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Melissa,
We have a 120W EXFO on our Zeiss Axiovert 200. The illumination is
quite strong. With a 10x/0.3 objective, we get 45 mW of power with
FITC cube and 75 mW with TRITC cube. This compares to 15 mW and 60 mW
respectively on our (rather bright) Nikon with conventional 100 W Hg
bulb and a 10x/0.45 objective. (In both cases, bulbs were around the
middle of their rated lifetime). The Exfo has an aperture to regulate
illumination intensity, we typically use it in the lower settings. I
am not sure how power declines with time, but I think it is OK up to
the rated 1500 hours. We replaced our first lamp after about 1 year/
1800 hours.
Because of the fiber optic, illumination is very even (no adjustments
required). We also appreciate the built-in safety (lamp does not turn
ON when hot), and the fact that there is no hot lamp housing near the
scope. Some of the vendors now have the proper parts to mount the
fiber on the illumination port.
We have no experience with the Sutter Lambda, but I would probably
prefer any of these two over the conventional type.
Julio.
--
Julio Vazquez, PhD
Scientific Imaging
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N., DE-512
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
Tel: Office: 206-667-1215/ Lab: 206-667-4205
FAX: 206-667-4029
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On Sep 27, 2005, at 10:37 AM, Mcnamara, George wrote:
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Hi Melissa,
>
> I have no experience with the EXFO, so you'll have to ask others
> for that. I
> have a lot of experience with the Sutter LS300 and like it a lot.
> I'm about
> to order one with the following part numbers and descriptions:
>
> LB-LS/OF30/O759470 Sutter Lambda LS300 (ozone free bulb),
> supplied
> with O759470 cold mirror
> OF30 LS300 spare bulb (ozone free
> bulb)
> O777552 liquid light guide, 1 meter
> long, series
> 380. LLG - supply IM series 380 guide
> drop-in drop-in filter holder (25 mm)
> ??? LLG to microscope adapter
> (microscope specific)
>
>
> You should check with your dealer or with Sutter Inc as to whether the
> Sutter microscope adapter is optimal for the microscope. At the time I
> bought an LS300 for CHLA's Leica DMRXA, the Sutter LLG to scope
> adapter was
> generic. They mentioned that Beat Ludin ( www.lis.ch <http://
> www.lis.ch> )
> had made an optimal one for a Leica DMR customer. I bought a DMRXA
> adapter
> from Beat and it was substantially brighter than Sutter's. Also,
> having had
> the standard 2 meter LLG, I bought the 1 meter series 380 LLG and
> it was
> brighter than the older 2 meter (2 differences: length and series).
> The cold
> mirror I specified above is one of three options Sutter has in
> stock - talk
> with the dealer or Sutter as to which fits your needs (i.e. do you
> need to
> excite Cy5.5, Cy7, Alexa Fluor 750, QD800, etc).
>
> I also recommend buying the Sutter bulbs pre-assembled in their
> plastic
> housing. I've done it myself, but not worth the hassle. When the
> first bulb
> dies, "recycle" it to Sutter to have them put in the replacement bulb.
>
> The Sutter bulbs, which are handled in a housing, are much safer than
> standard "naked" arc lamp bulbs. the Sutter lamp does not need
> aligning,
> except for the initial optimization of the LLG in the lamp and
> microscope
> adapters.
>
> I've always been a big fan of the spectral response of Xenon
> (Sutter). A 20
> nm exciter puts out similar amount of light regardless of
> wavelength, and if
> you need twice as much excitation, specify 40 nm, etc, simplifying
> selection
> of filter sets and dyes (see
> <http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/ipc/fret/default.htm >
> http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/ipc/fret/default.htm for interactive
> spectra
> server [click on " <outbind://2/indexb.html> Go directly to the
> spectra
> graphing page" page] and http://home.earthlink.net/~pubspectra/
> <http://home.earthlink.net/~pubspectra/> for spectral data sets on
> most
> dyes and Chroma and Omega filters). The spectral output of the EXFO
> metal-halide is essentially the same as an Hg, so you have a few
> good atomic
> lines and lots of dim between-lines.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> George
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Melissa Gonzalez [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 9:04 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Fluorescent Illumination Systems, Suggestions Please?
>
>
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> Hello all,
> I am currently in the market to upgrade our existing HB0 100 lamp
> house,
> which is very old, to several of new systems. Either the newest
> version of
> the HB0 100 from Zeiss, a mercury halide system (X-Cite120 from
> EXFO) or a
> xenon based burner Lambda LS (300watt ozone free) from Sutter
> Instruments.
> They are all comparable in price, but my main concern is increasing
> the
> brightness of my signal and evenly illuminating the field of view.
> I mostly
> look at DAPI, eGFP, FITC, and Alexa 594, which from spectral
> outputs, each
> one of these systems appears to have a different weakness in one of
> the
> above. On a plus, the Xcite rates their bulbs at 1500 hours, and
> the Lambda
> at 500-1000hrs.
> But how long do these lamps really hold out and how is the brightness
> affected?
> Does anyone out there have any input/comments/experience with these
> systems?
> (This would be hooked up to a Zeiss Axioplan) Please let me know if
> you have
> any info, as I have been unsuccessful so far with demos and need to
> place an
> order soon.
>
> Thanks a lot -I really appreciate it,
> Melissa
>
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