The Apex Researcher Microscope

I purchased this microscope just a few days before attending a microscope workshop. This event was a serious workshop where professional botanists gathered with their equally professional (and very expensive) microscopes. During the workshop we were encouraged to examine identical specimens down at the cellular level. Some feature were very difficult to identify but my microscope seemed to perform very well with very clear images. On several occasions I was able to carry out direct comparison of the optical quality of my (reasonably priced) microscope and some very, very expensive microscopes. I was amazed and very please to see that my microscope performed just as well as the much more professional machines. I had considered returning this microscope but have changed my mind completely. The quality of this microscope is excellent and I am looking forward to many years of reliable and consistent results. I purchased the snapper attachment for this microscope but have still to obtain the clarity of photographs that I need but I will persevere. As an update, I have reluctantly returned the microscope but not for any issues around quality around the microscope, which is excellent, but more about the clarity of images captured via the Snapper attachment. The images captured are very good but I was unable to record the level of detail that I needed. It has to be said that the customer support has been just tremendous and has gone well beyond that required with the lady from Apex going out of her way to try to help. I am going to rethink my needs and requirements but would thoroughly recommend Apex Microscopes as a first point of call to anyone considering the purchase of a microscope. I certainly will be using this company and its sister company (Brunel) in the future.

This microscope is very solidly built from metal and is initially very impressive for the money. The mechanical stage functions marvelously; it is very smooth in operation and greatly assists viewing slides (have you ever tried moving a slide yourself under high magnification? Its a nightmare!). The optics are also fantastic for the money- very sharp. Four objectives are provided (4x, 10x, 40x and 100x) and two sets of oculars (10x and 20x) so the magnification possible ranges from 40x to 2,000x. Immersion oil is provided so that you can get a sharp image using the 100x objective. This is normal and to do with the laws of physics- so all microscopes will require this at this level of magnification. The binocular head is great; very easy to use and both eye pieces have a diopter so folk who need glasses can use it no probs- even if each eye has differing levels of visual impairment. The scope comes with a cover to keep it dust free when not in use (this is really important- dust in the optics is very annoying- especially when it is all magnified 1,000 times!) The scope has an internal rechargeable battery so that the light source can be used without a cable; which is handier than one might think. So why only three stars? Essentially- its do with the illumination system. The scope employs a LED light source with an iris diaphragm and condenser. This allows "Nelsonian" or "critical" illumination (look it up!). The LED is fine and provides plenty of light. However; for optimum results, the light source, iris diaphragm and condenser have to be well aligned with the objectives. Sadly, on the scope I received they were not properly aligned- as shown in the picture I uploaded. I sent this picture to Apex to demonstrate the problem. The lady on support tried to be helpful (she was lovely) and asked her "technical person" about the issue. I was told that I had to open the diaphragm; the technical team obviously thought that I was complaining that the entire field of view was not lit (which is the case in the picture I took) and told me to open the diaphragm. I knew that! I closed the diaphragm only to obviate the misalignment. Many microscopes come with screws to align the diaphragm and condenser. Sadly, this one does not, letting down an otherwise excellent microscope for the money. It could be that this is a one-off and other scopes in the Apex range are perfectly aligned- but I sent this one back and did not order another one; so I don't know. You can still achieve very impressive results in spite of this fault. However, as the scope is advertised as being suitable for serious lab use, I really feel that is should not suffer from this problem. If I could give it 3.5 stars I would. UPDATE to review- following the return of the microscope, and BEFORE becoming aware of this review, Apex got in touch and offered to hand pick me a scope which is perfectly aligned. However, by this time, I had already ordered one from a different manufacturer. For brilliant customer service, I have upgraded to four stars.

First off, I got really good advice from Apex and the related Brunel Microscopes. I'd used a university binocular compound on a course and was keen to carry on at home, but I was fretting about the cost. Then I saw this and wow, I wasn't disappointed. I've used it at up to 400x and the image is crisp, contrasty and colourful with a decent field of view. Bear in mind this isn't an optical benchmarking test, just a bloke with a pair of mediocre eyes, not much experience, relying on memory but I couldn't say I was missing out on anything in the viewing department by comparison to the kit I'd been using at the uni. I tried a slide I'd prepared on the course, of dividing cells stained with aceto orcein, and clearly saw the stages of mitosis at 400x. Did the cheek cell thing, stopped down the diaphragm a bit and got a nice view of membrane, nucleus and definite detail in the cytoplasm. A big big bonus on this one is the range of independent focus for the eye pieces. My eyes are more than a diopter apart and it was a joy to use an optical device without wearing glasses. Should you buy it? Well if you want a budget introduction to high power compound microscopes and you want a binocular head but no nasty surprises, this is brilliant. If you've a bit more money in the kitty though, look at their "scholar". You might prefer to spend the extra for cooler, whiter more controllable lighting and a third tube to take DSLR shots at prime focus (with the right adapter kit)? But me? I'm chuffed to bits with this one.

