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Looking for a microscope (1 Viewer)

postcardcv

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I am thinking of buying a microscope to try and show my kids some tiny things! Ideally I would like a range of magnificantions going from relatively low power and easy to use to some thing much higher. Ideally I would like to be able to attach a camera to it too... Budget is about £150, is it possible?
 
Spend a little more and it will open up a whole new world. I'd recommend joining a local microscopy group and/or a national one such as the Postal Microscopical Society- the latter send out superb slides to borrow on a monthly basis complete with explanatory notes (about 20 quid a year or a bit less). A lot of members are very knowledgeable. Some of these groups hold hands on events and sales fairs.

Pick some brains and find a decent compound microscope for around 200 secondhand. 300 or a little more should get you a Leitz /Leica microscope (or a Zeiss etc) and they are very good. I think most decent microscopes can be persuaded to take a digital camera. Some of these people will be professionals in related fields. You're bound to meet some helpful people who are open to enthusiastic beginners.

A good compound will have a range a of lenses allowing you to view many things from plant cells right up to bacteria- the latter might be an oil immersion lens where you put a drop of special oil on the slide and lower the lens onto it- quite simple. Slides can be had fairly cheaply at events- get there early though- and from eBay and the like. The sort of prices I've mentioned are for a stereo microscope and I'd recommend this over one with one lens to look through. If you go for the latter you can expect to pay less though.

The compound microscope will be OK for anything mounted on a slide. You can also just whack samples on a bit of glass (or between two glass slides) and you can examine droplets of water from ponds and so on- the amount and variety of life in a drop of water squeezed from moss or from a pond is extraordinary.

To wet your and your children's appetites look up Water Bears.
 
I am thinking of buying a microscope to try and show my kids some tiny things! Ideally I would like a range of magnificantions going from relatively low power and easy to use to some thing much higher. Ideally I would like to be able to attach a camera to it too... Budget is about £150, is it possible?

Look no further than www.onestopnature.co.uk
Great range of very very good quality microscopes, start at about £129.
 
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