# Recommend me a good microscope **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785 "2010-02-12T22:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/1 "2010-02-12T22:11:10Z")
I’d like to get a good microscope for looking at stuff. Preferably under $300. I don’t know anything about microscopes; there are a hell of a lot of them on eBay, that much I do know, but I need to be guided by someone who knows the different brands and which ones are good and which are crap. Could someone recommend me one? Let me know about different options (can it be connected to a computer? Can you capture screenshots from it with a program?) Can you see sperm cells moving around, under a typical microscope? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/2 "2010-02-13T00:21:39Z")
Come on, with all the science types here, there has to be someone who knows a thing or two about microscopes! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/3 "2010-02-13T00:38:17Z")
I use one regularly for my work, and I highly doubt they cost anywhere close to $300, and those don’t even let you get screenshots… At my work, we usually use the Olympus CX41 or BX41 series. [This is Olympus website.](http://www.olympusamerica.com/index.asp) Check the microscope areas. Doing quick searching on the net, the Olympus series sell from about $1000 to $5000, and those are not necessarily the ones that let you adapt a digital camera to capture screenshots! I’ve also used Leica microscopes, and they run from $500 to over $1000. They were also good. I don’t have much of a say, other than I know that those microscope brands are the ones used by pathologists and veterinary pathology residents, and they’re expected to do their boards and pass them using those microscopes (and they do). The Leica seem to have some that are more “mobile friendly” than the Olympus. They’re expensive. Really, I do not understand why you would want a microscope unless it is related to your job. They’re expensive and require regular maintenance. And getting them hooked up to a computer will cost you probably another $500, what with getting the camera, the right microscope, and the software. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/4 "2010-02-13T00:44:49Z")
Scientist here. Microscopes are expensive. Good microscopes are REALLY expensive. They need to be used properly or you won;t get much enjoyment out of it. They need to be maintained. Do you know how to do this? If you just want something for looking at stuff, there are any number of cheap digital hand-held scopes that plug into your computer’s USB, and they can cost less than $100. I’m not knocking them - we use them for various procedures in lab in addition to our $20,000 scope. On edit: Karl, our lab workhorse scope is an Olympus BX41 - its awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/5 "2010-02-13T00:48:23Z")
I don’t understand - [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/40x-800x-COMPOUND-MICROSCOPE-W-USB-DIGITAL-CAMERA_W0QQitemZ350125012801QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518513b741) microscope on eBay can be bought right now for 200 dollars and it says it includes the hardware for hooking it up to a computer and everything. I mean, [this](http://www.amscope.com/images/Picture_1647-b.jpg) is one of the images it shows. Hell, if I can see shit like that with the microscope, then it is doing its job as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need to do any serious scientific research or anything, I just want to see some krazy psychedelic shit. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/6 "2010-02-13T00:53:51Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I don’t understand - [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/40x-800x-COMPOUND-MICROSCOPE-W-USB-DIGITAL-CAMERA_W0QQitemZ350125012801QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518513b741) microscope on eBay can be bought right now for 200 dollars and it says it includes the hardware for hooking it up to a computer and everything. I mean, [this](http://www.amscope.com/images/Picture_1647-b.jpg) is one of the images it shows. Hell, if I can see shit like that with the microscope, then it is doing its job as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need to do any serious scientific research or anything, I just want to see some krazy psychedelic shit. Well, you said in the OP you wanted recommendations for a **good** scope. That there scope is a piece of shit - probably cheap chinese shit. A single objective lens for a reasonable scope can cost over $1,000. For what you want its probably fine. At $219 its probably overpriced. On edit - yes, its overpriced. Its a cheap student scope with cheap digital optics. You can get the exact same thing from the manufacturer for $40 cheaper. [http://store.amscope.com/m200-p.html](http://store.amscope.com/m200-p.html) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/7 "2010-02-13T00:56:41Z")
Can you actually see stuff like what’s in those pictures, using that microscope? Or is that just blatant false advertising? ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/8 "2010-02-13T00:59:39Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Can you actually see stuff like what’s in those pictures, using that microscope? Or is that just blatant false advertising? Those are prepared slides. Nice big things prettily prepared. Your own stuff won’t look like that unless you know how to prepare and mount the specimens properly. This scope has no fluorescent optics, so you won’t get the fluorescent images. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/9 "2010-02-13T01:00:46Z")
Then go with **mozchron** ’s suggestion, which seems to be the one you linked. And again, since I work with the high end things, precisely because that is my job, I do not know about the low end, lesser brands. I use my microscope every single day, even on weekends, it is an essential part of my job. Hence, I have the higher ups. Just by a quick glance, the one you linked is a monocular with 3 objectives, and most likely none of them are oil objectives (50x or 100x) that require adding oil to the slide for proper focus. Also, the platform appears stationary, how do you move to a new field? Do you have knobs to do that, or do you have to move with your fingers (more erratic and problematic)? My microscope, for example, is binocular, has 6 objectives, including 100x oil, and you have fine focus on each eye piece of the binocular part, which can be adapted for faces as small as mine. And it has a sliding platform that makes slide scanning wonderful! It seems for what you want, the scope you link is good enough. It is nearly NOT good enough for the job I or other scientists use it. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/10 "2010-02-13T01:02:02Z")
