Stereo microscope specs

[peteski]

Yes, a stereo microscope is a very handy tool, but since I splurged, I would now be lost without the zoom feature.  The continuously-adjustable magnification is a really great feature.

[narrowminded]

I just tried a piece of glass under the lens and it doesn't interfere with the operation so I suspect I'll be rigging something up to prevent smoke from messing with lenses.

You mentioned "continuously-adjustable magnification".  That means magnification, not just focus, correct?  What I got has 20x or 40x magnification chosen by rotating the bottom piece 180 degrees.  It seems like it will be useable for those jobs that exceed the capabilities of the opti-visor.

[peteski]

I just tried a piece of glass under the lens and it doesn't interfere with the operation so I suspect I'll be rigging something up to prevent smoke from messing with lenses.

You mentioned "continuously-adjustable magnification".  That means magnification, not just focus, correct?  What I got has 20x or 40x magnification chosen by rotating the bottom piece 180 degrees.  It seems like it will be useable for those jobs that exceed the capabilities of the opti-visor.

Correct. Mine has a "zoom" knob for the microscope body to seamlessly adjust its magnification from 0.7-4.5x. Focus is a separate adjustment.  The final magnification factor depends on the sum of the Barlow lens, the microscope body and the objectives.  My most often used combination results in 3.5-22.5x magnification.  Or course the field of vision also changes: it is rather wide at 3.5, and much smaller at 22.5. Same goes for the depth of field.