I recently bought an amscope b490b and am really enjoying it. I have an old BSc in Biol/Zoo but it has been about 40 years since I last used a microscope seriously. I am really happy with my purchas at $250 CDN.Over time I have learned that the most important factor is that you enjoy whatever you have (includes partners, children, dogs, cars, scuba equipment, etc.) and just KNOW that there will always be someone out there ready to crticize your choice claiming that theirs is better. That might very well be the case depending on the purpose for which said equipment is acquired so if you really need and can afford a $5000 scope and it makes you happy then go for it. Otherwise, I believe there is a lifetime of enjoyment in a decent low end scope. As with so many other things, it is not what you have that matters...it is what you do with it that counts. Happy 'scoping!
I have an old Zeiss Jena Microscope. The build quality is really good compared to what most comparatively priced new microscopes sell for these days. I got mine for $100, but they range from $300-500 depending on condition. I re-conditioned mine myself.
Excellent advice, Oliver. As a beginner, I'm experiencing many of the same things that you talked about. I bought an older Carl Zeiss at a good price and can upgrade from there after I am more knowledgeable.
Another advantage of the brand-name instruments is worth mentioning: that is that these high-quality models are much easier to use! It's brutally unfair, but true. The engineering is so finely tuned that very little effort is needed to wind up the stage for example or to adjust your focus. There is a 'sweet', fine quality about these advanced models that makes working with them such a joy. For all that, some of the cheaper models from China are incredibly good, given what they cost, and will take a beginner a long way.
I just found an American Optical brand microscope at a secondhand store for $125.00, it has a lot of miles on it but it works great. Online, a refurbished one cost over 1,000 dollars.
I have a Amscope microscope that wasn't cheap.It was around 7.800 dollars and it works REALLY GOOD.I also bought a darkfield condenser from the same brand.
idk why, but i find your into a lot better when i speed it up 1.25 times, its slightly too fast so i would think that the sweet spot is 1.10 or around there. Just an opinion, great video x3
I've read of someone combining a Chinese Plan objective with Olympus Plan objectives without experiencing any loss of quality. I think this person even experienced slightly better magnification with the Chinese Plan objective.
Help! I need to figure out if my bearded dragon has parasites. Vets are not taking new clients in my area due to COVID. I want a microscope anyway. :D Perfect excuse! Please recommend how to determine what microscope can help me with this task--objectives, magnification(?) Etc. It would be cool if I could look at mitochondria too, and mitosis though if that is asking too much cost-wise I will go without.
Fisher BS-200 microscope with infinity objectives that is new for $599 versus a refurbished (Frankenstein) Nikon Alphaphot YS-T with a pro camera smart phone adapter/mount for photography with 160 mm objectives for $575? Which would you choose? Is phase contrast worth the extra $300 or so for either or is it not worth the trouble for beginners. I will be using the microscope for brewing yeast cell count and differentiation from mother and budding cell.
You can actually buy the big four brand name microscopes from various web sites. True not on amazon.de.... for example, all brands are here microscopecentral.com/collections/nikon-microscopes but I chose this web site www.optik-pro.de/mikroskopie/mikroskope/23_11/m,Olympus I think they also carry Zeiss.... www.optik-pro.de/mikroskopie/23/m,ZEISS?sort=0&size=2 One more link with higher end microscopes with DIC/Flour etc.... www.spachoptics.com/E600-p/nikon-eclipse-e600-dic.htm
Just like on many other brands: it depends more on the individual microscope than on the brand as such. It is a well known and popular brand. I think their website is overloaded with too many models making a choice difficult, but this is a different issue.....
Requires too much space, for my taste. But it is not possible to use both eye pieces (only one) and take pictures at the same time, which defeats (for me) the purpose of a stereo microscope. I want to observe with both eyes and make videos at the same time.
I love to have a good microscope but financially i am not that good, i am saving money for that so that i can have a good Microscope. Thank you for the information it is really help full.
