Olympus OM Equipment for Close-up and Macro Photography

During the time that the OM system was in production (1972–2003), Olympus produced 4 different ranges of compound microscopes.

The first range included the EHT and FHT research microscopes, which used objectives designed for a parfocal distance of 36.65 mm and a tube length of 160 mm, and for which the FK photo eyepieces are matched. The biological models were:

• EHT – separate coarse and fine focusing knobs, fine focusing graduated at 2μm intervals, right-hand vertical controls for the mechanical stage, 6V 30W lamp (8-C101, TB-1)
• FHT – coaxial coarse and fine focusing knobs, fine focusing graduated at 1μm intervals, left- and right-hand horizontal controls for the mechanical stage, 6V 30W lamp (8-C101, TB-1)

The second range included the AH (Vanox) research, BH clinical and CH student microscopes, which used objectives designed for a parfocal distance of 36.65 mm and a tube length of 160 mm, and for which the FK photo eyepieces are matched. The BH biological models were:

• BHA – interchangeable nosepiece, 6V 30W lamp (8-C102)
• BHB – fixed nosepiece, 6V 30W lamp (8-C102)
• BHC – fixed nosepiece, 6V 15W lamp (8-C103)

The third range included the AH-2 (Vanox) research, BH-2 clinical and CH-2 student models, which used objectives with a parfocal distance of 45 mm and a tube length of 160 mm, and for which the NFK photo eyepieces are matched. The BH-2 biological models were:

• BHS – wide base, interchangeable nosepiece, 12V 100W lamp (8-C406)
• BHT – standard base, interchangeable nosepiece, 6V 20W lamp (8-C405)
• BHTU – standard base, fixed nosepiece, 6V 20W lamp (8-C405)

The fourth range includes the current BX models, which use infinity-corrected objectives, and for which the PE photo eyepieces are matched.

With all microscopes, it is essential to adjust the eyepieces to match your eyesight and eye separation, and to adjust the condenser and other parts of the lighting system for optimum illumination for a particular objective. Manuals for some older Olympus microscopes can be downloaded on this site:

• Downloads of PDF versions of Olympus microscope brochures, catalogues, instructions and manuals

Manuals for BX and other current Olympus microscopes and accessories can be downloaded from Olympus:

• Olympus Manuals