Microscopy As A Hobby. A 21st Century Quick Start Guide

This also has super references and resource websites. And they recommend the very best pictorial guide for fresh water micro-organisms —- “Fresh Water Biology” 2nd edition, by Ward and Whipple. I wish someone recommended this when I began my hobbyist interest in microscopy. It has it all. No need for any other reference to identify and/or classify fresh water organisms.

This is what I think about this book now, that I have reread it again, putting myself in a beginners position:After Maurice Smith responded to my review, I went over his book again and found the need to do it over. I have been in this hobby for almost 70 years. I wish I had a book like this when I first became interested in microscopes. He covers all the facets and possibilities of this exciting hobby. What turned me off at first was the way it came up in my Kindle, which is not the authors fault. Because of my long time exposure to this hobby, some of his explanations seemed boring to me, but as I remember from my beginner days, it would have been nice to have had them then.I recommend this book, but it did not look well in my Kindle (Kindle Fire), so I recommend that you buy the printed version, which would look good on your book shelf.

Excellent starter book for anyone new to microscopy, adult or child alike. Highly recommended. As an amateur microscopist of some 50 years, I am delighted to see a new introduction to this fascinating subject, and one that does not treat you like a child, but as a student.

Good book for someone new to the hobby of microsopes

very clear and up to date guide on modern microscopy methods. Having half the book on photomicrography was a bit much though. Not all of us have DSLR cameras.On balance, a useful addition to my collection.

For teenagers. Not to helpful for adults. Better info from college bio lab notes.

The quality of the Kindle version is absolutely terrible. The text looks like a very poor photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, It is NOT worth purchasing.

This is an excellent book for someone seriously starting this avocation. For content, I would give it five stars.BUT it does not work well on my Kindle Voyage. The text does not support font sizes or the landscape orientation option. The font size presented is way too small to be usable (especially at the lab bench), and while it can be zoomed, this is awkward and barely usable at best. For execution on the Voyage platform, I give it only one star.This was a real disappointment for me. I have an excellent old microscope inherited from a close relative that he used in med school back in the 1930's. I am anxious to get it back in service and begin exploring. Smith's book is the proper vehicle for this, but the Voyage is not the way to go.Since split reviews are not an option, my 5 star / 1 star becomes a two star.

Likable & Informative. Easy to read and still contains very good advice - how to perform microscopy !

This book is really only suitable for kids or parents of kids. I was expecting something more at an adult level. Moreover there isn't much of value here that can't be found online.

un bel regalo per la mia nipotina spero la indirizzi verso il mondo del piccolo,mi è piaciuto tanto tanto grazie

Having stumbled across the excellent website run by the author of this book, I found myself in precisely the position envisaged by this publication - a complete beginner looking to discover something about the use of the microscope as an intelligent hobby. Until Mol Smith came along, many of the books available on microscopes were either (a) impossibly dated and hopelessly out-of-print [while having a certain vintage charm in their own right, reading about Victorian techniques in Victorian english is a rather specialist interest!] or (b) fun, colourful, engaging... and clearly aimed at very young children. This book falls into neither category. It is up-to-date (with internet sites recommended and modern methods and equipment used) and squarely aimed at readers who possess a brain and are not afraid to use it! I would guess a bright teenager might be the ideal reader, but a middle-aged beginner like me can learn a great deal without being in any way patronised. Indeed the concluding sections of the book which deal with advances in digital photography, 3D imaging, and the production of videos... are all areas where a bright teenager might be well ahead of the average adult anyway!The style is uncomplicated and clear and the approach is methodical and down-to-earth. Here you can learn what sort of microscopes are worth buying, and where to obtain quality equipment. There are money-saving tips for those on a tight budget, and a real sense of progression in both skills and equipment as you read through the book. I have no doubt this will be a book to refer to again and again at the microscope in the future. I look forward to Mol's next publication with enthusiasm - a workbook of projects and experiments for hobby microscopists perhaps? All in all a book like this leaves me with one pressing question: why is there no T.V. show dedicated to microscopy as there is to astronomy? Mol Smith has demonstrated the huge potential of microscopy as a hobby; this book and his website microscopyuk are highly recommended as the best place to start.

This book starts very well. As other reviewers have said there do not appear to be many up to date books on microscopy aimed at an amateur microscopist. There are old books out there, but these will recommend the use of chemicals which are, quite rightly in view of their toxic/carcinogenic properties, no longer available to the amateur and there are glossy colour books aimed at young children but with little real information. Other than that there are only the books aimed at professionals.This book starts with useful information about choosing a microscope. The author discusses both low power stereo microscopes and high power monocular microscopes. Interestingly there is only a fleeting reference to high power binocular microscopes, this I found a little strange since these would appear to be the mainstay of the professional microscopist's toolkit, as I understand it the advantage of these over the monocular microscope is that they are more relaxing to use than a monocular microscope.There is a useful section on preparation of specimens which describes techniques that don't utilise the aforementioned hazardous chemicals. There is a brief chapter on suitable initial object to study and a slightly more extensive chapter on pond life subjects.The book then moves on to photomicrography, and this is where I first began to have misgivings about the book. The initial sections about attaching a camera to a microscope are fine, though this then goes on to recommend the use of very expensive software (Adobe Photoshop CS) which a casual user might baulk at the cost of. There then follows three whole chapters devoted to 3D imaging, presentation of 3D images and finally the creation of computer-generated 3D models. It's obvious that the author has a great enthusiasm for the whole subject of 3D imaging, but I would have felt that this was definitely a specialised interest, worth a brief discussion but not the extensive treatment it gets here. The whole 3D modelling chapter seems to have little connection with microscopy at all.Finally the author moves on to producing and posting videos about microscopy. This is all very worthy advice for a budding videographer, with emphasis on telling a story, creating a script, adding sound, commentary, music, etc. Clearly the author makes such videos, but how many readers are going to want to do this? The advice is certainly not microscopy related, it would apply just as well to making bird watching videos, travelogs or whatever. It feels seriously out of place to me and has the look of padding.So, in conclusion I feel the author has somewhat failed to correctly identify his audience. I would have loved to see more information on specimen preparation and suitable projects at the expense of the latter third of the book. Maybe issue the whole 3D section as a separate book for those interested in this?Four stars, because the initial section was good, it just needs to be expanded.