Ja. Die Bezeichnung des Filters ist CH2-DS. Das CX23 ist zwar ein Infinity Mikroskop, der Filterdurchmesser ist offensichtlich der gleiche wie die bei den traditionellen Systemen (deshalb die CH2 Bezeichnung). Quelle: Broschüre von CX23 aud der letzten Seite. lri.se/onewebmedia/CX23%20LRI_Olympus.pdf. Man kann sich einen Dunkelfeld Filter auch selber basteln (schwarzer Karton). Muss schwarz sein, da sonst das Licht reflektiert wird und zur Überhitzung der Lampe führen kann.
I do not know the brand personally, but it seems popular in the US. What I heard is that it is mid-range. For young children, get a stereo microscope. If you visit their website, you can see that they also sell microscopes that are more advanced, so the target group is also education etc. For children, I would probably rather get a decent Amscope than invest 7 times the amount for an expensive brand microscope.
@@Microbehunter yes..my daughter is still very young..7 yrsold..but can operate her amscope model M158..i purchase a mobilephone mount so she can view image from screen..i teach her using it since she was 3..40x objective is little dirty inside...i dont have idea how to clean..i had seen tutorial in youtube how to clean it..but still not working...i dont want to dissambeled the tiny lense.
You first have to locate the place of the dirt. The objective is screwed into the microscope and can be screwed out. Use pure compressed air (not from a can) to try to remove dirt. Turn the objective to see if the dirt also turns, and/or turn the eyepiece. Totally remove objective and then look through the objective to see if there is dirt on it at all. Watch this video to see how removal of objective and a check is done: th-cam.com/video/HBP6SWZrilw/w-d-xo.html
Both microscopes are certainly excellent devices. In this category and quality range, I would probably say that much is a question of taste. Nothing much could go wrong with either of them. I would probably base my choice on the following two factors: a. possibilities to upgrade and b. availability of service and support. If there is an office of one of these two companies around the corner, then I probably would buy the microscope from them, simply because I then would have someone to directly talk to. If you are willing to invest already more money for such a quality scope, then I would also consider carefully if you do not also want to invest in a decent photography setup (trinocular head etc). This is going to push the price up significantly however, and I would get an offer for both of them first.
I intend to make a microscope body, specifically for digital recording only. So based on you other video, I only need objective lenses and (160mm or higher) and a photo photo projection adapter. Or eye ocular just if I want a non digital view!? I've seen microscope with a bend in optical path, does it have a prism or a reflection mirror? and is it available to get? Other way is to buy a basic microscope and modify it to need, any suggestions 😁 .. what I see is that most of the differences is mechanical
Yes, objective and microscope camera with reduction optics are enough. Pls watch the video on the Lego microscope: th-cam.com/video/DPApJdaYR8w/w-d-xo.html Use objectives (4x, 10x or 40x) of the 160mm standard (has 160 printed on them), do not use infinity objectives as they need extra opics in the tube and are more expensive (and not needed). For 40x objectives condensor highly recommended. Prisms and mirrors not needed. Prisms needed for stereo microscopes to produce upright image and in compound microscopes to provide comfortable angle for viewing, and also to split the beam to 2 eyepieces.
The PC vs. Apple analogy is not too good, you can get pro workstations that are the same or better quality but still half price. With brand microscopes you pay more for the quality, manufacturing, developement, service background, etc. not only the name. I've just bought a Leitz trino phase contrast microscope for the same price as a new chinese without phase contrast. This will have more or less the same value in 10 years for sure, if i bought the chinese one, the value would be immediately dropped by 30%, sell it in 2 years for half price maybe, if i'm lucky.
How is Omax or Amscope? I Have an Omax 40x-2500x and Im honestly not sure if its low end or high end. I bought it because of how much it was advertised on amazon and ebay as well as how much it was worth the price. I got it for $360 CAD.
