The Apex Snapper

I had high expectations of this microphoto attachment but it didn't quite provide me with the results that I was looking for. The one that I purchased looks different from the version pictured here. It did the job but I was a little concerned that the eyepiece inserted from the microscope was loose inside the snapper tube and had to be nudged into place. Of greater concern was the potential for the eyepiece to fall back and potentially hit the interior of the attached DSLR. This never actually happened but the potential was always there.The Snapper materials were of a good quality but was only held in place by one large grub screw. Whilst I'm certain that this is more than suffice, I was a little concerned that this was the only major point of contact and support once a large and heavy DSLR was attached. But the final decision point for me was the quality of the images captured. Now, these will never be anything like those taken with a DSLR and, to be fair, the images that I took were absolutely fine but hadn't the resolution and contrast that I needed. My feeling is that the system works just fine and is of a very good standard. But, from what I understand, the objectives and eyepieces on the microscope, whilst very good, are the equivilant to the kit lens that you buy with a DSLR. While these are adequate, they can never come anywhere near the quality of, say, a L series lens of the highest quality.The good folk at Apex Customer Service were fantastic (especially one lady; my main contact). She went out of her way to provide help and support, suggesting alternative approaches and putting me in contact with technical experts. She even sent me an additional photo eyepiece to experiment with. All in all, despite my 4 start rating here, I would give Apex Microscopes and their customer service lady 5+ stars.

This is a superb piece of kit and I highly recommend it. It is easy to set up,use and it is well made and sturdy..Instructions are included and it is very easy to assemble. Simply remove the binocular head from the Researcher microscope and insert the attachment. I have only played around with it for a short while but have had some nice photos..I've uploaded 2 or 3 of them. Definitely would recommend the Snapper for a quick and economical way to get some nice photomicrographic images..make sure you inform Apex of the type of both camera and microscope that you wish to use to make sure you get the correct attachment...Also I must just say that I have made several purchases from Apex Microscopes and I find them to be a very professional and helpful company to deal with.. many many thanks...The first photo is the setup..Canon EOS 450D with Snapper attached to Apex Researcher microscope.The second is sugar granules with homemade blue-red Rheinberg illumination filter.The third is wild daisy pollen under quite high magnification. Each grain is about 20µm in diameter.The forth is a stained cross section of a pine leaf, total horizontal fov is about 1200µm.

Is not a good mount for Canon DSLR cameras. Comes packaged with a low grade lens for the photo eyepiece which distorts overall sharpness when viewed through the camera. Seller offered no technical support or clarification as to why these issues were present. The Overall construction of the mount is shoddy and locking mechanisims do not function well. This creates movement which may lead to the camera falling from the mount.

Delivery and quality were fine but it was not compatible with my Nikon D3100 camera it would not focus. I was told that for an additional £145 an adaptation piece could be purchased. This should have been made clear from the start.I returned it and a refund was made.

I bought this at the same time as the Apex Researcher Microscope (see my other review for this).This is basically a tube system which allows the use of a DSLR camera on a microscope, in my case a Canon 450D. You need to tell Apex which camera you'll be using so they can send the correct connection bit for your model and you need to check your camera will still take photos with the lens removed.The Snapper isn't particularly well built, the bit that joins the eyepice insertion to the camera insertion is sloppy and held together with a single nut which means the complete unit is unstable and often not centralised on the image.The instructions don't give much away - mine kept telling me to remove the eyepiece but when I did this on the Researcher microscope the Snapper wouldn't fit -and then it dawned on me that the whole "head" needs to be removed, definitely a D'oh moment!Once attached it's then a matter of finding the right settings on your own camera to take the best photo, I'd recommend using a remote shutter release, live view and mirror lock-up to reduce all the vibration. I've taken some nice shots but I'm sure different settings will produce even better results.There's loads of info on the net for taking images through a microscope - just search for 'photomicrography' - and lots of different ways of doing it, this being one of the cheapest if you already own a DSLR and want to use that.Whilst the Snapper does the job, it could have been better made without much extra cost. It's the single nut that lets the whole thing down!

Works fine - professional attachment from a great company. Holds my Canon SLR well. We found sometimes there is a little play in the tube, and the focusing is nowhere near the eyepiece's so we have to refocus very differently when using the camera.

An excellent piece of equipment. I bought the Pentax version and it fits perfectly and allows for great pictures (along with a remote trigger or by using the 2 second delay timer to lift the mirror so that there is no shake). Would highly recommend.

Fits onto microscope perfectly, but with dslrs without a full frame sensor you will never see the full field of view without a projection eyepiece!