High Power "Compound" Microscope

High Power Microscopes are Most Popular

• For children, hobbyists and general use, high power microscopes are most popular as one can see the truly "invisible" things like blood cells, amoebas and bacteria.
• If you are shopping for a child, DO NOT purchase a plastic toy microscope, as it will do nothing but frustrate you and/or your child. Real microscopes, with metal frames and glass optics are what you want but are rarely found in stores. When shopping for children, look for a company that provides slides and support material with the microscope so your child will have some direction in using and enjoying the instrument.
• High power microscopes go up to 1000x and have a light under the specimen. The light on a high power microscope must pass through the specimen for you to see an image. You would not look at a coin with a high power microscope as you would only see a black circle on a white background. For most high power applications, a maximum magnification of 400x is sufficient.
• Purchase a model with a built-in light source. Models with mirrors can be hard to use and are not commonly sold today.
• There are no manufacturers of microscopes in the USA today. The best "economy" models are made in China. Some very good products come from China, but be careful as there are also some very poorly built instruments. During my time spent as a school teacher I looked at many brands and the ones I have listed below I can highly recommend. National Optical is a company based out of San Antonio, TX and they have quality instruments. Richter Optica is a brand manufactured in China, but QAd in the USA and provides quality optics at a value price. Microscope World is a dealer that carries these products and provides excellent customer service and technical support. This company also carries Swift Optical microscopes, a brand that has been around a long time and are popular in many schools across the US.

Low Power Microscopes are Used for Looking at Larger Things

• Low power microscopes usually have both a top and bottom light (reflected and transmitted light) and are good for looking at transparent objects as well as opaque objects. Specimens include coins, stamps, whole insects, fabric weaves, insect wings, sand, soil and tiny electrical components. Magnifications range from 10x to about 80x.
• Most low power microscopes are called "stereo" or "dissecting" microscopes and have two eyepieces and a separate objective lens for each eyepiece lens. This allows triangulation and provides a "stereo" or 3 dimensional image. When you look through the stereo microscope the image will have depth.
• Low power or stereo microscopes are usually chosen for a particular application. The most common magnification used are 20x, 30x and 40x. More magnification is not always better as you see less of the object at higher powers. A coin collector for example, would want a 10x model and someone who collects sand would want a microscope from 30x - 40x.
• There are three general types of stereo microscopes. Those with a single power (20x or 30x is recommended), those with two separate powers (10x / 30x or 15x /45x is typically best), and zoom models. Zoom stereo microscopes provide continuous range of magnifications, from about 10x - 40x. These offer the most options for magnification, but are also more expensive than a single magnification stereo microscope.

So Which Microscope Should I Choose?

This question really depends on your applications. As a gift for children, you will find that the high power microscope is more useful and has more educational value than the low power microscope counterpart. There are many more activities that one can do with a high power microscope and high power observations are arguably more exciting. I have seen children spend literally hours examining pond water critters and insect parts with a microscope. Also, high power microscopes are generally the types used in schools (grades 3-12). if you are looking for other types of microscopes or curious about models other than these basic instruments, go here to see some other types of microscopes.

Now I have a Microscope. What should I do with it?

There are many books and online resources available describing educational activities that one can do with a microscope. If you are working with a high power microscope, you should first learn how to properly use it and learn how to prepare wet mount slides. Hopefully, the company you purchase your microscope from will provide slides and information. Start here to learn about basic microscope information.

Digital Microscopes are Available in High and Low Power

• Now that you have decided if you want a high power or low power microscope, the other option to consider is a digital microscope.
• Digital microscopes include a camera or LCD tablet for viewing live images.
• Digital microscopes allow you to capture and save images and many cameras include software for making measurements or adding text to images.
• Before purchasing a digital microscope, consider how you would like to use the microscope. Do you have room to set a laptop next to the microscope? If not, would a tablet camera on top of the microscope work better? Would a WiFi camera be good for your needs? If you want to project the image onto a large screen in a classroom figure out if your LCD projection system uses S-Video, HDMI or USB input. This will help determine what type of digital camera you need.
• Finally, there are benefits to having a detachable camera. A built-in microscope camera can be nice because there are no camera parts that can be removed from the microscope. However, should the camera break or if you ever want to upgrade the camera at some point, replacing the camera is not an option when the camera is integrated into the microscope system.

Learn more about evaluating microscope quality here.