microscopes--any recommendations?

[amber]

has anyone ordered the Aquamarine brand that is carried in some of the fishy catalogs?

this is what is says:
The All Purpose Compound Microscope is $138.
" An ideal choice for the entry level enthusistiast. This microscope freatures all metal construction for ruggedness and durability at an economical price. DIN wide field eyepiece, locked in , and mounted at 45 degree. DIN achromatic objectives 4X 10X 40XR (retractable. ) Stage stop to prevent slide damange. Built in illuminator Compact unit measure 10 1/2 " high."

does this sound okay--greek to me. amber

 

[rshimek]

Sonia,

It is far too inexpensive to be anything but a headache machine. Such cheap 'scopes have optics that are not corrected for color or spherical aberrations. What this means is that any object that is viewed with them generally cannot be bought to clear focus. While they can magnify okay, what they magnify is the errors... Don't waste your money on it.

There are two kinds of microscopes - one type called stereo or dissecting microscopes have maganifications to about 50x, but have a large distance between the lenses and the object so you can manipulate the object. The other type, called compound microscopes have much higher magnfications, but the lenses are very close to the object, and the object to be examined has to be on a slide.

Microscope quality is pretty well correlated with price. For casual use, I would suggest that for a dissecting 'scope - you might be able to get a workable one for $300-$400. For a compound scope, expect to pay more unless you are very lucky. You might be able to find a decent one for sale on eBay or some other web site specializing in 'scopes.

 

[ATJ]

Sonia,
Also check with any nearby universities or other institutions of higher learning. They may have used microscopes for sale. My sister is a lecturer at a nearby university and got both my compound and stereo microscopes for me. The university was throwing them away.