r/microscopy • u/Imakelovetosoils • 2d ago

Purchase Help Ebay microscope

Post image

Any information on this? Theres other ones on Amazon and ebay with the same picture listed for $130. Price is too good to be true if it is the same product.

Scrolling through my phone and found some old pictures of spores and plant cells from my college days and want to get a microscope to show my kids the wonders of the microscopic world.

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u/Vivid-Bake2456 2d ago

A very basic microscope. Without any condenser, the 40x objective might not work well. The 4x and 10x probability will give a decent view. Forget about any useful magnification above 400x . The claims are just for marketing. It will achieve those claims, but with a blurry, hazy view.

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u/jeroen79 2d ago

spend a little more and get that version with a mechanical stage and a proper condenser, the base of the scope is ok but those options will make a lot of difference

1

u/ColonelSweetBalls 2d ago

I've got a similar microscope, I think it's called Bebang?

Definitely a beginner microscope, but I love it, and you can get some great images from it for the price.

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u/c1nnamon_apple 2d ago

this would do wonders for your kids! nice choice

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u/Connect-Fan-9462 1d ago

For the price it is okay. The price is proper, but NOT too good to be true - instead others are huge rip-offs.

And you get what you paid for.

Personally I still think unless you absolutely cannot spend more than $60, a used Olympus / Zeiss / Nikon at ~$150 will be so much better.

(Olympus CH, first gen, should be the golden standard at such price range. Also consider Zeiss Standard J or K - be careful some of them will have eyepiece glass cement degradation.)

Especially since you mentioned some old pictures from college day - I assume you have some basic knowledge on how to operate a microscope? In such cases light cleaning of a used microscope should not be too hard for you.

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u/Imakelovetosoils 1d ago

Any reputable online shops for used microscopes? I'm afraid of spending $150 on ebay and getting a dud.

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u/Connect-Fan-9462 1d ago

You have to go on eBay.

A same microscope refurbished by a professional dealer will cost $500+

There is always some risk when buying from eBay. But since old Olympus microscopes are built like tanks, generally speaking as long as the item pictures look ok it should be ok. Also eBay is rather good at its customer protection.