Help with buying a microscope please :-)

[Hans35]

Hi, I'm in high school, and going to have biology soon. I've never really been very interested in anything regarding biology other than evolution, and I haven't had the opportunity really because I live in a stinking capital city, Copenhagen.

I already own several telecsopes and I've started to look at different microscopes. I'm a COMPLETE beginner, so maybe you could give me some advice? My budget is not very high, and I'd like to start in the lower price range just in case it's something that I'll be using once a year. I would imagine this as being the ideal way of studying nature / animals...

I've been looking at this: http://www.kikkertland.dk/celestron_mik ... -1065.html

And: http://www.kikkertland.dk/celestron_dig ... p-268.html

It's in Danish, tell me if there is something you don't understand...

Thanks for helping !

PS: I'll mainly be looking for high zoom I guess, and be able to see the small stuff too..

[Hans35]

PPS: (Can't edit) It might sound like in my post that I don't like biology. I think it's an interesting subject and would like to learn more, so hopefully I will get some replies :].

[PsycoCarrot]

In your situation, I would recommend at least getting a 'scope that has 10x, 40x, 60x, and 100x objectives. Also, get a microscope that has its own powered light source. Those little rotating mirrors are a pain to work with, and you will spend a lot of time fiddling with it to get the correct lighting - and if the scope moves even a tiny bit, you have to readjust.


Here is a useful website that does a good job explaining different types of microscopes and their costs: http://www.microscope.com/education-center/buyers-guides/how-to-buy/.

[PsycoCarrot]

If you are willing to roughly double your budget, this is a full-featured microscope that will serve you well. It features mechanical stage controls for easy adjustment of viewing area, 1000x oil-immersion magnification, and a fine adjustment knob that is invaluable when trying to focus on the higher magnifications (600x-1000x).

http://www.microscope.com/omano-om118-m4-monocular-compound-microscope.html

This is the cheapest 1000x mag scope I could find on that website. 1000x is great if you really want to get a clear view of bacteria, although you may need to look into staining kits.

[david23]

there are good deals on Ebay, pretty cheap stuff