AmScope Microscope Review – “B100B-MS” 40X-2000X Biological Binocular Compound Microscope with Mechanical Stage

Not everyone needs a complicated microscope with tons of features and expandability. It’s very nice to have, of course, but sometimes, a simple light compound microscope is all one needs to get the job done. This AmScope microscope does just that.

For example, there’s no need to get technical in an elementary school, junior high school, or high school lab setting, as those students are just starting with microscopes–they have to learn the basics before they can move on to the more advanced microscopy methods like darkfield and phase contrast. Or, breeders that only need to do fecal smears and semen inspection won’t really need to get more advanced than a brightfield compound microscope–there’s just no need, as those methods do not offer any added benefit to them.

AmScope Microscope Review “B100B-MS”

I feel that AmScope really had this notion in mind when they brought the B100B-MS to the market. This student microscope (which can easily double as a veterinary microscope, homeschool microscope, or basic breeder’s microscope) is just about exactly what I would expect to see if I was 14 again, sitting in a high school biology lab, and getting ready to do a lab on viewing cheek cells.

 

First off, the condenser on the B100B-MS microscope is fixed. That means you can’t remove it or change it out for a darkfield condenser or phase contrast condenser. So this AmScope microscope is a brightfield only microscope (so, you have a bright background that is around your sample, and your sample is lit up by the light travelling through the sample from the bottom up). This is something you would use for most common microscope applications, like viewing bacteria, cheek cells, pond critters, plant cells (of thin cut samples), and so on. So if you’re a parent of a homeschool student, this is what you would want for their science/biology modules.

It’s a compound microscope, so it’s the kind of microscope that requires slides to function (slides are what hold the sample on the stage while still letting light through). This is what you mount your sample onto–for example, if you wanted to view a drop of tap water to see what bacteria are floating around in it, you could take a drop of your tap water and place it on the slide, then drop a cover slip on top to flatten it out, then put it on the microscope stage. Center it, and focus with the lowest power objective your microscope has, find your object of interest in the sample, then recenter on that before moving up to higher magnification powers. Pretty simple, especially after a little bit of practice! (For more complete information on preparing your own microscope slides, see my Microscope 101: How to Properly Prepare a Microscope Slide tutorial.)

What makes this even easier to use is the mechanical stage that comes with the B100B-MS. When you remove the stage clips and install the mechanical stage, instead of moving the slide with your fingers, you will use two knobs to control the X and Y movement of the slide, giving you precision and accuracy when scanning or centering through your sample. Very nifty, and a must for anyone seriously considering microscopy as a hobby or educating others! Note that my images don’t show it–I didn’t have mine installed at the time as I unfortunately got the wrong one in the box (AmScope sells two different stages of this kind). It was quickly exchanged out for me by their staff in Irvine, CA, USA, so I didn’t have much to worry about. Thanks again AmScope!

The objectives are achromatic objectives, so you don’t have to worry about the colors in the image being off. It gives true to color images without any defects. Mine came clean, as I’ve seen a few complaints about dirty microscopes being sent out–something I have yet to experience myself–but if you need to clean your optics or the unit up a bit, it’s really easy to do so. The eyepieces for the B100B-MS slide in and out without any locking mechanism, so you can spray compressed air into the ocular tube, and you can wipe down the eyepieces, objectives, and condenser lens with either an optical cleaner and non abrasive cleaning cloth, or carefully using kimwipes. Pretty straightforward as well.

The optical quality I received through the microscope was good for the price point. Being non plan lenses means that the lenses inside the objectives are curved, so you have some out of focus area on the outer ring of the field of view. About 15-20% or so, if I had to estimate. Most home users, hobbyists, and students won’t even notice it unless they get a chance to look into a higher quality unit, or are constantly looking into the microscope. I notice it as an experienced user of all kinds of microscopes, but unless actively looking for it, you probably won’t see it either.

The light source is a tungsten bulb, so you can expect a very bright natural light source, but unfortunately it doesn’t have any kind of a dimmer–so if you’re light sensitive, it may be a bit intense for you. This can easily be solved by using a USB camera in place of an eyepiece to look at a screen and digitally adjust, but with the B100B-MS itself, the only other way to adjust it is to use a smaller aperture on the condenser to block more light out (which can affect optical quality if it is set too small). The other concern for some younger students is that tungsten light sources can get extremely hot with prolonged use. So be careful with the light if it’s been on for a while, it will get hot like a halogen bulb (if not hotter). You probably won’t have any burn damage, but it will be quite uncomfortable until the sensation of heat goes away. Safety first!

As far as magnification goes, the B100B-MS sports a range of 40x – 2000x. So, since it comes with 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x objectives, and both 10x and 20x eyepiece sets, we can calculate out that it provides 40x, 80x, 100x, 200x, 400x, 800x, 1000x, and 2000x settings. We get this since total magnification is a product of eyepiece magnification times objective magnification (so all objectives times 10x, then all objectives times 20x). That’s quite the impressive selection of magnification powers available, but we also have to remember that above 1000x is called “empty magnification” since no additional detail is being provided through the microscope’s optics (just a larger image).

Overall, I think for the price point, it’s a fairly impressive microscope. It looks striking, has a powerful light source and magnification set, and is overall ideal for someone that only needs the basic functions of a compound microscope. Don’t forget to get slides with it, as it doesn’t come with any (either some prepared slides like this Omax prepared slide starter set, or blank ones to make your own, or even both!)

For more information, technical specifications, or on how to purchase, feel free take a click on any of my images here, or right here:

AmScope B100B-MS 

As usual, I welcome all comments, concerns, and questions! Leave me a comment or send me a message. I can even help you find a microscope for your needs. Cheers!