A compound microscope looks through thin, backlit samples at high power. A stereo microscope shows whole objects in 3D at low power, with room to work under the lens.
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Choose a compound microscope for cells, bacteria, pond water and prepared slides. Choose a stereo microscope for insects, seeds, flowers and anything you want to move while you watch.
AmScope's comparison draws the same line: compound for transparent specimens at high magnification, stereo for opaque, three-dimensional objects.
| Compound microscope | Stereo microscope | |
|---|---|---|
| What you look at | Thin, transparent samples on a slide | Whole, solid objects |
| Magnification | 40X, 100X, 400X and 1000X with a 10X eyepiece | 20X to 80X on the SE306R-PZ, 3.5X to 90X on the SM-4TZ-144A |
| Image | One light path, split to both eyes | A separate path for each eye, seen in 3D |
| Working distance | 0.14 to 4 mm | 53 mm on the SE306R-PZ |
| Light | From below, through the sample | From above, and often from below too |
| Genetics projects | Cheek cells, onion root tip mitosis, stained bacteria | Sorting fruit flies, counting corn kernels, looking at colonies on a plate |
A compound objective sits very close to the sample. AmScope gives compound working distances of 0.14 to 4 mm, which leaves no room for tweezers or a fly.
Light has to pass through the sample, which is why specimens are sliced thin or spread on a slide. A whole insect is too thick and too opaque to see this way.
A stereo microscope sends a slightly different image to each eye, and MicroscopyU explains how the brain combines the two into depth.
Cell detail needs the 400X to 1000X that a compound microscope reaches with its 40X and 100X objectives. AmScope lists bacteria, plant cells and chromosomes as compound work.
Some stereo microscopes have a light under a frosted glass stage, so a slide can go on them. At 80X that shows a whole slide, not what is inside the cells.
The AmScope SE306R-PZ is a pillar-stand stereo microscope with 2X and 4X objectives and WF10X and WF20X eyepieces, for 20X, 40X and 80X. It has a light above and a light below the stage.
The AmScope B120C-E1 is a binocular compound microscope rated 40X to 2500X, sold with a 1MP USB camera that goes in place of an eyepiece.
That 2500X figure comes from pairing the 100X objective with 25X eyepieces. Leica calls magnification past a system's resolving power empty magnification, and with a 1.25 NA objective the useful ceiling is about 1250X (1000 times the NA). Judge these microscopes on their objectives.
For more range, the SM-4TZ-144A zooms from 3.5X to 90X on a boom stand, and the Swift SW380T adds a camera port to a compound microscope.
Binocular compound microscope, 40X to 2500X, with a Siedentopf head. The 1MP USB camera sits in an eyepiece tube in place of an eyepiece. There is no photo port.
Binocular pillar-stand stereo microscope at 20X, 40X and 80X, with 2X and 4X objectives, lights above and below the stage and a 53 mm working distance.
Start from the project. Fruit fly crosses are sorted under a stereo microscope. Stained slides of cheek or onion cells need a compound one.
If you plan to photograph what you see, check the camera options first. Microscope camera adapters covers which models take which cameras.
