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Microscopes operating at short wavelengths, in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray spectral region, require careful condenser positioning to avoid possible artifacts related to enhancing or diminishing certain spatial frequencies in the image plane. Various methods are often used to visualize the condenser illumination pattern, including direct visualization on a CCD camera; however, these are not always straightforward to use. We present and discuss a novel and convenient method to image a condenser illumination pattern upstream the sample plane, using two zone plates with matched numerical apertures. This imaging system, operating herein in the water-window spectral range in telescope configuration, allows us to change the distance between the conjugated planes, thus overcoming limitations related to the geometry of the vacuum system. This geometry, which is optimized for the highest possible spatial resolution allowed by the zone-plate objective, is not necessarily particularly good for visualization of the condenser illumination pattern. The presented method was demonstrated with a compact, gas puff target source based soft x-ray microscope, which is capable of resolving 60 nm features (half-pitch resolution), requires a few seconds exposure time, and is debris-free due to the gaseous nature of the target for soft x-ray generation. The method, presented herein, may solve mentioned vacuum system geometry limitations. Also, it can easily be extended to other systems and other wavelengths, provided a proper optic is used. Modes of operation and the results are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]