Requirements for the 1983 competition were that total magnification fall between 20x and 2000x, and (for the first time) that all entries be 35 millimeter color photomicrographs in transparency format. The judges were Jack Kath (Merck Sharp & Dohme), Stanley Klosevych (University of Ottawa), Martin L. Scott (Eastman Kodak), and R. J. Gray (Oak Ridge National Laboratory).

• First Prize
  Elieen Roux
  Bob Hope International Heart Research Institute
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Suctorian attached to stalk of red algae, encircled by ring of diatoms (125x)
  Darkfield

• Second Prize
  Paul Gade
  University of Iowa, Zoology Department
  Iowa City, Iowa, USA
  Seretonin in cell-cultured snail neuron (125x)
  Fluorescence

• Third Prize
  Paul E. Danielson
  Teledyne Wah Chang Albany
  Albany, Oregon, USA
  Hafnium, polished with alumina abrasives and HF/HNO₃/H₂O solution (150x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  John K. Douglass
  Duke University, Zoology Department
  Durham, North Carolina, USA
  Compound eye of grass shrimp stained with methylene blue (200x)
  Phase Contrast

• Fifth Prize
  Dr. A. Sen-Gupta
  Panjab University, Department of Biophysics
  Chandigarh, India
  Mulitiple exposures (4) of finely scratched tin foil using blue filter. Fifth expousure of condenser image using red filter (32x)
  Brightfield

• Sixth Prize
  William Edward Schadel
  North Carolina State University
  Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  Megaspores and microspores of selaginella stained with safranin (20x)
  Darkfield

• Seventh Prize
  George J. Wilder
  Harvard University
  Petersham, Massachusetts, USA
  Thin cross section of basswood (Tilia sp. (25.2x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighth Prize
  Du Boistesselin
  Chu. La Pitie', Paris, France
  Antique 19th century microscope slide featuring composition of mounted butterfly scales and diatoms (35x)
  Darkfield

• Ninth Prize
  Per H. Kjeldsen
  University of Michigan, School of Dentistry
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  Slow melt of testosterone propionate (50x)
  Polarized Light

• Tenth Prize
  Dennis Kunkel
  University of Washington, Department of Botany
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Living water flea (Daphnia) (20x)
  Darkfield

• Eleventh Prize
  James W. Smith
  Ferro Corporation Research Center
  Independence, Ohio, USA
  Spherulites of lead chromate (Crocoite) on the surface of a decorative glaze (60x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Twelfth Prize
  Samuel David Serena
  Trainex
  Garden Grove, California, USA
  Volvox colony (160x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Thirteenth Prize
  Nicholas Petraco
  New York City Police Laboratory
  New York City, New York, USA
  Feather mite from a barn owl (100x)
  Hoffman Modulation Contrast and Polarized Light

• Fourteenth Prize
  C.P. Haltom, C.L. Angle, J.W. Nave, G.M. Goodwin
  Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
  Superconductor containind bundles of Nb₃Sn filaments in a copper matrix (100x)
  Brightfield

• Fifteenth Prize
  William A. Sokol
  Culver City, California, USA
  Multiple exposure of quinine sulphate burst over sulphanol using (10x) and (4x) objectives
  Polarized Light

• Sixteenth Prize
  Oscar M. Alvarez
  Cornell University Medical College
  New York, New York, USA
  Fancy tailed guppies eggs attached to yolk sac (100x)
  Phase Contrast

• Seventeenth Prize
  John LLmarii Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Amber polished to view dendritic air bubbles trapped between sequential flowlayers (40x)
  Brightfield, with shadowing for contrast

• Eighteenth Prize
  Gautier Christian
  LeMans, France
  Citric acid dissolving in alcohol (80x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Dr. Liang-Che Tao
  Toronto General Hospital, Pathology Department
  Toronto, Canada
  Cervico-vaginal smear showing an abnormal epithelial cell exhibiting irradiation effects (400x)
  Brightfield

• Twentieth Prize
  Hrstka Jarosiav
  Spiegel, Switzerland
  Artificial sugar crystal, cyclamate base (20x)
  Polarized Light

The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography through the microscope. Truly international in scope, entries have been received from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Winners have included both professionals and hobbyists.

The subject matter for this year's contest is unrestricted and any type of light microscopy technique is acceptable, including phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques. Entries submitted to Nikon are then judged by an independent panel of experts who are recognized authorities in the area of photomicrography and photography. These entries are judged on the basis of originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.

For the first time, entries may be submitted either on film (in 35 millimeter transparency format) or uploaded digitally through your web browser. The links below provide options for entering the contest.

Digital Entries - Entrants may enter Nikon's Small World Competition by uploading digital images directly to our servers. Before you begin, read the Contest Rules and prepare your images for uploading according to the instructions. You may also download a 2008 Competition Entry Form in portable document format for submission of entries by mail.

Prize List - Winners will receive one of 20 prizes, sorted according to rank in the competition. First place is a vacation trip valued at $5000 (US) or the equivalent amount of photographic, scientific, or industrial equipment and accessories at their suggested retail selling prices in the USA. Honorable mention winners will receive an 16 x 20-inch print of their entries.