
Base illumination
curiosities
Diascopic conversion
Questions - Sure Squintsalot:
  Part 1: polarizing
  Part 2: fine focus, base
Optiphot-66 DIC
 
Photo relay lenses
Sliders
Stages and crossed roller bearing rails
Trinocular heads
Infinity-focused Optiphot trinocular heads
Vertical Illuminators
     
Nikon Optiphot Series Microscopes - lavinia.as.arizona.edu   (Mike Tuell)
Optiphot-66/77/88 | Nikon Multiphot system - prc68.com

background

While my first microscopes were American Optical Series 10s (cheap and plentiful in the U.S.),
they were also interesting because AO pioneered diascopic infinity objectives.
That did not preclude also acquiring a Nikon Apophot, which used Nikon's popular Model S optics.

That Apophot was too large to move from KY, instead
continued using AO/Reichert microscopes until concluding that:
  • AO episcopic illumination was "not ideal"
  • larger than RMS objectives are wanted for sharp darkfield epi
  • fewer old optics in paths to camera sensors benefit contrast and sharpness.

    210mm tube length

     Nikon 210mm objective motivators:
  • macro photographers using CF M Plan objectives
  • relatively low cost and widely available Nikon EPI microscopes with CF BD Plan objectives
        having M26x0.75 threads:
       
        Comparable Mitutoyo objectives have M26x0.706 threads (36TPI, same as RMS).
  • Beware of incompatible M26x1 (robot lens) and M26x0.5
        (Roedenstock Schneider enlarger lens shutter) threads...

    While more highly regarded, Nikon's CFI60 infinity objectives
    are also significantly more expensive, since still current technology.
    Obvious frames for 210 BD objectives are Nikon's Optiphots,
    which are more capable than contemporary Labophots with fixed RMS objective turrets,
    although all are notorious for fragile plastic fine focus gears.
    Optiphot frames come in 4 flavors:
    • IC inspection ( -66, -88, 100 and 150), with 100 and 150 using CFI Plan infinity optics
    • Optiphot-2, with 100W illumination
    • Optiphot(-1), using less plastic than Optiphot-2, but also 50W instead of 100W illumination
      Although vertical illuminators are often installed on Optiphot-1 and -2,
      IC inspection frames have XY stages with more space for examining opaque objects.
    • Optiphot-200 and -300, which (like 150) use infinity objectives
      but on frames more similar to Eclipse
    • maintained by blekenbleu