Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron 44104 500x Power Advanced Biological Microscope

I was pleasantly surprised when the Celestron 44104 arrived. I have not used a microscope since high school biology. I had always wanted to have a microscope, but could never justify the cost. This year, while purchasing presents for others, I decided to buy this for me.

I am glad I did. This instrument is a good quality 'heavy' type of device and comes with the electric illumination device. Funny, I did well with just the included mirror light up the slides.

To save money, check out the Celestron 44102. As near as I can tell, that is this model minus = 12.5x eye piece, blue filter, and the AC light thing.

Ken

Solid construction and all the basics. Easy set up for the most part (I had trouble only with setting up the safety stop). The optics are fine for home use, and it's easy to use. The small set of prepared slides was a very nice surprise.

Only two things would make it a little more user-friendly: coarse and fine focus adjustments on the same dial (similar to the stage adjustment), and a switch on the light source.

Overall I would definitely recommend this for the hobbyist; it's a great value for the price.

After returning several different styles of Celestron microscopes this is a keeper. High quality and easy to use. I did notice the bulb attachment does get hot and it has a strange "burning" smell to it but as long as you do not use for long periods of time it should be ok. The other option is to use the mirror as a lighting source. This is strong and sturdy (has a good weight to it). Highly recommended.

Just got this microscope yesterday. It's amazing. Originally I had planned to spend more money on a scope with 1000x magnification power, but when I learned that this one could be upgraded, I decided to save some money and avoid the difficulty of dealing with oil immersion. I am very impressed with what you can see at 400x and 500x, and with such clarity. Also, the mechanical stage is great. I didn't think of the mechanical stage is a deciding factor when choosing a scope, but now that I've used it I can't imagine not having it.

I want to give this product 5 stars, except that, as others have said, this seems like it could be a fire hazard. I actually feel very fortunate that I had read the other reviews that mentioned this danger, because otherwise I probably would not have taken any precautionary steps. Because I read those reviews, I chose to put my microscope on top of a cork coaster when using the lamp. Sure enough, when I moved the microscope aside, you could see that the coaster had started to become discolored under the lamp! That could have been my table.

Other than that, the only other complaints I have is that this does not come with any blank slides, and the lamp does not have a switch, but these are small issues that do not affect my rating. As long as you're careful not to leave the microscope unattended when the lamp is on, you won't be disappointed.

Great value for the money

Very nice microscope that does much more than what a person should expect for 140 dollars!
Some people left feedback that is impossible, because this is a really exceptional and very functional microscope.
1. The light source does NOT get hot. Kept it on for 8 hours and still not hot! Light source is now LEDs.
2. Exceptional images and extraordinary contrast.
3. Book is only about 5 pages and if you read it along with learning a little on how to use a microscope your results will be the same.
4. Use the iris control to "turn down" the light because there is enough light power for 1000x but the microscope has 40x to 500x and too much light means dull & fuzzy images. Turn the iris and condenser down 75% or more or your images will be washed out and blurry.
5. Excellent sample slides that should give you all the practice you need to learn how the use the microscope.
The product that I am rating is a MODEL 44104.
It is an absolute 5 star.