Ordering a microscope--> What do you recommend?

[univlad]

I'm starting my first pathology job in a few months and the group is going to order me a new microscope. I've just used the microscopes we've had in our department while in residency and haven't really had to think about specifics before. Our department has pretty much all Olympus scopes and that's basically all I've used. Is there anything specific I should ask for that I might not be thinking about?

Our department mainly has Olympus BX41's and one ergonomic BX45 which I have liked. I'll do a mix of general surgical pathology and bone marrows so I was thinking about asking for a BX45 with 2x, 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 50xoil, 100x oil in septuple nosepiece, with a polaring feature and an adjustable telescopic eyepieces.

Are there specifics about the objective lenses I should be thinking about?

Does anyone have experience with Nikon microscopes?

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[MirkoCrocop]

I think you should get red bolts of lightning painted on the sides in addition to the things you mentioned.

 

[green mantis]

I spoke to a couple microscope salespeople when I was attending a conference. Some of them will bring by demo models for you to try out at your office. You may or may not be tied down to the Olympus scopes, though it may be easier if everyone is on the same service contract.

You may want to ask somebody about what kind of objectives would work best for you because there are several different varieties & all come in varying powers. Just look at the ones on the scopes at work, & see what you like & can afford.


----- Antony

 

[Arctic Char]

I think you should get red bolts of lightning painted on the sides in addition to the things you mentioned.

hell yeah

 

[Gyric]

I have tried the current models from Zeiss, Olympus, and Nikon and generally rank them in that order, though they are all high quality.

 

[Matte Kudesai]

I have tried the current models from Zeiss, Olympus, and Nikon and generally rank them in that order, though they are all high quality.

Zeiss makes some sweet scopes....

 

[Ale]

I'm starting my first pathology job in a few months...

Good read it will teach you what you need to know about microscopes
http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/index.html

Nikon has a similar web page.

If you are going to take pictures I would go with PlanFluor objectives or PlanApochromat. The later are very expensive. If you are not going to take pictures go for the PlanFluor, or even PlanAchro.

The BX45 is not a lot more expensive than the BX41 but there is a lot of difference with the height of the stage and is more comfortable. If you are not doing Heme don’t bother with the 50X and 100X.
Polarizer would be nice if you are doing general surg path.

Because most of the microscopes are comparable, the most important thing is sevice.

Make them bring you the microscope and see what you like. Not that you cannot interchange objectives between brands and some brands you can only swap them between series.

 

[LADoc00]

I'm starting my first pathology job in a few months and the group is going to order me a new microscope. I've just used the microscopes we've had in our department while in residency and haven't really had to think about specifics before. Our department has pretty much all Olympus scopes and that's basically all I've used. Is there anything specific I should ask for that I might not be thinking about?

Our department mainly has Olympus BX41's and one ergonomic BX45 which I have liked. I'll do a mix of general surgical pathology and bone marrows so I was thinking about asking for a BX45 with 2x, 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 50xoil, 100x oil in septuple nosepiece, with a polaring feature and an adjustable telescopic eyepieces.

Are there specifics about the objective lenses I should be thinking about?

Does anyone have experience with Nikon microscopes?

Get similar scopes to the remainder of the lab to consolidate your service contracts. Trust me on this. Trick it out as neccessary with stuff you need.

 

[Sean2tall]

What is a ballpark price for a microscope? Seeing previous people bring up the issue of buying one for residency, I assumed it was within reason on a typical book fund. But a quick google search suggests that they're in the range of $2000 and up, is that right?

 

[LADoc00]

What is a ballpark price for a microscope? Seeing previous people bring up the issue of buying one for residency, I assumed it was within reason on a typical book fund. But a quick google search suggests that they're in the range of $2000 and up, is that right?

huh? no. Single objectives are 1K and up.

My current scope, fully pimped out, was 25K wholesale price.

 

[xanthines]

From my former life as lab tech and microscope guardian, I'll have to agree. I almost worked for Zeiss but stupid me had to go to back to school instead of making money (pretty good money, too!). Whoever said Nikon is negotiable is also correct. My buddy works for Nikon in the southeast and says the same thing. Incidentally, he also gets a hefty discount on Nikon digicams and dSLR's.

If the rest of your group has Olympus, then get an Olympus scope. Things break on all scopes anyway so might as well share in the group service plan.

-X

P.S. And yes, microscopes are ridonkuously expensive. My old boss' Zeiss cost over $40k.

I have tried the current models from Zeiss, Olympus, and Nikon and generally rank them in that order, though they are all high quality.

 

[Sean2tall]

Err, yeah. What I meant was that there are second-hand base models for like 2-4k. But, anyhow, I did not realize they were that expensive.

huh? no. Single objectives are 1K and up.

My current scope, fully pimped out, was 25K wholesale price.

 

[deschutes]

I think those for at-home use are the non-pimped-out student microscopes. Enough to see some stuff with, but not much else.

There's one here going for less than $500.