5 Best Microscopes for College & High School Students
A college or high school student’s microscope can be one of their most invaluable scientific tools for several uses. Biology, microbiology, botany, zoology, and general scientific studies are just a few disciplines that call for microscopes. A good microscope will last through many years of serious lab work. It is an investment worth your money and time, therefore when buying, do well to choose wisely.
Having a good quality microscope is essential for high school and college students. You may not require a top of the roof of price microscope like the ones used in labs of large corporations, but you still need one that will allow you to see all of the detail and nuances necessary to understand your course of study. Finding the right microscope can be tough. There are many options to choose from, and it’s hard to know which one is best. We have researched and come up with a list of the five best microscopes for you to study as a college or high school student.
Best Microscopes for College & High School Students
These microscopes are some of the best you can find in the market for use as a college or high school science student of a college or a high school. These best microscopes for college or high school students include:
- Swift SW350B Microscope
- AmScope M150C-MS Biological Compound Microscope
- Amscope T490B Trinocular Microscope
- National Optical NSI-MIB3 Compound Microscope
- AmScope M170C-E Compound Microscope With Camera
Swift SW350B Microscope
Swift SW350B Microscope is one of the most popular microscopes for college students. The microscope gives a magnification of up to 2500x, which many students and professionals require; the microscope comes with a USB camera also. The Swift SW350B microscope is perfect for budding scientists who love to examine everything from plant cells to small insects.
The microscope offers a magnification of 40x, 100x, 400x, and 1000x. The eyepiece gives you a 10x view, while the objective lens offers a maximum of 4x, 10x, and 40x views. The Swift also has a built-in light that shines from the top of the scope and illuminates your specimens. It has an adjustable focus ring that lets you view a specimen more closely.
The Swift SW350B microscope comes with a set of prepared slides and blank slides so that you can create your specimens for examination. It also comes with a petri dish, two slide covers, two collecting vials, tweezers, and a stirring rod to help you handle all types of specimens.
AmScope M150C-MS Biological Compound Microscope
The AmScope M150C-MS microscope is a sharp, high-quality research-grade microscope for college and high school students. AmScope M150C-MS microscope is an excellent learning tool for high school and college students. The microscope is designed to meet the needs of biology, histology, and cytology labs. The microscope has a mechanical stage, an LED light, 4x, 10x 20x, and 40x objective lenses, and comes with five prepared slides. The LED bulbs used on the microscope do not heat up even after hours of use.
The AmScope M150C-MS is a biological microscope as seen in its terminology; it all the bells and whistles you will require to do scientific research. The microscope has a fully coated glass 360-degree0 degree rotatable monocular head and a forward-facing nosepiece. It also comes with two sets of eyepieces, widefield 10x WF and high eyepoint 20x WF, so that you can choose between two magnification levels. The M150C-MS has optical glass elements, a metal framework, a monocular viewing head, and a 360° rotating turret. It has an Abbe 1.25 N.A condenser with an iris diaphragm and a built-in color filter wheel.
Amscope T490B Trinocular Microscope
The Amscope T490B Trinocular Microscope is another choice microscope for college and upper high school students. The microscope comes with a pair of eyepieces, a 45-degree inclined trinocular head, four objective lenses, and several other tools and pieces. The Amscope T490B Trinocular Microscope provides high resolution, great contrast in samples, and a wide field of view, thiss it easy to use the microscope on any biology or chemistry samples for any project.
The T490B comes with a mechanical stage and graduated coaxial coarse and fine focus knobs. It has variable LED lighting that illuminates your specimen from underneath. The microscope comes with two 12-volt 20 watt halogen bulbs. One is for transmitted light and the other one for reflected light. The microscope is made of high-quality build and lenses; it is also quite expensive and maybe quite expensive for some students to afford it. The microscope has a trinocular port and can magnify more than 2000X, which is more than enough magnification for high school or college students.
