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The Leica DM LM: an upright all-rounder with a modular design

Leica introduced its upright DM LM microscope to the market in the 1990s. It features a modern infinity-corrected optical system and a modular design, which allows configuration to the user’s specific requirements.

Our LM digital adapters are the perfect solution for connecting the Leica DM LM to a DSLR or video camera.

With the broad availability of high quality lenses, eyepieces and accessories, the Leica DM LM is a top-of-the-range instrument, which, depending on the equipment needed, starts at around € 3,000.

When it comes to selecting special stages, the DM LM’s modular structure speaks for itself: a ceramic-coated stage for continuous use without scratch marks, a ball-bearing rotary specimen stage, special stages for large-format objects, and even a stage that can be heated to 1,750 degrees Celsius – all this is available. The stand structure, characterised by a high degree of mechanical and thermal stability, is also suitable for photomicrography applications that use heavy cameras.

The Leica DM LM is a system microscope that can be adapted for use with all important microscopy techniques, such as:

• Incident light: bright field, dark field, polarisation contrast, differential interference contrast (DIC), quantitative interference, fluorescence. The incident light illuminator has a filter magazine with four filter positions that can be conveniently flipped in and out.
• Transmitted light: bright field, dark field, phase contrast, oblique illumination, polarisation, interference contrast. For transmitted light, a three-position filter magazine can be inserted into the base.

The revolving nosepiece with 5 or 6 objectives accommodates the following lens types: plan-achromats, semi-apochromats and, at the top of the range, (PL APO) apochromats.

Altogether, there is a choice of eight height-adjustable binocular and trinocular ergo tubes (also available as for use with eyeglasses). At the standard 10x magnification, eyepiece fields of view of 20, 22 and even 25 can be achieved. The advantage of eyepieces with a large field of view is that they provide much more image information at a glance, which saves time and improves efficiency. (However, eyepieces with larger field of view numbers are more expensive than those with a smaller field of view).

A comprehensive range of accessories is available: TV adapter, macro device, microscope camera systems, 2 photo TV outs, microscope photometer, discussion unit for 2, 3 or 5 viewers, slide overlay device, microhardness tester, tracing device, comparison device (used to couple 2 microscopes).

For photomicrography use, the Leica DM LM is an excellent product that offers numerous advantages: the strong light source (100 W halogen lamp, optional mercury lamp Hg 50, Hg 100 or xenon Xe 75) combined with the robust stand structure mentioned above (total weight approx. 18 kg) makes microscope photography a real pleasure. Our LM digital adapters enable the creation of excellent photos and video recordings of microscopic images using DSLR cameras, mirrorless system cameras and C-mount cameras.

Photography: 

Fitting the microscope to digital single-lens reflex (DSLR), mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras (MILC ), digital single-lens mirrorless (DSLM) or C-mount cameras is easy with our LM digital SLR adapters, which feature a plan achromatic optical system. Our products make it possible to capture top-quality microscope images. To help you select the adapter that is right for your camera, we have set up an online configurator on our website. You can also email us – ideally with attached photographs of your microscope.

Modern DSLR and single-lens mirrorless (DSLM) offer the latest technology and are generally very well suited for microscopy applications. Most of them can be controlled remotely via PC/Mac. Because of their high sales volumes, they offer an excellent price/performance ratio compared to special-purpose microscope cameras.

Features of top DSLR and single-lens mirrorless cameras (DSLM):
- Large, powerful full-frame sensors (36 x 24 mm)
- Sensor resolution of 61 megapixels or 240 megapixels with Pixel Shift technology
- High light sensitivity (ISO 400,000+)
- Extensive dynamic range (up to 15 aperture stops/f-stops)
- Short exposure times (1/8000 second) up to 1/32,000 seconds using the digital shutter
- 4K Ultra HD  or 8K Ultra HD video function
- Live video capture on external monitors in ultra HD quality

In most cases, these cameras are significantly more powerful than microscope cameras with smaller sensors (1/2" or 2/3"). On our website you will find our current camera recommendations and a camera ranking which is specifically tailored to microscopy applications.