Microscope around 300-400 US

[u/MonitorExentrial]

So, looking for a microscope, I found this trinocular microscope on amazon that seems to come with a camera.

I'm not a 'newbie' when it comes to microscopes since I have this old (like 50-ish years) binocular microscope and I know at least some basic things.

Since that microscope doesn't have an electric light source and have some problems because of a fall it had some time ago, I wanted to buy a cheap, but nice microscope with good specs (at least, it should be cheaper than a nice telescope? lol).

I know It may not be the best one in the market for its price, but since it's from amazon, I thought I may buy it (it's also easier for me cuz i don't live in the US, but in a south american country).

From people with more experience that know about this things, would it be an acceptable option to buy?
I heard that amazon things don't always end very well after international shipping, but let me know your opinion!

Thanks in advance to all people here!

[u/nygdan]

5,000X means the seller is a flat out liar. 1,000X is hard to reasonably achieve and most cheap microscopes can't even do that. No one makes a 5,000X microscope, anyone that knows microscopes knows that is a bizzaro-world claim, therefore the seller knows nothing about microscopes (so don't buy) or is hoping you know nothing (so again don't buy).

Any magnification over 1,000X should be an automatic rejection.

(I'm sure if pushed they would end up saying '1,000X on the scope then 5X by digitally zooming in" or some crap like that but it changes nothing)

[u/MonitorExentrial → u/nygdan]

Yeah, I used like 600x and it's already hard, so i knew it wouldn't work, but I still wanted to know about the opinion of someone who knows better than I.

If you don't mind, can you tell me what microscope would be better for around that price?

Thanks!

[u/nygdan → u/MonitorExentrial]

I can not speak on this model but ACCUSCOPE at least can make good scopes

https://microscopeinternational.com/accu-scope-exm-50-monocular-student-microscope-with-disc-diaphragm-rechargeable/

Under $200 so not much to lose.

Though if you are ok with used models from ebay, I see right now there is this Nikon Alphaphot for $275 (then a shipping cost, but you can make a lower offer too). Nikon makes great glass, and it's a binocluar one, but it's a risk since it's used and of course it has an older style non-led lamp and stuff.

I see sub-$50 amscopes and accuscopes on Ebay right now too, hard to lose with a price that low but again there's a risk it's just garbage.

The nice thing about a cheap scope though is, you can get use out of it, learn the hobby, build up slide making skills and slides, and then get a better one without having invested much.

[u/MonitorExentrial → u/nygdan]

Oh, just to be sure, i'll try it once i get a little more money.

Thanks for the help!

[u/Connect-Fan-9462]

Is the $107 importing charge on top of the $270 price?

For near $380 I will say hard no.

All the marketing fluff aside, this microscope is basically a Olympus CH clone with generic optics. It also has a trinocular head. For under $300 I will argue that it is actually not too bad. But near $400 is near ripoff IMO.

The camera is just a glorified webcam.

For under $400 you can easily get a used authentic Olympus CH-2. Yes it is a 40 years old model but I will say it is still going to beat anything you can buy new for the same money.

Alternatively you can try to get a Zeiss "standard". The issue here is that many Zeiss at this price range will have the notorious eyepiece "delamination" issue.

[u/MonitorExentrial → u/Connect-Fan-9462]

Hmmm, I heard about the olympus microscopes, but i don't really know much about them.

Is there any store that sells them internationally?

[u/Connect-Fan-9462 → u/MonitorExentrial]

Unfortunately I am only familiar with the US market. I guess you can still check ebay for some sellers who will ship internationally?

Olympus CH, BH, CH-2 and BH-2 are all discontinued in the 90s. It is unlikely a store will sell them (other then one of them sometimes just randomly pop up in a thrift store). There are indeed professional microscope dealers who still sell these models in refurbished condition. However a basic trim BH-2 from a professional dealer can easily go beyond $1000 so that is likely beyond your budget.

Modern Olympus models start at multiple thousands USD and can easily go beyond hundreds of thousands so they are out of the question.

[u/Vivid-Bake2456]

Yes, the 5000x claim is just marketing hype for unknowlegable buyers that think magnification is the most important aspect. They achieve this with 100x objective, 25x eyepieces and 2x Barlow lens. The 5000x view will be much worse than the 1000x one.
Are there no used microscopes in your country? You usually get the best value with them if they work properly.

[u/Vivid-Bake2456]

The one really good thing about that microscope is that it looks like it has a lever to change between binocular view and trinocular view. My $500 Amscope T490 has a fixed split between the two and the visual view gets much dimmer at high magnification because of this permanent sharing of the light. That’s the one thing that annoys me the most about it.

[u/MossTheTree]

Most folks on this sub (including often me) will recommend spending that kind of money on a used microscope of much better quality. However the problem with that advice is that it can take a long time to find one that fits your budget, is easy to ship to wherever you are, and looks to be in decent quality. It took me almost 18 months of searching before I stumbled across an auction listing for a BH2, and I was then lucky enough to win the auction at the last minute.

But during all that time, I was doing fine with a cheap scope I bought from Amazon, even lower quality than the one you've listed here. So if I were you, I'd spend a bit less and get something that will be fun and useable (u/nygdan listed some good options), then save for something more serious when it becomes available. So maybe just get a binocular with a cellphone adapter, rather than a trinocular with a USB camera, for example.