Qioptiq Mag.x LD-Plan Apochromat 8x/0.32 Objective
Mag.x objectives are diffraction limited over the entire image circle, apochromatically corrected, and double telecentric. They cover a larger field with a higher numerical aperture (NA) compared to objectives from other manufacturers. This means they can cover larger sensors with higher sharpness and resolution. This makes mag.x objectives unique and in a different performance tier than conventional microscope objectives.
The mag.x System 125 is fully modular and designed for sub-micron imaging with closed-loop autofocus inspection and measurement applications, like semiconductor, flat-panel display (TFT & OLED), printed circuit boards (PCB), micro measurement & metrology, MEMS & nanotechnology, fluorescence microscopy, digital pathology and more. See the bottom of this page for links to the Qioptiq website for more information on the System 125 inspection system.
The mag.x 5x was tested here on Closeuphotography.com in 2017, see this link for the full test: https://www.closeuphotography.com/qioptiq-magx-5x-objective. The mag.x 5x performs at the highest image quality level that I’ve ever seen out of any objective, far above the image quality level of a Nikon Plan APO or Mitutoyo M Plan APO!
Special thanks to Stephen C., Chris S., and Qioptiq for making this test possible.
about the Mag.x 8x test
In January Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co. HQ graciously agreed to provide us with a demo mag.x lens for one month, later extending the loan to 6 weeks after being stuck in US customs for 5 days before arriving safely via Fedex. The expenses incurred with this loan were just under $400 USD, including $68 in Fedex importation customs paperwork fees, and $295 for Fedex international express shipping + insurance for the trip back to Qioptiq HQ in Bavaria. The content on this site is created in my free time to help my photomacrography community and my friends. I do not show any ads, use affiliate links, neither to I take commission from content on this site.
Qioptiq Mag.x LD-Plan Apochromat 8x/0.32 Objective
Facts First: Mag.x 8x
- Apochromatic correction over the entire visual spectrum
- High numerical aperture
- Lens made in Germany
- Sub-µm resolution
- Extra large exit pupil
- Exact telecentricity on object and image side (double telecentric with the proper mag.x tube lens)
- Large sensor coverage from 28mm to 57 mm
- Diffraction limited performance over the entire field-of-view ( FOV )
- Uniform high contrast over the field-of-view
- Uniform illumination over the field-of-view prevents brightness variations with sensors using micro-lenses
Mag.x LD-Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective Pixel-shift image at 7.6x. Un-cropped pixel-shift image resized to 2500 pixels and sharpened.
Mag.x 8x 2500 pixel image sample
Right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu, or you can select Save Image As to save and view the full size image. Check if the image is the full size version by looking at the URL, there should be =2500W at the end of the URL, if not, you can always change the number that is there to 2500 and hit enter to pull up the largest size image.
Mag.x LD-Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective Pixel-shift image at 7.6x. Un-cropped pixel-shift image resized to 2500 pixels and sharpened.
Qioptiq mag.x LD Plan Apo 8x /0.32 Objective
QIOPTIQ MAG.X LD PLAN APO 8X SPECIFICATIONS
Qioptiq Part Number: 4401-552-830-00
Released: 2015
Official name: mag.x LD Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective lens
Objective type: High-end Industrial inspection systems for Flat-panel display (FPD), Printed circuit board (PCB), and Semiconductor inspection.
NA: 0.32. The nominal aperture is f/1.38 and the effective aperture is f/12.5 at 8x
Focal length: 31.3 mm
Parfocal length: 125mm. This is origin of the mag.x system 125 system name.
Working Distance: 23mm
Chromatic Correction: apochromat over the entire visible spectrum, 420-740nm. Typically an apochromat is corrected from G-line to C-line, that’s blue to red, including green, yellow and orange.
Resolution: The resolving power of this objective is rated at 2 µm down to 0.7 µm (micron) depending on tube lens used.
Mounting Threads: standard M34 x 0.75mm. Adapters are easy to find on RafCamera and Ebay.
Coverage: image circle diameter depends on the tube lens focal length. I have not tested the factory 250mm tube lens. On a 180mm Componon-S lens, the image circle covers APS-C sensor perfectly with a 28 mm diagonal. With a less than ideal 240mm process lens, it will cover a full frame sensor to about 95% of the way to the extreme far corners. See the test samples in next section on full frame coverage. Judging by the tests I’ve run, a proper 250mm or longer focal length tube lens, like the standard mag.x tube lens, will cover a 43mm diagonal full frame sensor.
