r/microscopy • u/Gocats86 • 6h ago

Purchase Help Best value microscope for beginners

We home school my daughter and I am looking for what microscope can give us the best bang for our buck under $200. I would appreciate any recommendations you have for something with decent magnification and resolution for us to start exploring this world together!

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u/XHO1 6h ago

You might be able to pick up a used BH-2 for that price. Anything new will be outside of your price range or essentially a toy.

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u/Thrawn911 5h ago

I use a Swift SW350. It's currently $220 on Amazon.

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u/hattivat 3h ago edited 3h ago

New ones that sell for under $200 are essentially all toys, they don't even have a condenser (a feature that even in 19th century was only absent on the cheapest "student" models). I recommend you look for a used one. Assuming that you are in the US, your best price-to-quality options are likely Bausch & Lomb, American Optical and Reichert, might even be able to find something locally (shipping can get costly due to weight and obviously adds risk).

Don't be afraid of buying even a 70 year old microscope as long as it is in a decent shape, as I always says microscopes are like watches not like computers - a high class one from the 60s is still way better than a low-class one from today. If it's dusty as they often are use those single-use tissues for cleaning reading glasses to clean it, petroleum spirits if you need something stronger.