The Microscope Site: Choosing The Right Microscope

:: The Microscope Site.com ::

Choosing The Right Microscope

The application is the most important factor in choosing a microscope. What you need to view and what you need to do with that image will determine what kind of microscope you need.

There are two basic types of optical microscopes: compound microscopes and stereo microscopes.

Compound microscopes are high-power while stereo microscopes are low-power. If you need high magnification to examine structures of cells for example, you would likely select a compound microscope. If you need to examine structures on circuit boards or other relatively large objects, you would select a stereo microscope.

With that said, here are some guidelines for choosing the right microscope for you:

• For a beginner student microscope up to junior high school, a monocular microscope may be fine. Monocular microscopes have a single eyepiece and are pretty inexpensive.



• For a college or medical student, for laboratory, clinical, or medical use, get a binocular microscope. Binocular microscopes have dual eyepieces and greatly reduce eyestrain and improve contrast.



• If the microscope will be used daily for hours at a time, get a binocular microscope.



• For biologists performing dissections, technicians examining electronic circuit boards, paleontologists examining fossils, or anyone who needs to work with relatively large objects (not cells or example), get a stereo microscope. Stereo microscope have dual optical paths and allow you to see the image in 3D.



• While it is possible to mount a camera on a monocular or binocular microscope, it is better to use a trinocular microscope designed to accept a camera. Trinocular microscopes have two eyepieces (binocular) for normal viewing, plus a third optical tube or port on which a camera can be mounted without interfering with the operation of the microscope.



• For student, educational and hobbyist use, a stock microscope should be fine. Stock microscopes usually don't allow you to mix-and-match different stands, lighting, or add options.



• For high-tech, industrial or advanced applications, get a specialty microscope that allows you to select different stands, illumination systems, and "modules" (phase contrast, polarization, etc).