The Leica system is excellent-I have seen it.  My reservations regarding the
piezo-electric stage remain and are amplified by the comments from Martin
Hoppe.  The "sample weight which can be put on the stage is 250 grams."  In my
own application I need to use a fixed stage carrying several kilograms of
apparatus (primarily micromanipulators) which are used with an in vivo
preparation.  The point is that the Leica system is simply not suited for what
I need.  I am not criticizing Leica, rather, I am looking for a different
solution to the rapid z-scanning problem.
  Still no comments on the new Olympus America "Fluoview" scope.
 
  Roger Adamson