We at MicroscopeGenius.com have spent a great deal of time talking about what you want to have in a microscope, and how to pick one, however, we haven’t spent much time talking about mistakes when buying a microscope that can lead you to lots of headache in returns and repurchases.
Here’s your chance to get to know potential pitfalls before we go into the holiday shopping season! Today we’re going to cover…
- Picking the wrong type of microscope
- Over expectation of the microscope at a given price point
- Not knowing (or learning) microscopy basics
- Not “future proofing” their microscope purchase
- Not asking the right questions about the microscope
Let’s dive right in!
Top 5 Mistakes When Buying a Microscope
1. Picking the wrong type of microscope
The most common of the top mistakes when buying a microscope is by far when a client purchases the wrong kind of microscope. While there are many kinds of microscopes, in general, most fall into one of two categories–compound microscopes and stereo microscopes.
Compound microscopes are also called biological microscopes, primarily because the most common compound microscope is used to view biological materials when mounted on a glass slide in a highly magnified setting (meaning, visualizing items smaller than the naked eye). Because the light travels through the sample to illuminate it (from the bottom up is called “transmitted” light), samples must be translucent, and due to the high magnification values these kinds of microscopes have, these are what are used to view microscopic organisms, like cells.
There are more advanced compound microscopes used with top/reflecting lights for opaque samples (called metallurgical microscopes) as well as a myriad of other types of microscopes, so the rule isn’t hard and fast that a sample must be translucent and biological, but the main point here is due to the high power of the microscope’s optics, the object that you wish to view must be, for lack of a better word, microscopic (like a bacterial cell).
Compound microscopes are common for educational labs and home schooling when teaching cell biology, and are what most people think of when they hear the word “microscope.”
Stereo microscopes are, what we consider, the polar opposites. They are low magnification microscopes, and generally have a top (reflected) light. These are intended to view opaque and solid objects at the surface level, like coins, rocks, stamps, bugs, etc. Some can have a transmitted light for more translucent samples, but the general rule is you want to look at the surface of a sample with this kind of microscope, NOT inside of the sample. Objects should be visible with the naked eye, and can be manipulated by hand.
Stereo microscopes are mostly used in industrial applications or hobbies, like R&D departments or manufacturing plants, down to jewelry repair, gemstone inspection, or even coin/rock/bug/stamp collection purposes.
Be sure to identify what kind of samples you want to view with your microscope before shopping to ensure that you don’t make mistakes when buying a microscope, and then have to deal with returning and repurchasing the correct microscope.
Bonus tip: Some microscopes advertised online state they can do both functions. Believing this will lead you to mistakes when buying a microscope. A compound microscope with a top light will return a very different image than a stereo microscope. If the budget allows you, stick to one or the other, and avoid the gimmick–don’t make a mistake when buying a microscope. Only get a “combo unit” if you need mostly compound microscope functions and may want to view a solid object from time to time.
Here are some examples of each, to help get your started:
2. Over expectation of the microscope at a given price point
Of all the mistakes when buying a microscope that one can make, this is probably the trickiest one. When you aren’t used to buying a microscope and how much these things should cost, how are you supposed to understand what a good value is? How do you know how much to pay to get exactly the functions and features you need, without underpaying to be sold short on your needs, and without overpaying and getting extras that you don’t need?
Microscope sellers love to over inflate their descriptions and make difficult to understand technical claims that the new consumer would have no idea how to understand. Many a client of ours has been sucked into the idea of “well that sounds about right and is within my budget,” just to find when their microscope arrives, it does not function for their needs, or to their standards. No noe li
Our defense against this is similar to mistake when buying a microscope number 1–knowledge. Of course, we don’t expect you to run out and research every single microscope on the market. But try to take time to figure out what you specifically need in your microscope, and focus on finding those core features. For example (and a very, VERY common one), if you are a coin collector and you’re interested in taking pictures of your coins to post online, list some of the things you need your microscope to be able to do.
Many of our collectors have the same list:
- Must be able to take detailed close pictures of coins
- Must be able to take detailed picture of full coin
- Must be relatively inexpensive due to limited budget
Not too difficult sounding right? Wrong.
Taking a close up and a large area image are complete opposites. What a somewhat high powered stereo microscope (remember, this is a solid object we want to see the surface of, so we want a stereo microscope) can capture (a close up of any mispressed or double pressed details from the mint) and what a lower power stereo microscope (lower magnification means more area fits into the picture, thus capturing a full coin) can capture are very different things.
Too many times have I seen a coin collector purchase a basic fixed power stereo microscope that fits within their budget, only to find that rather than it being a zooming stereo microscope able to cover both needs of high and low magnifications. This leads to frustration and frankly, a waste of someone’s time and money in returning a product, as no company is going to cover return shipping on an item bought in error. Not to mention, the camera often adds magnification as well, making a fixed power microscope essentially impossibly suited for the task (but frequently advertised for coin collectors nonetheless).
It might be more expensive to get the large range zooming stereo microscope with the appropriate camera, but ultimately, it’s what one needs to get the task at hand accomplished according to the expectations and requirements presented. If sacrificing the full coin image is possible, then the fixed power microscope may be able to get the job done. If not, the budget has to be sacrificed for the better unit. Buying a lower quality or less featured microscope and expecting the same results as you would with a better quality (and usually more expensive) microscope is just downright crazy. You wouldn’t buy a Honda and expect it to drive like a Lamborghini, right?
