On the contrary.  The Noran Oz is the best "fast" confocal system available.
I have played with it at Woods Hole last summer and was quite impressed.
The software is the best available on any confocal out there and it
routinely does 30 full frames/second.  This is ten times faster than the
Leica and 30 times faster than Zeiss or BioRad.  While I did not purchase
this machine for my multiuser facility, it is only because the Leica
satisfies a larger user base better.  However, as a second machine I would
definitely go for the Noran Oz.
Rich Nuccitelli

At 11:49 PM 12/12/96 -0500, you wrote:
>We are planning a grant to purchase a new confocal, presumably one with
>faster acquisition (video rate?) and better sensitivity than our MRC600.  I
>have been rereading some of the old traffic regarding what is the "best"
>confocal in current opinion.  I have heard virtually nothing about the
>Noran and Meridian instruments in comparison to Nikon, Zeiss, BIorad and
>Leica.  Are they not worth the energy to investigate or do the users not
>read this list?  Dave
>
>Dr. David Knecht
>Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
>University of Connecticut
>U-125
>Storrs, CT 06269
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>
>
Richard Nuccitelli
Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
(916)752-3152 FAX:(916)752-1449