Microscope article in reference section?

[adampembs]

There appear to be a lot of people asking the same question about which microscope to get. I think this would make a good addition to the reference section. For anyone serious about identification down to species level, a microscope appears a must. I used to work as a microbiology technician, and used high power monocular microscopes for bacteria (around 1,000x magnication) and some excellent stereoscopic microscopes for fungi (if memory serves, these were around 400x magnification). With the right stains, fungi are so beautiful looked at this way, with great detail of mycelia and spores. However, these are very expensive pieces of equipment, probably over £1000, so only the most fanatical are likely to buy one.

It would be great to see a guide to microscopy on this site, I apologise if I've blindly stumbled past it!

[adampembs]

Although I have mentioned magnification as a criterion in choosing a microscope, don't be tempted to buy a cheap toy microscope that advertises this magnification, as only one with quality optics, a good light source, and smooth, vibration-free focusing controls will be useable at those magnifications, but its 20 years since I used one, so I am somewhat out of date..