Austin's Imaging Blog

Category: nikon

  • Microscope Objective Zemax Files

    Microscope Objective Zemax Files

    While I haven’t had a chance to test these for accuracy, I was excited to find them while looking for some tube lens specs! You can find the file set here. These designs include some of the common infinity corrected objectives, as well as tube lenses, from every major microscope manufacturer.    

  • STORM comparison from UCSF NIC

    I recently received a beautiful comparison image produced by the now operational STORM system at the UCSF NIC.The sample was prepared by Michael Davidson, and was imaged by Kurt Thorn of the NIC. Click the image for a higher res view. -Austin    

  • Nikon nSIM wins #5 in TheScientist’s 2011 Best and Brightest

    Here’s a short video review of the top 10 innovations in 2011. Some really cool technology here! Top 10 Innovations of 2011 from thescientistllc on Vimeo.

  • How TIRF works on a Microscope

    TIRF is a widely used tool for effectively creating a super resolution instrument out of a standard widefield microscope. The cool part of TIRF is that it bypasses the limits of axial resolution on the scope not by altering the optics per-se, but by altering what gets excited. In a normal widefield fluorescent microscope, photons […]

  • WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND THE UCSF/QB3 Microscopy Course

    Over the course of my career, I’ve flown across the US to attend a variety of imaging related instructional courses, all on the eastern seaboard. We are all familiar with the Woods Hole courses, the AQLM course, and so forth. What has boggled my mind is that here I am in the SF Bay area, […]

  • Coupling a C-2 confocal to an AZ-100 zoom scope

    I recently worked on a demo where the customer wanted a confocal with magnification range from macro (1x) to low power compound levels (200-400x). In order to meet this requirement we showed him the AZ-100 zoom scope, and the C-2 scanning confocal, which runs on elements. I was simply blown away by the performance range […]

  • Updating Software? A pre-chaos checklist…

    A few years after your shiny new system is installed, you’ll inevitably look at it just like you look at a car. What was once running flawlessly now has a few bugs, some dust, is slower and generally worn in. So, at some point you’ll decide it’s time for an upgrade. This may consist of […]

  • PhotoFluor 2 Driver for Nikon Elements

    89 North has asked me to cook up a driver for the PhotoFluor 2, which I am now hosting under my Macros & Journals page, or you can use this link. This driver works in NIS Elements AR, and BR with Advanced Interpreter. Please contact me if you have any trouble using it! -Austin  

  • Nikon Oils, Perfect Focus and What to Use

    There are two docs published by Nikon regarding the use of oils. Most people think you can use any old oil for any microscope, but this is not the case. Zeiss, Leica, Nikon and Olympus all have specific chromatic, spherical and viscosity values, which are matched to work with the corrective properties of the lenses. […]

  • Ti-E Perfect Focus Usage and Troubleshooting

    The Ti-E PFS is an excellent automatic focusing system. Using the system hinges on one key aspect: The NIR LED used for focusing. The PFS is basically a laser reflection system. A near IR LED is delivered into the back of the objective, and emitted into the specimen. When the light hits a refractive index […]