Another Stupid Microscope Question

[ZCWARD]

Looks like most forums recommend ~400X for cell counting yeast and ~1000x total magnification for looking at bacteria.

There are some educational kits out there for less than 100 bucks that have this range or similar magnification but no one seems to recommend them on ProBrewer. Do they just have poor optics or break easily?

i.e. http://www.ebay.com/itm/AmScope-300X...item1c3c98e538

[Brandjes]

In my past life I was the ops manager for a company that manufactured, imported and repaired microscopes. Some of the issues with the "student" level scopes is controlling the lighting and fine focus. The ability to adjust the light source can overcome a lot of issues with lower grade optics and good optics can be useless without good light. The higher the magnification the more important the lighting and fine focus. You might be able to use student scopes for cell counts and you might be able to see gram stained bacteria but it might be very difficult to identify rods or rounds. The issue with cell counts is working distance of the objective and the well depth of the counting chamber in the hemocytometer. At 400x you might not be able to get the objective close enough to the sample to bring it into focus.
The company I worked for used to provided all of the Fisher Scientific branded microscopes but I believe Swift is now their source.
Here are a few models that will have the features to cover the basic brewery requirements. You should be able to find these on ebay and other used science equipment sites
Fisher Micromaster II
Fisher Educational S90005 or 5B , S90009A

[Inthelab]

Poor optics, dim light, no light control, not slide adjustment, god awful focus adjustment, that scope looks like a combination of eye strain and sadness.

That's the kind of scope that makes you hate doing cell counts, and thusly not doing them. Grab a decent used scope and it wont be a chore but a nice quiet moment in the brewers/cellars/assistants day. If you want some tips on how to streamline and speed up your counts give me a yell.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FISHER-SCIENTIFIC-MICROMASTER-MODEL-CK-STEREOSCOPIC-LAB-MICROSCOPE-/261159730440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cce553d08

[RkisInVA]

Mechanical stage

When doing cell counts, you're really going to want 'scope with a mechanical stage. Moving the hemocytometer around with your fingers is a pain in the ass. Like most people have said, it's worth investing the money to make the process easy. The problem I've had with cheaper scopes is not enough light. I would have to really strain to see the yeast cells.