I've been thinking about buying a microscope for a couple of years now and I think I'm ready to take the plunge now.
This seems to be the most reasonably priced trinocular on the market. The reviews have been pretty good re. optical quality. I'm open to any advice through.
AmScope have a similarly priced one too. http://www.amazon.com/OMAX-Trinocula...ope+trinocular
I'm still playing with my Omax. It's a good cheap scope. I still don't think anyone in Australia can sell them for the price I bought mine for. They are upgradable also. Objectives, slides and camera adapters can be bought from ebay. The standard brightfield setup will get you started. You can also get phase contrast and darkfield kits that really boost the visibility of things like bacteria and protozoans.
I considered a proper microscope but realised a digital microscope was better for my hobby viewing - it does not require the subject to be mounted or even prepared. So can view nearly anything: carpet, shirt, salt, book pages, ball point pen, knife blade, table, house brick.
So, I have a digital microscope (Supereyes) that is quite good to use. Easy to get out and set up. Just plug into the laptop and start the program. Viewing is done via the laptop screen.
This microscope has continuous zoom, from 25x - 500x. Not sure if 500x is true. I previously had a different model which was purported to be 200x and the Supereyes easily zooms in closer. Cost approx $100.
2 important features are auto-focus and auto-lighting. The Supereyes has both but my previous microscope was all manual so made it a little tricky.
These are pics I took with Supereyes: Book pages 500x, Bees eye 500x, Red ballpoint pen 500x, Bees wing 250x
I have a student microscope (the Celestron Micro 360) and the Celestron Digital Microscope Imager... It is indeed nice to be able to see the image on the screen. Some random images:
I presume you're after a bi-ocular compound microscope as opposed to a stereo-microscope.
I used to be a microscopist in NZ, before I took up my role as a bioinformatician at ANU.
My own recommendation is to hit up all the Aussie universities you can get hold of (either biological departments or geology depending what you want to look at) and ask if they have any reasonable microscopes they are decommissioning and might sell. You'll get a cracker scope for much, much less that you'd ever pay for new.
There's been a few good second hand ones up on ebay. A couple of Zeiss and a few Olympus ones.
I'm tempted, but, without looking through them first there is a chance I'd be throwing away money on something that needs work.
I have visions of dried on oil all over the objectives.
The Omax and AmScope come with 5yr warranties (I hope they cover international purchases)
I use the digital microscope mainly for a closer look at objects (eg knife blades, woods, razor blades, ballpoint pens, keys, ad infinitum) and insects. Since childhood I've been fascinated by the images of things up close - a knife blade looks so jagged n blunt under the microscope.
So the digital microscope is perfect for my style of viewing and my subjects of choice.
Leave a slide in a pond such that it turns green with growth, clean one side and excess on the side you view and you will be fascinated for hours...it's full of life.
I purchased a $70 scope from jcar which has a camera and was amazed how useful it is..I expect the lens may even be plastic. The camera allows observation via your computer again very good for the money.
Starting with such a cheap one could help you deside on more specific requirements on a later purchase.
If going advanced specimen preparation becomes a barrier.
Noooo!! I don't need more cameras. I have 3 dslrs, 2 point and shoots, my QHY5 and a Philips SPC900. All of which I can hook up to the puter to image through the microscope. LOLOL
I've got a pretty nice macro lens too that I use pretty regularly for examining meteorites and stuff.
Cool shots. 
