Light reflectors for macro photography with a microscope objective

thingiverse

A few useful items for extreme macro photography (magnifications 5:1 and up, using microscope objectives, and an automated focusing rail - e.g. the one of my design, Fast Stacker: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4946939 ). I provide both Autodesk Fusion 360 files, and STL files. One is a reflector with two large wings for a height-adjustable laboratory lifting stand with your specimen (table.* files). The stands can be found on ebay. The table top dimensions are 100x100 mm. Two more items are small reflectors which should be attached to the front of a microscope objective, with a gap at the bottom for the specimen holder. They are designed to maximize the front illumination for your specimen, for short working distances (~10mm or even less). I provide two versions - one is for an old "Nikon M Plan 10x 0.25 210 mm" objective (10x.* files), the other one is for an old "Olympus ULWD Neo Splan 20 0.40 8/- f=180" objective (20x.files). You should be able to customize them for any other microscope objective. There is also a small stand for a tiny "umbrella" (a tiny piece of paper one can place right above the subject, to eliminate the hot spot at the top of the subject) - files "Umbrella holder.*" I used a small flat head screw to attach a piece of wire (from a staple) to the holder. To the other end of the wire I glued a small piece of paper (10x5mm) - "the umbrella". In addition, there are "Mini table.*" files, for a tiny (5x5mm) table raised 40mm above the ground, where one can place the subject. The table will work with the rest of the items here. The latest added items are Base files (stl and Autodesk Fusion). This is a sturdy base for the lab stand. It has an opening in the middle through which you fill it up with sand, for the weight. It has slits on the top through which the bottom of the lab stand slides into the top of the base, completely sealing off the opening. I also glued thin sticky rubber feet at the bottom of the base. The weight of the vase with sand is 900 grams, base + the lab stand - 1.5 kg. So now it's both bottom heavy (great for stability), and heavy overall (doesn't move when you adjust the height of the table - great when you do macro stitching shooting, using different heights). The base should be printed in PLA or other filament which doesn't shrink much (I tried first ABS, and it failed miserably). You print it with the slit opening facing up. I used "lines" style support, spaced at 10 mm, when printing. This support can then be easily removed through the opening in the base. I use the microscope objective reflectors together with the laboratory lifting stand reflector. I just need one flash with a small softbox (see the photos attached) to achieve good illumination of the specimen.