# Microscope **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695 "2003-04-23T22:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bhb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bhb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bhb)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/1 "2003-04-23T22:09:58Z")
I would like to purchase a microscope, just for a hobby and personal interest, preferablely one between $50-250, could anyone make suggestions on what to look for in a good microscope, what is known to be reliable and where I might be able to learn more about maintaining one? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/2 "2003-04-23T22:15:08Z")
Check out [Edmund Scientific](http://www.scientificsonline.com/). Their microscopes have excellent quality optics. Here’s the one [I bought](http://www.scientificsonline.com/EC/Products/Display.cfm?categoryid=192719) a few years ago, which I still have. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/3 "2003-04-23T23:10:05Z")
Another place to have a gander is [American Science and Surplus.](http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=4&category=43) Although, at just under $100, Edmund’s [Beginner Microscope Kit](http://www.scientificsonline.com/EC/Products/Display.cfm?categoryid=222273) looks like a nice deal for a hobby scope, especially as it includes a case. There’s not much to maintaining a microscope. The “biggie” is keep it clean and dust-free. If the lenses get goobered, clean them with the same lens cleaning solution and tissues you’d use on a camera. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/4 "2003-04-23T23:12:47Z")
- - - Warning: Opinion Ahead!! … Edmund -generally- sells good stuff, but they charge proudly for it. Since you’ve got a web connection anyway, Google around for labaratory surplus, you might be able to find a better quality used labaratory/industrial-grade one for low $$$. Before you buy anything, just be sure to search around for any places still selling parts/service for the piece you are interested in, to make some educated guess as to if spare parts and service are still available. ~ ---
**Author:** ![starman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@starman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/5 "2003-04-24T00:10:13Z")
If you are willing to possibly spend a tad more, I highly recommend going for a model with a mechanised stage. It adds quite a lot to ease of use, and makes finding things on a slide a breeze. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/6 "2003-04-24T00:21:57Z")
**Starman** , the one I linked to has a mechanical stage, calibrated in millimeters with a vernier. ---
**Author:** ![starman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@starman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/7 "2003-04-24T00:26:39Z")
Sorry, I should have checked the link. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/8 "2003-04-24T06:46:32Z")
Hey, that one from Edmund looks just like mine. Only I got mine from Harbor Freight Tools for $89. I see that it’s still there, but the price has rizen to $120 over the years. Worth far more, and the stage has XY vernier drive. No zoom, but a good collection of lenses and eyepieces. The instructions weren’t english, so it could be an import originally intended for chinese med students. [http://amasci.com/amateur/microsco.html](http://amasci.com/amateur/microsco.html) [http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/taf/DisplayItem.taf?ItemNumber=33042](http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/taf/DisplayItem.taf?ItemNumber=33042) At one point I duct-taped a little $50 CCD security camera on the eyepiece and lit the scope with a red LED (near perfect point source, no heat to kill microbes!) Watched the image on a big monitor. Chase paramecia around. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscope/170695/9 "2003-04-24T07:01:44Z")
It is very similar, **bbeaty** , and I suspect the frame is from the same OEM, but it’s the optics that make or break a 'scope. Mine from Edmund features a 100X oil-immersion objective, rather than the non-oil type your link indicates. At the higher magnification ranges, an [url=http://www.microscopyu.com/tutorials/java/objectives/immersion/]oil-immersion objective\*\* increases the resolving power by raising the refractive index of the space between the subject and the objective primary.