I don't think I have ever thrown away anything that had a lens in it! As a result I have been able to come up with an amazing collection of "junk" that occasionally proves it's value. Some of the systems below were purchased (mostly at auctions) because I knew what I was getting, while others were just "in the junk pile". Here is a description of my current active collection:
Nikon FS-2 bioscope
I probably take more photos with my "Slit Lamp" system than any other. It is a Nikon FS-2 bioscope that was part of a skid of obsolete optometry equipment. I stripped most of the slit lamp part of the hardware and made a sample table. My Nikon D80 attaches to the back and allows me to take photos at several magnifications. The beauty of this system is that it can be used to take stereo pairs since the bioscope was designed to rotate about the focal point of the "sample". the joystick system allows one to rapidly move in and out or to a different part of the sample. It can take photos in the range 2x to 30x.
Nikon Alphaphot 2
This system is for high magnification work. When I acquired it I was taking a chance since it had been in a fire and was covered with black soot. Originally it had a secondary viewing port so that it could be used in a "teacher-student" mode. Since the secondary port was in bad shape I removed it and made an adapter so that my D80 will attach to the port using a T-adapter. It can be used to take images up to 400x.
Nikon Model M Inverted Microscope
This is my "best" system in that it is a true research microscope designed for microphotography. I managed to get it at an auction at a ridiculously low price (with all accessories and spare parts!). While it was made in 1969 the optics and mechanical parts are in pristine condition. It has a complete set of objectives and specialized accessories that I may (or may not) figure out how to use some day.
The Nikon D80 is attached to the "cine" port in the above picture using a t-adapter and standard eyepiece fitting. The camera can also be placed on the trinocular head although I usually use a small CCD video camera on that port that can record to my computer.
These three systems are the "primary systems I use. In a future blog I will describe some of my other less used systems and some general comments about microphotography.