Tube Lens: 250mm system tube lens for a 1x magnification factor. An infinity-corrected optical system consists of two parts – the objective and the tube lens system.
Lens correction: compensation free system, no eyepiece or tube lens aberration compensation is needed.
Coverslip: none.
Country of origin: lens is made in Germany
Size: XL, 106mm length x 55mm diameter, for scale the Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5x is 60 x 32mm.
Price and availability: As of Jan 2018, $15,767.29 retail and a 16-17 week delivery. Ouch!
What I Like
High-end image quality
Covers APS-C, edge to edge, even when pushed down
Excellent materials and design
What I Don’t Like
Non standard system tube lens focal length
Impossible to find on the used market
Chrome front lens trim on both the 5x and 8x
Cost. This kind of performance doesn’t come cheap
Relatively small diameter M34 mounting threads
Websites that run ads for mag.x objectives to generate traffic without any stock
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5x 0.21 vs mag.x LD PLAN 8x 0.32
Mitutoyo M Plan APO 7.5X 0.21 and Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
Since the two objectives use a different system tube lens focal lengths, 200 vs 250, matching magnification exactly wasn’t possible.
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5X 0.21 APO Objective
Tube lens: Thorlabs ITL200
Nominal aperture: f/2.2
Effective aperture: f/17.86
Magnification: 7.5x
Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
Tube lens: Century Precision Optics +4 250mm (228mm actual FL)
Nominal aperture: f/1.38
Effective aperture: f/11.4
Magnification: 7.3x
Notes: Effective magnification = Nominal magnification * (New tube lens focal length / System tube lens focal length).
Camera: Sony α7R IV, model ILCE-7RM4, also known as: A7R4
Sensor size: 35.7 x 23.8 mm. 42.91 mm diagonal. 3.73 µm micron sensor pitch, 35 mm full frame 9504 x 6336, 60 MP), APS-C, 6240 x 4160, 26 MP
Flash: Godox TT350s wireless flash x 2 with one Godox X1s 2.4G wireless flash transmitter
Vertical stand: Nikon MM-11 with a Nikon focus block
Test images were taken in a stack in 1 µm steps. The sharpest frame was then chosen using Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. Separate images were selected for center, edge, and corner if needed. Each image was processed in PS CC with identical settings and all noise reduction and lens correction turned off, all settings were zeroed out (true zero) and the same settings were used for all of the images.
Test wafer
Center, APS-C corner, and full frame corner crop areas.
100% view center crop
To see a larger version of any image in a new browser tab, click on an image, or right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5X 0.21 APO Objective
Qioptiq mag.x 8x 0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
The difference in effective aperture between these two lenses, f/18 vs f/11, has a big impact on sharpness as you can see in the crop images. The Mitutoyo 7.5x M Plan image looks out-of-focus, or unsharpened compared to the mag.x image, but each was taken from a stack of images made at 1 μm (1 micron) steps, and all images were processed identically. Compare the micro-lines within the blue circles between the two lenses below.
100% view APS-C corner crop
To see a larger version of any image in a new browser tab, click on an image, or right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5X 0.21 APO Objective
Qioptiq mag.x 8x 0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
The sharpness gap between the two lenses carries over to the APS-C corners.
Tight crop from Mitutoyo 7.5x on the left, the mag.x in the center, and on the right, another mag.x crop, but this time in Pixel-Shift mode.
100% view Full frame extreme corner crop
Both lenses are at a disadvantage to cover far corners on a full frame sensor due to the setup for this test. The Mitutoyo is being tested with the ITL200 but this tube lens is rated to transmit a 22mm diameter field, not the 43mm it would need to cover the deep corners on the A7R4. The mag.x is being pushed down from 8x to 7.3x, so full frame corners are going to be a bit of a stretch. The mag.x will cover a 43mm diameter field with a longer tube lens.
There is some drop off in image quality here since neither lens is setup to cover this large of an image circle in the tested configuration.
100% view Pixel-shift center crop
Pixel-Shift 4 Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5X 0.21 APO Objective
Pixel-Shift 4 Qioptiq mag.x 8x 0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
Excellent details from both lenses but the higher NA of the mag.x really shines in Pixel-Shift mode.
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5x vs mag.x LD PLAN 8x Pushed down
These two lenses use a different system tube lens focal lengths so matching both lenses up at 7.5x was not possible, but I did have the right tube lenses on hand to push both down to 6.7x.
