[nvladik]

Originally Posted by taricha

One like this http://www.amscope.com/student-micro...e-20x-40x.html
...is super helpful when looking for something through large amounts of material like several ml of water/substrate. Binocular makes it very 3d. Brain can get much more info out of perspective images with both eyes. I've also ripped it off the base and put it up to the tank glass to watch benthic fauna behavior in the tank as opposed to on a slide.
For most everything else, IDing, cell counts, pictures/video (through phone) something very much like this is my go to. If I only had access to one, this would be it. http://www.amscope.com/student-micro...icroscope.html

Thanks for the advice. What about something like this: http://www.amscope.com/student-micro...sb-camera.html

I completely don't mind it going through a computer, plus bigger screen, easy to see, etc.