Re: Photomicrography ... objective questions (and general advice)

Hello, Frances:

Here are my two cents:

1) You may want to reconsider whether to buy the E200 or not should you
ever be interested in mounting a good condenser to your scope. The
E200-F only supports Koehler illumination with its Abbe condenser. It
uses a quirky relay lens to make Koeher illumination work. This relay
lens does not screw onto the high-end condensers. (Don't buy APO's or
FLUOR's without getting a good condenser! That's often the reason why
people can't see a clear difference because they are not also upgrading
their Abbe condenser to at least a good Achromatic condenser. The Abbe
condenser on student scopes are really cheap.)

2) Don't buy a new scope if you budget is below US$3000. You will run
out of money fast. Buy a used scope instead. A budget of US$5000 is
more reasonable if you purchase new equipment (not including the
camera!).

3) The best lens for my kind of bright field work is the Nikon Plan
Fluor lens 40x. With a resolution of 0.75, perfect image flatness and a
great 0.72mm WD, the lens is a real killer. The difference between the
cheaper E-Plan Achros and the Plan Fluors is apparent. Again, don't
worry about buying them new and stick with a good used scope. (E.g. the
Plan Fluor 40x lens costs new around US$900.)

4) Try to get a scope with a 38mm ISO port on the trinoc. For the
E200-F you can get one, which costs you around $800 (new).

5) Look at eBay to learn about prices. Check out dealers in your area.
Ask for demo models.

6) Should you buy the E200-F and should you use it with its Abbe slider
condenser and a darkfield slider (or phase slider), you might realize
that you need to apply a very strong torque setting to keep the table
from drifting.

Anyway, the E200 is ok, if you do not buy expensive lenses for it but
you really really want a new scope. Just use it with its E-Plan lenses.

Gregor

.

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