Um yea...about that 2500x magnification...I fell for that scam as well when I bought my AmScope. Those numbers are false for the most part. If it has a 100x objective on it you can expect about 1000x service out of it. That is going to be your best true magnification and usable resolution. I agree with what dragonamt said as well. I will also say this too, I purchased a used Nikon Alphaphot 2 ys2-T from Ebay and to be honest with you the optics on it are more quality than the AmScope. When I turn the objectives the specimen image stays centered and the focus is parfocal on the Nikon and the AmScope is not. You just need to decide what you want or need to do with the microscope and find one that fits into that set of specifications that matches up with your budget. Or you can Buy something cheap like you already have and learn more about microscopes in general and then maybe build what you want from used parts and pieces that you source from Ebay or something like that. You can catch a deal occasionally if you are patient and vigilant.
AmScopes are good for the price really. It's mainly intended for people who have a hobby of microscopy because you wouldn't be wanting to spend thousands of dollars just for a hobby, right? In all honesty, my advice would be to not look at the title and instead look at the preview. If it doesn't have a preview or if the preview doesn't have any pictures of the actual microscope, I would disregard it automatically. If it does have a preview, take a look at the objectives, because that's really what your first priority should be. I would recommend a microscope with 4 objectives: 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x or 60x (it will usually have 100x, but it works just fine unless you really don't like oil immersion) Also, yes, make sure to follow W U's advice. The maximum a microscope can go to is 1000x. The 25x eyepiece is really just a scam (to me anyway) because if you compare it to a 10x eyepiece, its a lot more blurry and appears to only increase the magnification by zooming in a couple of millimeters. Though, if you follow my advice and just look at the microscope itself, you should be fine.
I bought a Novel DN-10B with 3MP internal USB camera. This seems to be very similar to an Omax microscope, though I can't find the exact same Omax model for comparison, only extremely similar. item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3-c-s.w4002-15203092050.61.7a3a7b201zmJx6&id=534278422326
Is there any advantage to using a 60x objective lens and a 25x ocular lens? I bought an Omax/Novel 40x - 1000x microscope with additional ocular lenses (16x, 20x, 25x) and additional objective lenses (20x and 60x). I did this thinking mixing and matching some of these lenses could yield higher magnification levels without needing to use the 100x oil-immersion objective.
I think the Omax/Novel microscope with internal 3MP camera I bought has a 1-watt LED lamp, while the only comparable internal 3MP Omax offering has a 3-watt LED lamp. Is 1-watt enough on these Omax microscopes. If not, is there a way to replace the 1-watt LED with a 3-watt LED?
I don't understand why you paid to have it cleaned and lubed. I bought a used Olympus EH from ebay that was frozen up. (got a good deal. EXCELLENT deal) It took me about three hours to disassemble the scope, clean the old hard grease off and lube it up. It is not rocket science! I doubt you can dismantle an objective lens and rebuild it, but maintenance of the main scope is certainly doable by the amateur.
I read earlier today that all four brands are made in the same Isso 9001 factory as Amscope. so the tolerances are likely the same across the board if true.
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
I recently bought an amscope b490b and am really enjoying it. I have an old BSc in Biol/Zoo but it has been about 40 years since I last used a microscope seriously. I am really happy with my purchas at $250 CDN.Over time I have learned that the most important factor is that you enjoy whatever you have (includes partners, children, dogs, cars, scuba equipment, etc.) and just KNOW that there will always be someone out there ready to crticize your choice claiming that theirs is better. That might very well be the case depending on the purpose for which said equipment is acquired so if you really need and can afford a $5000 scope and it makes you happy then go for it. Otherwise, I believe there is a lifetime of enjoyment in a decent low end scope. As with so many other things, it is not what you have that matters...it is what you do with it that counts. Happy 'scoping!
