MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

You might try very fine syringe hypodermic needles. They go by gauge number, #33 is the finest I ever met, but #27 (and maybe grades #28-#30 too) are easy to find (on eBay, etc). The tip of a hypodermic needle is actually a tiny blade. Another useful very thin utensil, though not a blade, is the ne...

I found a dead little spider, only about 3mm in size, I want to make permanent slides from his legs and other parts, I have a dissecting kit but even the finest scissors, tweezers and probes are far too big to take apart the tiny parts, I’m using a stereo microscope to aid dissection, is it possible...

Thanks for the replies, it sounds like they need a lot of work, and I’m new to microscopes so probably won’t have the skills needed, also buying objectives might end up being costly, I think I’ll leave them for someone more competent to buy.

I noticed these for sale in a local Facebook group (England), they want £250 for all pictured (about $310), it seems cheap but I wondered if I’d need to spend a lot to get them actually working, thoughts appreciated. To be honest I don’t “need” another microscope, but if it ended up as a cheap proje...

Thankyou for your detailed reply, that’s given me a lot to think about

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can advise, I recently got an Amscope 720 microscope and I want to try using it dark field but I can’t seem to locate a filter holder to put the dark field patches, Is it possible to use dark field with this microscope? Thanks for reading IMG_2100.jpeg IMG_2101.jpeg IMG...

I’m looking to upgrade my entry level amscope stereo microscope, I use it for general observations as a hobby, I want my new one to be trinocular. My options seem to be a new Chinese microscope or a second hand older branded one. On eBay there is a Nikon SMZ-10 with a trinocular head for £700, I do ...

Happy new year, from Gainsborough, England.

Many thanks for the replies, they are very informative.

I’m looking for an inexpensive microtome and noticed some old handheld ones on eBay for about £60, has anyone got any experience with them?

I think I will be getting a Trinocular then as photography is going to be quite important for me. I don’t think the trinocular apex is in stock, the Amscope T490B seems to be the cheapest I can find that ships from the UK at £305, it’s fulfilled by Amazon but sold by Amscope. https://www.amazon.co.u...

Many thanks for the prompt reply. Photography has been a life long hobby for me so i'm not short of cameras!. I have quite a few mirrorless bodies, mostly Micro Four thirds and also a Sony A7 full frame mirrorless, and a Sony RX100 compact. I did think if i went for a Chinese one i should get the ch...

First of all I apologise in advance as I know this question has been asked many times in various forms in this forum, but I would like to know what might be my best option at this moment in time as availability of older microscopes varies. I’m looking to buy a relatively inexpensive first microscope...

Hi, It’s lovely to join this forum, I’ve spent the last few days reading through many posts learning so much. When I was much younger (about 4 decades ago), I used to enjoy using a microscope as a hobby, I had a very basic monocular microscope that was little more than a toy, but I got so much pleas...