Mitutoyo M Plan 7.5X 0.21 APO Objective
Tube lens: Schneider Componon-S 5.6/180
Nominal aperture: f/2.2
Effective aperture: f/16.07
Magnification: 6.75x
Qioptiq mag.x 8x 0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
Tube lens: Schneider Componon-S 5.6/210
Nominal aperture: f/1.38
Effective aperture: f/10.5
Magnification: 6.72x
Note: effective magnification = Nominal magnification * (New tube lens focal length / System tube lens focal length). Example; an 8x objective designed for a 250mm FL TL used with a 210mm FL TL would give you a magnification of 6.72x. Effective magnification = 8 * (210/250) = 6.72
Camera: Sony α7R IV, model ILCE-7RM4, also known as: A7R4
Sensor size: 35.7 x 23.8 mm. 42.91 mm diagonal. 3.73 µm micron sensor pitch, 35 mm full frame 9504 x 6336, 60 MP), APS-C, 6240 x 4160, 26 MP
Flash: Godox TT350s wireless flash x 2 with one Godox X1s 2.4G wireless flash transmitter
Vertical stand: Nikon MM-11 with a Nikon focus block
Test images were taken in a stack in 1 µm steps. . The sharpest frame was then chosen using Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. Separate images were selected for center, edge, and corner if needed. Each image was processed in PS CC with identical settings and all noise reduction and lens correction turned off, all settings were zeroed out (true zero) and the same settings were used for all of the images.
100% view center crop
To see a larger version in a new browser tab, click on an image, or right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
Mitutoyo M Plan APO 7.5X 0.21 Objective
Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
100% view center detail crop
100% view center crop RESULTS
The differences at 100% view are larger than I expected. To make it easier to see the difference, I included the detail crops above, look at the POLY 2 ANALOG box at the bottom, you can see the tiny rectangles below the numbers, these are rendered as solid shapes by the Mitutoyo 7.5x but these are stacks of lines as seen in the higher resolution of the Qioptiq mag8x lens.
Pixel Shift Multi Shooting MODE 100% view center crop
If the normally processed images didn’t have enough detail, see the Pixel-Shift mode crop images below, the level of detail is just incredible.
Mitutoyo M Plan APO 7.5X 0.21 Objective Pixel-Shift 4 mode
Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective Pixel-Shift 4 mode
The higher NA of the Mag8x translates into finer detail in Pixel-Shift mode. The resulting gains are easy to see even when viewed in a browser. For best results two-finger or right mouse click and ‘save as’ to view in a preview or image viewing app. Web browsers tend to soften images slightly more than image viewing apps.
To see a good example of the real-world difference with Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode, take a careful look at the POLY 2 ANALOG box, at the bottom of the frame, and look for the tiny lines below 0.80-0.65 - 0.90-0.75 and you will see the tiny stair-stepped lines (called jaggies) in the image on the left, are straight and razor sharp in the pixel-shift image in the center!
This increase in clarity and fine details are a result of an increase in color resolution resulting from moving the sensor in one pixel increments to sample each color, red, green and blue data at every position. Pixel Shift mode shows an increase in sharpness without any of the side-effects of sharpening, like increases in noise, texture and crunchiness.
Since there's no need for demosaicing in pixel-shift mode, the standard artifacts like false color, moiré, and stair-stepped lines, are all eliminated (see more here: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-sensors.htm) At the same time the pixel-shift images will show less noise over a wider dynamic range from shooting the same scene four times!
These images were made with LibRaw’s free PixelShift2DNG app, https://www.fastrawviewer.com/PixelShift2DNG.
100% VIEW CORNER CROP
To see a larger version in a new browser tab, click on an image, or right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
Mitutoyo M Plan 10x vs. Mitutoyo HR 10X Vs. Mag.x 8x
All three of these lenses will cover an APS-C sensor even pushed down!
Mitutoyo M Plan APO 10X 0.28 Objective
Tube lens: Schneider Componon-S 5.6/150 (150.6 mm actual FL)
Nominal aperture: f/1.62
Effective aperture: f/12.2
Magnification: 7.53x
Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective
Tube lens: Century Precision Optics +4 250mm (228mm actual FL)
Nominal aperture: f/1.38
Effective aperture: f/11.4
Magnification: 7.3x
Mitutoyo M Plan APO HR 10X 0.42 Objective
Tube lens: Schneider Componon-S 5.6/150 (150.6 mm actual FL)
Nominal aperture: f/1.08
Effective aperture: f/8.1
Magnification: 7.53x
This custom label Mitutoyo HR 10X 0.42 M Plan APO objective is a real bonafide Mitutoyo HR lens but the purpose and the mysterious lavender color ring designation are unknown.
