🔬 My opinion on buying used microscopes

I think that the choice of buying used or new microscopes is not only dependent on the price/quality/etc but also on the way that you define your hobby as a microscopist.
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[@Leitros-kj4qb]

Unless you are very experienced or the used scope for sale is within traveling distance so you can ' kick the tyres ' as the saying goes, be very careful. In my experience a better approach is to buy a refurbished classic 'scope from a well established dealer. I bought my second 'scope from J.B. Microscopes, dealer near Newcastle, UK. It's a Zeiss Universal. It came with 8HKW Nikon eyepieces and 5 Zeiss objectives.( 3 planapo & 2 neofluars ), BF, DG and Ph. 1,2,3 Condenser, 60W illuminator and step down transformer. This was 16 years ago. Cost was £400 plus £40 for courier. Probably would be difficult to get for under £1500 now. But keep your eyes open, there are deals to be had.

[@jg300ascout1]

In addition to the concerns mentioned, there is the perhaps not-so-obvious issue of stolen microscopes, with a brisk market among med students and others on tight budgets. We came to work in hematology in a 1,000 bed hospital one day to find the scopes missing. All of them. It was quickly obvious that it was not a prank. This was also a med school with ready customers at hand. Also had a couple go missing from a biology dept. at university.

[@bobweiram6321]

I purchased a refurbished and calibrated Bausch and Lomb StereoZoom 4 microscope for $200. It was a great microscope and had no issues at all. A friend pointed me to a similar, "high end" Chinese made microscope complete with a boom arm, ring light and a camera port for a $200 more. I purchased it thinking it was better, since it was newer. I figured I can resell my Bausch and Lomb for what I paid for it, since they're highly sought after on eBay. After setting it up and using it for an hour, I packaged it back up and returned it. The fit and finish along with the image quality was no match for my 30 year old Bausch and Lomb refurb. The Chinese made microscope's knobs and adjustments felt very cheap and rickety. I had to constantly manipulate them to keep the image in focus. Thankfully, I learned my lesson early and avoided being stuck with a substandard microscope.

[@TArp-no4mk1t]

A short story based on this video. As a kid I saw a B&W pic of a totally out-of-reach Leitz SM-LUX microscope and at that time I decided that was my holy grail in optics. Almost 40 years later I noticed by accident that they now are fairly cheap and still abundant so I finally got one! Over the last 5 years it has been a fine growth diamond and since it is part of a system family it is now quite extensively built out to a 'nice' and almost versatile microscope with phase contrast, polarization, dark field, LED-illumination etc. and a bunch of non-necessary gadgets but still part of that system. And an almost complete set of Plan and NPL-objectives. You just start out cheap and bit by bit you expand. In this case it is old but rock-steady technology and it still has the looks! (I know, it is not 160mm standard but who cares...).

[@Tatterdemalion-77]

I have a vintage 1930’s B&L and a pre-1930’s Spencer and I love them. Yes, they need some care but they do work great, I love the classic look and feel, and together cost me less than $100 US dollars. But I agree, it’s a matter of taste, and of course money. And I still want a new, modern one but I’m poor and these allowed me to gain a toehold in the hobby.

[@maglicairsoft4183]

Christopher McLaughlin I have an old polish PZO, but still can be compared to mid to high end microscopes and i just love the size and look of it. Love Spencers but cant find a lot of them in my country

[@jimzielinski946]

I guess I'm in the catagory of hobbiest who collects and builds microscopes from parts. I have a number (maybe too many!)of scopes from companies like Nikon, Zeiss, Ernst Leitz Wetzlar, and Lomo. I've selected models originally made from the '50s to the late '80s. By collecting these older models I was able to collect equipment with some of the more exotic contrast techniques that are unavailable from current 3rd party manufactures of student or even some lab microscopes. The cost of this hobby was not too much of a burden while I was working howevet, I don't think I can afford this route after retirement. I am glad I have what I have. I do enjoy observing and photographing with techniques such as phase, DIC, HMC, COL, etc. I should add that one of the downsides of collecting parts is availability. It's taken me about 30 years to build up my collection to the point where I have this variety. If you have the money but not the time, then I would recommend shopping at dealers that sell complete guaranteed working scopes. Know that even an older scope that can offer one of these exotic contrast techniques can run many thousands of dollars. Hope this helps.