This microscope (and the supplier) have been thoroughly reviewed here, and received good ratings by and large. These are deserved. No need for me to review at length. The instrument is well made, and in the item I bought, everything was correctly aligned. I hoped that this would be true for the binocular head, and it was. I'm sensitive to misalignment but this was spot on. It's not quite ready to use; a modicum of assembly is required, but that's not an issue. They also provide you with some blank slides and coverslips, so it didn't take long before I was elbow deep in my pond and viewing the result. I have always enjoyed looking at pond life, and liked it just as much with the Apex. I made a video which shows what fun there is to be had if you put a couple of (preferably slightly mucky) drops on a slide. You don't even need very much magnification - I've used between 40x and 400x in my video. Warning - it turned out quite well, but this is me just hand-holding my camera over one of the eyepieces! If it's not great, blame me, not the microscope. Very happy to recommend this microscope, and given that it's not a couple of grands worth, it's a good gadget to hand over to your youngsters. I started aged about12 years I think. Never lost the bug.

This is a great little microscope. I hadn't used a "serious" microscope since leaving school so after a lot of searching and trying to find out what would be best I went for this one plus the Apex Snapper attachment to use my Canon 450D for taking photos. The microscope arrived packed and disassembled in a polystyrene case (no wooden box as in previous review!). The instructions leave a bit to be desired but putting the whole thing together wasn't too daunting. It comes with 2 sets of eyepieces (x10 and x15) to give different magnifications with the four included objectives. The higher mag (x100) does day it needs immersion oil - I had no idea what this was and had to do an internet search to find out you use it on the slide itself. It also came with a box of slides, 2 well cavity slides and 2 prepared slides. The image through the eyepieces is fantastic, clear and well lit though I did have a problem in that, whilst the eyepieces will slide in and out to help with peoples own eyes being different widths apart, they didn't come together enough to suit my own eyes so I spend most of the time just looking through the left hand eyepiece. Magnification through the different objectives is clear and can be fine focused using a knob on the side of the microscope. I've spent hours looking at things swimming through water from a pond. The table has a nice and smooth sliding mechanism, forward back left and right, which is easily controlled via 2 knobs underneath - this makes moving the slide around such a simple and effortless task. With regard the Apex Snapper, I've written a separate full review for this but basically don't expect instant miracles with photos through a microscope! A previous review also says you can't do "dark ground" with this microscope - you can, just switch off the inbuilt light and hold a bright torch steadily near the plate, I used a Gorillatorch as it was already on a tripod and keeps the light nice and steady and observing pond life like this brings a whole new perspective! All in all a nice bit of kit at a really good price with the current discount, similar models from other suppliers are well over four or five hundred pounds so if you're hovering over that "Add to Basket" button then go for it, I did and am very pleased I did.

As a biology teacher I wanted a good microscope, but I couldn't really justify the cost of an expensive microscope. The binocular scope makes the microscope more relaxing to use. The coase and the fine adjustments are excellent. I hadn't used a scope with a moveable stage before and now I don't think I would go back. My scope had a faulty power supply when it came. Apex replaced this immediately with no problems so full marks here. The microscope is well built and it has fairly good led illumination. My students seem to like it and it is very much a prefered scope to use. The lenses are very good value for money and give an excellent view for their price.

This product is absolutely perfect for the amateur and professional. It's delivery time is very quick, and set up very easy. The sampler slides (particularly the one of pollen) are spectacular, and can help you find the focus of the more powerful magnifications if you are having some difficulty with some other slides. It also comes with a very useful handbook on how to use the microscope, but there are a few things that it doesn't mention: one, that the focus points are nearer the specimen when the magnification is more powerful: this seems obvious, but it can save a lot of time for the uninitiated; secondly, that since the x100 is fractions of mm away from the specimen, you cannot use the double slide technique to hold your specimens (yet thin cover slides are provided, but frustratingly only cover a portion of the slide). However, these are minor points, and I'm sure that cover slides with a larger surface area exist. For those of you unconvinced by the magnification sizes, I witnessed a spermatozoon this morning in perfect definition. Granted bacteria will be a little harder to see, and you will never see a virus with this microscope, but to my knowledge no light microscope can.

We bought this for our science-loving son for his 8th birthday. We also purchased a set of 25 pre-prepared slides. It's totally worth buys prepared slides to go with it, if you're getting it for a kid. We chose to get this microscope instead a children's set because it is made better and seems more sturdy than the cheap plastic-like versions we've seen at the store for kids. I hope it lasts us many years to come, as we have other children who also love science. This microscope is as good at viewing slides as my college microbiology lab microscopes. We have been very impressed by its quality at a reasonable price. I would recommend this scope to any family looking for a great microscope for educational purposes at home.