Did Astro Berlin make microscope objectives?

JMC · Joined: 29 May 2018 Posts: 178 Location: London, UK

I need a bit of help identifying a mystery microscope objective please. The person I got it from knew nothing about (it was from ebay from a vendor who dealt in general second hand stuff, but wasn't a microscope dealer).

Its mount seems to be the same diameter as RMS but is a finer pitched thread. I could get it about 1 turn onto my Olympus BHB and that was all. It has a second set of threads which are larger diameter and coarser. It is marked as 'Astro 232XVIIIa' but it could be 'Astro 232 X VIII a' based on the spacings of the characters. There is also a faint number '51' in the space between the two sets of threads. This got me wondering, could it be an Astro Berlin microscope objective. I have never heard of them making one, but I'm sure they made stuff which hasn't made it on to the internet.

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The 'Astro' is written in a very similar way to the 'Astro' on the 60mm F2 Gauss-Tachar on the Exaklaus website - http://www.exaklaus.de/astro.htm

Crop of the writing of the 60mm Gauss Tachar.
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Crop of the writing on mine.
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I couldn't find anything similar online, and any advice is welcome on who may have made it and when (or if it is indeed an Astro Berlin one). Thanks.

JMC · Joined: 29 May 2018 Posts: 178 Location: London, UK

A bit of an update on this. I'd given up hope of finding anything out about this lens, but after a search yesterday I found some similar ones which sold on ebay earlier this year. The seller was 'exaklaus', and the lenses described as being 'Astro Berlin micro lenses for optical scanners, from around 1989-90'. It seems it isn't a microscope lens, is much more recent than I originally assumed, and that it is an Astro Berlin lens. I've reached out to Klaus to see if he has any more information about the original use.

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

exaklaus is a member here -- send him a PM!

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Ray Parkhurst · Posted: Sat May 20, 2023 3:25 am Post subject:

Looks like they are intended for 2x? That is a tough magnification. How does it perform?

JMC · Joined: 29 May 2018 Posts: 178 Location: London, UK

Cheers Klaus, I've spoke with Klaus R. Unfortunately he doesn't have any more info, other than they were likely scanner lenses.

Ray - it's not too good, at least in my initial test. I used it like a normal microscope objective (finite tube), and got quite a soft image. I suspect it was meant to be used with other optics, which I do not have. It is more of an unusual curio than anything at the moment.