[@MarieChardome]

i believe MH when he says his refurbished scope will live another 30 years. so i did the same. took some risks on 'trademe' and i now have 11 scopes... most of them olympus (will never look back). it's gona be a learning feast till the day i die. so: thank you MH for changing my life

[@eqlzr2]

Thx for your response to the question. It was very informative and interesting. I guess in a way, buying an old, used name-brand microscope is a "roll-of-the-dice". I think, considering that I have a very useable quality older microscope but enjoy "antique" things, that I will someday buy one of the Wetzlars or whatever that I often encounter and see if I win at the "dice-roll". I will no doubt learn something valuable in any case, and perhaps even strike it rich. ;-)

[@DP-qb1zw]

You can find absolutely excellent deals on used scopes if you look and wait. I just bought a working, 5 objective Olympus BH with phase contrast on auction for 120$ total price ,tax and shipping.

[@AM-pp5rl]

I purchased a used Microstar IV, a little bit of cleaning and greasing later and I can say it the best $100 I've ever spent.

[@stanislava7604]

Thank you so much Oliver for this video, I think this is one of your best essays. A few years ago I have bought a new Chinese fluorescent microscope, because I was interested in doing my microscopy experiments at home during the quarantine period. This device has several flaws but fulfills it's purpose well. However, when I attempted to discuss this model's issues on the internet forums many ppl were throwing rotten eggs at me, 'cause I'm buying "the Chinese crap" as they said. Now I feel more confident I did the right thing as I'm interested in microscopical observation and do not have the right skills to restore a used device.

[@bendirval3612]

I just wish I was better at fixing microscopes. I have one of those American Optical scopes that I picked up on craigslist practically free. I did a little bit of work to get it mechanically working great, but there are little spots in the vision caused by dust somewhere. I have cleaned what I know how to clean as well as I can but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. One really good thing about a new microscope is that it will come completely clean and with some care you can keep it that way. A used microscope may have been sitting in someone's garage collecting dust, like mine was. I can still see really small stuff, but not as well as I could if it was all pristine. In microscopy, cleanliness seems to be exceptionally important and hard to achieve once lost.

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

turn the different parts of the microscope and if the dust turns then you know on which part it is.

[@bendirval3612]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy In my case it does not move when I switch eyepieces or objectives. It's inside the microscope head. I can remove the head easily but have never taken the head apart...I'm scared to. Not a huge deal, but there may be more than one source of dust as well. Just saying...cleanliness is a major reason to opt for new microscopes. The best optics in the world don't make a great image if they are dirty and hard to clean.

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

You can take the whole head off, but should not disassemble the head itself, which contains prisms.

[@maglicairsoft4183]

Dont dissasemble the head the mirror or prism is at an angle if it is moved a bit the picture will no longer be in the correct position.

[@MarieChardome]

try to find a microscope technician, as sugested and so save your scope

[@lotharmayring6063]

do you know what costs a microscope service....a friend on me used one he stayed 8 hours to arrange DIC......for the same price he could buy a new one

[@ElectricityTaster]

Bought what I thought was a new microscope. They sent me a used one, and it came direct from the manufacturer. I know it was used because it was scratched and had a white filter glued into the filter holder.

[@fredashay]

If I saw a Zeiss AXIO AS-IS for $1,000 on eBay, you bet I'd snap it up and hold onto it and refurbish it as I accumulate the buckazoids to do so!

[@lotharmayring6063]

a professional microscoper builds its own microscope from spare parts of different companies, only Zeiss Leitz Leika Olympus Nicon. Only in this way you will learn microscopy.

[@jonathan8157]

One of the problem with old microscopes is to find a replacing bulb light as they came before the LED invention.

