What To Look For When Buying A Microscope

Buying a microscope can be made easy with a bit of research on your part. This article will guide you with what you should look for while purchasing a microscope.

 

First of all, you’ve got to determine what you will be using the microscope to view, or the application, and also what you need to do with the image that you are viewing.

 

There are essentially three kinds of microscopes:

These microscopes or stereoscopes are low power microscopes that are mainly used for the examination of rocks and gems, electrical circuits, insects, coins and for dissection purposes. Their magnification range usually varies from10x to 40x.  These microscopes are a great way to get children interested in nature’s secrets.  Because of their low magnification, children are able to see the objects clearly. It is better than being put off completely by seeing tiny objects under a high powered microscope. Imagine watching an insect’s body part under a high powered microscope, the body part will cause a hazy image, and the child will lose interest in the subject even before he’s started. In USA, there are many companies that offer very good Stereo Microscopes. You can go through websites of a few of them before you decide on buying one.

These are high power microscopes, used to view microscopic objects such as microscopic organisms, cells, blood samples, bacteria and prepared slides. Their magnification range starts at 40x and go up to 1000x.  The viewing samples have to prepared to be thin enough for light to pass through them. Whole objects cannot be seen through this microscope. The light source lies beneath the stage that is the plate which is used to place the specimen on. Light passes through a condenser which redirects it and thus makes viewing the specimen much clearer and easier. It moves on to the objective and then to the eyepiece or eyepieces making the specimen visible to the viewer. Binocular microscopes don’t necessarily produce a better image but they do save you from eyestrain and are worth investing in if you have to use the microscope for long periods at a stretch. They are expensive, but are definitely worth the cost. However, if a layperson wishes to use a microscope, then one can go in for a monocular version.

These are extremely powerful or high powered microscopes used in industry, medicine and research. They consist of sophisticated optics and features like dark field, phase contrast, changeable halogen illumination, and koehler illumination.

We hope that after reading this article, you are more comfortable and at ease with the idea of purchasing a microscope. If you still require information, you can read articles on the net or in reputed scientific magazines and clear your doubts as soon as possible.