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New macro/microscope rig for razor blade cluse-ups

There's an adapter on each end of the bellows, one to fit the camera and one to fit the microscope objective. The objective is the finite tube variety, 160mm in this case, without cover glass correction. It should be labeled 160/0, but low power ones labelled 160/- are fine. Any other first number is okay--210 or 170, but few other numbers have been made in 100 years--but not for the second number, especially infinity which would require a camera zoom lens focused to infinity to form the image on the sensor. Finite objectives will form an image at the given (160mm) distance, so you don't need any other lenses, and can connect the bellows right to the camera body. The bellows is just a convenient way to create distance between the objective and the camera sensor. Any tube will do. I have to figure out how to create a tube with built-in (epi) illumination (using an internal mirror) to use the higher powered objectives, since they don't leave enough working distance to light a blade from outside. Also need to set up a specimen holder for the blades and mount the whole thing to something stable--the camera visibly shakes when I take the pictures.

This picture's out of focus off center because it's too hard to keep everything aligned with the blade in a separate $3 helping hands. The lighting is from an overhead reflector--nothing fancy or photographic, just a cheap clip-on shop thing with a normal edison screw type compact fluorescent bulb that I happen to have over the desk. I just kind of aimed it towards the light, moved the camera in place, none too carefully, and snapped the shot. The blade is some kind of SE that's been lying around from my previous microscope pictures.

Got Nikon objectives for the macro rig because they don't need special eyepieces for additional color correction (and some don't need them for geometric correction). Most other optics are only partially corrected for color and geometry, and leave some corrections for the eyepiece or intermediate lenses. The nikon microscope optics are so fantastic, considering the price, I decided to also get a Nikon microscope. Just got it yesterday, and haven't figured out what it needs to take pictures. It's a metallurgical scope that uses 210mm optics, and is set up for bright & darkfield. It's too bad they don't have this kind of scope in 160mm optics--I could've just popped the optics onto one of my other scopes, which are mostly 160mm types. At least I can do that with the objectives I got for the macro setup.

Sorry about the titular spellunking scrue up.
 

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