If you are new to microscopy and want a hand picking something out, please do not hesitate to email us. We are happy to make a recommendation to the best of our knowledge, even if it’s another brand name’s unit. You can message us from our Contact Us page (opens in a new window) to help avoid one of these mistakes made when buying a microscope.
3. Not knowing (or learning) microscopy basics
This is one of the mistakes when buying a microscope that fall in very closely with mistake #1. Without taking a little time to research the basics of microscopy, it’s very difficult to determine exactly what you need to view the sample you want to view. You don’t need to take a full blown course in mechanical engineering with a concentration on optics, but, knowing at least the basics of how a microscope works will help you avoid just about all of these mistakes when buying a microscope that we’ve listed here.
To be specific, I’d recommend learning these topics (all of which are covered in our Microscopy 101 Basics/Education section):
- Parts & functions of a microscope (the anatomy of a microscope)
- Difference between compound and stereo microscopes
- Difference between transmitted and reflected light
- Difference between stereo and binocular
- What numerical aperture (N.A.) rating is
- How to make a slide & when it is necessary to make one
It’s not a very long list, but don’t be intimidated by the technical terminology used. It isn’t that scary! And, we always break things down as simple as possible, so take a look at the link above if you need to know any of those. It’s our 1 stop crash course on microscopy, and is absolutely free to all of our readers (no email sign up, no credit card, nothing!).
As a bonus, Makati Science High School has a great powerpoint on the anatomy of a microscope, which I’ve included for you here:
4. Not “future proofing” their microscope purchase
Once you’ve made sure you’re not making any of the 3 above mistakes when buying a microscope, it’s time to ensure that your purchase is something that will be “future proof” as we frequently say. This means you’ve picked out a microscope that has all of the features you need for all applications you have in mind for the microscope, and if additional accessories are needed to fulfill those needs, then the unit can accept them as a later purchase, or you have purchased them already.
For example, if one wishes to view bacterial cells but later on may want to view live red blood cells, we would recommend getting a microscope capable of using a darkfield condenser in the future (as the darkfield condenser is quintessential for viewing live blood cells), or one that comes with both dry and oil darkfield condensers. If one gets a microscope of a lower price point that cannot use such condensers, then later, they will have to purchase a whole new microscope at full price, rather than just a few accessories totaling far less than a new microscope.
If you’re a visual learner, here’s a perfect display of the above concept. Many clients of ours have purchased AmScope’s M500 student compound microscope, however, later, want to use darkfield. The M500 has what is called a fixed condenser, meaning, it has an condenser (a lens to focus the light from the base onto the sample) that is in a single position, and cannot be moved up or down, nor easily swapped out for another type of condenser. Using a darkfield condenser will not be possible with a fixed condenser (without a significant amount of reconstruction or modification that the typical home user will not be capable or comfortable doing). Instead, although a bit more expensive, a B120C or T490B would be a much better purchase, as either of those units can have their Abbe condensers easily removed and replaced with pre-manufactured accessory solutions.
5. Not asking the right questions about the microscope
Once you’ve avoided #1-4 of the common mistakes when buying a microscope, it’s time to do the actual shopping. Don’t be afraid to email, chat, or call a company to ask questions! Their customer service staff will more likely than not be able to answer questions about the microscope, or make a recommendation as to what they feel you would need.
Now, let me start by qualifying that. In no way am I saying to place absolute faith in a customer service agent at a company.
While yes, they are going to be armed with more information than you will have right away (unless you’ve done extensive research), many times they can be new to the industry, the product line, or simply are giving their opinion. Microscopy is a very in depth industry, and because there are nearly an infinite amount of applications that a microscope can be used for, true experts are very difficult to come across. Those experts are less likely to be working an hourly job taking customer service calls–with high levels of skill come high levels of demand. They’ll likely be consulting for universities or research labs, or managing a department for a larger name brand.
So, yes, ask questions, but make sure you get in depth with the person on the phone, chat, or email–both to make sure they know what they’re talking about, and to fact check even if they do. The more diligence you have in your shopping, the less likely you will make one of these mistakes when buying a microscope, ultimately saving you a ton of time, money, and energy in returns/exchanges.
More specifically, we recommend asking these questions:
- What microscope would you recommend for viewing _____________?
- What features do I need to view ___________ in a microscope?
- What eyepieces and objective settings does this microscope come with?
- What total magnification options do I have?
- Is this microscope illuminator transmitted, reflected, or both?
- (If getting a compound microscope) What optical grade (quality) are the objectives?
- (If getting a compound microscope) What N.A rating do the objectives each have? What about the condenser?
- (If getting a compound microscope) Is the condenser fixed or adjustable? Can it be swapped out later if I need darkfield or phase contrast?
- (If getting a stereo microscope) Does this microscope have a zooming objective or a fixed objective?
- (If getting a stereo microscope) What is the minimum and maximum working distance with this microscope?
- (If getting a stereo microscope) What is the minimum and maximum field of view with this microscope?
- (If getting a USB camera) Does the camera have its own magnification value, and if so, what it is?
- (If getting a USB camera and a trinocular microscope) Will the camera focus at the same focal point as the eyepieces?
- Am I making any of the common mistakes when buying a microscope for this application?
If no one else seems ready, able, or willing to help, please, feel free to ask us here at MicroscopeGenius.com for help. Even if you don’t order from us, we will be happy to help make sure you get the right microscope for your needs.
If your needs are more technical that the above will cover, please ask to speak to an expert at the company you are contacting, or, again, please contact us here. We’ll do our best to get you the right information to make a good call on your purchase, avoiding these mistakes when buying a microscope.