I have an old Zeiss Jena Microscope. The build quality is really good compared to what most comparatively priced new microscopes sell for these days. I got mine for $100, but they range from $300-500 depending on condition. I re-conditioned mine myself.
Excellent advice, Oliver. As a beginner, I'm experiencing many of the same things that you talked about.
I bought an older Carl Zeiss at a good price and can upgrade from there after I am more knowledgeable.
Thanks for sharing!
Another advantage of the brand-name instruments is worth mentioning: that is that these high-quality models are much easier to use! It's brutally unfair, but true. The engineering is so finely tuned that very little effort is needed to wind up the stage for example or to adjust your focus. There is a 'sweet', fine quality about these advanced models that makes working with them such a joy. For all that, some of the cheaper models from China are incredibly good, given what they cost, and will take a beginner a long way.
I just found an American Optical brand microscope at a secondhand store for $125.00, it has a lot of miles on it but it works great. Online, a refurbished one cost over 1,000 dollars.
I have a Amscope microscope that wasn't cheap.It was around 7.800 dollars and it works REALLY GOOD.I also bought a darkfield condenser from the same brand.
Hey. I've been looking at one of those on AmScope. Worth it?
Just a video tip. You're using a ring light on your video camera. It reflects badly on your specs. Use diffused light each side to avoid this.
I bought an AmScope branded microscope. It works pretty well, and was cheap.
Hello, Can you please review prominent Indian brands like ESAW etc?
idk why, but i find your into a lot better when i speed it up 1.25 times, its slightly too fast so i would think that the sweet spot is 1.10 or around there. Just an opinion, great video x3
I've read of someone combining a Chinese Plan objective with Olympus Plan objectives without experiencing any loss of quality. I think this person even experienced slightly better magnification with the Chinese Plan objective.
"swift" is also pretty good
Very useful.... Thanks Oliver
what is your opinion on Bausch and Lomb microscopes?
What about omano, swift, and omax my favourite microscope brands
What about swift?
Help! I need to figure out if my bearded dragon has parasites. Vets are not taking new clients in my area due to COVID. I want a microscope anyway. :D Perfect excuse! Please recommend how to determine what microscope can help me with this task--objectives, magnification(?) Etc. It would be cool if I could look at mitochondria too, and mitosis though if that is asking too much cost-wise I will go without.
Have you tested a best of microscope under $300
you are a realy nice person , thanks from ron . israel.
Fisher BS-200 microscope with infinity objectives that is new for $599 versus a refurbished (Frankenstein) Nikon Alphaphot YS-T with a pro camera smart phone adapter/mount for photography with 160 mm objectives for $575? Which would you choose? Is phase contrast worth the extra $300 or so for either or is it not worth the trouble for beginners. I will be using the microscope for brewing yeast cell count and differentiation from mother and budding cell.
So what did you choose?
Is saxon microscopes any good?
You can actually buy the big four brand name microscopes from various web sites. True not on amazon.de.... for example, all brands are here microscopecentral.com/collections/nikon-microscopes but I chose this web site www.optik-pro.de/mikroskopie/mikroskope/23_11/m,Olympus I think they also carry Zeiss.... www.optik-pro.de/mikroskopie/23/m,ZEISS?sort=0&size=2
One more link with higher end microscopes with DIC/Flour etc.... www.spachoptics.com/E600-p/nikon-eclipse-e600-dic.htm
What is your advice on AmScope?
Just like on many other brands: it depends more on the individual microscope than on the brand as such. It is a well known and popular brand. I think their website is overloaded with too many models making a choice difficult, but this is a different issue.....
Thank you. Please tell me good microscopes which doesnt cost a fortune..
you remind me a bit of my MSc supervisor.
what do you think of the aliexpress type microscope, like the luckyzoom 7x-90x trinocular stereomicroscope
Requires too much space, for my taste. But it is not possible to use both eye pieces (only one) and take pictures at the same time, which defeats (for me) the purpose of a stereo microscope. I want to observe with both eyes and make videos at the same time.
