AmScope T300B?

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MortallyWounded
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AmScope T300B?

#1 Post by MortallyWounded » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:35 pm

Hello all,

So my stepdaughter is getting a new AmScope T300B trinocular compound for Christmas, and I'm having trouble finding any information about it. The features on AmScope's site are what led me to believe that, for the price, this is perfect for someone like her, as she is a nature geek and wants to become a pediatrician. She basically wanted a binocular microscope, and since I use a Nikon with a camera at work, I wanted her to have the camera option as well so I chose the T300B. But I can only find one photo of it, no unboxing videos, no reviews, and practically no other information about the size and weight (Amazon.com shows that it is about 15 lb for shipping purposes). Does anyone else have one of these, and if so how do you like it?

One thing she will miss is the built-in topside light that her monocular scope has. Since that is a tiny gooseneck built into the base, she will need to provide an alternative light source for this purpose. Otherwise, is there anything else we ought to know about this seemingly basic scope?

I also purchased for her, as an entry-level camera, their 1.3MP eyepiece camera. I hope she will find it useful enough to eventually upgrade to a much better camera, and since the T300B has a C-mount with a 23mm tube adapter included, it seems though she will have many many options.

If anyone has more information about this particular microscope, that would be great. Thanks a ton!

Matt

PeteM
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#2 Post by PeteM » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:56 pm

You'll find the lamp built into the base is OK - no need to buy another. This should be an OK starter scope.

If the 1.3mp camera is not out of the box - and waiting for Christmas - you might consider returning it and spending just a bit more for a 3mp versions with a .5x reduction lens. Or, just getting a cell phone holder for the trinocular tube. The 1.3mp camera was fine when we were displaying pictures on old style TV screens. Most every tablet, digital screen, computer etc. these days has more pixels to display. Alternately keep the 1.3mp to share images on something like Zoom - but use a cell phone camera to take better pictures.

Hope your budding scientist (and you) have fun.

MortallyWounded
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:06 pm

Re: AmScope T300B?

#3 Post by MortallyWounded » Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:38 pm

Since she wasn't asking for a camera, I just wanted to get her one that was inexpensive, but a step above the 0.3MP that came with a similar-spec Omax. At worst, she can use it with her monocular scope (assuming I can get the turret screw to Loc-Tite into place). I was looking at the reduction lenses cameras and figured if she really wants to we can do it for her birthday. Or she can buy one outright herself. Right now I'm more interested in knowing how the scope will fair over the next four years. It's definitely better than anything she's used at high school (I toured their lab and it's sad how little funding our tiny city gets) but wasn't sure if there were any obvious faults. I'll share our experience here as soon as I can!

MortallyWounded
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#4 Post by MortallyWounded » Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:52 pm

So an update on the microscope... it came in the mail over the weekend and I am very excited (but also slightly disappointed). Since this is an inexpensive Chinese microscope, the disappointment is well, typical.

[*] The head fell off when taking it out of the box. I caught it in my knees thankfully, but they never bothered to even come close to tightening the set screw which secures it to the frame.
[*] The immersion oil sample was mostly leaked out into the protective bag. Figures.
[*] Just as with the old monocular "toy" microscope, the eyepieces do not come with o-rings. When the head fell off, one eyepiece nearly fell out. I will definitely get o-rings for all four eyepieces as well as the camera which just came in.

I wish we could have afforded to get her into phase contrast, but first let's start off with the basics of "real" microscopy and get her comfortable using immersion oil for high magnification as well as some photography. :)

Greg Howald
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#5 Post by Greg Howald » Tue Dec 22, 2020 2:47 pm

These days made in China isn't necessarily a bad thing. They've done a lot with optics. The t 300 doesn't give a lot of information. Amscope does not offer a users manual for it. It is not a great scope but it's not necessarily a bad one either. You have already discovered that it will take some tweaking but it should still be able to perform, and yes, it should serve her well for four years, unless (like me) she gets infected with the microscope disease and wants to continually upgrade.
I have much larger and better engineered scopes but I still have use for the smaller and less expensive scopes I started out with. I hope she enjoys it.
Greg

crb5
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#6 Post by crb5 » Tue Dec 22, 2020 11:35 pm

