Portable microscopes

Luis Nadeau <nadeaul<-a t->nbnet< . >nb< . >ca> writes

>At a recent workshop on the identification of prints, we used a
>number of battery-operated portable microscopes in the 7X, 30X and
>50X range. They were quite inexpensive as they were purchased for
>approximately US$12 each. Their quality was not very good.
>...
>Can anyone point us towards better quality instruments?

I'm not sure which brand of microscope you were using, and
unfortunately, you usually get what you pay for.  However, short of
buying a hand-held microscope from Nikon for $150-200 US, you might
try the Radio Shack models of hand-held microscopes.  Yes they are
cheap and the optics are not the best, But I believe they would last
longer than a one-day workshop.  I have never had one break down on
me, and the image is always very bright, provided your batteries are
still strong.  They come in 30X and 100X (100X is often too high for
photographic identification, which I was using them for).  They are
very inexpensive, around $6 for the 30X, and $12 for the 100X.

Tom Braun
Mellon Conservation Fellow
Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC)

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:38
                 Distributed: Monday, October 20, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-38-004
                                  ***