National Optical NSI-MIB3 Compound Microscope
The National Optical NSI-MIB3 is a compound microscope that offers a lot of value for its price. It is an advanced microscope for college students. The microscope is ideal for biology, chemistry, and physics classes. The microscope is suitable for upper high school students between grades 9 to 12. The microscope provides three magnification levels, adjusted using a single knob. The microscope has an adjustable interpupillary distance to accommodate students of different ages. The microscope is very clear and sharp in the display, holds slides well, and easily adjusts.
The microscope has a monocular setup; hence it serves as a good starting microscope for younger high school students. National Optical’s NSI-MIB3 Compound Microscope brings unparalleled performance and power to the classroom or home. This microscope makes an excellent tool for students in visualizing the micro-world while not having to break the bank.
AmScope M170C-E Compound Microscope With Camera
AmScope M170C-E is one of the most popular microscopes in the industry. The AmScope M170C-E is a well-rounded compound microscope with an LED ring light, which not only provides a high brightness level but a very bright color temperature, almost as sunlight at 5500K. The AmScope M170C-E comes with four magnification settings 40x, 100x, 220x, and 400x and a simple zoom lens focusing.
The AmScope M170C-E microscope also has a built-in Greenough optical oil chamber and an adjustable interpupillary range of 56mm to 75mm. The microscope has a camera connected directly to your PC; with this microscope, you can replace the eyepiece with a specially made camera that will enable you to view your samples directly from your computer system, giving you a more relaxed viewing of your samples. The AmScope M170C-E microscope comes with a free gooseneck LED lamp.
What is a Microscope?
A microscope is an optical instrument that uses a lens or a combination of lenses to produce magnified images of small micro samples; these samples are usually not visible to the eyes without the microscope. Microscopes are essential for viewing specimens too small to be seen with the naked eye. They are used in all branches of science but are particularly important in biology, where they are used for viewing cells and cell components. Microscopes vary greatly in their capabilities and complexity.
Some microscopes have multiple objective lenses, and others have only one. They may also have different levels of magnification. Some microscopes use visible light, while others use ultraviolet radiation or electrons to produce magnified images.
Several microscopes depend on how they operate their lense power and several other factors. Some of the types of microscopes include compound light microscope, optical microscope, electronic microscope.
The compound light microscope is often used in high school and college laboratories. It can also research biology, microbiology, forensics, and many other fields. The compound light microscope uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small samples. The sample to be examined is placed on the microscope stage and then viewed through the eyepiece.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Microscope
Before you purchase your microscope, you should consider these factors to ensure the microscope would serve the need you are purchasing it.
- Power
- Magnification Strength
- Lenses
- DIN Compatible Objective Lenses
- Achromatic Objective Lenses
- Illumination
- Portability
- Slide Decks And Mechanical Stage
- Ergonomics
- Camera And Computer Compatibility
- Price
FAQs
What kind of microscope do high school students use?
Other high school students may require a standard 400x magnification microscope, but the same cannot be said for a major biology major who would need a microscope with more magnification of atleast 1000x; hence they would require a more advanced microscope for their lab probe of samples and organisms. Such microscopes include AmScope M150C-MS Biological Compound Microscope, National Optical NSI-MIB3 Compound Microscope, etc.
What is the most popular microscope?
There are several microscopes with high popularity amongst students. Among scientists, some of the most popular microscopes are Swift SW350B Microscope, Celestron S20 Portable Stereo Microscope, Bresser Biolux Touch microscope, Dino-Lite AM4113T USB Microscope, Swift SW380T, and AmScope T580B Compound Trinocular Microscope.
Which microscope is best for students?
Several microscopes are good for use by students. Some of the best of them include Swift SW350B Microscope, AmScope M150C-MS Biological Compound Microscope, Amscope T490B Trinocular Microscope, National Optical NSI-MIB3 Compound Microscope, and AmScope M170C-E Compound Microscope With Camera.
Conclusion
Whether you want to purchase your microscope or loan one from your school, there are numerous important differences between the devices. It will help if you look for a microscope that would last you throughout college and your career. Consider how you plan on using the device and the accessories it comes with. In the end, it is better and worth it to purchase your microscope because these microscopes won’t let you down in your science career as a student and beyond.
