Best Laboratory Microscope for under ,500.00

I work in a laboratory with a variety of different microscopes made by Nikon, Olympus, Leica, and Meiji.

Of all the microscopes I get to use I like the Nikon Eclipse 200 best. I use to swear by Olympus, but I've noticed that when I put the Olympus CX41 and the Nikon E 200 side by side, the optical quality in terms of resolution and light are much better on the Nikon. Especially when using the high powered objectives.

Has anyone else noticed this?


Both microscopes have PLAN objectives, and they both use halogen 30 watt lamps from the same manufacturer.

I think the Olympus is more expensive, but I find the Nikon to be better in terms of optical quality.


Has anyone else noticed this?


We're about to budget some money for new microscopes and we have to keep each one under $2,500.00. (Separate Grants).

I was looking for feedback based on personal experience by end users.

I don't know if there is any "best" microscope in any category, be it price or performance. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. You must decide what the best compromise is for your particular needs. After 40+ years in the world of microscopes, for what it is worth, here is my opinion. Nikon has always been known for their optical quality at any given price point. The new CFI60 series optics are no exception. Simply stated they are very good to say the least. The Eclipse E200 series microscopes use the CFI60 optics and are also very sturdily built optical instruments. In addition, the E200 has a good selection of optical applications including phase and fluorescence. If you have been happy with your experience with the E200 continue to use it. I'm sure that you will never be disappointed.

I tend to agree with you, Ricky.

I've used Leica, Olympus, and Nikon throughout my career. I think the Nikons are my favorite to use on a daily basis. Olympus and Leica are also excellent microscopes though. ( We have had problems with getting our Leica repaired. It seems like it take forever to get parts from Leica, especially circuit boards) I would mention Zeiss here, but the price is cost prohibitive for our lab.


That being said, I think it comes down to pricing for our lab as the microscopes tend to be very similar when comparing like models. Our microbiology lab actually upgraded the Nikon Eclipse 200 to do fluorescent microscopy until our following fiscal year when we were able to purchase an Eclipse 80i research scope for Fluorescent stains.

The cool thing was we were able to just move the fluorescent unit to the 80i without incurring any additional costs. I know Nikon is fully upgradeable and the Eclipse series interchanges with other Eclipse models. I'm not sure if Olympus and Leica have the same capabilities.