Customer Reviews

Nikon 20x Field Microscope Mini

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As a medical doctor somewhat unwillingly dragged in IT by the accidents of life, I suffer from frequent bouts of nostalgia, remembering fondly the time where I was studying life sciences. That's during one of those episode that I bought this gadget, thinking it would probably end up gathering dust on a shelve. Boy, I was wrong! The microscope is so light and well designed that it can be taken anywhere. It is up and running in a few seconds, it's waterproof and it is sturdy. Its optical quality is beyond reproach.

But what really stunned me is the sheer amount of interesting things the 20x magnification is putting within my reach: seemingly uninteresting insects such as aphids offer are seen tantalizing amount of detail; closely watching a dining spider is something you will not forget soon. In the vegetal world, patterns seem to pop out of nowhere. This is also an incredible educational toy for children since it turns the most basic garden into a giant natural history museum.

One caveat, but not an unexpected one: since it is designed to be extremely light, no light source is provided. A white led connected to a cheap 5V supply can be helpful in low light conditions.

I use the Nikon Mini microscope to identify sedges and grasses in the field. It is indeed small - it fits in its case under my car seat. And its plastic body makes it very light; it's no problem to put it into a little backback.

However, there are two issues that make it less than perfect to use. First, the field of view is very narrow - only 11 mm. Second, it is difficult to get your eye close to the lenses because your nose runs into the bulky ocular carriage (I'm not especially large-beaked, either). This means you have to really arch your neck to get a good look at the specimen - pretty uncomfortable after a few minutes' examination.

I'm not sure how durable the body of the microscope will be; although the optics are good so far as they go, I can't imagine the body adding much cost to the microscope, so $250 is a pretty stiff price to pay for it. It is interesting that one of the suggested tags is "educational toy"; this is pretty pricey for a toy.

It would be better to get something a little bigger and bulkier if it had better viewing features.

I bought this item because it had the Nikon name and was small and I thought of it as a gift to a graduating student. I am satisfied after a couple weeks of using it. I have so far been dismally unsuccessful in locating accessory "stage clips." anywhere... (the holes are already pre=molded into the plastic stage in case you wondered) online dealers seem to be unaware about those Nikon parts... calls to Nikon USA telephone numbers has me concluding this is a very small seller item, too bad, it is a good gift for smart kids to get them off the tube. I earnestly believe Nikon could have and should have included the stage clips (they would be smaller than standard lab sizein the package. FYI, I added two AAA cell 10 hour LED book lights for 20.00 each for illumination which is really necessary IMO ( called called "Mighty Bright" book lights from Amazon, for twenty dollars apiece) Necessary. Also consider,for home use, getting a round table cast iron microphone stand and adapting it to a 1/4" bushing in the bottom of the stage if you get more serious. Still won't add much in cost and increases stability on a table. It is plastic,ALL plastic (except the optics) including the focus rack and pinion. It is not lab quality. I mean. But it is more than a toy...optics are not bad if narrow in field. It is a lot of fun to see objects of about 11mm blown up 20 times.

Postscript:My gift person may have to wait a while while I look at aphids on little buds for a while.... I think it is fun to have a 20 power stereo microscope. I can't tell you it whether it is worth the cost,up to you to judge.