Since they were first invented in the late 1500s, microscopes have long been the subject of peoples fascination. The invention of the microscope changed the way people understood the world around them and what they could see.
From its use in medical breakthroughs to its ability to illuminate and magnify, microscopes and study with microscopes (microscopy) have served an important purpose for everyday folks wanted to magnify the world around them and for professionals, looking for better understanding of the molecular structures of everyday objects.
Historians aren’t sure who first invented the microscope, but the first one was invented in 1590. Hans Lippershey filed the first patent for a telescope, but other evidence points to Hans and Zacharias Janssen, a father-son team of spectacle makers who lived in the same town as Lippershey.
While folks of an older generation may fondly remember rows of traditional laboratory microscopes from their school days, things have changed a lot in recent years. The traditional lab microscope is increasingly being replaced with digital microscopes as technology continues to develop and advance. Digital microscopes include a regular microscope with a digital camera, which enables people to see what they’re looking at instantly. Most of today’s digital microscopes are connected to a computer via a USB port.
Advantages of using digital microscopes include:
- Research: When it comes to scientific research, a microscope is one of the most important tools in a scientist’s arsenal. Digital microscopes allow scientists to save images and print them from the equipment, which helps them to be able to closely examine what they’re studying. This gives them an advantage over traditional microscopes and makes them a tool of choice for many lines of work such as quality control and manufacturing.
- Options: Today’s digital microscopes offer researchers plenty of variety. Some of them come with several eyepieces and allow for the storage of multiple user profiles, so researchers can easily save their work and then pick up where they left off later.
- Education: Digital microscopes also allow for countless educational opportunities in the classroom. Digital microscopes allow many students to study something at once, especially when the microscope’s camera is hooked up to a computer. Since images can be saved and stored from digital microscopes, students can easily view images of something they were studying at a later time without having to go back and repeat the process.
Digital microscopes offer plenty of benefits, but there are also a few disadvantages.
For starters, they need reliable power connections to work. This can sometimes causes issues if you’re trying to look at or study something and view it on a monitor, especially if the digital microscope you’re using doesn’t come with an eyepiece.
If you’re looking to buy a digital microscope, there are five major factors you have to take into account:
- Lighting Options
- Working Distance
- Connection Options
- Magnification and Field of View
- Quality and Price
A company such as Dino Lite can offer all of those benefits. A Dino Lite digital microscope is designed to provide quick, dependable results for a wide range of applications. A Dino Lite digital microscope offers users a great number of magnification and illumination options and there are microscopes that fit every budget and every use, from home use (such as a handheld microscope) to professional use.
If you’re looking for a USB microscope camera, a Dino Lite digital microscope is a reliable option. A basic USB Dino Lite digital microscope can start magnification at 10x and top of the line models can extend to 400x magnification and even higher. If you’re looking for a USB microscope, Dino Lite offers basic models as well as more advanced models (Edge Series) and also microscopes for medical and laboratory use.
In addition to USB models, Dino Lite also offers many handheld microscope options including ones that are compatible with a TV via RCA, VGA and high definition outputs. This makes it easier to view the things you’re using your handheld microscope to study on a much larger screen.