Comparing "toy" vs Professional Microscope Optical Quality

[AntoniScott]

I recently watched an informative Youtube video from our moderator where he compared the optical quality of a toy microscope vs the professional model. Watching this video reminded me that I had done the same thing several months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5lBKSF4Xr8&t=624s




I was struck by a comment made that the toy was purchased for nostalgic reasons because last year I did the same thing (i.e. purchase an entry level microscope exactly the same model as I owned as a tennager some six decades earlier purely for nostalgic reasons). It was this microscope, a Lafayette "Researcher", purchased from Lafayette Radio back in 1959-60. As an easily impressed teenager I was drawn to this microscope purely for the fact that it magnified up to 1200x. It came with four objectives (4x,10x,40x and 60x) and four eyepieces (5x,10x 15x and 20Px) All of the microscopes of similar design I saw at that time only went up to 900x so I thought I was ahead of the game, and loved it. Better, this scope launched a life-long interest or obsession in microscopes and microscopy that has lasted to this day. I remember the thrill back then looking at everything from pond water, mosquito wings, my blood cells and anything that I could fit under the scope. Luckily I had some professionally prepared slides that were done to perfection and kept me glued to my scope.
Last year I saw this 1200x Lafayette microscope on the Internet and snapped it up for the same nostalgic reasons. I wanted to know how good this microscope actually was some 60 years later because as we know, time plays tricks on out minds. It was in excellent condition, the objective glass wasn't scratched or covered with junk from careless use. Dust had settled inside the objectives which required careful disassembly and cleaning.
I was as impressed today as I was back in 1960 as to the optical quality of this scope which was advertised as having achromatic objectives. Details such as the nuceii of cells could easily be seen and in quite good detail. Contrast and color was not as good as or the same as my Olympus. No wonder, as a teenager I was excited at what I looked at. The field of view was limited as to be expected. The 20x eyepiece was periplanatic or widefield but the 5x,10x and 15x were narrow field. Of course my modern Olympus CH2 and BH2 have far superior optics, especially the objectives but it was interesting doing a comparison.

[Charles]

AntoniScott, This section is for new people to introduce themselves. There are other sections where topics of specimen prep and microscope comparisons can be discussed.

[MichaelG.]

Welcome aboard, Antoni

MichaelG.

[apochronaut]

Those all metal Japanese micrnoscopes of the 50's and 60's captivated more than a few. They must have sold in the hundreds of thousands of them. It sounds like you received one a cut above the others. Most , had no mention of the quality of the objectives on them and were made with chip lenses. Multiples of the same lens, separated by spacers.
The bulk of the series, whether they be Tasco, Selsi , Edmund or Lafayette indicated the quality by the magnification on the front of the optical tube. Lafayette and Edmund were a bit unique in that their better scopes : 1500X and 2000X were R.M.S., so not too bad and likely made by Carton or Kyowa. The 1200X in some incarnations was too. That was the magnification at which they deemed a fine focus to be necessary.

[GeekyWife]

I still have a toy microscope from my childhood, and I pulled it out the other day to try it out.

The mechanical quality is really not bad, though of course it lacks a mechanical stage or Abbe condenser. At the time, I didn't even know those existed. It has a zoom eyepiece, so you can get a range of powers from each objective (50-75X, 200-300X, etc).

But the real issue is that it has fairly severe chromatic aberration, to the point that I wouldn't get much pleasure from using it, and wouldn't feel very good about encouraging someone else to use it.

My AmScope T490B is an order of magnitude better in all respects. There's just no comparison.