AmScopeT490B Compound Trinocular Microscope, 40X-2000X Magnification, Halogen Light, Abbe Condenser, 2-Layer Mechanical Stage, High-Resolution Optics, Awarded No. 6 Among The Top 10 Microscopes 2016

As a retired high school biology teacher I am indulging in my lifelong passion for interacting with the living world by exploring local pond micro-organisms. Hence, my purchase of this scope. I had, admittedly, an inauspicious start. About 15 minutes into its first use, the illumination system failed. I tried everything - switching to the supplied replacement bulb, testing both bulbs for continuity, replacing the fuse, checking source voltage, etc. It was a serious disappointment! But, hey, stuff happens. The situation quickly improved. I can only say wonderful things about the tech support at AmScope. It was all done by email. My first email got a very quick and courteous response suggesting a few things to check which I did to no avail. Josiah from tech support then immediately sent out a replacement illumination base which installed easily and has functioned perfectly for a number of hours since. Kudos to AmScope support!Now, to the microscope itself. From college through 50 years of teaching I have used microscopes ranging from cheap to very high end. I am impressed with how close a microscope at this price point comes to matching performance of far more expensive instruments. The base, stage, turret, and eyepiece mount are solidly built and stable. There is no vibration in the image when changing focus or moving the slide.All lighting adjustments are easy to perform. The lamp itself has a dimmer control and the substage Abbe condenser moves smoothly. I still have to physically look for the diaphragm adjustment arm on occasion - something I should be able to do by feel, but that's a minor problem. The coarse and fine focus work smoothly with no slippage and no backlash when changing up and down focus. (There is also an adjustment for level of friction in the focusing mechanism.) The moving stage and its controls for x-y axis movement of the slide is a pleasure to use (particularly on swimming protists at higher magnifications!). Movement is smooth and precise on both axes and changing directions is immediate with no slipping at the control knobs.Most important - the optics. There are 4 objectives included (4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x) plus a pair of 10x and 20x eyepieces. I have not used the 100x oil immersion objective since it has limited utility for my purposes. I have made use, however, of the other three objectives with both sets of eyepieces. All combinations show even brightness across the field of view (if substage illumination is correctly set), no focus distortion (coma) at the edge of the field, and no color distortion. In short, excellent optics. Also notable: an object in focus and in the center of view at low magnification appears in the center of view when higher power objectives are moved into place and only minor focus adjustments are necessary at each change.I also cannot comment on the vertical viewing port since I have not attempted photography but look forward to trying it out in the near future. In sum, I'm thrilled that such a good instrument could be had at this low price. Spending more, even a lot more, would only produce diminishing returns.

Great scope! I also bought the Omax 9mp camera to use with it (through my Mac laptop and supplied Troup Lite app) and I'm getting some terrific photos. It's a waste of money buying a higher res camera for this work. Originally I was going to buy a special photo eyepiece for my Canon SLR, but I'm glad I went the way I did. Anyway...I'm going to put an LED lamp in place of the halogen (which gets hot, and will dry your wet samples). I've been using two gooseneck LED lights to include top lighting (like with a dissecting microscope)...getting really nice photos with three-dimensionality this way. Great scope for the money, and works as well as my old Olympus (which cost 6k at the time). I particularly enjoy the the Siedentoph head, much easier to get real binocular image with this than with the Omax scope I had to return (because of this issue). It's nice that quality scopes are so affordable these days. p.s....I'm going to get a 60x objective to use in place of the supplied 100x oil immersion objective. Sharing my photo of Black Oak pollen, apx diameter is 0.04mm (used sub-stage halogen and two top LED sources (one on each side) can vary illum output of each to enhance 3D effect). My three-way cheapo gooseneck LED lights are better than the single brightness unit I never use now. Hope this helps.

I am a student who purchased this microscope to learn more on my own instead of relying on school labs that are typically rushed, feeling like a factory assembly line with massive students in queue. I like to observe things at length without time constraints - that is part of my learning personality. This microscope is a beast! A solid piece of equipment! It feels exactly like a lab microscope. It arrived packaged with a few things like a plastic cover to store it from dust, adapter for monocular, and color filters. Everything feels solid from the focusing knob, fine-focus knob, to the articulating stage. I love that you can articulate the stereo eyepiece and that it is not fixed like some microscopes. I have read that the optical lenses are made by the same company that makes lenses for Leica, Olympus, and other brand names in the microscope arena. The build of this microscope and lens feel superb!The ability to attach a video camera/camera via the monocular port is an awesome feature. Canon cameras can attach without the current adapter if you purchase a Canon specific adapter by Amscope, which cost around $90.My major dislike is the lighting. It works ok, but I personally find it not bright enough. I also found that the higher resolution I want to go, the light becomes duller, though still functional. The lighting is classic halogen, not LED, but I knew that when purchasing. Only a month afterwards did I have an opportunity to use an LED microscope. Boy, that lighting will spoil you. The LED lighting is super bright, producing a pleasant viewing experience (makes for better microscope pictures too). The super power efficient LED lasts for a long time with no heat build-up like a halogen. But behold, if you Google 'microscope led hack,' you should find a few sites on how to LED your microscope. Amscope also sells an LED microscope light attachment for $30 bucks, which I think it can be used (or hacked) for this model.You may find the microscope light fantastic as it is. It does work fine, but I personally think it could be better, since LED is a more quality light and actually cheaper than halogen. It also seems that LED technology is now becoming the standard lighting in modern microscopes. Ever lived in a house/apartment with standard incandescent bulbs and you noticed how everything became vivid-like after changing to fluorescent bulbs (or even LED)? That's the similar effect you'll find with a microscope with LED.The star rating is 5 stars for the microscope, and 4 1/2 stars on the light. OH, for beginners, don't forget to calibrate (or adjust) your light/diaphragm on the microscope. I don't think this is quite important, as it was never taught in lab. It is like a 1 minute process that involves placing a paper under the light (one of the methods I came across), and adjusting other stuff like diaphragm to get a clearer, defined view. Doesn't hurt. Google 'adjusting microscope' or some type of variation like that.