Which microscope or what do I get from upgrading my current one

[HobGoblyn]

Edit: now bought Amscope SM-3NTP which is the  SM745NTP plus single boom stand

I know there's a ton of which microscopes should I buy threads out there, but hopefully mines a little different

In December I purchased the Swift S41.  This has good reviews for an entry level microscope

On Daves mailbag blog 1209 (starting approx 14:00) he also gives it the thumbs up https://youtu.be/IKHg32o8rRg and the forum entry for his blog in the comments, those that have purchased it, also seem happy.  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1209-mailbag/.

Last week, I was attempting a repair of a PS4. While the quality of what I see through the microscope is good, I found it a real pain to use.  The main reason being that I simply couldn't turn the circuit board to the position I wanted as it kept hitting the stand.

If you see the attached pic, this is what I had to do in order to get some of the positions I wanted, still couldn't get it at a perfect angle.   And in order to do this, I had to place my multi meter on the stand to stop the microscope tipping over.

The other little annoyance was the small field of view  (but I don't know how more expensive ones compare)

I'm currently in the position where I have some disposable income, and I'm seriously thinking about getting a microscope around the £500 - £700 range.

But, before I spend this sort of money,  I want to know what sort of difference I can expect by upgrading.

And then there's the how long is a piece of string question. Amscope seems to be the make most people use, I go to their US site,  put in Trinocular and I have 1953 results.

After watching a few youtube vids, I think 3.5 to 45 is ample, that cuts it down to 99 single and 40 double boom arm ones to choose from.

Telling it I don't want a camera (can always get one later if I desire) gives me a much better 8 single and 6 double boom to choose from

And looking at them, I THINK they are all the same, just with different light/rings.

That being the case, does anyone know what sort of difference I can expect from this microscope, and which light ring I should get

Many thanks

[Daruosha]

Hi,

With your budget something like amscope sm745ntp with a boom stand is quite feasible. Boom stand gives lots of freedom and working space. Get a 0.5x adapter as well to increase your working distance and you're good to go.

[GreyWoolfe]

Have you tried turning the stand around backwards and putting weight on it, like ankle weights?  That should keep things steady and get the stand out of your way unless you are working on things bigger than the space of the stand backwards.

[voltsandjolts]

Plus your choice of light ring and camera from elsewhere, don't buy from Amscope, overpriced for quality/performance.

[jfiresto]

If you are mechanically handy, have you considered making a new stand that accepts the t-connector and horizontal arm from your present one – assuming the plastic(?) is sturdy enough? You could move the arm+microscope from one base unit to the other, as needed. A large steel base plate, a precision shaft, a flange shaft holder and a couple screws, might be all you need, and perhaps a tap to make the screw threads.

[Daruosha]

(Attachment Link)

Plus your choice of light ring and camera from elsewhere, don't buy from Amscope, overpriced for quality/performance.

I'll second that. Amscope is just a generic brand. I believe you'll find much better deals on AliExpress or Amazon.

[HobGoblyn]

Thanks, I would rather buy in the UK if I can (no Amscope in stock here, well Amscope have a UK site but the sm745ntp isn't even listed and anything that is listed is out of stock, a very small range for some reason)

If they are all made in the same place and just re-badged, I should be able to find a similar model for sale over here.    I see my Swift s41 is the same as Amscope's SE400-Z (exactly the same except mine has one extra light)

So I'm going to try and find the equivalent of the sm745ntp for sale in the UK (or Europe). I presume 7x - 45 is better than 3.5x - 45 for some reason?

Don't want to pay a ton to import something from the USA and then not have a local warranty.

I've decided I am going to upgrade. Thanks for the tips for using my existing one though.

[jfiresto]

... So I'm going to try and find the equivalent of the sm745ntp for sale in the UK (or Europe). I presume 7x - 45 is better than 3.5x - 45 for some reason?...

Generally yes, in the sense that quoting 7–45X is not misleading. Usually, to get 3.5–7X you have to add an 0.5X auxiliary objective; to get 22.5–45X you then have to remove it.

[HobGoblyn]

Hmm, having trouble finding the equivalent in the UK, will keep looking.

I emailed Amscope UK, their response was

We got a big shipping before the Corona crisis and we are still waiting until the items including the requested:
SM745NTP - 7X-45X Simul-Focal Trinocular Zoom Stereo Microscope Head arrives to our EU warehouse and get upload to our EU site.
I will keep your email and request and send a message as soon as the items are appearing in our site.

Which gives zero hint of when they might get some in, hopefully I can find the same but cheaper elsewhere.

[jfiresto]

How about this one?

Optika Italy claims to be present in 150 countries, but I can not find them listed on their main website. I will bet you a draught of the local life giving product that their microscopes are not made in Italy.

[HobGoblyn]

Many thanks, will ask then for a quote.

