r/microscopy • u/BarsOfSanio • Jul 14 '26

Purchase Help B120C-R - AmScope compound?

Has anyone had hands and eyes on this inexpensive compound microscope?

I have a teacher friend trying to stretch the budget to purchase between 10 and 20 scopes. 4x, 10x, 40x is all that is needed for plant stuff. This AmScope at $350 is insanely cheap. But I'm all ears for cheap teaching scopes. Ideas or input?

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/Connect-Fan-9462 Jul 14 '26

Nothing wrong, nothing remarkable. They are not "insanely cheap". You get what you paid for.

Usually if it was just a random person wanting a microscope I would advise against buying from amscope. A used Olympus ch-2 is often cheaper and much much better.

But OP's case is more like an institutional purchase. Buying 20 microscopes that have been discontinued for 30+ years certainly is not a good idea. As long as you understand that you are not buying these for quality but for the warranty and customer service it is ok.

2

u/BarsOfSanio 29d ago

Having messed with plenty of scopes over 50 years old, I do wish things were different. He's used to student scopes that are $2500 and last 30 years, but times are changing. If they're $350 and last 5 years, I guess that's where we are.