xonenine Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I have been shopping them. On that note, any good or bad to say regarding the Leica stereozooms? there are almost as many available as the B & L. ... "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecable Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 I have been shopping them. On that note, any good or bad to say regarding the Leica stereozooms? there are almost as many available as the B & L. ... Leica bought the B & L microscope division sometime before the turn of the century. They marketed the Stereozoom under the Leica name as well as Cambridge. As far as I know they are identical scopes, made by the same factories. If anything, you know they are only about two decades old, and not half a century old, so they are less likely to have dried grease, stiffness, etc. I'd hesitate before buying a Stereozoom 7 (and I want one myself). While it has a greater magnification range, it also has at least a slight reputation of being persnickity because of this range. And the extra objectives for the SZ 7 have a different bayonet mount than the 38 mm objectives that fit the Stereo 1 and 2, as well as the Stereozooms 3, 4 and 5. These objectives can be hard to find, and very pricey. I've been following this market for about two years now and think I have a good handle on what's a deal and what's not. Be aware that the extra bits and pieces can cost more than a scope head. If you buy on Ebay try to find a scope that has a base and oculars at the very least. The sweet point for a B & L Stereozoom on an A or B stand with eyepieces is probably about $150, including shipping. You find a nice one for this price or less and you got a deal. I wouldn't ever go above 300 bucks, and that would be for a fully refurbished, like new scope, from an extremely reputable seller. If you want a boom stand the sweet point is about $300, shipping included. You can buy like new, refurbished for about 500 bucks. That being said I've bought junk scope heads just to get the stand, the objectives, or the eyepieces. In my opinion if you do some research, and shop carefully on Ebay you can get much more stereo microscope for your buck than buying a new Amscope or Omax off of Amazon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I have migrated away from microscope and went to direct imaging with electronic eyes (digital camera bodies) ... super macro live view optics with custom optics that is superior to standard microscope optics .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 thanks Mike, I didn't realize the Cambridge unit was also in the running. "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecable Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have migrated away from microscope and went to direct imaging with electronic eyes (digital camera bodies) ... super macro live view optics with custom optics that is superior to standard microscope optics .... I always look at your posts with great interest. But since I'm not invested at this point in DSLR tech, and don't need a new hobby if I want to keep my head, it stays with interest. But I might just have to sell a scope or two and buy a camera body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 When I get a chance I will post a few pictures taken with my American Optical Cycloptic, or I may go with some new pictures of fossils etc. I will post a picture of this scope as soon as I can anyway. I did purchase it on ebay for a little under $200.00 and it does have a good clean optical system with 10x widefield oculars. I tell you these stereo scopes are very good for just scanning around with samples, you may find stuff you never thought was in the pile. Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The oldest monocular microscope I have going by the serial number is an 1898 bausch and lomb. This one came from ebay also and was not working very good at all, was 30 bucks. I did the restoration on it and now it really does a good job. I will eventually show a picture of it. Was made of mostly brass. Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 My microscope work table with 6 microscopes. Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Wow! That's quite a line up! The old brass one is gorgeous "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Yep, it does a good job. That one is the 1898 brass Bausch and Lomb and is rather heavy. The fine focus is in micrometers, that part didn`t show up very well. I may send a picture taken with it of something. Two of the three original objectives that came with this scope continue to work good. The 10x eyepiece seems to work as good as later oculars. Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Mike, Rodney, I have to say this since no one else seems to have the courage. You guys have a problem. Cool Stuff It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Mike, Rodney, I have to say this since no one else seems to have the courage. You guys have a problem. Cool Stuff You call that a problem? You haven't seen my husband's collection of toys! Let's put it this way: I've given his collection a name, based on the most commonly heard expletive from someone seeing the setup for the first time. He is the proud owner of the "Holy S***!" toy fire truck collection. Also known as The Shrine. I've discovered that such collections are more common than not among former firemen. The microscopes people have shown in this thread have me thinking, and admiring. Some very nice equipment here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I know a person that has over 200 microscopes in his collection. I guess you could consider his to be a museum. I plan to post a few pictures taken with the old brass one in the picture. Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecable Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 I know a person that has over 200 microscopes in his collection. I guess you could consider his to be a museum. I plan to post a few pictures taken with the old brass one in the picture. Rodney I had three more scopes arrive yesterday, so I must be on the path of microscope perdition. But I'm pleased with the work I've done on the first microscope. I didn't think to take before and after pics though. Here's the scope. The scope arrived without eyepieces (oculars). Every Bausch and Lomb microscope I've handled yet uses 23 mm eyepieces. Other brands use 30 mm oculars. There are some weird Japanese scopes that use odd eyepieces like 21.5 mm. Don't buy them. I added the 10X B & L eyepieces that fit but don't match the microscope date-wise (20 years newer). Largely just to test the optical train. I quickly learned that the scope was optically sound, so I decided to go further with my modifications. The objective head held the built in 0.7X objective, and a 3.0X and 4.0X objectives. The same configuration was on scope two. A bit heavy on the high end of magnification. But I'm the sort of cowboy that not only has too many scopes, but has "parts-scavenger" scopes hanging around. I found 1.5X and a 2.0X mag objectives that fit and swapped them out. My last problem was the focus assembly. While it worked, one knob was totally broken, and one half of the axle was bent. I switched that out with the same old salvage scope. The mirror is perfect. The scope focuses well. I need to clean everything up. Replace the stage plate, which is badly chipped. But this one might just be a keeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I only have seven or eight good microscopes. I have a bone yard of microscope parts. This bone yard has proven very beneficial at times. Rodney, Ga USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcox Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 here are my scopes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now