I've also just found this on Banggod, £233 delivered from Europe  with LED and camera, plus I get another £20 off as never used them before.

https://uk.banggood.com/Simul-focal-Continuous-Zoom-745X-Trinocular-Stereo-MicroscopeHDMIVGA-Microscope-Camera56-LED-Lig-p-1394601.html?gmcCountry=GB&currency=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgs&utm_content=lijing&utm_campaign=https://uk.banggood.com/Simul-focal-Continuous-Zoom-745X-Trinocular-Stereo-MicroscopeHDMIVGA-Microscope-Camera56-LED-Lig-p-1394601.html%3FgmcCountry%3DGB%26currency%3DGBP%26cur_warehouse%3DUSA%26createTmp%3D1&cur_warehouse=CZ

That seems to look similar  (stand doesn't look quite as good) , but also a lot cheaper than competitors products, maybe too cheap? Any comments please?

Anyone used Banggood before?

Edit: I presume I only need one 0.5x barlow, and they screw into/replace the piece at the underneath of the microscope, I presume the two stereo lenses focus through it?

Edit2:  What is better about a dual boom arm v single boom arm please?

Many thanks

[jfiresto]

I've also just found this on Banggod, £233 delivered from Europe  with LED and camera, plus I get another £20 off as never used them before....

Well, you can buy too cheaply. I fear that is so much for so little, you will force the vendor to seek and seize every opportunity to still make a profit.

Have you seen the movie Bedazzled, preferably the original with Dudley Moore as a short, short order cook and Peter Cook as the devil? The vendor may hear your wishes, but then creatively not spend the money to exactly fulfill them. They are only doing what you asked: selling you a microscope system for only £233, delivered(?).

[HobGoblyn]

Not seen the film but love Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, will hunt it out.

Amazon have them from Amscope Global many different prices for same product?, delivery by next week, will wait to see if Optika get back with a quote.

Single boom version is, including delivery, all from Amazon Global

£510   https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X9HQR52/?coliid=I1RFV1MXSEUGC&colid=L5N3DCOD52K1&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

or £445  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004U48OZA/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

or £430  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004U4ELPC/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

or £537 with dual boom arm  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004V1M412/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Barlow lens is £39 on amazon

If they look like a fair price and Optika don't come back or are much more expensive, I will get the cheapest as  they are all the same product (except for double boom arm one)

[HobGoblyn]

Not seen the film but love Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, will hunt it out.

Amazon have them from Amscope Global many different prices for same product?, delivery by next week, will wait to see if Optika get back with a quote.

Single boom version is, including delivery, all from Amazon Global

£510   https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X9HQR52/?coliid=I1RFV1MXSEUGC&colid=L5N3DCOD52K1&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

or £445  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004U48OZA/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

or £430  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004U4ELPC/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

or £537 with dual boom arm  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B004V1M412/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Barlow lens is £39 on amazon

If they look like a fair price and Optika don't come back or are much more expensive, I will get the cheapest as  they are all the same product (except for double boom arm one)

They're 3 different models (doh) SM-3NTP, SM-3T and SM-3B

The SM-3NTP, is that similar to the 745NTB?

[HobGoblyn]

I think I'm getting my wires crossed.

I presumed the SM-3NTP and SM-4NTP had different heads to the SM745NTP,

but the SM-3NTP is the SM745NTP head with single boom arm package, and the 4NTP is the same head and dual boom arm package.

Ordering the 3NTP now

[jfiresto]

I prefer dual arm boom stands as they let you quickly slide the head toward and away from the stand. With a single arm, you have to unclamp the head, move it, make it vertical again, and then re-clamp it. Past Amscope's dual arm stands came with soft shafts, however, that became grooved and ornery over time. People used to fix that by substituting properly hardened shaft stock. Did Amscope ever address that?

I am not crazy about Amscope's published microscope images. This one is only in good focus over the inner third (by area) of the field of view:



A competent effort with an achromat objective should manage twice that, ca. 60%. Perhaps, you get a better view through the eyepieces.

ADDENDUM: What may have happened, here, is that Amscope did not tilt the specimen to make it perpendicular to the lens that provided the picture. This is an issue with Greenough designs at higher magnifications: on, say, the left side, the focus sits too high; on the right, it sits too low. If this at a low magnification, however, the optics are not quite right.

ADDENDUM x 2: No, strike that idea: I suspect mediocre optics. It looks just as bad toward the top and bottom as left and right.

[jfiresto]

Not seen the film but love Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, will hunt it out....

Bedazzled (1967) is biting 1960s comedy that wears very well, decades later. Our university film group liked it so much, we showed it each Spring.

Moore makes a Faustian bargain that grants him seven wishes in exchange for his soul. The film follows him as he tries ever harder to realize a wish that he can be happy with, which Cook then frustrates, each time, in some clever way: because he is the devil and the devil is in the details. ("It's nothing personal", he says, he is just being the devil.)

[HobGoblyn]

Was an extra £150 for the dual boom, would rather spend that elsewhere at the moment, need to get light ring and barlow 0.5x


I presume these two are the same? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007LBD8KA/?coliid=I3MONF6Z0YDK41&colid=L5N3DCOD52K1&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Auxiliary-Objective-Microscope-Industry-Mounting/dp/B07MX3XS6H/

sorry for the continual questions but really appreciate all the help

many thanks

[jfiresto]

The two sure look like they copy the same archetype.

sorry for the continual questions but really appreciate all the help

many thanks

You are welcome and don't worry about asking questions. Microscopes have their complications and I think it better to recognize and dispose of them earlier rather than later. Just make sure the vendor will make things right, at their expense, not yours, if something arises. Or bet small sums to pay for things to try, that you can be philosophical about losing.