I love to have a good microscope but financially i am not that good, i am saving money for that so that i can have a good Microscope. Thank you for the information it is really help full.
Do you think Bresser is a good microscope company
Ist es möglich ein CX23 für Dunkelfeld aufzurüsten?
Ja. Die Bezeichnung des Filters ist CH2-DS. Das CX23 ist zwar ein Infinity Mikroskop, der Filterdurchmesser ist offensichtlich der gleiche wie die bei den traditionellen Systemen (deshalb die CH2 Bezeichnung). Quelle: Broschüre von CX23 aud der letzten Seite. lri.se/onewebmedia/CX23%20LRI_Olympus.pdf. Man kann sich einen Dunkelfeld Filter auch selber basteln (schwarzer Karton). Muss schwarz sein, da sonst das Licht reflektiert wird und zur Überhitzung der Lampe führen kann.
what do u think about amscope?my daughter use it almost 4 years now..is amscope brand considered as low quality?
I do not know the brand personally, but it seems popular in the US. What I heard is that it is mid-range. For young children, get a stereo microscope. If you visit their website, you can see that they also sell microscopes that are more advanced, so the target group is also education etc. For children, I would probably rather get a decent Amscope than invest 7 times the amount for an expensive brand microscope.
@@Microbehunter yes..my daughter is still very young..7 yrsold..but can operate her amscope model M158..i purchase a mobilephone mount so she can view image from screen..i teach her using it since she was 3..40x objective is little dirty inside...i dont have idea how to clean..i had seen tutorial in youtube how to clean it..but still not working...i dont want to dissambeled the tiny lense.
You first have to locate the place of the dirt. The objective is screwed into the microscope and can be screwed out. Use pure compressed air (not from a can) to try to remove dirt. Turn the objective to see if the dirt also turns, and/or turn the eyepiece. Totally remove objective and then look through the objective to see if there is dirt on it at all.
Watch this video to see how removal of objective and a check is done:
th-cam.com/video/HBP6SWZrilw/w-d-xo.html
I've seen some reviews，It seems that leica DM500 is better than Olympus CX23, and the price is almost the same.
Both microscopes are certainly excellent devices. In this category and quality range, I would probably say that much is a question of taste. Nothing much could go wrong with either of them. I would probably base my choice on the following two factors: a. possibilities to upgrade and b. availability of service and support. If there is an office of one of these two companies around the corner, then I probably would buy the microscope from them, simply because I then would have someone to directly talk to. If you are willing to invest already more money for such a quality scope, then I would also consider carefully if you do not also want to invest in a decent photography setup (trinocular head etc). This is going to push the price up significantly however, and I would get an offer for both of them first.
@@Microbehunter Get an "offer," as in have them bid for your purchase--so to speak?
I intend to make a microscope body, specifically for digital recording only. So based on you other video, I only need objective lenses and (160mm or higher) and a photo photo projection adapter. Or eye ocular just if I want a non digital view!? I've seen microscope with a bend in optical path, does it have a prism or a reflection mirror? and is it available to get?
Other way is to buy a basic microscope and modify it to need, any suggestions 😁 .. what I see is that most of the differences is mechanical
Yes, objective and microscope camera with reduction optics are enough. Pls watch the video on the Lego microscope:
th-cam.com/video/DPApJdaYR8w/w-d-xo.html
Use objectives (4x, 10x or 40x) of the 160mm standard (has 160 printed on them), do not use infinity objectives as they need extra opics in the tube and are more expensive (and not needed). For 40x objectives condensor highly recommended. Prisms and mirrors not needed. Prisms needed for stereo microscopes to produce upright image and in compound microscopes to provide comfortable angle for viewing, and also to split the beam to 2 eyepieces.
Thoughts on German Leitz microscopes?
Leitz was integrated into the Leica company some time ago....
