Advices on buying old Eschenbach microscope for 100€

[Ascout]

Hi! Im happy to be here in the forum. Thank you!
Im from transilvania and i ordered an Eschenbach microscope with a 10, 40, and two pieces of 100x objective. The microscope didn't arrive yet, probably tomorrow it's going to be picked up by the shipping company.
I can check the microscope when it is arriving, and i dont have to accept it if its not in a good condition.

Im asking for advice, if someone can tell me, if this brand or this particular model (which i couldn find the model nr... but i could find some more similar ones on ebay without x y movement of the stage) is worth the 100€ or not?
The seller seems ok, he said the optics are clean, but i will check it quickly when i will have it.
Is there any quickchecking method that i can use? I was thinking to use a prepared slide, or maybe just focus in the emptyness to see if theres dust or fungus in the objective, i might see.. im curious.

I'm waiting for the advices. Thank you!

[imkap]

As a complete newbie and did a similar thing with a Zeiss microscope a few weeks ago. It turned out to be quite good. I just opened it up together with the mailman and checked if all the moving parts were working. I decided to take the risk and now I'm happy with my choice.

It's a good idea to check the internet (ebay etc.) for sold listings of the same model microscope. As I said I'm a newbie, I've never heard of the Eschenbach brand but a quick search on eBay doesn't reveal very high prices. I think with some patience you might get something better for the similar price... Just my 2 cents

[Ascout]

Thanks for the advice! I did some search ofc on Eschenbach and it seems like a quality optics manufacturer. Also on this forum i found a post where it is mentioned here: viewtopic.php?t=7258
It could be a locally branded Motic?
I know that from personal experience, that west germany made stuff can be pretty well made also.
I tried to follow Oliver's suggestions how to choose a microscope and i think this can stay up to the criteria. It has DIN 160 objectives,
X Y Table movement(maybe not original),
fine and course adjustment,
i dont know if its an Abbe condenser, but i think thats a condenser i see on the photo
For this money, i dont know if i can find a better one locally. Maybe in other contries yes, but that could cost more if i count in the delivery price.

[imkap]

It's not very expensive, does look nicely made and seems portable, so maybe you'll find a use for it even if you get something better eventually... You'll see it live tomorrow then maybe you'll know more. The stage looks pretty...
I got some great advice on checking the optics from the more experienced members of the forum on my first thread with the similar question as yours, you can look up if you want. Hopefully someone more experienced opts in here.

Good luck

[apochronaut]

There were many small German manufacturers. Since the optics and stage are the most precise and complex parts of a microscope, many of them would buy those components ftom a company that specialized in making them. The company Seibert in Wetzlar made many objectives for other companies. It is possible that the objectives on your microscope were made by Seibert.

[Alexander]

Eschenbach never was a manufacturer. They were gross traders from their founding in 1913. Your old Eschenbach was most probably made in Russia or Japan. It will be ok, better than the contemporary Chinese ones.

[Ascout]

Thank you all for the advices! so i bought this Eschenbach microscope and i'm happy with the overall quality!
The condenser has a some play and the filter holdel is a flimsy plastic plus the stage is going harder on the X axis,(oil is hard. how to make it thinner ?)
On the Y axis, the objective is stopped by the stage mechenics on the bottom, so i cannot view the whole slide... But its not that big of an issue..
The objectives where a bit oily, but i could clean it with Ethanol 96% ( I dont have proper cleaning solution so i read this could be an alternative... please tell me if im wrong)
The microscope came with 10-40-100x and an extra 100x objective that is different brand and its not parfocal to the others (if somebody knows the brand shown on the picture pls tell me )
i could mount my dslr with the t2 mount which came with the microscope. I drilled a whole on the Dslr Cap and screwed in the t mount and its great
Here are some photos of the microscope:

[imkap]

Congratulations on your new microscope. I used distilled water mostly for lens. As for alcohol you can stroll around the forum to see whether to use isopropyl or 70% ethanol. I think 100% is too strong. First try to blow off any particles so you don't scratch the glass.
The stage mechanism does not look very complicated but still if disassembling be very careful.