Hello from South Bend, IN

[jawats]

Hello denizens!

I'm newish to microscopy (I had an ancient, lime-green, all-metal Tasco growing up, but nothing in the last 25 years), and am looking forward to introducing my daughters (6,11,14) to the world of microscopy. I'm a lawyer and adjunct professor, three kids, two cats, one wife, and a decent amount of Pentax / k-mount camera equipment.

I'm looking for my next / first scope. I've looked at some of the AMScopes and Omaxes, and haven't been all that impressed. It seems like you get a great deal of "okay" pieces in the lower-cost models, and then some better quality once you spend a great deal more.

I have some handyman capability, and can and have done minor repairs and cleaning on things like camera lenses, iPhones, MP3 players, and so on. I also have the odd size tools, which are sometimes required. I'm thinking here of spanners and JIS screwdrivers.

All that to say is that you should expect a post on used scopes from me at a point in the near future. Thanks for the forums!

[MicroBob]

Hi,
welcome to the forum!
It's a good idea to introduce your daughters to microscopy as a possiblity to actively tackle subjects they are interested in. As a father of two boys (a bit older) I have made the very best experiences with offering opportunities and experiences but not connecting any expectations to it. The best one can do is provide circumstances where they can get to know many things but at the same time feel that it is appreciated when the choose their own way. The first reaction to these offerings was not overwhelming, but a couple of years later I suddenly saw that they activly start projects they wouldn't otherwise.
Nearly indispendable in any household is a stereo microscope with at least one low magnification, like 10x. I have removed so many splinters with them I could heat the house for a day. This would be the fist buy from my view. Something like a 7x to 40x is great if you can afford more than the basic model.

A good book to explain the use of a compound microscope is:
Oxlade, "The world of the microscope"

Do you have a name to adress you?

Bob

[jawats]

Bob,

Thanks for the great intro advice!

I am Jonathan.

--Jonathan

[wstenberg]

Jonathan,

Welcome to the forum!
I'm not sure what you are interested in looking at. At present, I am needing to decrease my number of microscopes, and I may have some very affordable options.
I am attaching a photo of a little Zeiss compound microscope. It's in good shape. I have put a set of brand-new Chinese objectives on it, and a brand-new set of Chinese oculars. The stage has been raised to accommodate these lenses.

It actually works pretty good. When you are ready to upgrade, you can replace/upgrade the objectives with a set of Zeiss objectives, and it will work even better. I put it together as an inexpensive starter microscope.
Let me know if you might be interested.