New to the forum as of today, but I've been playing with the vintage Graf Apsco shown in the picture for about 3 years now. I have learned a lot from this simple, basic microscope.
The company that I used to work for closed down and they were giving away 3 of these, and I ended up getting one of them.
It's been a great starter microscope; good enough that it got me hooked on the subject. And at this point, it has me wanting more in terms of a better, more modern scope.
The Graf Apsco I have does not have a light source. I've just been using an LED flashlight under it for illumination. I know...crude.
The optics aren't bad, but they are old, have a narrow field of view, and have a lot of specs that look like dust in the image, even after trying to clean all the optics very thoroughly.
It's a solid microscope though, and for free, I couldn't complain. So with that said, and the fact that I'm hooked now on microscopy, it's time for a new, modern, more advanced scope. I've been doing a lot of research and watching Youtube. I understand pretty well at this point the pros and cons of buying used vs new vs the big 5 vs Chinese spin-offs like Amscope and Omax. I also have a pretty good idea of what I want in my next microscope.
The basic specs that I am looking for are:
40X - 1000X with the 1000X Oil Immersion
4 or 5 Objectives
Plan Infinity Optics
Mechanical Stage with slide holder (man it will be so nice not to have to move the slide around with my fingers anymore)
10X Binocular Wide field eyepiece (man it will be nice being able to see with both eyes. And not seeing my eyelashes more than the specimen as with my current very narrow field of view)
Photo tube (trinocular) so I can take pictures/video
LED or Halogen Koehler illumination
Adjustable interpupillary distance
Adjustable diopter eyepiece(s)
After much debate, I have settled on the Amscope T720Q-18M3.
Not exactly a budget microscope, and not one of the big 5, but for the money, I get everything I want (and more). For me, I feel it's a good value for a mid-range scope with many advanced features.
Here is a link: https://www.amscope.com/40x-1000x-quint ... amera.html I have to place the order by Monday because Amscope is having a 15% off Labor Day Weekend Sale that ends Monday, so any reassurance that I'm making a good choice before I place the order is very welcome. This microscope will give me everything that I want moving up to my next scope, and at the same time, plenty of room to grow. Amscope has a good selection of add-ons for this scope. Future add-ons that I'd like is a DSLR camera adapter, and a Darkfield condenser.
Sorry for the long introduction. I am really looking forward to learning more from this forum.
Cheers to all my new fellow Microbe Hunters
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