Camera: Sony α6300, model # ILCE-6300, also known as: A6300
Sensor size: APS-C 23.5 × 15.6 mm. 28.21 mm diagonal. 3.92 micron sensor pitch
Flash: Godox TT350s wireless flash x 2 with one Godox X1s 2.4G wireless flash transmitter
Vertical stand: Nikon MM-11 with a Nikon focus block
Test images were taken in a stack in 1 µm steps. The sharpest frame was then chosen using Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. Separate images were selected for center, edge, and corner if needed. Each image was processed in PS CC with identical settings and all noise reduction and lens correction turned off, all settings were zeroed out (true zero) and the same settings were used for all of the images.
To see an images in a new browser tab, right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
This is the un-cropped 7.5x image with crop areas outlined in blue and detail crop areas in white.
Center crop at 100% view
CENTER RIGHT CROP AT 100% VIEW
EDGE CROP AT 100% VIEW
CORNER CROP AT 100% VIEW
Mag.x 8x Full frame coverage on the Sony a7R4
The Qioptiq brand 250mm tube lens that is sold as part of the Mag.x system is prohibitively expensive at $6,419.00. The closest I could come to the Qioptiq mag.x tube lens was a six-element Rodenstock APO-Gerogon 9/240 process lens (238mm effective FL). Unfortunately a process lens made to reproduce graphics at 1:1 to 1:5 ratios at a working aperture of f/22 not exactly ideal for use as a tube lens focused at infinity.
I did test Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 7.5x 0.21 objective with a Thorlabs ITL200 tube lens using the same target as the mag8x and the Qioptiq lens did have better corner performance on the A7R4, even when pushed down. The image did drop off in the extreme corners with the 240mm tube lens. You can see the image below to check the coverage, made with the Qioptiq mag.x LD-Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective lens at 8x with Rodenstock APO-Gerogon 9/240 tube lens at 7.6x on the Sony A7R4.
To see a larger 2500 pixel version of the image below a new browser tab, click on the image, or right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the image full size.
Qioptiq mag.x LD-Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective lens + Rodenstock APO-Gerogon 9/240 tube lens with Sony A7R4 at 7.6x
Below you can see the extent of the high quality image circle, outside the blue line the image quality drops off. Coverage with a 240mm tube lens, with an effective 238mm FL, was not perfect and no doubt would be better with a proper 250mm tube lens, like the Qioptiq brand 250mm tube lens.
mag8x Tube Lens test
250mm is the standard 1x tube lens focal length for the Qioptiq System 125. In an infinity-corrected system the actual magnification is varied not by increasing or decreasing the extension but by changing the focal length (FL) of the tube lens (TL). Magnification is determined by the ratio of the FL of the tube lenses to that of the objective.
Magnification of objective = Focal length of tube lens / Focal length of objective
if you don’t know the FL of the objective, but you do know the FL of the TL, you can use this easy formula:
Effective magnification of objective = Nominal magnification * New tube lens focal length / System tube lens focal length
For example, using an 8x objective designed for a 250mm FL TL with a 200mm FL TL would give you a magnification of 6.4x because actual magnification = 8 * (200/250) = 6.4 or 6.4x.
The following lenses were tested, some of these turned out to be excellent once I figured out that the mag8x performed best with as little space as possible between the tube lens front element and the rear of the objective.
Best
Century Precision +4 (250mm)
228mm actual FL = 7.3x
Center: excellent Corner: excellent
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the front accessory threads of the lens.
Rodenstock APO-Gerogon 9/240
238mm actual FL = 7.6x
Center: excellent Corner: excellent
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the front filter threads of the lens. Lens cost less than $50 and it turned out to be one of the best lenses.
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/180
180.3mm FL = 5.76x
Center: excellent Corner: excellent
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the front filter threads of the lens. Ff/8 - f/11 for the best image quality. Also great in a short focus setup and in reverse mount
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/210
210.2 FL = 6.72x
Center: excellent Corner: excellent
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the front filter threads of the lens
Thorlabs ITL200 6.7x
Center: excellent Corner: excellent
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the Thorlabs SM2A20 ITL200 tube lens adapter. Also performs very well in a short focus setup
Not the best
Raynox DCR-150 +4.8 208mm M-150
Center: excellent Corner: slightly soft
Notes: Mag8x mounted with 2 inches of space between the tube lens and objective
Raynox DCR-150 +4.8 208mm M-150
Center: excellent Corner: very good
Notes: Mag8x mounted with 2 inches of space between the tube lens and objective. Mounted in reverse.
