Pentax bayonet mount
Main tube
Light-sealing tube
Coupling ring
Fastener tube
Fastening knob
| Features and Specifications
By means of the Microscope Adaptor, your
— Pentax K Series camera will open up for you
the whole world of photomicrography. And
because the TTL light meter is built-in, it's as
easy as it is rewarding. However, the following
three points should be noted:
if the microscope's total magnification is
greater than 600x , the microscope camera —
which is designed exclusively for photomicro-
graphy and is not usable for regular photo-
graphy — is better than a 3bmm SLR. This
Camera:
Microscope:
diameter 23.2mmó)
Magnification:
cation of eyepiece lens)
Size & Weight.
is because with such a high magnification,
the mechanical vibration must be eliminated
completely.
The Microscope Adaptor K cannot be used
on microscopes whose eyepiece tube diameter
is other than 25mmoó. -
As a binocular microscope has two lens
barrels slanted toward the object, no camera,
even a microscope camera, can take photo-
graphs through it because the resulting images
will be blurred.
Asahi Pentax K2, KX or KM without lens
With 25mmóg eyepiece tube {eyepiece sleeve diameter 25.0mmó, eyepiece internal
About 1/3x of the total magnification (magnification of objective lens x magnifi-
Maximum diameter 64mm, length 79mm. 216 grams
Setting up the Unit
As shown in Fig. 1, loosen the fastening
knob (1) and pull out the light-shielding tube
(2). (The light-shielding tube is used only for
special occasions when the picture is to be
shot only with the object lens.)
As shown in Fig. 2, turn the coupling
ring (3) clockwise until it stops. Now remove
the main tube (4).
Detach the lens from the camera as shown
in Fig. 3. (The camera lens is not necessary
for photomicrography.)
Attach the main tube (4) to the Pentax
K2, KX or KM camera exactly as you would
a lens.
Pull out the eyepiece lens from the micro-
scope as shown in Fig. 5.
Then, as shown in Fig. 6, attach the
fastener tube (5) into the eyepiece tube.
Clamp it with the fastening knob (1) by
setting the red dot (shown toward the front)
onto the fastener tube.
Then, put the eyepiece tens of the micro-
scope into the fastener tube as shown in
Fig. 7.
As shown in Fig. 8, match the red dot (7)
of the main tube (4) with the red dot (6)
of the fastener tube and the red dot (8) of
the coupling ring, and put the main tube into
the fastener tube. Now turn the coupling ring
in the direction of the arrow to lock it.
Screw the cable release into the shutter
release button as shown in Fig. 9.
The Spiracle of a Silkworm
Eyepiece Lens P10x
at 1/2 sec exposure
Neopan F film
Object lens 10x
How to Detach
As shown in Fig. 10, turn the coupling
ring counterclockwise to detach the main tube
from the camera. (This should be done care-
fully: if the fastener tube is completely de-
tached, the eyepiece lens may slip out and
fall against the camera's reflex mirror.)
Then, as shown in Fig. 11, loosen the
fastening knob to detach the fastener tube.
10 a 11
How to Change Eyepiece Lenses
After completing the steps shown in Figs.
10, 11 and 12, turn the fastener tube to
separate it from the eyepiece. Then, continue
with the steps outlined in Figs. 6 — 8.
The total magnification of a microscope
(M) ts the magnification of the virtual image
(Y'), instead of the real image of the object
Р (Y), when the mechanical tube length 15
set at a length designated by the manufacturer,
as shown in Fig. 13. (The eye is situated at
the position af “Q.”)
When the Microscope Adaptor K 15 mount-
ed on a Pentax camera, the length ‘D’ be-
comes 84.3mm.
The photomicrographic magnification is de-
termined by the following formula: Photo-
micrographic magnification = M x 84.3 = Mx
250
about 1/3
Thus, if the total magnification of the
Microscope is 400x, the photomicrographic
8
84.3
250
The focal point of the microscope alone
will differ from the focal point of the micro-
scope plus the camera.
If the Extension Tubes K and/or the Bel-
lows Unit K are used with the Microscope
Adaptor K, “D'” approaches the actual tube
length of the microscope (Fig. 13). Because
of this, vignetting at the edges is eliminated
and the photomicrographic magnification ap-
proaches the total magnification of the micro-
scope. However, the combination of extension
tubes and/or bellows unit with the micro-
scope adaptor creates considerable instability,
and the use of the Copy Stand Ill becomes
necessary.
magnification is 400 x = 13bx.
The photomicrographic magnification is
simply the magnification as it will appear
on the film. Naturally, magnification can be
further increased through enlarging. For exam-
ple, a 3x enlargement is the equivalent of the
total magnification achieved when the picture
is shown at a 0.25-meter distance.
* The mechanical tube length is the dis-
tance between the flange of the object lens
and the upper end of the eyepiece lens bar-
ref. If the microscope has both internal and
external lens barrels, an indication scale will
be shown on the internal barrel.
When the eyepiece lens is put into the
Microscope Adaptor K, the position of the
eyepiece lens becomes 4mm higher than the
position of the normal eyepiece lens of the
microscope. This should be taken into account
when you are setting the length of the barrel.
With non-adjustable microscopes, the photo-
micrographic magnification becomes slightly
larger than 1/3 M.
13 14
De
A
E yepiece lens
¡Condenser
|, Aerial
\ image
: \
Ш ` 250mm
Do |
| ; X |
|
\ |
Objective
lens €
Y E N +
Eyepiece Lens and Object Lens
As shown in Fig. 14, the inverted real
image {aerial image) produced by the object
lens is magnified by the eyepiece lens. Thus,
with the microscope alone, the image is both
upside down and reversed left and right. How-
ever, when viewed through the Pentax finder,
the image is shown correctly.
