Buying a microscope

S

SolarJetman

Registered Member
I'm going to buy a microscope soon, anything I should know. I just got into biology and find it to be a very fascinating subject.

I'm willing to spend around $300 for it.
 
Optics are key. If you can afford Zeiss optics, try and find a used one in good condition. There are some online sites with good deals. If you want new, try Nikon, their optics now are quite good and are cheaper than scopes of equivalent quality.

Cost will definitely increase with a bino version, so you can easily afford a better quality mono version than bino. Of course, with a bino, your eyes are totally relaxed, and as long as you can merge the two images, you'll find the views to be superior over the mono. Again, this is also dependent on the quality of optics when making such a comparison.

Then, you should also think about whether you'll be doing any CCD camera work, and so may need to consider those options.
 
I wonder if there are any good PC based microscopes nowadays?


I seem to recall seeing some for kids. You connected them to the PC via USB port, and used software to adjust image/focus/view.

Seems like you could make a PC based microscope that would be a jillion times better than the traditional ones. It would be interesting to incorporate digital zoom for increased magnification, as well as the ability to display the image on a large monitor.
 
domesticated om said:
I wonder if there are any good PC based microscopes nowadays?


I seem to recall seeing some for kids. You connected them to the PC via USB port, and used software to adjust image/focus/view.

Seems like you could make a PC based microscope that would be a jillion times better than the traditional ones. It would be interesting to incorporate digital zoom for increased magnification, as well as the ability to display the image on a large monitor.
Click to expand...


professional things like that cost more than 1k.
 
Groups in prestigious institutes go bust at a 5 year rate. Go and visit a prestigious institute and look if some lab looks slightly deserted. Take a microscope from a desk and voila!

Unfortunately the 100k+ ones are usually not left alone on a desk but are often a shared resource and often quite occupied.
 
Can you post a link to one of the 100k models (as an example)?

Can they even be carried? I imagine something like that being a serious instrument that's been bolted to steel table somewhere

This isn't a lens type microscope, but this is what I'm picturing
Electron-microscope-halina.jpg
 
spuriousmonkey said:
Groups in prestigious institutes go bust at a 5 year rate. Go and visit a prestigious institute and look if some lab looks slightly deserted. Take a microscope from a desk and voila!

Unfortunately the 100k+ ones are usually not left alone on a desk but are often a shared resource and often quite occupied.
Click to expand...

Are you encouraging us to steal? :eek::bugeye:
 
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