First: the highest magnification objective lens is oil immersion only. You must put a drop of oil on your slide cover and then lower the lens into the oil to focus on anything. You must NOT do that with the other three lenses.
This is what allows the 2000x mag: light goes through oil instead of unsteady air. It's a fantastic feature at this price. Don't worry though, you can be happy just using the other 3 lenses, which is what I plan on using mostly.
**If you didn't know what oil immersion objective meant-know is the time to research 'microscopy techniques' along with 'microscope slide preparation' and 'cell staining' techniques and 'dark field' vs 'light field'-- illumination'. Basically: this is a 'real' microscope, and you should learn how to operate it in the proper manner to use it at its fullest. With that said, except for the 4th lens they throw in (oil immersion) a little kid could easily figure out all the features. There is supposed to be a slip of paper with address to download a manual-but I didn't see it. There are tons of omax videos on you tube if you need help.
I chose the LED light because: they run cold so it won't kill live pond cells like a hot halogen would. They also last longer.
So, how is this scope? Well it's better than what I used in high school and Chem I in university. It's way better than my 4 cheapie Tasco-style garage sale scopes and my homemade macrobellow system.
Assembly was easy: loosen knob at top to remove top cover. Remove clear cap on underside of head unit. Place head unit on top of scope and re-tighten knob. Pop in the eyepieces: my 20x were **really** tight and hard to install, but it's 40 degrees here and the metal holes that they fit into may have contracted a bit. Just be patient and they'll go in. That's it!! Oh, and plug it in for light.
The objectives are parfocal, meaning when you switch between them you only have refocus using the fine-focus knobs a little. Great feature which makes using it even more of a pleasure. There is a dimmer switch for the LED, and also a diaphragm under the stage-which was half closed when shipped: slide it open for even more light. Again, if you don't know what these terms mean you should start researching 'how to use a microscope'.
Optics appear flat and focused edge-to-edge, which is the opposite of many telescope mirrors I deal with~but that's another story. Each eyepiece spins for diopter adjustment, and the eyepieces slide apart for interpuppillary adjustment. Focus with one eye closed using the focus knobs, then switch eyes and focus that eye buy turning that eyepiece itself. Now open both eyes: both will be focused but you'll have double vision: slide the eyepieces further and closer apart. At some point the double vision goes away and in a snap you get a very wide-field view: a single view. It a little like those 'magic eye' optical illusion posters: once you get it-you get it. But it might take a few minutes of fiddling.
Delivery: I just joined amazon prime as a guest and this was the first thing I bought. It arrived (to Detroit) in less than 48 hours. It came with all the accessories listed and a nice cover too. It comes with a green filter in case you get chromatic flaring: but that's why the scope doesn't cost **literally** 15x more (at a minimum).
I love this microscope, and wished I had bought it earlier. A hearty 5 stars!!!
Good first microscope
For the price this is a great microscope to get. Just be aware at 800x - 1000x you will need immersion oil to get good resolution (don’t use immersion oil on your 40x objective though!) 2000x is merely a zoom and doesn’t provide further resolution.For anyone wanting to look at microbes in pond water or at cells 40x should be the max you have to use and it is perfectly fine for that.To take pictures I would recommend getting a phone stand or a clip on adapter.For experienced microscopists, I don’t recommend this product. You are unable to adjust it to reach full Kohler Illumination so it would be wise to seek other options that allow those adjustments.Overall this is a solid product and great for a gift for a curious person.
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2013
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2012
I have a B.S. in Biology from 1977. I have never used my degree for anything except as a hobby. I have a small goldfish pond about 10 ft X 5 ft. I took a pond water sample and found a couple of protozoan in the slides that I made. A picture of one of them is shown in "customer's pictures" for this microscope here on Amazon. I have only had the microscope for a week but am enjoying it very much so far. I plan to use it mostly for medical study and bacteria cultures, but haven't started that yet.
The mechanical stage is very good for referencing objects on your slides. It is smooth and precision. The Oil Immersion lens is excellent on this scope. The focusing is also smooth and precision. I took the picture shown for this product at Amazon with a digital camera 12.1 mp by holding the lens against the eyepiece and snapping a picture. It works pretty good and takes decent videos too. It is hard to align the lenses perfectly by hand, so I will make a plastic adapter that will keep them both centered.
I reviewed several microscopes before purchasing this one, and I have not been disappointed. It is better than the ones we used in high school and college. I would recommend purchasing this microscope. I purchased through Amazon and the microscope arrived in about a week and a half. It ships from Canada through UPS.
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Top reviews from other countries
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Miguel Angel CervantesReviewed in Mexico on July 29, 2020
Buen Microscopio
Un microscopio bastante similar a los usados en el laboratorio en la universidad, lo compré por que quiero aprender mas sobre microbiologia, no se dejen engañar por el precio bastante accesible es un microscopio firme y de calidad, me agrada que venga con filtro verde para el portafiltros y aceite de inmersión se agradece, anexo una fotografía de esporas de hongos vistas con el micro.Buen MicroscopioMiguel Angel Cervantes
Reviewed in Mexico on July 29, 2020
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jose maria subira betriusReviewed in Spain on December 14, 2020
Opticamente perfecto,
- D. TheoretReviewed in Canada on July 24, 2016
Awesome microscope! I made my own darkfield by cutting ...
Awesome microscope! I made my own darkfield by cutting a piece of clear thick plastic the same size as the green filter a I glued a 10 cent in the center and inserted it in place of the green filter in the filter holder and it works, so I am glad that this microscope has a filter holder. Making these darkfield patch stop filter is easy and fun to do as an experiment. Google "DIY DIC filter" and you will find plenty of references how to make such filter.Awesome microscope! I made my own darkfield by cutting ...D. Theoret
Reviewed in Canada on July 24, 2016
I have also order some COL filters from ebay and this give the similar effect as with DIC, which give depth to the microorganisms as shown in my attached photo of a Closterium algae taken with the 20x objective and my little DIY DIC filter. The picture was taken through my cellular phone so not a very good one.
The M82ES is bright and easy to use. It came well packed and required minimal assembling, which was only to put the base of the eyepiece in place and tighten a little screw, then to insert the eyepieces. Everything else was pre-assembled. I was afraid that the inter-ocular distance of 55 mm was not going to work for me because I am a small person with a small distance between my eyes but it still work (although 53mm would be best) at 55 mm and watching the microscope with a binocular is so much easier on the eyes than with my previous monocular! I will order the eye cups as it will make viewing even easier. The microscope only come with a thin plastic dust cover so I will order the vinyl carrying case to protect it.
Although I like this microscope a lot, if I was not on such tight budget I would have bought the Omax M8311 trinocular (363$) instead because not only does it have a dedicated port for a camera, but it is much more upgradable. My only complain with the M82ES is that it does not have a lot of possibility to upgrade. There is a darkfield condenser available but no phase contrast or no Kohler either. For anyone not wishing to have these options in the future, then it's not a big deal, but if you wish to have a microscope that can be upgraded and grown with you, this one is not the best. Also the M8311 has an interocular distance of 48mm to 75mm, which is much better than the 55mm of this microscope. 55mm is ok for most adults but I suspect that kids would have a bit if trouble with this.
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