C & A Scientific MFL-06 My First Lab Duo-Scope

I bought this for my four year old son after much research online. I didn't know a great deal about microscopes having not used one for 30 years but thought that as it is made by a company which manufactures scientific instruments rather than toys it ought to be good. I was a little nervous as it seemed rather inexpensive.When I unwrapped it it felt well made, not heavy or "serious" but decent for the money. I was happy.In terms of usability it is fantastic! Without using the instructions and within about two minutes we were looking at the pre-prepared slides in the three different magnifications. The boy could focus in an out with very little instruction. The "images" are really clear and bright and really satisfying. We quickly found some new samples to make up our own slides and spent the next two hours looking at red blood cells, fly wings, onion skins and comparing the shapes of all the pollen grains from each of the flowering plants in our house.We can both thoroughly recommend this. Unless you are expecting a solid metal professional feeling microscope for £50 you will not be disappointed. Best birthday present we have bought him to date.Dan and Magnus

Purchased this for our daughter's 10th birthday present. As someone who had worked as a microscopist I had a good idea of what to look for in an instrument. This model appeared to be one of the best by description but was was it like in use?The microscope comes well packed. On removal from the box it feels like it is a good quality item. In use it is every bit as good as expected. The dual LED light source (above and below the stage) is very useful. Solid objects can be observed with ease and the angle of the light gives a slight 3D effect because of shadowing. The light from below can be regulated via an aperture wheel which is a useful feature.The lenses appear to be well made and all magnifications provide a good image. The lens changing wheel moves smoothly and clicks firmly into place. The magnifications provided are useful. Too high a magnification is very difficult to work with except on a very high quality microscpe. Perhaps I would have liked a 5x eyepiece as well. A lower magnification is often useful for many of the subjects you look at (experience from work).The accessories provided are good. The prepared slides give an idea of what can be achieved with a little work. The slide with the liquid well is useful for looking at living organisms such as mosquito larvae, something that really gets children interested. The tools are all that are required for preparing specimens.For what it cost this microscope cannot be faulted. It would be quite at home in a school biology lab. In this model it is clear that the important parts have been given priority in terms of build quality and this shows in the results produced. I am very happy with this purchase and can only hope that it continues my daughter's interest in science and provides education and fun at the same time.

Seems to be decently constructed, though probably won't stand up to much abuse. Bought as a Christmas present for my partner's niece, she seemed to like it and took and interest when I was showing her how to focus on the subject. The LED lamps are bright, and having one pointing down on the subject is welcome for non-transparent subjects. The optics seem well-made and produce a sharp image. The 40x objective combined with the 10x eyepiece (i.e. 400x total magnification) is probably enough for hobbyist use - it allows one to see the nucleus of cheek cells, for instance. Some competing packages also include a 20x eyepiece, but I think this will probably go unused by younger children as it gets more difficult to focus and keep the subject in frame as the magnification is increased.

This is an excellent starter microscope, we home educate our two children (Because we're crazy), and the curriculum we pay for requires them to have the use of a microscope for their science modules. After reviewing microscopes for well over 10 hours I decided to purchase the C & A Scientific and I am well pleased with it. The 40 times magnification takes a bit of getting used to, but at 10x and 4x (bearing in mind the scope is 10x also, so you get x100 and x40 and x400) with the overhead light on, objects really stand out. The slides provided are interesting, salt crystals ar awesome.My 12 year old son's curiosity was sparked immediately and we soon progressed from the slides, to looking at more solid oblects like sugar grains. Ultimately we moved on to one of my nostril hairs (which was beautiful), then part of my sons fingernail which he bit off eagerly to view, and yes you probably guessed it a bogey, provided by my son. He was very excited to look at this but started retching when he did, although the scab he pulled off his knee brought him back to full control.In short, it's well made, easy to operate, and does what it says on the tin. Get one, you won't be disappointed.This is the first review I have ever written, but I hope it helped.

This microscope is rebranded by a few different brands, the only difference being in what is bundled with it. It is obviously quite cheaply made, but is made to a very good design in order to perform very well as a budget microscope.The microscope is very chunky and solid and feels like it will last. The action of the focus is very good allowing for easy minute adjustments to bring items into focus well. The two light sources work very well, the top light ebnabling you to just throw anything under the microscope and take a look.My 7 year old daughter and I have had several sessions with this microscope and have thoroughly enjoyed using it, and I couldn't be more pleased with it.I would recommend to anyone looking for a good value microscope to not buy one of the cheap toy microscopes, which will likely just cause frustration, but to pay that little bit more and get this model.