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

Yes, but sometimes they also have LEDs that fit into halogen sockets.

[@doktorhunggari4415]

What about resale value on the used market? Are there any durability issues between brands?🙏🔑🙏

[@nadermunye4879]

Has anyone every used an American optics microscope if so, how are the optics? It’s a Series 60 binocular with a mechanical stage

[@DP-qb1zw]

I have about a dozen AO scopes and find them to be high quality and very cheap in the USA. Mine are all the 10 and 110 models. The 60 would be a student scopes but I'm sure much better than a new one of the same price you paid. Most of mine were between 80 to 250$ . The most expensive, 250$ one, is a 5 objective, dual view with phase contrast and the best 1031 illuminator that has readily available, cheap bulbs . It costs about 4000$ when new. I like the unique feature of a rock stable, stationary stage and downward gravity moving objectives that don't crush slides plus a focus stop to easily drop your objectives into focus after inserting a slide. Everything feels of rugged, excellent quality .

[@davewinch7677]

I just picked up a used American optics microscope, series 50 and it is great. Needed some minor adjustments but I'm glad I grabbed it.

[@MrNed09]

Hi Oliver, I have recently purchased a Swift microscope for home schooling my daughter, and it's fantastic. I would like to go a step further and get into growing some microbes in petri dishes for her to observe! I just wanted to ask is this a safe thing to do at home, and if so how should you safely dispose of them afterwards?

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

This is important. Video on this topic will follow. Clearly not safe! Do not grow unknown bacteria at home, you are in bio-safety level 2 if you work with unknown bacteria, such as those from fingerprints. There are alternative (safe ways) to observe bacteria and microorganisms. Look at yoghurt, yeast, edible mold on cheese etc. Disposal would be by first autoclaving the petri dishes (heating them in steam pressure cooker for half an hour).

[@MrNed09]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, very much appreciated. 👍

[@SuryanIsaac]

As @Microbehunter Microscopy says, there are safe alternatives. You can try to culture bacteria, but you need to have very strict safety standards. Also, how old is your daughter? smaller children might be a little less careful with safety. Also, remember to NEVER open the petri-dish without proper safety equipment (gloves, mask etc.). You can view bacteria under the microscope with methods like gram staining, but you need to be very careful. Also, autoclave, sterilise or throw away anything that comes in contact with the bacterial culture. If you are careful, bacterial cultures can be fun and educational. Here are the basic things you'll need: -Plastic(disposable) Petri dishes -General bacterial medium (nutrient agar) -Innoculation loops (NOT plastic, the metal ones are better) -a 500 ml glass beaker/conical flask (to sterilise the medium) -A lighter or spirit lamp -A separate cardboard box (to incubate cultures) -Any microscope stain -Autoclave safe disposal bags -face mask -gloves -sterilising spray - with perfume/fragrance/moisturiser is better -Pressure cooker of adequate volume -Q-tips (cotton swabs/ear buds) If you want to perform gram staining (Optional) -Safranin Stain -Crystal Violet Satin -Gram's Iodine -Surgical Spirit / Ethanol If you search for good deals, you can get these supplies for under $100. It might be a wee bit more if you choose higher quality. You can find tutorials online for making bacterial cultures and gram staining bacteria. If you can't, I'll be happy to send you the protocol I use Also, keep aside a pressure cooker to sterilise everything and DO NOT use it for food after you have used it with the bacterial cultures. And Remember - Safety is the number one priority. Be safe and I hope you enjoy the learning process If you have any doubts, feel free to comment anything :)

[@55Ramius]

Sounds like good advice. : )

[@lotharmayring6063]

it is not a question of taste, it is a question of money and time

[@lotharmayring6063]

if you think that microscopy is a hobby, you are on the wrong way. Nobody would sit himself behind a care machine and look at pictures which you can see in books or internet better just for fun. But every microscopy seller tells me that microscopy is a hobby

[@cruznahoel678]

What is it then to you? A business?

[@lotharmayring6063]

@@cruznahoel678 no it is an scentific addiction, never a hobby or buisness