Rodenstock Ysaron 9/240 8x
Center: excellent Corner: good sharpness
Notes: good sharpness but some lateral CAs in the corners
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/150
150.6mm actual FL = 4.8x
Center: excellent Corner: far corners slightly soft
Notes: Mag8x mounted directly on the front filter threads of the lens. This is the push down limit, usable until the far corners
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/135
135.7mm FL = 4.3x
Center: excellent Corner: far corners slightly soft
Notes: Corners are soft resulting from a too far of a push down in focal length. Mag8x mounted directly on the front filter threads of the lens.
Qioptiq mag.x 8X / 0.32 LD Plan Apochromatic Objective
COMPARABLE OBJECTIVES
The High-Resolution objectives on the market are from Edmunds/Optem, Navitar and Mitutoyo. The Edmunds/Optem HR 5x are not APO corrected, Plan corrected, or telecentric and have a very small image circle of only 11mm, that field will not even cover a point-and-shoot 1" sensor! The 4x, 6x, and 10x HR objectives from Navitar are APO, and Plan corrected, but these have a field number of 22, that is only enough coverage for a MicroFourThirds (MFT) sensor.
The Mitutoyo HR objectives do compete with the mag.x 8x in sharpness, APO correction and coverage, these are the Mitutoyo 5X 0.21 Plan Apo HR and 10x 0.42 Plan APO HR (Mitutoyo also sells a 50x and 100x HR objective). The Mitutoyo HR objectives are not telecentric but are available off-the-shelf at much lower price point.
How big is the Mag8x?
L-R, Nikon Plan APO 4x finite, Nikon S Fluor 4x, Mitutoyo 5x M Plan, Mitutoyo M Plan APO Hr 10x, mag.x 8x.
The mag.x 8x exit pupil and field stop compared to the M Plan 7.5x.
Qioptiq System 125 tube lens Configuration Specs
NA Numerical aperture in the object space = n · sin (σ)
WD Workingdistance
f'obj Focal length of the objective
f'tub Focal length of the tube lens
δobj Depth of field at 546 nm δobj = ±n · λ/(2 · NA2)
R'0 Cutofffrequencyinimagespaceat546nm
R0 Cut off frequency in object space at 546 nm R0 = (2 · NA) / λ 2y' Image field size (maximum detector diagonal)
2y Object field size
M Magnification of the overall system; M = Mobj · Mtub
Links for More Information
The Thorlabs ITL200 tube lens full test here: https://www.closeuphotography.com/thorlabs-itl200/2018/7/30/thorlabs-itl200-tube-lens-test
ITL200 information and specs on Thorlab’s site: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=ITL200
Qioptiq mag.x LD Plan Apo 5x /0.2 objective test on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/qioptiq-magx-5x-objective
Qioptiq Mag.x. System on the Qioptiq Shop site: https://www.qioptiq-shop.com/en/Precision-Optics/Micro-Imaging/mag-x-system-125/
Qioptiq Mag.x 125 System Objectives: https://www.qioptiq-shop.com/en/Precision-Optics/Micro-Imaging/mag-x-system-125/Objective-Lenses.html
Qioptiq Mag.x 125 System PDF: https://www.qioptiq-shop.com/out/Graphics/en/00129697_0.pdf
Qioptiq Mag.x 125 System Part Numbers
Objective lenses
LD-Plan Apo 2x/0.08 - G192-011-000
LD-Plan Apo 5x/0.20 - G192-012-000
LD-Plan Apo 8x/0.32 - 4401-552-830-00
Tube lenses
Tube lens 1x - G192-031-000
Tube lens 1.73x - G192-034-000
Tube lens 2.25x - G192-032-000
Qioptiq mag.x LD Plan Apo 8x /0.32 objective lens
Who is Qioptiq?
Qioptiq designs and manufactures photonic products, custom optical solutions, machine vision lenses, optical bench products, micro optics, zoom lenses, microscopes, medical imaging, and photographic Lenses.
Qioptiq was established in 2005. Qioptiq® acquired LINOS® Photonics GmbH & Co. and will now operate under the name of Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co. in 2009. In 2010 Rodenstock Precision Optics, owned by LINOS AG, was subsumed by Qioptiq making Rodenstock Precision Optics a brand of Qioptiq. In October 2013, the Qioptiq Group was taken over by the US company Excelitas Technologies Corp. Excelitas Technologies Corp. has 7,000 total employees across all of its locations and generates $1.41 billion in sales (USD).
Mitutoyo M Plan APO 7.5X 0.21 and Qioptiq mag.x 8x/0.32 LD Plan APO Objective