Come to think of it, I have what appears to be that 0.5X auxiliary objective, that I had bought on speculation and did not use. If you are interested, I could dig up what I paid for it and sell it for, say, half that, plus postage.

[artag]

If you're in the UK, try Brunel Microscopes.
They have very high quality microscopes, their own branded ones, and some secondhand examples of both.

http://www.brunelmicroscopessecure.co.uk/acatalog/Stereo-microscopes.html

I've got a Wild M3Z (came from a BAE auction, not Brunel). It's excellent but ebay samples are usually over £1000. It has the 0.5x Barlow many people recommend, a good working distance, and a very large and heavy stand with a long boom. So although the head can still get in the way, it doesn't overbalance.

 There's currently a listing for a Wild dual-boom stand with a lesser (but probably still very good) head on it and it's in your price range. But ask them about accessories for the head that's fitted - you don't want an orphan.
 

[HobGoblyn]

The two sure look like they copy the same archetype.

..Just make sure the vendor will make things right, at their expense, not yours, if something arises.

Come to think of it, I have what appears to be that 0.5X auxiliary objective, that I had bought on speculation and did not use. If you are interested, I could dig up what I paid for it and sell it for, say, half that, plus postage.

Many thanks, I asked Amscope a load of questions including warranty, they got back each time within about 10 mins, here is part of their responses.

And yes, if you need a single arm boom stand including the SM745NTP head, then the model to choose is our SM-3NTP.
In this case please take this link (same link as the £510 I posted earlier) as this one is sold by Amscope Global, which is us in Amazon (together with Amscope and Amicroscope)
and you'll buy here with our 5-year warranty.

You have a 30-day trial period after purchase. Within this 30 day trial period you can return the item to our warehouse in Holland, even if it is not
defective, just because the item shouldn't meet your expectations.  In this case, yes, you'd pay the shipping costs to Holland but you'd be refunded for the whole item's value.

If, within this 30-day trial period, if the item was proven to be defective, you'd return it to Holland and we'd send you a RSL (return shipment label), this is, all shipment costs to
our charge and whole refund.

After the 30-day trial period, you have all the rights to our Amscope warranty for 5 years, this is, in case of defective parts or reparations not caused by misuse, we'd take charge of this. In case that a part should be repaired, you'd pay the shipping costs to our repair shop in the Netherlands but the reparation would be free of charge.

Thanks for your offer, I'd imagine 1/2 what you paid plus postage would be around the £20 mark, one of the links above is only £25.99 and of course I will have the warranty (not that a lot can go wrong), with the lockdown etc it's probably not worth the hassle.

[HobGoblyn]

If you're in the UK, try Brunel Microscopes.
They have very high quality microscopes, their own branded ones, and some secondhand examples of both.

http://www.brunelmicroscopessecure.co.uk/acatalog/Stereo-microscopes.html

I've got a Wild M3Z (came from a BAE auction, not Brunel). It's excellent but ebay samples are usually over £1000. It has the 0.5x Barlow many people recommend, a good working distance, and a very large and heavy stand with a long boom. So although the head can still get in the way, it doesn't overbalance.

 There's currently a listing for a Wild dual-boom stand with a lesser (but probably still very good) head on it and it's in your price range. But ask them about accessories for the head that's fitted - you don't want an orphan.

Many thanks

I did check Brunel and for what appears to be the same as I'm getting from Amscope, Amscope total price delivered is £510, Brunel price is £680. 

Just had a look at the wild, it's £850 (£708.33 + vat) and doesn't take a camera

[jfiresto]

... asked Amscope a load of questions including warranty, they got back each time within about 10 mins, here is part of their responses.

The answers sound pretty good. I assume you can fall back on Amazon and/or a credit card?

Thanks for your offer, I'd imagine 1/2 what you paid plus postage would be around the £20 mark, one of the links above is only £25.99 and of course I will have the warranty (not that a lot can go wrong), with the lockdown etc it's probably not worth the hassle.

I get $11.45 + €5.55 postage = £14.10 at today's rate. I have no idea how long it would take to get to you.

[HobGoblyn]

OK sold

As long as it's 48mm and presuming it's in new condition  (no marks on lens)

How do you want paying?  send me a PM

thanks

[jfiresto]

Just had a look at the wild, it's £850 (£708.33 + vat) and doesn't take a camera

The Wild M3(x)/M7(x)/M8/M10 microscopes all have infinity optics that let you insert a photo tube and many other fun options, between the zoom unit and the binocular head. With a little patience, you can get the tube and thread adapters for a micro four thirds camera for perhaps another £300.  That may sound like a lot, but then the microscope and accessories are very well built and with a little care will outlast you. And should you should grow tired of them, you can likely sell the lot for what you paid for it. In the meantime, it is no exaggeration that the Wild's workmanship and imaging will blow the doors off the Amscope.