Best Microscope Parts & Accessories For Sale In 2022 Reviews
A microscope is more than just a basic magnifier, it has plenty of parts and accessories that make it special and determine its features and performance.
To know what does a microscope needs to be functional and useful, here are some parts and accessories it uses.
Microscope Parts
The microscope has a few essential parts that it requires to function. All the microscope, no matter which type they are, have basic parts, and the only thing that varies is their quality and size.
When buying a microscope, you usually get it in one piece, so you don’t think of it as multiple parts assembled together. All of them are important, but some are more essential and quality made than others.
What’s important is that you can replace most of the original microscope parts in case they break or you want to upgrade your microscope. Make sure you check can you replace the parts only with original parts or you can use other brands as it can significantly affect the price.
Microscope lens
The microscope lens is the most essential part of the microscope, it determinates the magnification and clarity of the image. It can be made out of real glass or plastic and a microscope can have one or multiple lenses.
Most of the microscopes (except simple ones) have multiple objective lenses, usually three or four. They are screwed in nosepiece and often color-coded for easier recognition. While magnifying objects, you rotate the lens and choose the magnification level.
Objective lenses are closest to the object and use the light of the object to magnify the image that then transfers to the ocular or eyepiece lens, magnifies more, and than shows the true image of an object. With most microscopes, you get two pairs of eyepiece lenses for those times when you require a higher magnification level.
Microscope stand
Another essential part of the microscope is the stand. The stand supports the whole microscope body and makes it stable. The microscope stand is consists of a base and the stand or so-called arm.
The base is used to analyze the specimen and it usually has stage clips to keep it in place. The stand itself can mostly be adjusted so you can bring the specimen closer so you can get a better view.
When buying a stand you have to make sure it’s made out of right material. The stand is the only thing that keeps the rest of the microscope in place, and unless your microscope is light and handheld, your stand must be made out of sturdy, durable material.
Microscope illumination
The microscope illumination is often neglected, but it can be a crucial part when observing the specimen, especially in darker spaces. It comes in two types, sometimes even both in one microscope, LED and halogen light. Both lights have adjusted intensity.
Depending on the microscope type, illumination can be found on the top, bottom or even both parts of the microscope. The bottom one lights up the smallest specimen, and the top is in charge of bigger objects like rocks and jewels.
Illumination is included within the microscope, and it can last a long time, especially LED light bulbs. All you have to do is replace the bulb when it wears out, and the bulb itself is a cheap accessory.
Microscope ring light
When thinking about the light source in the microscope you usually think of freestanding lights like bottom or top lights. Still, some microscopes require a different kind of illumination, and that’s a ring light.
A ring light is used when there is no other light source, or when you want to increase your light source. To use it, you have to mount it to your objective lens, sometimes using an adapter. A ring light can be LED, florescent or optical and you can choose between different power of the light
The ring light can be affordable and expensive, the one with a higher power is more expensive. It’s very popular these days, so you can get it in almost any specialized store or Amazon.
Microscope Accessories
Unlike microscope parts, accessories aren’t essential to the function of the microscope, but they are can be of great use. Some microscope accessories are similar to some usual home accessories, like replacement bulbs and some are specific to the microscope world, like microscope slides.
You can buy accessories separately, or in a set, depending on what you need. Accessories usually aren’t very strict when it comes to buying a certain brand, because most of them are universal to all microscopes.
You can buy all your accessories in specialized shops or on online stores like Amazon. Depending on the item and brand, they can be budget-friendly or a bit more expensive.
Microscope slides
While observing specimens, especially delicate ones like bacteria and cells, you need special equipment and sterile conditions. You put them on a transparent slide and observe from a safe distance with your magnifying lens.
The microscope slide is just a thin flat piece of glass that is around 1mm thick and 3×1 inches large. When preparing a slide you have to use water or other specialized liquid and gently place the cover. A specimen on the slide can last up to 30 minutes.
You can buy the slides prepares (with some cells or batteries on it) or blank slides with cover. The slides are sold within the accessories set or can be bought for a very cheap price in big packs.
Microscope replacement bulb
Although bulbs in the illumination of the microscopes last a long time you need to replace them from time to time. But don’t worry, it only takes a few minutes to replace it and enjoy your new light.
When replacing a microscope bulb, you have to be careful which bulb your microscope has. The bulbs in the microscope are mostly halogen and LED, even fluorescent. LEDs are most durable, and fluorescent is usually found in ring lights.
Like light bulbs in your house, microscope bulbs aren’t very expensive and even LED microscope bulbs are not so expensive anymore. You can find them on Amazon and other stores, and often you get one replacement when buying a microscope.
Microscope phone adapter
One of the newer microscope accessories is the phone adapter. Since the phone has become an essential part of our lives, it stared replacing some other gadgets like PC or any large monitor.
The microscope phone adapter works in a way that you mount your phone to the microscope, connect it to your microscope and see the image on the phone screen instead of on some other screen or via an eyepiece.
Phone adapters can come with microscopes or you can buy one separately. They usually fit on the 23.2 optical tubes or eyepiece. They aren’t expensive and can make a great and handy accessory.
Other microscope accessories
Some of the other popular microscope accessories are often included within a kid microscope kid, or you can buy it on your own. The most common ones are tweezers, Petri dishes, test tubes, etc.
While these items are referred to as accessories, they are very much needed in your microscope exploration, especially while using the microscope for microscopic specimens such as bacteria, cells, and hair.
These accessories can be found in a store where you buy your microscope and major online stores like Amazon. They are usually inexpensive, and you can get the whole kit with over 50 accessories. Most of the accessories are reusable, except for accessories like prepared slides.
Conclusion: Which microscope parts and accessories are important to buy?
Of course, you have to buy a microscope with all its essential parts, and the other parts like some accessories are up to you. Still, I would recommend that you get a good accessories kit, or at least microscope slides and occasionally a replacement bulb. Accessories kit is relatively cheap and it contains everything you need for a home microscope analysis.