The Amscope site says the T300B package comes with a downloadable manual – but I didn’t see any manual for this particular model on their website. This microscope has fairly similar specifications to the Amscope 120 series whose manual is listed. General operation would be similar. There is not much to operating in the basic mode – make sure the condenser is centered (close iris and look down the ocular port with eye-piece removed and move condenser with 3 set screws to center), move the condenser vertically to its upmost position almost in contact with the slide (and add oil when working with 100x objective) and set the aperture iris to match the objective for best x-y resolution, or close down the iris for better contrast and z resolution (depth of field).
I have an Amscope 120, and also use a 1.3 MP USB camera for live teaching presentations over Zoom. The draw back with this camera is that it only sees about 1/5 the field of view cf. the 10x eyepieces. However, the resolution is not likely to be limited by the pixels. In fact, a colleague teaching on the same program with 5 MP camera couldn’t Zoom movies of swimming plankton because the frame rate was too low, and they had to downgrade the image to the equivalent of 1.3 MP for it to transmit over the internet. I also tried a camera adapter with a 0.5x reduction lens but the extra field of view was poor – generally you are better off using a smart phone or digital camera fixed to the eyepiece because the latter often (depending on microscope) helps correct some of the aberrations in the objective lens.
Finally, before thinking about phase contrast, the best gift you can give a geek is to challenge them to add their own modifications for free (e.g. adding dark field stops, oblique illuminator stops, Dodt contrast) or for just a few dollars (polarization and fluorescence). Help is at hand from this forum, the Microbehunter videos, or just Googling the appropriate words with an added term such as DIY or hack. This will provide them with a better understanding of microscopy and a lifetime of fun.

Greg Howald
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#7 Post by Greg Howald » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:44 am

Sometimes, as part of the packing list that is shipped with the scope, on the same page, you will find a download code for a user manual and instructions as to how to do it will be included. If it isn't there then you won't get a user's manual as has proven true with some models.
There have been times when I would like to read the users manual while making a decision about purchasing a scope and the manual wasn't listed. That is a new system and I think it isn't done yet.
Greg

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#8 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:55 am

What is this about o rings for the oculars? I have scopes from B&L and Zeiss spanning four decades and none of them have o rings. Don't turn your microscope upside down!
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

Greg Howald
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#9 Post by Greg Howald » Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:41 am

An Amscope camera sees things with an eyepiece field of view of about 40x. With a reduction lens it goes down to about 20x. I have simply gotten used to using a 20x eyepiece when using the camera and reduction lens so what I see ( which is an opposing mirror view ) is similar in size to that of the camera. The view without the reduction lens is usually useless to me.
Greg

AlanB
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Location: Worcester, MA USA

Re: AmScope T300B?

#10 Post by AlanB » Mon Mar 29, 2021 3:54 pm

Contrary to an earlier post, there is a users manual for the T300B. It is named '300 Series Complete Manual'. I don't see this as an option in Amscope's download page, but I contacted Amscope via their online chat option and was immediately provided the user manual pdf.

I just received this Amscope T300B microscope as a gift and I'm looking forward to starting this new hobby!

Jimbo
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Re: AmScope T300B?

#11 Post by Jimbo » Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:43 pm

AlanB,
Please post your opinions on your new scope. I’m very interested in this one, but am a little hesitant due to lack of info online.
What kind of filter holder does it have? Are you pleased with its overall operation, etc.
Thanks, Jim.

Greg Howald
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: AmScope T300B?

#12 Post by Greg Howald » Sun Apr 04, 2021 12:16 pm

The t300 is indeed a very basic microscope but it Should be able to serve well. Since you got the b model you have a set of 20x Eyepieces as well. That's about the limit on eyepiece size for good use with this scope. I wouldn't suggest a set of 25x. You'll squint a lot.
It is possible to use polarization and dark field and Rheinberg filters with it but you will have to make them. Patch diameter should be about 1/2 inch. 20x and 60x objectives are available for it, and then you would be about done regarding upgrades for the scope itself.
Cameras are available in a very wide selection. When the time comes to upgrade that you have many options but remember also the type computer you have. Older computers do best with lower pixels. Newer computers can handle about anything out there. It is not a bad scope at all overall and it's good for introduction.
One piece of advice is that if you have more than one scope you need to separate them from one another and use dust covers. They multiply like rabbits. I started this three years ago and now have ten scopes and they are expecting in June.
Greg

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