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Stereo Microscope Suggestions

GuitKitty

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Aug 21, 2012
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Hi everyone. This is my first post here at the forums, though I have been around for quite a while lurking and reading. I've learned amazing amounts of random things just by reading threads here, and I thank all of you for that.

Anyway, I hope this post is in the correct section and that some of you could offer some suggestions. I've been thinking for quite a while about buying a stereo microscope. I'm interested in medicine and science at an amateur level and I think it would be fascinating to own a good quality microscope. Could anyone suggest what to look for in a good amateur-level stereo microscope? I'd like something good enough that I won't have to replace it after a little while, but I don't need (and can't afford) anything truly professional-grade. If you don't have specific brands/models to suggest, even tips on features to look for would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Well done been in awhile low level posters - asked and answered!!!!! Yes, Amazon indeed has good (and other, but reviews help a lot)microscopes - also, some not bad sets of prepared slides and the materials for making your own. Also, low power for large specimens (whole flower, dead /live insect) or micro for micro size things?

Start here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...l=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Microscopes - ask more questions in this thread if more info needed!!
 
I'd also recommend talking to universities in your area. They may have some old ones sitting in a closet somewhere they're willing to sell, or be able to point you towards someone ordering a bunch of them (you might be able to get a discount if you add your order to a bulk order). Plus, they'd likely be able to point you towards interesting things to look at under said microscope.

What are you planning on looking at? There's going to be a significant difference between one that's good for looking at prepared slides, vs.one that's good for sorting through sediment looking for ostrocods and diatoms.

Another good place to ask this question may be the Fossil Forum--just type it into Google and it should be obvious which link it is. There are a lot of hobby collector son that forum, some of which do microfossil work; they should be able to help you out.
 
Dinwar said:
I'd also recommend talking to universities in your area. They may have some old ones sitting in a closet somewhere they're willing to sell
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Most universities will sell those at auction. If you're lucky, a nearby school may have an auction website with continuous activity. Other schools just accumulate stuff in a giant warehouse and have a public auction once per year or something.
 
Dinwar said:
I'd also recommend talking to universities in your area. They may have some old ones sitting in a closet somewhere they're willing to sell, or be able to point you towards someone ordering a bunch of them (you might be able to get a discount if you add your order to a bulk order). Plus, they'd likely be able to point you towards interesting things to look at under said microscope.
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Seconded, but find the appropriate person. Many a hard up student will be only too happy to "sell" a bit of Olympus or Wild-Heerbrugg equipment that technically belongs to , well, the university.
 
GuitKitty said:
Hi everyone. This is my first post here at the forums, though I have been around for quite a while lurking and reading. I've learned amazing amounts of random things just by reading threads here, and I thank all of you for that.

Anyway, I hope this post is in the correct section and that some of you could offer some suggestions. I've been thinking for quite a while about buying a stereo microscope. I'm interested in medicine and science at an amateur level and I think it would be fascinating to own a good quality microscope. Could anyone suggest what to look for in a good amateur-level stereo microscope? I'd like something good enough that I won't have to replace it after a little while, but I don't need (and can't afford) anything truly professional-grade. If you don't have specific brands/models to suggest, even tips on features to look for would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Also, you could look up Kookbreaker in the members list and contact him - he has a science stuff shop and does mailorder and knows his stuff pretty darn well !!. He can't advertise here (one of the rules) but nothing precludes me pointing him out.....:):):). And right cheer he is: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/member.php?u=164
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I have looked at Amazon, but not really knowing what I'm looking for makes it hard to sort out. Even positive reviews aren't much help when I'm not sure what would be good features for a beginner.

What are you planning on looking at? There's going to be a significant difference between one that's good for looking at prepared slides, vs.one that's good for sorting through sediment looking for ostrocods and diatoms.
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Dinwar, I guess I'm not really sure what I'm wanting to do with it. I'd like something that is flexible enough to check out a variety of stuff. I've also thought about universities. I have a friend who knows someone doing some biology work at a local university that I might could ask.

I will defintely give Kookbreaker a shout. Thanks for the link, Fuelair!

Thanks again everybody! I love this forum!

ETA: Re: budget - I've seen some setups on Amazon for a couple hundred dollars, and I think that's something I could swing.
 
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GuitKitty said:
Dinwar, I guess I'm not really sure what I'm wanting to do with it. I'd like something that is flexible enough to check out a variety of stuff.
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Fair enough. A standard disecting scope should probably work for you.

The reason I asked is that some scopes can be put on different bases, which allows you to examine larger things. I recently looked into this for work--we had trays of sediment to look through, which were significantly larger than the standard microscope base. That sort of thing rather quickly adds to the price, however. If you can build your own that'd keep the price down (most scopes I've seen can detach from their base), and if you're looking at biological material it shouldn't be an issue.

