Omax Microscope Slides Starter Kit Review – “CS-A96AA50-SCLP100”

Update: Unfortunately it looks like this mixed prepared/unprepared slide kit is no longer available from Omax. The closest replacement will be this IQCrew by AmScope slide preparation kit here. All links updated to point here instead as it has what this set had plus preparatory tools!

Something a bit different from the normal take here is a starter set of microscope slides from Omax, their part number “CS-A96AA50-SCLP100“. I typically stick to my own slides, however I’ve been getting a few different requests from folks about prepared slides, blank slides, and general other beginner questions. So, I figured, why not give some insight for all to see?

So, most microscope companies these days (especially the ones that I review and recommend) do not include slides in their kits. At the low costs they sell the units at, it does make sense to me that they don’t do it, but it can be a bit frustrating to a beginner. If someone doesn’t know they need slides to use a compound microscope, they may be turned off to microscopy in general, and that is a tragedy for everyone involved.

Omax Microscope Slides Starter Kit Review “CS-A96AA50-SCLP100”

Here’s the notice folks: if you want to use a compound microscope, you have to use microscope slides! There’s no way around it. Now, even then, there are different kinds of microscope slides available, depending on the application you have, or the level of familiarity with microscopes you have.

Blank slides allow you to make your own samples, and coverslips must be used to protect your sample from getting onto your objective lenses, and to provide the proper thickness for the light to pass through. For this reason, you cannot simply smash two microscope slides together to make a sample like you see in Dexter, and other tv shows. It simply does not work, as objectives are not generally rated to gather enough light through that thick of a glass medium.

For my general audience, prepared microscope slides are the way to go. Prepared microscope slides have samples already mounted and preserved on them, and tend to have specimen that you can’t easily find and make at home. Students learn a great deal with prepared microscope slides, as they’re all stained and setup for ease of use–simply place them under the microscope, center it on the stage, and focus on it using your desired magnification. These can have everything from honeybee wings/legs, to blood smears, to plant cells, so a large variety is usually included in the set to make the sets appealing to all audiences.

So back to this set from Omax, the CS-A96AA50-SCLP100 comes with 50 prepared microscope slides, 100 blank microscope slides, and 100 coverslips. The blank microscope slides are flat with ground edges, so they’re ideal for most applications, however well slides do perform a bit better with liquids since they are easier to manipulate (the wells hold the liquid, naturally). The coverslips are 0.017mm thick, so ideal for most microscope objectives (and perfectly set for Omax and AmScope units).

Here’s a list of all the samples included in this microscope slides set to help you decide if this starter kit is ideal for your student or hobbyist desires:

• Sugar Crystals. W.m.
• Comparative Hairs. Human, sheep & cat
  
• Chlamydomonas. W.m.
  
• Spirogyra. W.m.
  
• Lichen. Sec.
  
• Fern Leaf. C.s.
  
• Pine Leaf. C. s .
  
• Ten Year Pine Stem. C.s.
  
• Corn Root Tip. L.s .
  
• Broad bean Root. C.s.
  
• Corn Stem. C.s.
  
• Cucurbit Stem. L. s.
  
• Top Bud. L. s.
  
• Collenchyma. Sec.
  
• Onion Leaf Epidermis. W.m.
  
• Corn Leaf. C.s.
  
• Rice Leaf Epidermis, W.m.
  
• Sunflower Flower. L.s.
  
• Capsella Young Embryo. Sec.
  
• Capsella Older Emdryo. Sec.
  
• Pear. Sec. Showing stone cell.
  
• Bacteria Three Types Smear
  
• Yeast. Smear
  
• Penicillium. W.m .
  
• Mushroom. Sec.
  
• Paramecium. W.m .
  
• Paramecium in Fission. W.m .
  
• Hydra. W. m .
  
• Hydra. L. s.
  
• Hydra. C.s.
  
• Hydra With Spermary. C.s.
  
• Hydra With Overy. C.s.
  
• Earthworm. C.s.
  
• Honey Bee Hind Leg. W.m.
  
• Honey Bee Mounth Parts. W. m .
  
• Butterfly Mounth Parts. W.m.
  
• Mosquito Male Mounth Parts. W.m.
  
• Mosquito Female Mounth Parts
  
• House Fly Male Mounth Parts
  
• Insect Compound Eye. W.m.
  
• Daphnia. W.m.
  
• Cyclops. W.m.
  
• Housefly Wing. W.m.
  
• Frog Egg One Cell Stage. Sec.
  
• Frog Egg Two Cell Stage. Sec.
  
• Frog Late Gastrula. Sec.
  
• Cycloid. W.m.
  
• Epithelia Cell. W.m.
  
• Chicken Blood. Smear.
  
• Motor Neuron. Ox. W.m.

It also includes a set of lens paper to clean immersion oil off of your lenses, so that’s always a plus as well. Oil has to be cleaned off after use to prevent clouding of your expensive 100x objective (which will then need replacement if damaged).

So all in all, if you need a great microscope slides set to start with, this is a great way to go, for a great deal. You can check out this Omax prepared and blank slide starter kit from here: CS-A96AA50-SCLP100