No laughing allowed!!..My mocroscope flash setup...

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twebster
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No laughing allowed!!..My mocroscope flash setup...

Post by twebster »

Hi ya' guys :D

Some of you have asked ("goaded" is the more correct term :D ) me to describe my flash setup for photomicrography. The materials I used to make my flash adapter are cardboard, a glue gun, cellophane tape, and a medicine bottle. :D First off, the lighting system on my 1960s Nikon microscope is comprised of an illumination lamp placed in a holder at the back of the base of the microscope. I can't remove the lamp housing and place the flash at the back of the 'scope, ala Charles Krebs, without losing the tungsten illumination for viewing and focusing.

Second thing to note is that I had very little room between the sub-stage condenser and the centering condenser in the base of the microscope to place a beamsplitter. On my model of a 1960s Nikon microscope there is only about 1/4" of space between the sub-stage condenser and the centering condenser. By removing a spring from the middle of the centering condenser I was able to gain an additional 1/2" giving me a total space of 3/4" to place a beam splitter.

Lastly, the flash unit I am using, Sunpak 522, is a "potato masher" style of flash. I couldn't place the entire flash to one side of the 'scope or the other because it would get in the way of my hands for focusing and using the stage controls. I couldn't place it at the front of the microscope otherwise it would interfere with my head when trying to look through the eyepieces. So...for what it's worth...here's my answer to using flash with my microscope... :!: NO LAUGHING :!: ...please. :D :D :D

Image

I solved my issue by removing the flash tube, reflector, and fresnel focusing lens from the flash head (1), taping them together, and placing them on a cardboard platform (3). I simply spliced the additional length I needed for the wires using small diameter lead wire (2). I used little right triangle uprights of cardboard to hold the flash tube/reflector/fresnel lens assembly vertical on the cardboard base. I also sandwiched a diffusion filter and 4x neutral density filter with the flash tube/reflector/fresnel lens combo. All of this was glued to the uprights with the glue gun.

The second fabrication ( :?: ) step was to cut a circle in the cardboard base just slightly smaller than the diameter of the centering condenser. I was able to find a medicine bottle that slipped snugly over the centering condenser, cut off the closed end, and hot-glued the remaining tube to the bottom of the cardboard platform (5). Over the hole in the cardboard platform I positioned two triangular supports. The sides facing the flash tube were slanted at 45° and I glued a small section of a microscope slide to the uprights to act as a beamsplitter (4). Since the flash adapter is washed out from the flash in the photo, above, I've included a drawing of the adapter, below:

Image

In practice, removing the flash tube/reflector/fresnel lens from the flash head allows me to move the flash body to the rear of the microscope and out of the way of my left hand. I can then run the stage controls without interference from the flash head. The flash is triggered by the Canon G3's flash using a small Wein "P-Nut" slave. The slave sits up by the eyepieces and is connected to the Sunpak flash by a long synch cord. When the G3's flash fires the slave triggers the Sunpak flash to fire. Flash duration and exposure control is varied by using the variable power selector (6) on the flash. The Sunpak 522 allows me to vary the output by six f. stops in 1/3 f. stop increments.

That's it, folks. Appears complicated at first but it really wasn't. I have a friend who is going to make the parts out of aluminum for me, just to make it prettier.

Enjoy, my friends :!: :D
Tom Webster
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Phoenix "The Valley of the Sun", Arizona, USA

Think about this...maybe Murphy is an optimist!!!

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Mike
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Post by Mike »

Hello Tom,

It appears you have done a masterful job of getting flash into what most would consider an impossible location. :o Congratulations!

Your approach of 'jury-rigging' is the exact right one to use; I bet the Al model will be a knock-out - are you going to have it anodized black? I especially like the idea of taking the strobe tube and lens off the flash and mounting them with the beam splitter; that is one sure way to get the geometry right re the flash/beam splitter, as well as get the flash unit out of the way of the controls.

I have a similar problem in that the lamphouse on the Orthoplans is on the back of the stand, and it has a reflector built into the back, so I can't use Charlie's or Ron's approach either. I will likely use some of your ideas to put the beam splitter on my DIC/POL stand, as the condenser there leaves very little room between the light port and the bottom of the condenser.

All the best,

Mike

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twebster
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Post by twebster »

Hi ya' Mike :D

I'm familiar with the Orthoplan stand and , yes, the lamphousing is a pain just like my Nikon. You might check with Charlie Krebs. He mentioned some time back that he used an Olympus Y-fiber optical light guide at one time for an illumination source. If I understood the conversation correctly the flash was lined up with one light guide and the tungsten illumination was ligned up with the other light guide. Where the two guides came together he placed at the filament position of his lighting system. This might be worthwhile to check out, too.

I'm giving up on my Nikon 'scope, BTW. The aluminum adapter will have to be made to fit a Zeiss GFL stand. The GFL stand will have a lot more room in which to place a beamsplitter. I just kind of reached my limits of patience with my Nikon 'scopes. The Nikons were great to learn basic microscopy but are very limited as regards expanding the system. I'll take my old Nikon and set it up permanently for video use. Just wait until you see what I'll get through the Zeiss! :D

Best regards as always, Mike. :D
Tom Webster
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Phoenix "The Valley of the Sun", Arizona, USA

Think about this...maybe Murphy is an optimist!!!

Steve West
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Post by Steve West »

Dude -- you are the master! It's a great setup, and look at all the great photos you are getting with it!

You might want to add this setup to the Rube Goldgerg gallery site!!

http://www.rube-goldberg.com/html/gallery.htm

Steve

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twebster
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Post by twebster »

Hi ya' Steve :D
You might want to add this setup to the Rube Goldgerg gallery site!!
:D Yes, and you gotta see how well this contraption works as a mouse trap! :!: :shock: :D :D

All the best, :D
Tom Webster
Administrator

Phoenix "The Valley of the Sun", Arizona, USA

Think about this...maybe Murphy is an optimist!!!

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