I strongly recommend getting the best optics you can. Not necessarily the highest magnification--you want the lenses to be as precisely ground as possible, as polished as possible, etc. You can very quickly start experiencing eye strain if you get cheap optics. After three weeks of looking down a scope, it starts to add up.
 
Dinwar said:
Fair enough. A standard disecting scope should probably work for you.
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Thanks for additional pointers. I'm torn between an inspection/dissection microscope and a compound/biological microscope. (With great thanks to the microscope buyers guide here: spectrum-scientifics.com/v/vspfiles/pdf/Spectrum_Scientifics_Microscope_Buyers_Guide.pdf) I would like to be able to look at things other than slides, but I think I'd be disappointed with the lower magnification of a dissection microscope. But the pointer about the optics is very handy. Thank you for that.
 
We bought RocketBoy2.0 this microscope for his birthday several years ago. We didn't spend much money on it and it has flaws that make it hard to use, but we're just using it to get them interested in the subject. We didn't buy this from the vendor mentioned elsewhere in the thread by myself and others, but I did buy some of the prepared slides from them while ordering some other stuff.

Quality optics are important. Some cheap microscopes have plastic lenses. The one we have has glass, but the whole upper end is floppy, mechanically, which makes it annoying to use. I don't think the kids notice but it drives me nuts.

The one we have uses LED lights. I find them annoying. I'd rather have a high quality mirror than a poorly designed light.

The one we have lacks any kind of movement mechanism on the stage so you have to push the slide around with your finger to center the subject in the view. Very difficult for kids to do, and yet the focus knobs are designed for small hands. Now we know.

Overall we find it works okay for looking at leaves, bug parts, things like that. The prepared slide sets we have would benefit from a better microscope but give the kids a starting point.

Keep us posted on what you end up choosing. I'm in the market to upgrade.
 
Edmund Scientific might be a good place to start. I like fungi, lichen, moss, and flowering plants,. I use a B&L Coddington triplet hand lens 20x for field work. I use a Meade college microscope I bought at auction, 100x to 300x for slides. To see bacteria and smaller stuff you might want something more powerful. A 10 micron fungal spore is pretty easy to see in a standard 300x scope. For sections of plants and fungi, a microtome kit is nice. You will need lots of slides and cover slips. For other fun I like to look at pond water. You can see a lot of stuff like paramecium, diatoms, rotifers, and algae that are pretty amazing. It's amazing how many different mites you can find in your house. Before I was fixed I used to like to show my girlfriends my motile sperm.
A dissecting scope is also a nice thing to have. Dissecting flowers, insects and fungi are what I like.
 
ApolloGnomon said:
Keep us posted on what you end up choosing. I'm in the market to upgrade.
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I'm kind of looking at the one shown here: spectrum-scientifics.com/Binocular-Microscopes-s/2100.htm (As an aside, please someone let me know if I shouldn't be posting "links" to this specific site. I understand JREF doesn't want people advertising their sites, but I'm not sure how far that rule extends.) It's pricey, but I'd rather spend the money up-front than go through a couple iterations before I find something that works for me. And I'm not sure why I'm fixated on getting a binocular microscope, but I am.

Morchella said:
Before I was fixed I used to like to show my girlfriends my motile sperm.
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How'd that work out for you? :D "Would you, uh, like to come up and see my slides . . . ?"
 
The rule is advertising yourself/your products no. No problem linking to sites you aren't selling stuff at .
 
GuitKitty said:
I'm kind of looking at the one shown here: spectrum-scientifics.com/Binocular-Microscopes-s/2100.htm (As an aside, please someone let me know if I shouldn't be posting "links" to this specific site. I understand JREF doesn't want people advertising their sites, but I'm not sure how far that rule extends.) It's pricey, but I'd rather spend the money up-front than go through a couple iterations before I find something that works for me. And I'm not sure why I'm fixated on getting a binocular microscope, but I am.



How'd that work out for you? :D "Would you, uh, like to come up and see my slides . . . ?"
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Sorry, but I tend to do this wherever I see an opening: Actually it should read: "Would you, uh, like to come up and help me make a slide for you to look at ?"
 
"How'd that work out for you? "Would you, uh, like to come up and see my slides . . . ?""
It would have to be a fresh slide to see motility. I am not sure who suggested it first. It was probably me but she was already in the sack. My little tissue culture lab adjacent to my bedroom with my microscope in full view might have precipitated the inquiry. Those sciency girls are fools for looking into microscopes.
 
Oh hai:

OK, one thing I would point out right away: are you looking for a stereo microscope or a binocular microscope?

Stereo microscopes are usually low powered and used for dissection, inspection and even circuit board work. They give true stereo vision but can't be used for microbiology or slides of any kind.

Binocular microscopes are compound microscope that are used on slides, etc. They are higher power but while there are two eyepieces this is mostly for comfort - you do not get true stereo vision as there is still only one objective in use at a time.

My preferred microscope brands are C&A as well as Walter. I know the people behind them and they do a very good job. Other brands can be hit or miss with the QC.
 
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