# Insights: microscope buying guides and technique

> Practical articles on choosing, using and caring for laboratory microscopes, microtomes and centrifuges, and on buying through GeM.

Canonical: https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/
Last updated: 2026-10-20

- [How to choose a laboratory microscope: eight questions to answer first](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/choosing-a-laboratory-microscope/) - Before you compare models or prices, settle these eight questions. They decide most of the specification for you. (Buying guide, 2026-10-20)
- [Monocular, binocular or trinocular: picking the right viewing head](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/monocular-binocular-trinocular/) - The viewing head changes comfort, cost and what you can do with the image. Here is how the three types compare in daily use. (Buying guide, 2026-10-14)
- [Teaching with a multi-head microscope](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/teaching-with-multi-head-microscopes/) - Five or ten people looking at the same field changes how pathology is taught and discussed. What to plan for before you buy one. (Teaching, 2026-10-08)
- [Reading microscope specifications on GeM tenders](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/reading-microscope-specs-on-gem/) - IS 4381, IS 5204, ISI marks, test reports and numerical aperture. What the common fields on a GeM microscope listing mean, in plain terms. (Procurement, 2026-10-02)
- [A simple care routine that keeps a microscope working for years](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/microscope-care-routine/) - Dust, immersion oil and humidity cause most microscope problems. A few habits at the end of each session prevent nearly all of them. (Care & maintenance, 2026-09-26)
- [Köhler illumination in five steps](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/kohler-illumination-step-by-step/) - Even, bright and sharp. Setting up Köhler illumination takes about a minute and makes a visible difference to every slide you look at. (Technique, 2026-09-19)
- [Stereo or compound microscope? What each one is for](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/stereo-or-compound-microscope/) - One gives a three-dimensional view of whole objects at low power. The other looks through thin specimens at high power. Choosing between them starts with the sample. (Buying guide, 2026-09-12)
- [Getting good results with the 100x oil-immersion objective](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/oil-immersion-100x-objective/) - The 100x objective shows the finest detail your microscope can resolve, but only with the right oil, the right order of steps and careful cleaning afterwards. (Technique, 2026-09-05)
- [Better paraffin sections on a rotary microtome](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/better-paraffin-sections-rotary-microtome/) - Thick and thin sections, chatter, crumbling ribbons. Most sectioning problems come down to block temperature, blade condition and a few machine settings. (Histology, 2026-08-29)
- [RPM or RCF? Setting a laboratory centrifuge correctly](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/centrifuge-rpm-vs-rcf/) - Two centrifuges at the same RPM can spin samples with very different force. How to convert between RPM and g, and a few habits for safe, consistent runs. (Lab equipment, 2026-08-22)
- [A short history of the light microscope](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/short-history-of-the-light-microscope/) - From hand-ground lenses in seventeenth-century Holland to LED-lit research stands. The handful of ideas that made the modern microscope. (History, 2026-08-15)
- [Fluorescence microscopy: what a lab needs to get started](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/fluorescence-microscopy-getting-started/) - Filters, light sources, a dark room and a few working habits. A practical overview for laboratories adding fluorescence to routine microscopy. (Technique, 2026-08-08)
- [Buying microscopes and lab equipment through GeM](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/blog/buying-lab-equipment-through-gem/) - A short guide for government laboratories, hospitals and colleges buying instruments on the Government e-Marketplace. (Procurement, 2026-08-01)

## Related
- [All instruments](https://unilab-cno.pages.dev/products/)