The PC vs. Apple analogy is not too good, you can get pro workstations that are the same or better quality but still half price. With brand microscopes you pay more for the quality, manufacturing, developement, service background, etc. not only the name. I've just bought a Leitz trino phase contrast microscope for the same price as a new chinese without phase contrast. This will have more or less the same value in 10 years for sure, if i bought the chinese one, the value would be immediately dropped by 30%, sell it in 2 years for half price maybe, if i'm lucky.
How is Omax or Amscope? I Have an Omax 40x-2500x and Im honestly not sure if its low end or high end. I bought it because of how much it was advertised on amazon and ebay as well as how much it was worth the price. I got it for $360 CAD.
Um yea...about that 2500x magnification...I fell for that scam as well when I bought my AmScope. Those numbers are false for the most part. If it has a 100x objective on it you can expect about 1000x service out of it. That is going to be your best true magnification and usable resolution. I agree with what dragonamt said as well. I will also say this too, I purchased a used Nikon Alphaphot 2 ys2-T from Ebay and to be honest with you the optics on it are more quality than the AmScope. When I turn the objectives the specimen image stays centered and the focus is parfocal on the Nikon and the AmScope is not. You just need to decide what you want or need to do with the microscope and find one that fits into that set of specifications that matches up with your budget. Or you can Buy something cheap like you already have and learn more about microscopes in general and then maybe build what you want from used parts and pieces that you source from Ebay or something like that. You can catch a deal occasionally if you are patient and vigilant.
AmScopes are good for the price really. It's mainly intended for people who have a hobby of microscopy because you wouldn't be wanting to spend thousands of dollars just for a hobby, right?
In all honesty, my advice would be to not look at the title and instead look at the preview. If it doesn't have a preview or if the preview doesn't have any pictures of the actual microscope, I would disregard it automatically.
If it does have a preview, take a look at the objectives, because that's really what your first priority should be. I would recommend a microscope with 4 objectives: 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x or 60x (it will usually have 100x, but it works just fine unless you really don't like oil immersion)
Also, yes, make sure to follow W U's advice. The maximum a microscope can go to is 1000x. The 25x eyepiece is really just a scam (to me anyway) because if you compare it to a 10x eyepiece, its a lot more blurry and appears to only increase the magnification by zooming in a couple of millimeters.
Though, if you follow my advice and just look at the microscope itself, you should be fine.
I bought a Novel DN-10B with 3MP internal USB camera. This seems to be very similar to an Omax microscope, though I can't find the exact same Omax model for comparison, only extremely similar.
item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3-c-s.w4002-15203092050.61.7a3a7b201zmJx6&id=534278422326
Is there any advantage to using a 60x objective lens and a 25x ocular lens? I bought an Omax/Novel 40x - 1000x microscope with additional ocular lenses (16x, 20x, 25x) and additional objective lenses (20x and 60x). I did this thinking mixing and matching some of these lenses could yield higher magnification levels without needing to use the 100x oil-immersion objective.
I think the Omax/Novel microscope with internal 3MP camera I bought has a 1-watt LED lamp, while the only comparable internal 3MP Omax offering has a 3-watt LED lamp. Is 1-watt enough on these Omax microscopes. If not, is there a way to replace the 1-watt LED with a 3-watt LED?
I don't understand why you paid to have it cleaned and lubed. I bought a used Olympus EH from ebay that was frozen up. (got a good deal. EXCELLENT deal) It took me about three hours to disassemble the scope, clean the old hard grease off and lube it up. It is not rocket science! I doubt you can dismantle an objective lens and rebuild it, but maintenance of the main scope is certainly doable by the amateur.
I read earlier today that all four brands are made in the same Isso 9001 factory as Amscope. so the tolerances are likely the same across the board if true.
Any idea what's the name of the factory? ISO 9001 is just a quality certification with a rather low bar.
You apple is better comment just lostme. Apple as a company are too pushy. My ROG by Asus is a damn fine machine