I would like to use it to introduce children to some of the beautiful things not visible to the naked eye—everything from paramecia to peacock feathers to rock crystals to dust mites and plant stomata. Perhaps some bacteria at 400X. I’m also interested in connecting to video projection and easily saving images. (I’d rather use together with a Windows laptop or Android tablet, not a smartphone.)
I don’t mind investing a few hundred dollars—but if something under $100 would be a reasonably good start, that could help me determine how far I want to go with this.
I’m hoping some PS participants have a unit they have appreciated.
I assume the step up to stereomicroscopy is a pricey one but might consider it.
(Yes, I’ve taken a look at various “Best 10 Digital Microscopes” articles online but they usually make money from the linked manufactures and their top-recommendations often are contradicted by terrible reviews from users on other forums. So shopping and comparisons get very confusing.)
I’m not qualified to offer an opinion on the topic question – but I can empathise in that I feel that today’s internet is making the parenthetical issue far far too prevalent, on a very wide range of products. I suppose my naivety is showing in that I consider the internet has been over-commercialised to the point of being largely self-defeating through lack of credibility.
It used to be that there was a lot of value in consulting Consumer Report reviews—but depending on the product category, they sometimes appear to just assemble charts of features (and “impressions”???) rather than intensive laboratory-based evaluations. [That’s my opinion. I’m using subjective terms of opinion cuz I don’t want to get sued.]
I don’t have direct experience with small digital microscopes but if you can get access to the article below, you may find some helpful info and recommendations. I’m going to the library later today and will get the article for you but maybe it’s easy to obtain without a library…
