The Advantages of Digital Microscopes

A digital microscope is perfect for education because it lets many people view the specimen at once.  The data saving capabilities of a digital microscope make it a great tool for research. 

A digital microscope is a microscope that contains a tiny digital camera  and is connected to a computer.  Most digital microscopes connect to computers via a USB port.  Once the microscope is connected to the computer, the images seen through the microscope’s eyepiece can be shown on the computer’s monitor and saved on the hard drive for future use.  Images can be printed if the computer is equipped with a digital printer. 

Digital microscopes are great for educational purposes.  Many students can view the specimen at once when the camera is hooked up to a computer.  This saves time and ensures that all of the students will get to see the same specimen.  People can save images viewed through digital microscopes to computers, allowing them to access the image later.  This is perfect for a school setting as it lets students recall the image if they need to later describe it or write about its details.   

Scientific researchers benefit greatly from digital microscopes.  They are able to save and print images from the microscope, allowing for close examination.  When the images seen through a digital microscope are viewed on a computer screen, it enables several researchers to examine the image at once.  

There are several different models of digital microscopes.  Some have one eyepiece like most conventional microscopes.  A handful of models are stereo microscopes, meaning that they have two eyepieces.  All digital microscopes have numerous features that make them great tools for education and research.