44330 Celestron Digital & Optical Microscope

The Celestron #44330 Digital & Optical Microscope is a traditional table microscope with a digital imaging eyepiece adapter.  It can be used traditionally as a 100x/200x/400x optical microscope with rack and pinion focusing and LED illumination, but also can output the view to either a computer's LCD screen for live observation or to the included software program to capture still images.  It makes both a good teaching tool and an entertaining scientific instrument.

The optical magnification starts with a 20x eyepiece and is enhanced by a rotating turret nosepiece, instead of a cheaper sliding magnifier.  The #44330 also has a real microscope stage with spring clips, so that you can observe slide specimens.  The cool LED illumination (powered by 2 "AAA" batteries) is adjustable to match the needs of the subject and magnification.

The native 2.0MP resolution (1600 x 1200 pixels) of this microscope is superior to most entry-level digital microscopes, and when digitally imaging the traditional eyepiece is removed.  Because you don't shoot through the traditional eyepiece, you get a brighter image.  This microscope also comes standard with a 2-year warranty instead of a 1-year warranty.