SeaConquest Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 My husband and I are in a disagreement over which microscope to buy. I've read lots of threads about them here, and thought we would start with a Brock Magiscope, which is currently on sale at Home School Buyer's Coop. My husband thinks that it's ridiculous to buy the Brock, that it is old technology, blah, blah, blah. My son wears glasses for astigmatism, and my husband says that we should get a digital scope so that we can broadcast it on our big screen TV. I'm honestly clueless about microscopes, and there are just so many options. Can anyone help us with our microscope battle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I really like having a digital microscope for littles. It makes it easy to *share* what is being seen, and guide him in how and what to look at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 The Brock is sooooo good. I have an astigmatism and I have no issue with it. Honestly, I'm not sure why that makes much of a difference. Of course, mine isn't severe so maybe I'm missing something, but I can use the microscopes all fine. Digital changes so fast. I've seen some cool ones, but my experiences with them have been that they're a bit fussy. The benefit of the Brock is that it isn't fussy. The main thing you want for a microscope for elementary and middle school, IMO, is that it be able to be truly in the hands of the child and under their total control. The digital scopes I've seen that the majority of younger kids are going to be able to easily use are really low quality - they're toys or things to hook to your phone. They're fine, but the Brock is better. Of course, like I said, the technology changes quickly, so maybe there's something better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 I'm not too worried about Sacha breaking it. He has a laptop and a Wii, and uses his gadgets pretty responsibly. I know that he wants to see inside cells -- not just to magnify bugs and leaves, you know? But yes, the technology changes so quickly, and my husband and I are usually early adopters, which is why he is recoiling at buying the 'old school' Brock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Following along. I'm having the same debate, but I'm having it with myself :) I've gone back and forth between the Brock or a scope that I can hook up to the computer. I'm pretty sure my daughter could use the Brock independently now, which is a major plus. A USB scope would let us look at the same things, and discuss them on screen, but it wouldn't be independent. We already have the Carson ZOrb, which is a low-powered digital scope. Now the Brock is on sale, which is rare, and I feel like I need to make a decision! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 So I got Alexandria the Brock last year and we have USED it! In fact, we use it every week at COOP, and for younger kids it is far, far superior to other microscopes. They have digital uplinks as well, but kids that age want to do things themselves. They do not want to wait for adults to adjust and focus.:..and a huge benefit to the Magiscope is the ability to gather specimens outside and simply observe them. No slide prep needed. I really cannot stress what an awesome addition the Brock has been to our science education... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I'm not too worried about Sacha breaking it. He has a laptop and a Wii, and uses his gadgets pretty responsibly. I know that he wants to see inside cells -- not just to magnify bugs and leaves, you know? But yes, the technology changes so quickly, and my husband and I are usually early adopters, which is why he is recoiling at buying the 'old school' Brock. Oh, I didn't mean break it, I meant more that many of the ones I've seen require a number of hook up steps or have software that's clearly not meant for kids. We used to have a camera for our student scope and it was a pita to use every time and the kids never got the hang of it because pulling it out and using it was a pain. It was an older one, so what we saw wasn't as good as with the regular old microscope. Whereas the magiscope, you just take it out and use it. And take it out to a stream or the backyard or whatever. No plugs. No plugs is a huge deal. And no wires. Things that you just take out and use are usually better than things that have lots of pieces. That's what I mostly mean by fussy. He can see inside cells with the right lens for the Brock - things like onion cells and so forth are something he'll be able to see and identify. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 We bought a Celestron digital microscope imager to attach to our Brock and it works really well. Best of both worlds -- use the Brock, take it out and about, easy for kids to be independent; and digital imaging for display on a big screen. Ds won a photography competition at our summer fair with a photo he took using the Celeston and Brock. It is of live plankton. It appears to be on sale. I paid $66 for ours! http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Digital-Microscope-Imager-44421/dp/B003DVP7CE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446869634&sr=8-1&keywords=celestron+digital+microscope+imager 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 We bought a Celestron digital microscope imager to attach to our Brock and it works really well. Best of both worlds -- use the Brock, take it out and about, easy for kids to be independent; and digital imaging for display on a big screen. Ds won a photography competition at our summer fair with a photo he took using the Celeston and Brock. It is of live plankton. It appears to be on sale. I paid $66 for ours! http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Digital-Microscope-Imager-44421/dp/B003DVP7CE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446869634&sr=8-1&keywords=celestron+digital+microscope+imager Thank you for this, and for all the other input. I think this suggestion will be our compromise solution. For anyone else looking for the Brock, here is the link to the sale: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/brock-magiscope/?c=1 I think the sale runs until the end of the month, but I posted the question on the HSBC FB page to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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