A microscope is basic equipment for any lab. Microscopes can be expensive, so you need to make sure that you buy a good microscope that will serve your purpose and last a long time. Here are some factors you should consider before buying a microscope for your lab.
Type of microscope
The light microscope is the most common type of microscope. Electron or ultraviolet microscope are used for commercial purposes or advanced scientific experiments. You should buy a type of microscope that is well-suited for your application. Do not go for high magnification always.
Most of the light microscope application requires a magnification of less than 60X. Compound microscopes are needed for viewing smaller specimens, like blood samples, water specimens, etc. Stereo microscopes are needed to view bigger specimens like insects, rocks, leaves, bugs, etc.
Quality
You should make sure that the quality of construction and lens is good. A good quality microscope will have solid metal alloys and high-quality prisms.
Illumination
A high-quality pedestal microscope has halogen lighting. It produces a strong white light. Portable microscopes have LED ring lights. In special microscopes that are used in biological experiments, fluorescent light is used. Tungsten is used in the entry-level microscopes.
These are the main factors you should consider before buying a microscope. You should read reviews of various microscopes to learn more about the features of different microscopes. You should also compare the features of microscopes within your budget range and then pick up the best that matches your requirements.