The Apex Explorer Plus Microscope

I am delighted with this microscope. There are probably cheaper ones on the market but for less that the cost of specs from specsavers you get: 45 degree eyepieces which are easy and comfortable to use two sets of eyepieces (x10 and X20)and a double objective (X2 and X4) giving a wide range of possible magnifications. an adjustable left eye tube to cater for people whose eyes are not identical to each other a brilliant illumination system providing incident light, reflected light and a combination of both all with a simple brightness control.Plus other extra bits including rubber eye things, a dust cover, 3 batteries and a charger, two base plates to provide black, white or translucent background for the specimen, and a special spanner to adjust the stiffness of the focus control (this really does work).So the value for money is outstanding.The build quality is good and the images are breathtaking, I spent hours just looking at a butterfly wing (the options on the illumination system really help you to see the specimen in different ways and see different features).For the record I am old,very short sighted have astigmatism and my eyes are significantly different from each other but I just took my glasses off snuggled into the rubber eye caps adjusted the two eye pieces to get one circle of light and to take up the difference between my eyes and hey presto perfect vision (better than specsavers).I tried it out with my 11 year old grand daughter , and once again after simple adjustment , perfect images and plenty of gasps of wonder at things never seen before.For bulky specimens like a spider on higher magnifications you have to raise or lower to focus to examine the specimen from top to bottom (I thing this is because the depth of field is smaller) but it really is no problem. In any case it's probably good to have to work the microscope to see the details you are interested in; this is part of the fun for me and having so many options of magnification and illumination is just brilliant.I am no expert but I can't really see how you could go wrong buying one of these, I am very pleased with the purchase.

I wanted a microscope to examine lumps of mineral and rock under magnification (studying geology for my own interest). I decided to go for an Apex model as I was impressed with their responses to customer complaints and criticism on here and opted for the 'Explorer Plus' due to the fact that it offered up to 80x magnification as standard without the need to purchase additional eyepieces.I found it easy to set up and figure out even though I hadn't used a microscope in donkey's years. I've now had it a few weeks and it does what I need it to do perfectly well. The ability to use it out in the field on rechargeable batteries might come in useful at some point although collecting samples and bringing them back to examine them in the comfort of my living room is preferable. The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was the rather narrow field of view when using the 20x eyepieces, especially on maximum magnification although I realise this is just an optical anomaly and not Apex's fault at all. All in all, though, a very useful tool and a seemingly good quality one at that.

The build in general is very good, and the light also works without any problems. The 1x objective is also good, so all in all, it's worth it's price. The problem is when using the 3x objective with either eye-pieces, it becomes very "foggy" and is basically useless. Would still recommend though.

Microscope was well-packed ( DOUBLE-BOXED )When the Microscope was set it was found that the illumination lamps did not work.Having spent some years in the electronics industry,I decided to trace the fault myself (This is not recommendedas there are MAINS VOLTAGES i.e. 240 V A.C. running inside the unit ).The fuse in the main plug was 13 amp and should have been 3 amp.All other fuses were ok.The fault was traced back to two coils on the circuit board which should have been secured but were not.This had caused the track on the opposite side of the board to fracture on both coils.The tracks were repaired and the lamps now function.The optical system seems good.NOTE: Top illumination cover gets very hot, and can burn.

This is a very well-made microscope, sturdy metal construction with good firm switches for the LED lights. The lights work from three AA batteries (supplied) or a transformer (also supplied, with a three-pin plug). I have another microscope, a monocular model with much higher magnification, but this one is ideal for ordinary use for 'bits and pieces' picked up on a country walk, for example. There's no need for slide preparation and one can put some objects straight on to the stage. A petri dish would be a useful accessory though.'Apex' and 'Brunel Microscopes' are the same people and they offer a range of accessories and are friendly and helpful. I have a T2 mount for my camera and so just need the fitting to the eyepiece tube. The combination of this model and the camera should make for some good work.A couple of small niggles: firstly, it would cost very little to supply a couple of eyepiece caps and it seems somewhat mean not to have supplied them. Secondly, Apex sell a case for this model, but a soft zip case would have been good to have with the microscope. The styrene foam packing in a single-wall cardboard box mean the case is an essential purchase if one is to use the microscope regularly. The Apex case looks a good one, but there are plenty of suitable cases on Amazon and other places of the same kind, for less. But don't let these niggles put you off - I spent a long time comparing models and prices on Amazon and elsewhere: the 'Explorer Plus' is undoubtedly good value for money and well worth getting.