Help Choosing A Microscope

[keysi]

Hi guys I was wondering if any of you had a few suggestions for a good quality first microscope?

 

I've got a £50 amazon voucher, but I don't mind putting a bit more of my own money towards it, but that's my rough price range. It's just for messing around with at home for fun and it might come in handy when I start a distance learning biology course in a couple of months, that sort of grade/spec is what I'm after.

 

Thanks in advance.

[CraigD]

I’ve had an Omega 200 for about 10 years, and been very satisfied. It’s solidly built, has smooth course and fine focus knobs, and a plug-in electric light source that I haven’t needed to replace. It has a list price of US$249.00, but is usually available new at about an $80 discount.

 

I was buying a microscope today, though, I’d get a LED illuminated digital one, like the Levenhuk DTX 90 (which came up near the top of a Google search). It requires a computer with a USB port, but I’m almost never without one. Being able to save images without the need for a microscope adapter (which I’ve never gotten, so I’ve never saved an image from my microscope) would be nice. Amazon has it with free shipping for Prime members for $89.95.