Microscope suggestions

[ziggy13]

I am looking for suggestions on which microscope to get. I've read the book by Chris White and Jamil and based on their suggestions, I found this microscope:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006IE0ZHU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Would that be a good one? It seems like it might be more on the 'toy' side rather than the professional side, but it is a fairly good price. I would be willing to spend a little bit more to get a more professional piece of equipment though. I'd say my budget is between $200-$350.

Knowing nothing about microscopes as of yet, would this be a good purchase?

 

[broadbill]

that look like a good entry-level microscope...I gotta ask though-why do you need a microscope?

 

[Polboy]

its great price if it really does whats in the description but would be better to know whot do you want to use it for before giving recomendations

 

[ziggy13]

I am the type of person that once I pick up a hobby I want to master all aspects of it, and maintaining a yeast bank is the next step in my progression of my current brewing addiction. I'd like to get a small 'lab' up and running so I am able to culture up from a single yeast cell, and be able to store multiple different strains of yeast for future use. I do 10 gallon batches and split them into 2 fermentors, which allows me to experiment with all the different variables that different strains provide until I nail down the perfect recipe. A lot of times my local stores won't have the exact strain I'm looking for, and I'll have to get them to special order it and waiting for that screws up my brewing schedule. I harvest yeast for re-use currently, but from what I understand after 3 or 4 generations it's typically best to get a new culture going to avoid mutations and unwanted traits. Rather than having to order another $8 vial, I'd like to be able to go to my yeast bank and culture it up on my own. I believe you can store yeast for a more prolonged period of time with single cells/small cultures in petri dishes as opposed to harvesting the whole cake and storing that. We average a 10 gallon batch every other weekend all year long, so pulling from my bank instead of buying new vials all the time would probably save me some dough as well. We're also getting ready to turn our homebrewery into a nano-brewpub with a local restaurant, and being able to say I own and know how to use a microscope makes me feel smarter than I really am

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I have a similar scope to the one you are looking at (http://store.amscope.com/b100-ms.html), although I would recommend that whatever you purchase have binocular viewing and mechanical stage. Also FYI, the cheap ($15-20) hemocytometers on ebay work just fine for our cell counting purposes.

 

[passedpawn]

I have a similar scope to the one you are looking at (http://store.amscope.com/b100-ms.html), although I would recommend that whatever you purchase have binocular viewing and mechanical stage. Also FYI, the cheap ($15-20) hemocytometers on ebay work just fine for our cell counting purposes.

yes/yes/ & yes.

Binocular is a very good idea. And a dependable mechanical stage is almost a must.

There's some discussion of microscopes and loads of pics here. I bought a used one off ebay.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/pics-yeast-under-my-new-scope-273342/

 

[passedpawn]

That Amscope looks like it has a good mech stage and the abbe condensor should light your hemocytometer correctly. Looks like a great scope.

The binocular feature is great to reduce eye strain, but I have a video source on my scope now and I usually just look at my PC screen when I do my yeast stuff. So, if that Amscope has video, the binocular feature isn't a big deal.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I've looked at the cameras for the Amscope (http://www.amscope.com/Camera-1.html), but since they cost a little more than what I paid for the scope I have been hesitant to buy one (although I see the incredible benefit of having one)... its on my wish list.

 

[ziggy13]

Thank you very much guys. Now to decide if I want to build an 8 keg kegerator or get a microscope with video source...decisions decisions!