Choosing a Microscope

When you’re ordering lab equipment and deciding which type of microscope to go with, consider the differences between these common types:

Compact Microscopes: Small, easy-to-move microscopes are well suited for industrial applications in quality control and inspection.

Stereo and Stereozoom Microscopes: Also known as dissecting microscopes, these low-power (magnification up to 100x) microscopes have a separate eyepiece and objective lens for each eye. Enable stereo or three-dimensional images of the specimen. Longer working distance allows viewing of bigger samples such as circuit boards for quality control applications. Stereozoom microscopes have continuous magnification adjustment?no need to turn to a different objective lens. Models with built-in cameras are also available.

Compound Microscopes: Provide higher magnification/resolution (up to 1000x) than stereo microscopes. Ideal for tissue samples and bacteria identification. They use two lenses, the objective and the eyepiece, to “compound” the magnification. Specialty models include inverted, phase-contrast, metallurgical, and microscopes with built-in cameras.

Digital Microscopes and Cameras: Cameras allow you to capture an image of what appears in the microscope. There are cameras that can be mounted to a microscope or stand-alone versions that don’t require a microscope. Download images to a computer or view them directly on a monitor.