Yttrium2
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A Beginner Microscope
Any suggestions?
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Yttrium2
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Amazon recommends the
OMAX 40X-2000X Lab LED Binocular Compound Microscope with Double Layer Mechanical Stage and Coaxial Coarse/Fine Focusing Knob
as the best of the best.
In biology lab, we used a binocular microscope that had a maximum magnification of around 400x,
what could I do with magnification beyond this? At what point is the magnification excessive?
Also Im looking for any addition tips or goodies
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Yttrium2
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I like the look of the Levenhuk Rainbow microscopes, -- I dont know what the differences are between the models.
How much of a difference would it make having a monocular microscope vs a binocular microscope?
If its a monocular microscope with a camera on it, it might be just as pleasant a viewing experience as a binocular microscope.
Also, what good would go along with it, besides a pressure cooker (maybe) -- petri dishes, and glove box? Why do they use laminar flow hoods and not
glove boxes?
[Edited on 10/14/2021 by Yttrium2]
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Texium
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Why the sudden interest in microbiology? Some details on what you want to do would be helpful for eliciting good recommendations.
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Yttrium2
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Interest isn't necessary sudden, it has always been there, somewhere.
I am interested in observing and culturing microbes -- I'm interested in the things that they can produce / cure.
Maybe one day, if I can be an Analytical Chemist, I'd like to elucidate the structures of what is produced through the microbes. Seems like this would
be the best place to be as an analytical chemist
Being poor, of intellect, and of spirit, I'm guessing that a microscope is the best analytical equipment that I can get my hands on.
Mushrooms, with it I could produce and culture mushrooms, as well as god knows what else. -- But maybe then, I could identify it.
Thinking of getting into Reishi's, Kombucha, and LPAC.
Just joking, -- but I would like to be able to see a red blood cell, -- maybe a cancer cell. -- a white blood cell.
And to be able to diagnosis myself if I have a strepthroat, or not. -- Other things
What else is possible?
I want to see.
[Edited on 10/14/2021 by Yttrium2]
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Sulaiman
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A good microscope is not cheap,
you should watch youtube microscopy videos for a week or two before deciding what you need,
and regularly search eBay (or similar) for a used unit.
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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Tsjerk
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Everything beyond 100x is useless, 200x doesn't have to be bad but it doesn't make sense as the diffraction limit makes it impossible to see more
details with a magnification larger than that.
For magnifications larger than 60x you already need an oil lense. What is more important is the NA of the lense, which is a measure of the quality.
You can better spend money on a 60x with a higher NA or an oil lense than buying a 200x one.
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Sulaiman
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I think that Tsjerk is refering to the objective only,
with a 10x eyepiece an overall magnification of 600x is commonly considered the upper limit of magnification without oil immersion.
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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Metallophile
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What about the digital USB microscope cameras? My biggest problem with optical things has always been the lens in my eye. Putting the image up on a
screen kind of solves that for me.
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macckone
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It depends on how committed you are to microscopy.
You might want to start with a 'toy' microscope.
They are surprisingly adequate for simple observations.
Here is an example of a cheap 'toy' microscope (but it is 'name brand').
https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-120X-1200X-M30-ABS-KT2-W-Begi...
There is a cheaper kids toy microscope that may not be as adequate (ie. plastic frame).
https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-100X-1200X-Beginner-Microscop...
For most yeasts and bacteria you don't need 1200x and as others have pointed out you get a good bit of distortion without oil immersion at the higher
magnification.
The real question is what your budget is.
If you have $500 then you can get a good scope with 'trinocular' capability ie. dedicated camera.
If it is $150 you can get decent but not great.
Under $50 the best you can get is adequate, but depending on what you are doing it may be fine.
I think the one yittrium is referring to is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Awarded-2018-Best-Compound-Microscope...
That has an oil immersion lens for the higher magnifications, both 10 and 20 eyepieces and a bunch of other nice features.
The top of the line is:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BPJI8EO
Everything the other one does with 18mp trinocular configuration and includes a 5 year warranty for $913
The camera itself is $430, so the scope is really a $500 value.
I am not adequately versed in the high end scopes, but given my limited use, I wouldn't pay more than $400 and a $150 scope is probably sufficient for
my use, ie. take pretty pictures of crystalline substances.
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zinc finger
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Some time ago I got myself an early model of the Nikon Optiphot series. They are old but stable like a tank and very adaptable. They are however still
pricey.
Regarding your problem with the eyes and lenses:
I had this too in the beginning and I know many others are having the same problem. There are just "bad microscopes" that will give you a hard time
locking your eyes in the optical axis. A lot is just practice and and figuring out better positions etc. but there is a trick that might help you
along: if you have glasses leave them on while using the microscope. If you don't have glasses you can use lab goggles instead. Press them directly
against the oculars and they will give you some added stability.
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mayko
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The Foldscope was designed to be ultra low-cost while still adequate for things like checking for malaria parasites in blood samples. I tried one out;
it's a little awkward but the image is suprisingly good, especially if you use a smartphone camera. At $20 I'm not sure you'll find more microscope
per buck!
https://www.foldscope.com/
al-khemie is not a terrorist organization
"Chemicals, chemicals... I need chemicals!" - George Hayduke
"Wubbalubba dub-dub!" - Rick Sanchez
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CharlieA
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https://www.microbehunter.com/microscopy-forum/
Check out this site. Microbehunter has a Master's degree in biology and teaches biology in high school (in Germany, I think). He has loads of videos
and good advice. I bought the Swift SW-380T. It's max magnification is 2500X with 2 sets of eyepieces included. But realistically, 1000-1200X is the
most you can use without losing resolution. The trinocular head is a must if you want to take photos/videos. I enjoy looking at water organisms in my
backyard birdbath, and am not interested in observing bacteria, so I changed the 100X objective for a 60X objective. With total magnifications of 40X,
100X, 400X, and 600X, I have more than enough magnification for my interests.
You can also consider a stereo microscope, which generally has 2 total magnifications, usually 10X & 30X, or 20X and 40X. Which is great for
viewing larger objects whole, like large parts of plants, insects, rocks, etc.
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Oxy
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If you're looking for something not aspiring to professional - on last Christmas I bought a Levenhuk 2L plus for a gift to a child.
I checked the quality with some premade samples (didn't prepared anything unfortunately) and it was pretty good - much better that I expected.
But if you want to dive into microbiology - look for something better as probably you will want to have a better optics
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teodor
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In my school time, I used this microscope. It is made in USSR. It has 2 objectives 8x and 20x and zoom ocular 10-20. It is a special model for
children and young but still many things are observable. There is no plastic except the rotating field stop and knobs - the rest is made from glass,
still, and aluminum alloy. There are still many offers in the local ebay-like market in Ukraine. You can try to search by the name "юннат-2п".
Or U2U me, I can buy and send it to you.
 
There are many modern versions of this microscope some of them are even available from aliexpress. I don't know the quality of them, also they look
slightly different. The microscope I have pictured was made in 1991 by the company "ОПТА".
[Edited on 21-10-2021 by teodor]
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macckone
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mayko,
That is pretty cool.
There is also openflexure if you have a 3d printer and like tinkering.
https://openflexure.org/
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Tsjerk
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I would love to have an old-school microscope like that, my rotovap is of 80's East German make.
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