Object Lens Alone
As the object lens of a microscope is not
designed to be used alone, the lens has a
distortion aberration and the focal points at
the lens center and of the edges are different.
Thus, it is not suitable for photomicrographic
purposes. Moreover, as the inner diameter of
the eyepiece lens barrel is only 23mm as
shown on Page 3, the picture edges will be
vignetted.
However, you can use the light-shielding
tube in the microscope, instead of the eyepiece
lens, to eliminate the reflection inside the
eyepiece lens barrel.
Film
Generally, photomicrographic subjects are
stationary. Thus, a low-speed, ultra-fine grain
and high-resolution film is recommended. For
example, Neopan F and Panatomic-X films
are good for medium-contrast B & W photo-
graphs; Minicopy and Koni-Micro films are
good for high-contrast B & W photographs;
and Kodachrome || is good for color slides.
11
| Lighting
One of the most important factors in
photomicrography is lighting. Usually lighting
is done by the Kohler illumination method
as shown in Fig. 15. According to this method,
illumination is provided by a lamp specially
designed for microscopes. You simply stop
down the aperture below the condenser lens
to a minimum, and make sure that the image
of the lamp’s filament is focused upon the
aperture blades while looking from below.
By this method, the rays of light passing
through the condenser lens and hitting the
slide glass become completely parallel — allow-
ing for accurate focusing, illumination averag-
ing and high image contrast.
Before shooting, check through the view-
finder to make sure that the light axis is
12
Hlumination Lamp
15
UE à Object Lens
Slide Glass
` Condenser Lens
Condenser Lens
of Lamp
Filament Reflex Mirror
straight. If not, adjust the position of the
light source and the angle of the reflex mirror.
When using color film, put a color com-
pensation filter which converts the color tem-
perature from tungsten lamp values to day-
light values {for example, the Pentax Photo-
flood Filter) in front of the illumination
lamp or below the condenser lens.
+
|
| Focusing
At the start of focusing, adjust the object
lens to a point as close to the slide as possible.
Then, while looking through the viewfinder,
move the main knob gradually upward for
rough focusing. For precise and accurate focus-
ing adjust the critical focusing knob of the
microscope.
For focusing, the microprism or split-image
rangefinder of the Pentax K2, KX or KM
camera cannot be used. Focusing must be
done through the groundglass section of the
finder. If this is not sufficient, use the Magnifier
optional accessory, or ask your local service
center to exchange your focusing screen for
a special photomicrographic screen.
Eyesight adjustment is explained in the
operating manuals for the Pentax K2, KX
and KM cameras. In the case of photomicro-
graphy, this is particulariy important because
of the need for critical focusing. Usualiy,
when using a microscope, the viewer moves
the lens barrel up or down to adjust the
focus. In pnotomicrography, however, the eye-
piece itself must be adjusted according to
Individual vision requirements.
The focusing glass used in photomicro-
graphy is characterized by a shallow depth-of-
field. However, the focusing screen is an aerial-
image type. If the viewer's own eyesight does
not match the finder diopter, focusing errors
will be multiplied. If the edges of the cross-
microprism are not sharp, adjust the camera
eyepiece by using an eyesight correction lens.
13
Exposure
As the Pentax K Series cameras incorporate
a TTL exposure meter, the correct exposure
can be determined by the exposure meter.
However, as color slide film, copying film and
micro film have a narrow exposure latitude,
it is recommended that you bracket your
exposures by also shooting a half-stop under
and a half-stop over the exposure given by
the meter.
If the eyepiece lens of the microscope is
5x or 7x, the picture edges in the 24 x 36mm
format will be vignetted. This results from
an overexposure based on the TTL exposure
meter. To correct the situation, cut down
the exposure by a half or a full stop from
the exposure indicated by the meter,
With full-automatic electronic metering cam-
eras such as the Pentax KZ2, any stray light
entering through the viewfinder eyepiece will
cause underexposure. Thus, if you take your
eye away from the eyepiece, either cover it
or set the exposure by the needle-matching
system.
With high-power, polarizing, and phase con-
trast microscopes, the brightness of the subject
may become so low as to be out of the range
of the meter. In such a case, bracket what you
suspect is the correct exposure by exposures
under and over. This bracketing will serve as
reference data for the next time you find
yourself in a similar situation.
| Hints on Photomicrography
1. Difference Between Microscopy and Photo-
micrography
In usual microscopy, the object is simply
set in the center of the field and carefully
viewed through the eyepiece lens. In photo-
micrography, greater care is paid to selecting
the exact eyepiece lens (the P 10x, the P 16x
or the FK which was designed exclusively
for photography) and the exact object lens
which will produce the minimum of field
curvature (such as the pan-achromatic lens).
2. To Reduce Camera Movement
Put the microscope on a sturdy baseboard
and lock up the reflex mirror of the Pentax
K2 or KX to eliminate the vibrations caused
by the mirrors moving.
3. Main Focusing Knob of Microscope
As the main focusing knob of the micro-
scope is burdened by the weight of the camera
in addition to the weight of the microscope,
the focusing knob should be tight. Otherwise,
the microscope barrel may accidentally slip
while the picture is being taken.
4. Spots on Microscope Lenses
As the microscope lenses are small, spots
on them are not too conspicuous. In damp
climates, the lenses are often spotted. Examine.
the lenses occasionally by holding them up
to the light and wiping off the spots.
15
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