As a retired high school biology teacher I am indulging in my lifelong passion for interacting with the living world by exploring local pond micro-organisms. Hence, my purchase of this scope. I had, admittedly, an inauspicious start. About 15 minutes into its first use, the illumination system failed. I tried everything - switching to the supplied replacement bulb, testing both bulbs for continuity, replacing the fuse, checking source voltage, etc. It was a serious disappointment! But, hey, stuff happens. The situation quickly improved. I can only say wonderful things about the tech support at AmScope. It was all done by email. My first email got a very quick and courteous response suggesting a few things to check which I did to no avail. Josiah from tech support then immediately sent out a replacement illumination base which installed easily and has functioned perfectly for a number of hours since. Kudos to AmScope support!
Now, to the microscope itself. From college through 50 years of teaching I have used microscopes ranging from cheap to very high end. I am impressed with how close a microscope at this price point comes to matching performance of far more expensive instruments. The base, stage, turret, and eyepiece mount are solidly built and stable. There is no vibration in the image when changing focus or moving the slide.
All lighting adjustments are easy to perform. The lamp itself has a dimmer control and the substage Abbe condenser moves smoothly. I still have to physically look for the diaphragm adjustment arm on occasion - something I should be able to do by feel, but that's a minor problem. The coarse and fine focus work smoothly with no slippage and no backlash when changing up and down focus. (There is also an adjustment for level of friction in the focusing mechanism.) The moving stage and its controls for x-y axis movement of the slide is a pleasure to use (particularly on swimming protists at higher magnifications!). Movement is smooth and precise on both axes and changing directions is immediate with no slipping at the control knobs.
Most important - the optics. There are 4 objectives included (4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x) plus a pair of 10x and 20x eyepieces. I have not used the 100x oil immersion objective since it has limited utility for my purposes. I have made use, however, of the other three objectives with both sets of eyepieces. All combinations show even brightness across the field of view (if substage illumination is correctly set), no focus distortion (coma) at the edge of the field, and no color distortion. In short, excellent optics. Also notable: an object in focus and in the center of view at low magnification appears in the center of view when higher power objectives are moved into place and only minor focus adjustments are necessary at each change.
I also cannot comment on the vertical viewing port since I have not attempted photography but look forward to trying it out in the near future. In sum, I'm thrilled that such a good instrument could be had at this low price. Spending more, even a lot more, would only produce diminishing returns.
Compare with similar items
This Item  AmScope, Microscope, T490B, Trinocular, Compound, 40X-2000X, Halogen, Metal, White |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -36% $344.66 List: $539.96 | $289.99 | $803.99 | $179.99 | $18.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 23 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Sep 19 | Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 23 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Sep 19 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Oct 3 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Pattern Professional | YAB-YINUO | Pattern Professional | YAB-YINUO | CelticBird |
| max magnification | 2000 multiplier x | 1000 multiplier x | — | 1600 multiplier x | 2500 multiplier x | — |
| light source type | Halogen | Halogen | LED | Halogen | LED | — |
| power source | Adapter | Corded Electric | Battery Powered | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Battery Powered |
| real angle of view | 30 degrees | 30 degrees | — | 45 degrees | 45 degrees | — |
| objective lens | Achromatic | Achromatic | Achromatic | Achromatic | — | — |
| material | Metal | optical glass | ABS acrylic | optical glass | — | — |
| voltage | 220 volts | 240 volts | 240 volts | 240 volts | 240 volts | — |
Reviews with images
Perfect Microscope for beginner
I had a lot of doubt on QA of this purchase when I made it, because of some reviews on amazon & webs mentioned about some mechanical problem. But after it got delivered, I found it's super easy to install and operate even for beginner like me (last and the only time I once used microscope was about 15 years ago in high school). You can definitely trust its functionality.I haven't used its camera system yet (online video says 490B doesn't have camera port, and also I am lazy), so no comments on that part. The picture I attached is just the one I took with my iphone 11 pro through eyepiece.I have used from 40x to 800x, all crisp clear. So I highly recommend this product.Well, if I find any problem in future or their customer support, I will come back and update.update after half day use (deducted one start):After the short honey moon with my new microscope, I do find a problem, which may not be very serious for beginners like me, but may be a "no bar" for some people: There is a black dot in the view no matter which slides I use. Then I found out it's actually some dirt on the lens in left tube, which makes it impossible for beginners like me to clean it. I am ok with this since it's just one dot and always in same position, but just wanna post it out so people can be aware of it.
Top reviews from other countries
CD
Tolles Preis Leistungsverhältnis - Tipp zu 60 Megapixel E-Mount Kamera
Reviewed in Germany on July 27, 2024Amazon Customer
Eccellente rapporto qualità / prezzo, ottimo strumento
Reviewed in Italy on June 11, 2019
Amazon Customer
Reviewed in Italy on June 11, 2019
Il microscopio arriva in una scatola di polistirolo, forse l'unica pecca è la mancanza di una cassa con alloggio per i vari accessori (2 paia di oculari, prolunga per connessione a PC, fusibili, filtri, olio, lampadina di ricambio). Ha comunque un copristrumento in plastica che è efficace per tenere lontana la polvere.
Dopo un paio di settimane di prove sono pienamente soddisfatto del funzionamento. E' vero che la lampada potrebbe essere piu' luminosa, ma ho lavorato con facilità a 2000x (obiettivo ad immersione) senza problemi.
Non posso dire nulla dell'attacco PC perché non ho avuto modo di provarlo, per ora ho fatto qualche foto in proiezione oculare con un cellulare, come si vede dagli attachments la risoluzione è ottima. La prima foto è fatta a 800x, la seconda a 2000x in immersione.
Assolutamente consigliabile per chi vuole divertirsi con la microbiologia.
Images in this review
