Microscopic misadventure

[distracted]

I used to use microscopes a lot, that type doesn't allow for much focal distance as they are designed to focus on a single layer of interest between a slide and a glass cover or an equally thin slice of rock. You can get adapters for some nikon that screw onto the eyepiece once you remove the rubber eye piece that allow the focus to adjust in fractions, best controlled with some of the astronomy software via a computer.

For weed under a scope I add side lighting as under lighting doesn't work well, there are some in my gallery that I used side lighting on, in the hash pics thread all are from under only.. side lighting can be anything you can get to work, like a lamp or torch

Are you using the photography mount at the back of the headset? You can refine focus by screwing a Nikon adapter onto the front of the camera, screwing this onto a spare eyepiece and then mounting this into the camera adapter, you raise and lower until the focus matches what your eyes see then you tighten up the screw, a bit of tape will help get it right next time. You will get the best images by closing off the light to the eyepieces when you are ready to take a pic, the software stops the scope from shaking from pressing the shutter

if you are sticking to the lenses then the objectives might be wrong, they have different focal distances, the deepest is u-stage objectives but these are not used commonly anymore so S/H would be the only solution

My own pictures are mostly multiple images merged to create a false depth of field in photoshop

[The_Moog]

Cheers @@distracted I'll show you what I've got here in detail for the benefit of others who might try in the future.

This is the head with my finger pointing at the hole where the camera mounting tube goes.

On the right there you can see the silver nodger that has to be pulled out to allow the view through the top hole.

This bit came with the scope, the part with the little knob on I have been attaching to the camera and the other part to the scope, there's no lenses inside it, it's literally a tube.

This is the mount adapter for the camera so it bayonet fits the body like a normal lens and then the tube bit screws on.

Basically once all this is together the result is that the camera sensor is a bit too far away to match up with the focus point of the eyepieces on the front of the head, it needs to be about 1 or 2cm closer but I can only (possibly) do that by taking a hacksaw to both parts of the tube. I don't think the tube was made for use with an slr as I had to bore it out with a file anyway

I think I'm going to struggle with the lenses that came with it for now and try to get as good as I can before spending any more serious money.

You clearly have good photoshop skills too, something else I need to work on.

[distracted]

have you downloaded the scopes manual, as I said I use an eyepiece in my head adapter for the camera, you should be able to get one that matches the other two in mag easy enough, that should pull the focal distance into a match with the binocular part

[The_Moog]

Cheers @@distracted

I can't find a manual to download, their website is basically in german and I don't actually know which model it is,clearly it's a bit of a dated one.

I did find this picture which shows basically how it's supposed to be with their setup.

Are you using an slr body?

[distracted]

That head above doesn't look like the one you have, the pics posted earlier looks closer to the one I use which is a Lietz trinocular headset by Leica and made for a camera.

This is the exact head I use, I can't show you how mine is set up as a mate has borrowed it for something more serious than I use it for now! Basically in mine I have a plastic tube I cut to length set into the head and locked into place using the silver grub screw in the image. Into this is set a normal eyepiece with the rubber screwed off, onto this is screwed an adapter for the camera, these are used in astronomy and easy to get, mine is a compact not an SLR so it has room in it for the camera lens to move, it is the eyepiece thread one end and the Nikon compact thread the other.

The image you posted above is an adapter using a digital microscope camera not a normal camera, they are not setup in the same way.

Lift the head off, there should be a sliding clip and see if there are any makers marking. I think you will end up haveing to rig something together, what camera do you hope to use and can the camera image be isolated from the binocular image in the head set? The one shown above can isolate either or show all 3, it makes a difference when light levels are low