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Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.
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Tomasz Praszkier




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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 04:20    Post subject: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Can you help me with selecting new microscope/binocular? I have very old one and I would like to buy new one, good quality, but not too crazy priced. Have you got some good experiences to share? I would like to have possibilities to take pictures by this micro.
Thank you!
Tomek
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Jordi Fabre
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 04:32    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Hi Tomasz,

In the Spanish FMF is an exceptional thread about everything you need to know about microscopes/binoculars, hopefully you can read Spanish or translate it -> https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=147

Anyway, the director of this thread is Cesar Menor Salvan, a world's authority on this field, you can try to contact with him via mp as he is also member of this English Forum -> https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?p=7084#7084

BTW Tomasz, could you help José Calero? -> https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=1398
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Tomasz Praszkier




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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 04:44    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Jordi, unfortunately I can not speak Spanish..
I will try contact by PM.
Thank for informations!

I am already changing emails with José Calero trying to help him.

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Jordi Fabre
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 04:54    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

OK Tomasz, thanks for your help to José. I already published a note in the Spanish Forum addressed to César and Egor -> https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4877
both can write English language, hopefully they can help you!

BTW (again;-) why you don't "gift" us some images or extracts of your wonderful reportages about worldwide new finds? you do an excellent job with that and I'm sure that FMF members will enjoy share it....

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Tomasz Praszkier




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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 04:57    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Jordi,
I didn't put here links to our reports because I did want to be suspected as a spamer :-)
Please let me know how I can post it without "spaming"? We just 2 weeks ago published report about new find of great crocoites, and very soon will publish from trip to Trepca, Mezica etc.

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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 05:07    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Everything, if you don't comment comercial terms like: prices, "we have some for sell", "please visit this comercial web page"...;-)

The articles (digests, if easier for you) with scientific content similar to the ones you already published in many mineralogical magazines would be more than welcome here Tomasz. You are doing a great job promoting mineralogy and we would like to participate of it here.

I believe is very easy discriminate between "commercial" and "scientific" as well as between "spam" and "mineralogy promotion" ;-)

Jordi
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 05:34    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Tomasz Praszkier wrote:
Unfortunately I can not publish here articles which are given to journals - editors will be not happy :-(

I will think to prepare something special for forum.
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Jordi Fabre
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 05:36    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Tomasz Praszkier wrote:

Unfortunately I can not publish here articles which are given to journals - editors will be not happy :-(


Sure Tomasz, I mentioned just as an example ;-)

Tomasz Praszkier wrote:

I will think to prepare something special for forum


It would be wonderful if you can do it!

Jordi
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 08:46    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Thomaz... For mineralogical work in general a continuous zoom binocular scope is best and the best brands are Wild, Olympus and Nikon. These can be pricey if you buy them new, but I have found exceptional bargains on eBay. Most of them come out of high-tech industries that roll over their equipment as it becomes depreciated (by the accountants not by use) or a slightly newer scope comes out. Some come from labs that go belly up as they lose quality controls contracts. Nonetheless, there are guys who buy them at the liquidation auctions and put them on eBay and stand behind them.. I got a Wild M420 with stand and trinocular take-off 2 years ago for $800! And just got an Olympus on a spectacular $2,000 stand (good for work with drill core) for $450!

Generally these are in good shape and/or you can get a feel for the sellers reputation by his feed back number and responses to your questions about condition and servicability.

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Tomasz Praszkier




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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 09:57    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Peter, thank you for reply.
I will try to find something on ebay!

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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 10:39    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Hello Tom,
Here in the US I have found that Bausch & Lomb stereo microscopes are relatively abundant and usually quite reasonably priced on the used equipment market. A few years ago (before ebay) I attended an industrial surplus auction here in the SF Bay Area where over 200 of them were on offer. I bought a lot of 10 for around $200 each. I sold most, but kept a very nice Stereo Zoom 4 on a boom stand and a Stereo Zoom 7 that has a trinocular head for camera. These scopes were quite popular in the semiconductor fabrication plants around here and there are many on the market still.

In general, remember that you get what you pay for with microscopes. Cheap ones usually have cheap plastic optics and gears, and you will not be happy with one of these for very long. Other names to look for include Nikon, Olympus, Wild, Leitz, Zeiss. Older scopes by American Optical and Spencer can be good, also. A trinocular head makes taking photos easy compared with trying to mount a camera onto one of the oculars, but they are rarer and more expensive. A continuous zoom adjustment is a good thing, too.

Cheers,
Jesse
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 10:44    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

I still have and use a Nikon SMZ-28 I got from Jesse...that he got in a different surplus auction! Great scope
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 10:50    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Thanks Jesse.
I would be most happy if somebody will tell me "buy that one model xxx" :-)
I am trying to read all info on web pages and there is a lot of models, with descriptions which I do not understand :-)
I want my simple, but good quality, stereo microscope with converter to camera. And with fluid zoom. I thought that this is simple but it seems that today there is too much choice :-)
Of course Nikon and similar ones are much too expensive for me....

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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 13:02    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Bausch and Lomb Stereo Zoom 4. They are built like a tank, I've never had one break on me and have used them for over 30 years. They are fairly common on the used market, at least here in the US. I am not sure about Europe, however. A good place to check is the Mineralogical Research Company website. They sell used microscopes for collectors. They are located here in California, however, so you will still have customs issues if you buy from them.
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 13:05    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

After informations from many people I understand that much easier is take microphotograps by makro lenses in good camera.
So, probably I do not need camera connection to my stereoscope.

Concluding I am thinking now about Nikon SMZ 645 - have you got any experience? It seems to be simple, but this is all what I need.

And again thank you for help!

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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 13:16    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Jesse, I was looking on their web page. Thay have only VSI SZ - and I never herd about this binoculars...
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PostPosted: Nov 09, 2010 22:12    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Tom,

I have found a website for a company called OptekUSA that has a very good selection of used stereo microscopes including Olympus, Nikon, Bausch & Lomb and Leica. Unfortunately for you, they are also here in California, but given the strong Euro right now, perhaps this helps a little. I am not familiar with the microscopes that Mineralogical Research sells, so can not say anything about them.

Jesse
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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2010 04:25    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Thank you Jesse, that helps me a lot.
I found NIKON SMZ-2B on reasonable price. Have you got any experience with that?
I think I will buy this one or Nikon SMZ 645, but I can not find any place were I can really compare them. I understand that SMZ-2B is an old model but better quality - is that true?

Sorry for asking so many questions about stupid microscopes :-)

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Tom Tucker




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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2010 09:40    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Tom, check out the helpful microscope information found on the website of Absolute Clarity and Calibration. They were mineral collectors, and present a lot of helpful information. And they will answer any questions about any 'scopes. Tom
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PostPosted: Nov 10, 2010 09:48    Post subject: Re: Need help with selecting microscope/binocular.  

Tom - Unfortunately, I have not used many Nikon stereoscopes and am not familiar with the individual models. I have used many of their petrographic scopes and they are generally of very good quality, better than Olympus. In this case, older may be better. In my experience after the early 1980s many microscope manufactures began to produce lower quality instruments in order to keep the price down.

Before you buy a used microscope you should always check it to see if there is good resolution and there is no spherical or chromatic aberration in the optics. Also, if it has a zoom adjustment for magnification (most modern scopes do) you should make sure that it remains in focus through the entire range of the zoom adjustment.

Jesse
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