The Leitz Dialux II was introduced in the early 1970s as the successor to the black Dialux I. At that time, Leitz still used 170 mm mechanical tube length. After 1976, Leitz switched to the 160 mm system. The Dialux II is a versatile research microscope that can be equipped with many accessories.

The microscope shown below is equipped with phase contrast condenser 402a and a trinocular tube allowing the adaptation of a camera for photography. The revolving nosepiece is interchangeable and can be equipped with 5 objectives. I use this microscope with achromatic, Fluotar and planapochromatic objectives. I am particularly impressed with the Fluotar objectives like the NPL Fluotar 25/0.55 and NPL Fluotar 40/0.70. They give brilliant images with high contrast and I prefer them for both viewing and photography. The NPL Fluotar objectives were already designed for 160 mm mechanical tube length but they can be used on the Dialux II without any problems. I replaced the original halogen lighting with LED that is build into the original lamp housing (not shown in the picture).

Leitz Dialux II, a microscope of unprecedented quality as they are no longer made today.