Oh yea, that microscope won’t let you see fluorescent stuff or polarized pretty things… ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/11 "2010-02-13T01:04:22Z")
Is it fairly easy to learn how to prepare slides? I definitely did some of that in high school biology, if I’m remembering correctly - we spent a lot of time putting things like pieces of insects or animal fur onto little pieces of glass, then putting a little bit of liquid on it, then putting some thing over it (I really can’t remember the specifics) but I do remember that the results looked pretty cool once you used the “fine” adjustment knob to zoom in on it clearly. I’m pretty sure we used the same kind of microscope that I linked to, although I have no idea if it was the same brand. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/12 "2010-02-13T01:08:23Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Is it fairly easy to learn how to prepare slides? I definitely did some of that in high school biology, if I’m remembering correctly - we spent a lot of time putting things like pieces of insects or animal fur onto little pieces of glass, then putting a little bit of liquid on it, then putting some thing over it (I really can’t remember the specifics) but I do remember that the results looked pretty cool once you used the “fine” adjustment knob to zoom in on it clearly. I’m pretty sure we used the same kind of microscope that I linked to, although I have no idea if it was the same brand. It depends on what you are preparing. You are describing “whole mount” which is easy - just as you described. That pretty “psychedelic” picture you linked to is a “section” - those are not nearly as easy and you need specialized equipment to do it. If you just want to look at stuff, buy boxes of student-quality prepared slides. They should be pretty cheap. You can whole mount your own small stuff to look at as well. If it doesn’t end up being as good as you wanted, hey - its $200 - it won’t break the bank. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/13 "2010-02-13T01:11:44Z")
Erm, depends on what you’re preparing and what you wanted to see. I think you were using the microscope mainly as a dissecting microscope (?), looking at the outside of tissues instead of what is inside each individual cell (histology). I think for some of the fur you probably put something like water and a coverslip (that’s the other piece you needed) before you put it in the microscope. If you want to see just moving sperm, then yea, that’s easy. Put a drop of sperm, a drop of water, mix, and put a glass coverslip, look under the microscope, and you should see moving sperm in 10x, better at 20x or 40x objectives. [For this pictures](http://www.amscope.com/Picture-Slide-3-a), yea, you won’t need much more than water and a glass or plastic coverslip (and slides). For the picture linked to originally, that is a professionally prepared histology slide, you cannot get that unless you have histology equipment, which you won’t have unless you’re a lab or research or diagnostic place. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/14 "2010-02-13T01:16:28Z")
Is it possible to see individual blood cells with this kind of microscope? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/15 "2010-02-13T01:22:26Z")
It has a picture there that shows individual red blood cells, but the background makes me wonder if it is real or not, because I cannot see RBCs like that, even in my fancy workhorse microscope. I think you can see the red blood cells, if you know how to make a blood smear and have the dyes for it. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/16 "2010-02-13T01:24:48Z")
[This upper picture](http://www.amscope.com/Picture-M200-3) looks like it comes from a CD, a 3D or almost 3D close up of red blood cells. [This is how blood cells would look like under a microscope](http://www.under-microscope.com/images/human_blood_smear550.jpg). I don’t think this one has been dyed. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/17 "2010-02-13T01:27:34Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > [This upper picture](http://www.amscope.com/Picture-M200-3) looks like it comes from a CD, a 3D or almost 3D close up of red blood cells. > > [This is how blood cells would look like under a microscope](http://www.under-microscope.com/images/human_blood_smear550.jpg). I don’t think this one has been dyed. That upper image of RBC’s is almost certainly a pseudocolored scanning electron microscope image. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/18 "2010-02-13T01:31:53Z")
BTW, you could see the lower image if you did a blood smear. The upper image, as said before, is most likely an electron microscope image… and NO, there are NO even remotely cheap electron microscopes. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/19 "2010-02-13T01:36:23Z")
I remember learning about the different kind of microscopes in high school and college biology. Even I can tell that pic is bullshit. (Should I email them and call them on it?) ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785/20 "2010-02-13T01:44:49Z")
I bought [this](http://www.greatscopes.com/obs.htm) little guy about five years ago and I’ve been pretty satisfied with it. I only wish I’d sprung for the optional 1000x oil lens, although there is a fitting for it. You can certainly see something like sperm cells moving around in it. Man, that was a mindbending night. Anyway, I don’t know squat about connecting cameras to the things, but it doesn’t seem to have any hardware or fittings that look geared toward that purpose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-microscope/528785.md?page=2)