Need advice before buying first microscope

[astrotol]

Hello everyone,

I need advice. I'm deciding between these microscopes and I'm not sure which one will be better.

I'm planning to do mostly videos and images with my DSLR. I do astrophotography but I want to dive into the microscopy as well.

I don't want to spend too much at the beginning but I don't want a crapy microscope. After extensive research, I'm looking into these microscopes:

BRESSER ERUDIT BASIC MONO 40X-400X
https://www.bresser.de/en/Brand/Bresser ... pe-23.html

SWIFT SW380T
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07VVJ1WY1/ref ... ljaz10cnVl

SWIFT SW350T
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07M8PNYW4?ref_=ast_sto_dp

BTW what is the difference between the 350 and 380?

Thank you!

[PeteM]

The Bresser looks to be a monocular scope == not what you want for photography.

The two Swift-branded scopes look to be similarly spec'd Chinese scopes of slightly different design. Both have achromat objectives. You might want to spend a bit more and get plan achromat objectives. A guess is that the 380T is a more "modern" design with no optical or mechanical advantage over the somewhat more traditional 350T design.

If you can see them in person, might look to see which one looks more stable with a camera up top.

[astrotol]

Thank you, Peter,

I don't have a problem with mono because I will be focusing on the computer screen.

The 380T seems to have black objectives on the photos(don't look at the first photo it's 350T) and it is cheaper. The 350T has silver objectives like Bresser. All three have DIN objectives.

I just want to experiment and see what it is about so I don't plan to buy plan objectives now. If I like it I will buy a better scope and will sell or give away the cheap one.

So basically my question is which one of these microscopes has better optics(for visual as well) or if they are the same. Bresser is 180eur and SWIFT is 250eur.

[Hobbyst46]

Your choice would better rely on another factor: which camera you shall install on the scope - a DSLR or a USB/eyepiece camera (Toupcam, Amscope-branded cameras and similar), and what quality of photos to expect.
Especially if you go for the monocular and intend to use the scope without eyepieces (IMHO not a good decision; a trinocular head with 10X eyepieces is the right way to go).

And, especially if you think of a DSLR, an installation that yields a decent photomicrograph is not always straightforward.

I would consult the manufacturers/dealers/representatives of these scopes about camera installation and performance, ahead of buying.
Here is an example of experience with this task :
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7628&p=69067&hilit=Bresser#p68211

[astrotol]

Your choice would better rely on another factor: which camera you shall install on the scope - a DSLR or a USB/eyepiece camera (Toupcam, Amscope-branded cameras and similar), and what quality of photos to expect.
Especially if you go for the monocular and intend to use the scope without eyepieces (IMHO not a good decision; a trinocular head with 10X eyepieces is the right way to go).

And, especially if you think of a DSLR, an installation that yields a decent photomicrograph is not always straightforward.

I would consult the manufacturers/dealers/representatives of these scopes about camera installation and performance, ahead of buying.
Here is an example of experience with this task :
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7628&p=69067&hilit=Bresser#p68211

Yes, I went through that thread. It was interesting reading. But connecting the camera to the microscope is not my concern. I have a lot of experience with a telescope and I modified a few of Newtonian reflectors for prime focus astrophotography with DSLR where it was not possible reaching the focus. I understand the issue with FOV, sensor size/distance, optimizing the focal distance and image train. I own few CMOS and CCD cameras and I can also try eyepiece projection or smartphone with an adapter. So I think I can work around any problem in this area.

But I have no experience with microscope objectives so I want to know what is the difference between these scopes regarding optics. Is it even worth comparing them in this price range or are there any differences?

[astrotol]

So I found a deal for 170eur and ordered this microscope:

BRESSER ERUDIT DLX 40-600X
https://www.bresser.de/en/Microscopes-M ... scope.html

4 objectives instead of 3 and 60x objective instead of 100x OIL. Looks good to me and I will post the results soon.

I can also upgrade this microscope to plan objectives in the future if I want.

[Chris Dee]

Looking forward to seeing some shots from your new microscope, keep us informed as to how you get on.