Customer Reviews

Microscope 8200

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This could be a very nice item for its intended use. However, a major drawback that would have me express concern to future buyers and recommend against its purchase has been mentioned before in these reviews. The light not only doesn't work, but the batteries fit loose with over 1/4" of play. This was apparently designed by a committee who could not decide whether to wire them in parallel or series because neither is complete. The whole mechanics of the light is dangerous to sell to the intended market as it can result in an 8 to 12 year old attempting to repair and wind up creating an excessive and dangerous amount of heat. Since "only" 40% of the buyers of the Meade 8200 have a problem with a crucial part of the microscope according to these reviews, it equates to a coin toss on receiving a Meade 8200 that is not defective. I would recommend caution to those whose light works and be aware of not leaving it on unattended. If the manufacturer left contacts and tension springs out of mine, et al, there may be workable ones that are inferior also. Since this was a gift for my niece I bought her a small light and a mirror to reflect to the microscope.

I bought this for my eight-year-old daugher thinking it would be a decent entry-level microscope for her. It turned out to easily be the most disappointing Christmas gift I got.

First of all, it's very cheaply constructed almost entirely of plastic. More importantly though, the focusing knob didn't work at all. Right out of the box there was no way to adjust the focus. It was completely useless. What a disappointment!

(...)

The components of this microscope that generate the light from batteries started melting in its first application. The batteries got very hot. Upon inspection, the design is flawed. If used around children, be VERY CAREFUL. Meade is generally a very good company, but this item, manufactured in China, is flawed.

We have not had a problem with the light or batteries. This microscope works as we expected and we have been very pleased with it. The quality of the images is very good. The manual is very easy to follow, even for my nine-year-old.

This microscope is poorly constructed. It arrived and nothing worked. The mirror/light was in pieces, the slide platform did not operate and the optics were slanted and distorted. DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM!!!!

The 8200 microscope is far less then anything you would expect for the price. I was disapointed with the very small and not well made product. If you want a toy microscope by the lower price units and save your money. If you want something to use and explore with spend more on a better made unit.

We were just looking for a beginner scope but this looked like so much more for the price. The lighting really works well to view deatils. We have had fun as a family trying some of the slides suggested in the instructions.

This microscope is not a toy. I would expect to pay more for this level of product. It feels solid out of the box and it is smooth in focusing and when switching powers. My daughter is having a great time exploring things around the house with this microcope.