Digital Microscopes Versus Optical – Which Is The Best Choice?
For several decades, the world knew no other kind of microscope except the optical kind. Just recently, however, digital microscopes were introduced to the public, and many agree that this modern piece of equipment is much better than its predecessor. There are several differences between the optical and the digital microscope and one of the most notable is the fact that there are no optics in the digital model for the naked eye, because the image of the specimen is directly projected on the charge-coupled device camera that comes with the instrument.
It is a common assumption that these modern microscopes are on the expensive side, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. While there are indeed some digital microscopes that cost several thousands of dollars, there are also some very affordable models that cost as low as $20 apiece. Of course, you would have to sacrifice a lot in terms of resolution, magnification, illumination and other features if you choose to buy these budget-friendly tools, but for most general purposes, they would actually do quite well.
Comparing the Features
Aside from the presence (or absence) of optics, there are other key differences between optical and digital microscopes, such as the magnification capacity. In a traditional microscope, you can tell the magnification by multiplying the eyepiece magnification and the lens magnification. The resulting number is the magnification capability of the microscope. In a digital model, however, there is no eyepiece so obviously, this computation cannot be used. Instead, the magnification capability is determined by the size of the monitor of the computer to which you will connect the microscope. the bigger the screen, the more you can magnify the image. Unless you have a computer screen that is larger than 20″, the optical microscope does fare better in this department.
In almost all other elements, though, the digital microscope does have the advantage. For example, the direct projection of the image onto the camera enables you to get images that are of higher quality than those that you can get from a traditional microscope. There are also several high-tech software programs today that can be used with digital microscopes so that you can enjoy the best features and the most advanced functions.
There are many types of microscopes, but the digital microscopes are a wonderful piece of technology that are truly something else!