When buying microscopes, compound binocular microscopes proves to be the best option. Binocular microscopes are more complex than the monocular models and they are way more affordable than the trinocular ones. But there are certain advantages and disadvantages of owning them. Know what they are through the article below.

Are you looking to buy compound binocular microscopes? If so, then you might want to consider the pros and cons of owing and using them. Compound binocular microscopes are microscopes that have two eyepieces from which users can look into. Taking that fact alone under consideration, compound binocular microscopes provide a certain level of advantage than its monocular counterparts.

But to analyze the rest of the factors in detail, here are the pros and cons surrounding the use of compound binocular microscopes:

Pros:

1. Comfort. Compound binocular microscopes are more comfortable to use than monocular microscopes and that’s a simple fact. With binocular microscopes, you can have both of your eyes open as you view the subject. However, with monocular microscope, you don’t experience that same level of comfort. When using monocular microscope, you have to close one eye while viewing the specimen to give yourself a better image. If you are to look through that single hole for an hour or so, then the whole experience is not going to be convenient for you.

2. Wider field. Because you use two eyes, the field of view is normally wider with compound binocular microscopes. A magnification level of 10x would provide users with around 45 millimeters of viewing field. A wider field also gives users more manageability because it is possible to move the stage away from the objective so it becomes possible to manipulate the sample under observation.

3. Better magnification power. What compound microscope really means is that it has multiple objective lenses for better viewing ability. Objective lenses are the main magnification device of a microscope. There are a lot of compound binocular microscope available in the market today, and all of them are capable of 1000x magnification. This means you can possibly view something as small as a single-celled organism with this level of power.

4. Three Dimensional Image Capability. Still because of the fact that compound binocular microscopes use both of your eyes for viewing, it becomes likely that the image produced will be three dimensional. To attain that, just a few simple optical lenses will be added to the device. In a monocular type of a microscope, a three dimensional view cannot be attained.

Cons

1. Price. The average price of a high quality compound binocular microscope is $500. Compared to the monocular type which can be bought for as low as $200, it only goes to show that compound binocular microscope are priced twice as much. If you don’t have that much of a budget, then its is going to be one of the cons of owing, and even using, a compound binocular microscope.

2. Regular features. Most compound binocular microscopes have features that are the same as monocular microscopes. The only difference would lie on the eyepiece that device has. You cannot attach a digital video or still image capture camera on a compound binocular microscopes. What you are actually paying more for the device is the additional eyepiece it has.

3. Lack of enhancements. A lot of compound binocular microscopes available in the market today are compact and dense. This means that attaching other apparatuses to it in order to enhance its performance is not really possible. All users can do is to replace busted parts so that it becomes functional again.

4. High cost of repair. When compound binocular microscopes have gone wary, sending them in for repairs can be rather costly. Depending upon the problem with the device, owners can be billed as high as $200 just to restore it to its original condition. For that amount, you can already buy a monocular microscope.

5. More complex setup and calibration. Monocular microscopes virtually works out of the box. If there’s a need to calibrate them, users can do it without so much trouble. For compound binocular microscopes, this particular detail cannot be ensured.

These are the pros and cons of using compound binocular microscopes. As a user, weigh the only the advantages and disadvantages that affects you directly so that you will be able to arrive at a good assessment of the device. But still, compound binocular microscopes continues to be the best buy in the market.