Cheap Microscope!

[Zygiella]

Im considering getting a microscope and have found one that will be on sale this Thursday for £39.99 its a x40 and has lots of extras with it like a light pen, slides, tweezers etc and as I know very little about microscopes I wondered if it would be any good? I dont know if Id be allowed to mention the shop name (Im new and dont want to get banned!) so could anyone tell me if a x40 is ok for a beginner?

Cheers

[Paul mabbott]

Depends what you want to look at, basically and also how good the mike is - you could have a magnification of x200 with very poor definition! Manufacturers can get away with telling you the magnification but without any requirement to measure the definition ....

x40 would be useful for leps and for looking at flies or beetles to family/genus ... perhaps? It all depends on the quality. You would need to take a few insects with you to the shop and have a look at them - can you easily make out features such as veins on a fly wing or hairs on a beetle's head? If so, at that price, then it may be worth getting .... Good luck, let us know what happens!

PS: I note that a light-pen is provided - this suggests that there is no integral lighting for the microscope. Might be good to have an independent light source - you can move it round to give the best incidence. However, the light source of a microscope is on a par of importance with its magnification and definition, so, again, try it out as if you were in a dark place rather than a brightly lit shop ....

[Davidg]

I'd like to exercise a word of caution and say that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. I may be wrong but £40 sounds terribly cheap for a useable microscope - if you can afford to waste the money then go ahead but in my opinion you'd be better off waiting until you had more like £150-200 and invest in a microscope that will do what you want it to and last for a few years. (There's a thread on here somewhere that will give you a few suggestions)

Whatever you decide, good luck!

David

[Zygiella]

Thanks for the advice, saved myself £40 - I might just get the £69.99 telescope instead! I might see the pennines from Carlisle with it!

[medieval knievel]

i bought a perfectly usable binocular microscope online, a bresser, 20x magnification. €50. so this one mightn't be too bad.

[David Hyde]

Originally Posted by Zygiella

I might just get the £69.99 telescope instead!

I would save the £69.99 as well.
David

[eeyore]

i know next to nowt about microscopes but i would imagine that as with other optical stuff like cameras and scopes if you only have a limited budget you would be better off buying a decent model second hand rather than a cheap new one.

looking on the web it appears that there are a few sites doing second hand m/scopes but like i said i dont know enough to comment on whether these are a good deal or suitable for your needs

one such is Colco Scientific: Secondhand Microscopes so perhaps one of the more knowledgable folk could have a look and tell us whether these are indeed value for money.

(NB: although this is a link to a commercial site I am in no way advertising, promoting or recomending them - it is only an example for the purposes of information)

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by David Hyde

I would save the £69.99 as well.
David

Seconded

Cheap scopes don't have definition or allow enough light in.

[za64]

is this lidl or aldi by any chance?
alan

[richardkm]

Originally Posted by eeyore

one such is Colco Scientific: Secondhand Microscopes

I certainly like the look of this site, there are some good second-hand models there. Definitely better than the cheapies from the supermarket.

69.99 for a telescope? wow, where did they pinch the milk bottles for that one!

[pete252]

Originally Posted by Zygiella

Im considering getting a microscope and have found one that will be on sale this Thursday for £39.99 its a x40 and has lots of extras with it like a light pen, slides, tweezers etc and as I know very little about microscopes I wondered if it would be any good? I dont know if Id be allowed to mention the shop name (Im new and dont want to get banned!) so could anyone tell me if a x40 is ok for a beginner?

Cheers

I've just got one and very impressed - for 40 quid it is a good buy. metal construction - good optics on wide field. Would recommend for a new user, can't get the USB camera to work yet - but still a good buy - for a beginner.