AmScope T490B 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.

Purchased this for field study and home use. I love the stage, the generous size and coordinates make exploring your slides easy. With the trinocular port you can capture images while observing in real time, or show your work in real time on a external monitor which is why I purchased a real trinocular instead of a binocular with a camera port. I have used a cheap webcam, DSLR camera, cellphone camera and a point and shoot to take pictures and HD video successfully. I use this mainly for micromorphology and soil samples but have also observed tissue samples and cells with excellent clarity. The condenser and lamp are easily adjusted and as bright as you can stand, the body and construction are sturdy and of quailty material. The turret for the eye and camera pieces is a nice touch and works well and the objectives and eyepieces were dust free and come with good cases. Overall I couldn't be happier with my purchase so far after around three months.

I have been shopping around for an advanced level instrument for some time now. I was on the point of purchasing one through a scientific supply house such as VWR & Fisher in the $1.5 to $2K range. After reading the reviews for this microscope and seeing the relatively low cost I ordered one with admittedly some reservations. Being a bit skeptical while awaiting the delivery I have to honestly say that I am simply astonished. The quality of the manufacturing is first rate. Every component fits precisely with no slop, the focusing and stage adjustments are smooth and positioned ergonomically and conveniently. The optical quality is far better than I expected of a scope in this price range. This instrument easily matches, if not surpasses, the microscopes I've used at college, university and on the job. Great product and I would recommend it to any serious researcher or technician.

Prior to ordering saw same scopes on Ebay for considerably less money, but were "open box". Consciously decided to pay the extra to purchase new from Amazon. What arrived had rust/corrosion on two different parts. There were remnants of hastily cleaned contaminants and small metallic scrap. Scope head had a gouge/scrape from previous use of set screw. Also missing the immersion oil. Lenses came in open resealable baggies. Bare filters jammed together into Styrofoam. There was some kind of perpetually tacky substance in a well defined pattern across (and probably into) the bulb heat vents. Sent email to Amscope and waited. A month later still no response and return window has expired. Not what I expected when I thought I was purchasing from a reputable source.

I was hopeful that a modestly priced microscope would perform well enough and I was so happily surprised that the look and feel was as good as a more professional microscope I use at a veterinary facility. Mechanically it is excellent, smooth coarse and fine focus adjustment. Focusable condenser with diaphragm and halogen lamp with brightness control and unexpected 3 filters to adjust light color. 1000x allowed me to visualize gram stains perfectly! The objectives maintain coarse focus as changing so you only need adjust fine focus. Mechanical stage is fine. The only negative which I do not care about is focus falls off at edges. I able to take perfect photomicrographs by putting an ocular lens into upright camera tube and placind iPhone on top. See photo of gram stain from avian fecal smear.

this thing is awesome. I bought this for my 12 yr old daughter but I had no idea I'd be using it as much as she does. this thing is as good or better than anything I had in college and beyond. it is heavy and very well made. the optics are good while not being delicate. they can take some abuse from beginner users (and forgetful older ones too) it's pricey yes but sometimes you get what you pay for. the trinocular is nice but takes some fiddling even with the SLR mount. it works and it's better than using a cell phone or point and shoot on the ocular. I knew we wouldn't use it often but we have used it and for that "OH COOL" moment it's nice to be able to shoot a pic or a video. I didn't but any other lower quality ones as this was a gift and wanted to get it right the first time. no regrets.