They've always fascinated me, and I've decided to finally treat myself to one for christmas

 

The question is though, which should I buy?

 

I'm looking for one which has the following two features:

 

A good enough magnification to see things like BED BUGS, FACE MITES, and RED BLOOD CELLS. (Would this require more than 1000X magnification?). Also I'd like to be able to see larger things in good detail, such as, the face of a housefly, (For something like this you'd need about 40X magnification, wouldn't you?)

 

The ability to link up to a computer and allow me to move images of what I magnify onto it. The larger and clearer these images, the better.

 

I have around $210 to spend..

 

 

Any suggestions of manufacturers/models/types/places to look/prices etc would be marvellous.

It's convenient that you mention 40X and 1000X as IIRC that's a rather common range. I've been thinking of buying one myself (probably for just crystal study though).

 

This one seems rather nice, but not quite in your price range.

 

Some quite capable electron microscopes on eBay too apparently... Most are a bit too expensive to my tastes though.