Microscopes from £250 to £500

Between £250 and £500 the compound microscopes take on laboratory features and the stereo and digital models suit daily use on a bench. For slides there's the Levenhuk 320 PLUS at up to 1600x with an Abbe condenser and colour filters, the Levenhuk 700 series to 2000x in monocular, binocular and trinocular versions, the Bresser Researcher, the Levenhuk MED 10, and the Euromex EcoBlue and BioBlue. For solid objects, the Euromex EduBlue and StereoBlue, the Bresser Biorit ICD CS and the DST-0745 macro zoom. On a screen, the Levenhuk DTX 700 with its polarising filter, the DTX 800, the Bresser Biolux Touch, the Researcher LCD and the Bresser WiFi 2L.

Free UK delivery on orders over £100, otherwise £6.90

23 products

What the extra money gets you

An Abbe condenser with an iris diaphragm under the stage, which lets you trade brightness for contrast and is the difference between seeing a diatom and seeing a grey smudge. A double-layer mechanical stage that moves the slide in two directions by knobs. Binocular heads with dioptre adjustment so each eye focuses separately, and trinocular heads on the 700 series, the EcoBlue and the StereoBlue zoom for a camera later.

Who this band suits

A-level and undergraduate students who've outgrown a school microscope, entomologists and pond-life enthusiasts, amateurs who want to try oil immersion properly, and workshops that use a stereo or digital microscope every day. Our best microscopes guide is the place to compare them.

£250 to £500 FAQs

LED or halogen?

LED runs cool and is standard on the Bresser and Euromex models. The Levenhuk 500T uses a 20 W halogen bulb, which gives a warmer colour some people prefer for stained slides.