Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My laboratory bought this to aid in zebrafish and prosthetic heart valve research. I was assuming it would be super-cheap given that it's only about $150, but I am pleasantly surprised by how good it is. If this is being used as a home-school thing or a child's gift, it is amazing. In a laboratory setting, it has a couple of disappointing drawbacks but it can still be extremely useful. Pros: -Great quality materials. It feels like this was built to last. -The objective can be switched from 2X to 4X, which is a lot more convenient than having a fixed objective and double the number of eyepieces. -Comes with a manual, 10X and 20X eyepieces, two extra bulbs, eye covers, ocular cover, and an interchangeable base plate disc (one opaque, one frosted glass). -Excellent when using the 10X eyepieces (20X and 40X total magnification). I haven't even needed to use the 20X eyepieces because the 10X eyepieces are adequate for everything I do. If you are doing a typical dissection (or in my case, dechorionating zebrafish embryos) then the 80X magnification is seriously overkill. Cons: -The optics using the 20X eyepieces (at 40X and 80X total magnification) are dark and you need to be looking at the perfect distance/angle to see a full field of view. Even so, the detail is still there. For the price, the image is surprisingly sharp. My disappointment here is almost entirely on the brightness of the optics and not that the optics are distorted or foggy. -Lack of light dimmer is a pretty big flaw. If frosted glass gets wet, the disc becomes clear and the light is blinding. It would be nice to be able to turn it down. -No camera mount (unless you attach one through the eyepiece slot). Bottom line: Recommended