What kind of compound microscope a beginner should buy and how to start?
- From: "GTO" <gregor_o@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:59:56 GMT
What kind of compound microscope a beginner should buy and how to start?
Tough questions! But since I just finished reading a couple of newsgroup
threads about "compound microscopes for beginners or not 'so serious'
amateurs", I want to attempt to answer them using today's situation. In a
couple of years, things might have already changed.
Let me try to put myself into the shoes of a person who wants to start
microscopy as a hobby. I would ask myself a couple of questions.
1) What is my budget? Let us assume I really don't want to spend more
than US$500 (or 500 Euro).
2) Do I want to take pictures through the scope using a digital
camera? Let us assume I really would like to but I know the camera adapter
and the camera will cost me extra money. (Don't even think of buying a scope
with an integrated digicam!)
3) What do I want to look at? Let us assume that I am not certain but
I really would like to look at "small things", maybe the critters in my
pond?
4) Can I use a scope? Let us assume, I never used one (maybe in
school) but I have forgotten all about it.
5) What is my age? Let us assume I am at least 14 years of age.
What would be the right approach to start?
1) I would have to learn a little something BEFORE I start spending a
couple of hundred dollars on equipment. I would buy Professor Nachtigall's
great book (Werner Nachtigall, Exploring with the Microscope, Sterling
Publishing Co., New York (1996)). (Today, I would have to get a used paper
copy!) I would read most of it and then.well I would no longer be a true
beginner. I would have learned (or 'learnt' for our friends form Great
Britain!) that one should not use a microscope as a nutcracker. I would know
how they work and why they work. I would have learned something about
reasonably priced microscopes that offer a decent quality. But since the
book is sufficiently outdated, it actually might recommend me the wrong
scope. (Remember, a low-cost scope is no longer just a low-cost scope but
often a mechanical nightmare!)
2) AFTER READING the book mentioned above, I would visit the following
web page by Gordon at http://www.couger.com/microscope/links/gcnewbuy.html.
I would download Klaus Henkel's Mikrofibel from
http://www.weihenstephan.org/~fsrklauhenk/fibel/download.html (well
written!). I would start reading one of the best free resources on the
internet, The Micscape Magazine (see
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html).
3) I would then sign up for membership at the Yahoo group Microscope
using my real name (you might get better answers with your real name!), at
Microscopehobby (a new Yahoo group that might prosper!), and at Tom Webster's
fast growing microscopy community at http://www.amateurmicroscopy.net/ (very
well organized!). With my real name, I would sign up at Christian Linkenheld's
German site about microscopy at
http://f25.parsimony.net/forum62175/index.htm (this group nicely complements
the American Yahoo groups!) I would first keep a low profile (now that's a
difficult one!) and listen. I would not just submit questions like the "I
have never read a book about microscopy and have never used a scope, now I
want one" kind of questions. (A good question is more likely to draw
attention and eventually give the right answer!).
4) I would go and buy my microscope (you can't wait forever!). It
would be a USED scope from either a microscopy friend I met on the net (and
who is knowledgeable and trustworthy!), from eBay (but be very careful with
eBay!!! I just burnt a couple of hundred dollars without receiving my
item!), or from a reasonable dealer. Remember, where to buy a scope, I would
learn from the many helpful microscopists who spend hours surfing the net
rather than working with their scopes (.ok, let's wrap up this overly long
post!). Of course, I would then start visiting the newsgroup
(sci.techniques.microscopy).
5) For sake of completion, once I collected enough information about
using a scope and after I purchased all equipment I need, I would disconnect
my computer(s) to ensure that I have some time left to use my new toy rather
than just talk about it. And one more thing, I would participate in my local
microscopy club, if there were such a thing.
Just my two cents.
Gregor
.
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