Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Microscopes

Hexavalent - 2-9-2012 at 08:45

What is your opinion of this 'scope?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000x-Binocular-Vet-Professional-C...

Endimion17 - 2-9-2012 at 09:50

It seems to be quite cheap for the features it offers.
What do you need it for? This 2000x magnification is useful for counting bacteria. I suppose you know anything above 800x is not really showing anything new due to the nature of the light itself...

I tend to be very careful with Asian companies. Things might look fine on the photos, but when you start working with the device, you notice things that annoy. Sometimes it's bad quality material, sometimes it's the way stuff was put together. Sometimes it keeps loosing focus because the knobs became loose and there's nothing you can do about it.

The fact they sell blue filter with the microscope says something about the quality. Those filters are used in low end microscopes to enhance views at larger magnifications and to reduce the abberations. If the lenses were really great, such filters wouldn't be needed.

But if you're an entry level enthusiast, this is more than enough. After all, it's a binocular microscope for only £164.99.

kristofvagyok - 2-9-2012 at 10:24

Quote: Originally posted by Hexavalent  
What is your opinion of this 'scope?

Too cheap to be true. Looks okay, but the quality what is offers can't be as good as they say.

I've got many optics for my camera, but what I have no problem with (no chromatic aberration, good performance, smooth focus ect.) usually says "made in Japan" -and costs much more than what is "made in Thailand" "made in China" ect. These usually perform really-really bad. They look like a well performed lens but when I shoot with them the picture looks bad.

165GBP is too low for a microscope like this, similar quality scopes with oculars and lenses usually costs 30x-50x this much.

Let's see the objectives what they offer: "Objectives: SEMI PLAN 4x, 10x, 40x Spring Loaded, 100x OIL SL"

Just the 40x apo plan oil immersion lens for Nikon microscopes -it is the "same" as the 40x semi plan offered by the indian company- strats at: 630GBP.

I would say that this 165GBP would go out through the window if you would purchase this "microscope".

Hexavalent - 2-9-2012 at 10:36

That's what I thought.

Endimion - I don't actually want this microscope - I already have an old, but superb (both optically and mechanically) Cooke Troughton & Simms M1000 microscope - I was just curious on what others thought of this, and if they, like me, thought it was all too good to be true.