This site is a collection of practical guides and insights I've gathered while building and optimizing microscopy setups. Whether you're setting up your first home lab or refining an existing system, you'll find resources to help you make informed decisions and avoid expensive mistakes.
What's Inside
Component Selection
Practical guides to help you choose the right optics, cameras, and hardware for your microscopy needs. Cut through spec sheets and marketing to focus on what actually impacts your images.
Design Choices
Understanding the trade-offs in microscopy system design. Learn why certain optical configurations work better for specific applications and how to balance cost, complexity, and performance.
Theory
Deep dives into concepts that took me ages to truly understand. While basic microscopy theory is well-covered elsewhere, here I focus on the tricky bits - the things that textbooks gloss over or explain poorly. These are the "aha!" moments that finally made everything click.
Common Issues
Solutions to frequent problems in microscopy - from alignment issues to image artifacts. Save hours of troubleshooting by learning from problems others have already solved.
About Me
I created The Microscopy Bench after years of cobbling together information from academic papers, forum posts, and expensive trial and error. My background in optical engineering taught me that the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation is where most people struggle. This site represents the resource I wish existed when I was building my first setup.
Contact
Found an error? Have a specific question? You can reach me at contact@microscopybench.com. While I read everything, I can't guarantee individual responses due to time constraints. Common questions often inspire new articles, so your input helps improve the site for everyone.