{"id":325,"date":"2021-01-23T18:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T18:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scopedetective.com\/?p=325"},"modified":"2021-01-23T21:54:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-23T21:54:12","slug":"celestron-cm2000cf-microscope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/celestron-cm2000cf-microscope\/","title":{"rendered":"Celestron CM2000CF Compound Microscope Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color: #fafafa; border: 1px solid #7a7a7a; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px; overflow: auto; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6em; text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/chris-152.jpg\" width=\"70\" height=\"70\" \/><strong>About this Article:<\/strong> I researched 9 microscopes before buying one (not this one).\u00a0 If you want to see all the microscopes I researched, see my article on the <a href=\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/best-compound-microscope\/\">9 best compound microscopes<\/a>. This information was for my personal circumstances only and is not professional advice to you. Read more on the website\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/disclaimer\/\">disclaimer page<\/a>. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Celestron-CM2000CF-Compound-Microscope-40x\/dp\/B00WHPJZ6Q\/ref=as_li_ss_il?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Celestron+CM2000CF&amp;qid=1611424675&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=li3&amp;tag=scopedetective-20&amp;linkId=c581479743ece3ff9ad6fd517b1a8666&amp;language=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=B00WHPJZ6Q&amp;Format=_SL250_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=scopedetective-20&amp;language=en_US\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=scopedetective-20&amp;language=en_US&amp;l=li3&amp;o=1&amp;a=B00WHPJZ6Q\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Celestron-CM2000CF-Compound-Microscope-40x\/dp\/B00WHPJZ6Q\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Celestron+CM2000CF&amp;qid=1611424675&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=scopedetective-20&amp;linkId=ab93733e9adbd1b1da1d3a6c6fc02227&amp;language=en_US\">Celestron CM2000CF<\/a> is Celestron\u2019s mid-range compound microscope. It\u2019s the most affordable option you\u2019ll get from Celestron that also comes with advanced features like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A mechanical stage,<\/li>\n<li>4 achromatic objectives, and<\/li>\n<li>2000X magnification<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Personally, I like the balance here between quality and quantity. If you were to step down to the CM1000C or CM800 you\u2019ll be sacrificing these features. Stepping up one more level (to the CB2000F) will only offer you the step into binocular lenses, which I don\u2019t particularly like for microscopes for kids anyway.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, I do find the CM2000CF to be an appealing model. It\u2019s got the balance between user experience and price point right for me personally.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of the above three features that I highlighted as key to this model over the CM1000C, the one worth paying for is the mechanical stage.<\/p>\n<p>I much prefer mechanical stages over ones that simply offer height adjustability and am willing to pay for that feature. I find moving slides on non-mechanical stages a right pain. As an adult I find having to manually adjust slides mm at a time annoying, but when you\u2019re working with children and they need to move the slides around it\u2019s a downright deal breaker.<\/p>\n<p>You might notice that I don\u2019t care much for the 2000X magnification.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll discuss why a little later.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Celestron CM2000CF &#8211; Full Review<\/h2>\n<p>When reviewing microscopes, I generally look at the features systematically. I start at the top and work my way down (more ore less). So let\u2019s start where I normally do \u2013 the eyepieces.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Monocular Scope<\/h3>\n<p>The CM2000CF is the most powerful of the Celestron C-model monocular microscopes. For those intent on 2000X zoom in a monocular scope, this would be appealing.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I prefer monocular microscopes over binocular models for students. Monocular microscopes are less fuss when sharing the scope (you don\u2019t need to make any adjustments, they\u2019re easier to attach cameras, and they\u2019re easier for children to use).<\/p>\n<p>Of course, a binocular microscope is better for a personal scope \u2013 especially for those people who work alone and can set and forget the binocular settings. If that\u2019s you, and you\u2019d like to pay for the luxury of a binocular scope, it might be worth forking out the small added fee for the CB2000F.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Eyepieces<\/h3>\n<p>The interchangeable 10X and 20X eyepieces are what you\u2019d expect from a microscope at this price point and should be sufficient to get the job done. The one thing that\u2019s worthy of comment is the pointer in the 10X eyepiece.<\/p>\n<p>A pointer can be very useful when working with clients, students and children. It is \u2013 as the name would suggest \u2013 a piece of metal that \u2018points\u2019 to the very middle of the field of view.<\/p>\n<p>When working with an immobile specimen, you can adjust the position of the specimen (using that mechanical stage, of course!) so the pointer literally points to the area you want to direct people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n<p>The nice thing about an eyepiece pointer is that it\u2019s always in focus, and of course it is an excellent teaching resource.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Zoom and Objective Lens<\/h3>\n<p>This model has the highest zoom of the monocular scopes in Celestron\u2019s range thanks to its forth objective lens with 100X zoom. But that doesn\u2019t particularly impress me. Most people do just fine with a 1000X microscope.<\/p>\n<p>High school biology, for example, only really requires 400X magnification. A 1000X scope will show bacteria in excellent detail. So, 2000X is somewhat overkill unless you really need it.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Light<\/h3>\n<p>The Celestron CM2000CF only has lower light illumination using a halogen light source. You can control the intensity of this light source using the diaphragm.<\/p>\n<p>The CM800 is the only one in the CM range that has both an overhead under lower light source. It\u2019s not entirely clear why they chose not to have an overhead light for the models with a greater zoom range, but all-in-all I don\u2019t find this to be a dealbreaker.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Mechanical Stage<\/h3>\n<p>This is one feature that really does appeal to me. The stage has the regular fine and coarse adjustments for height, which allows you to find focus.<\/p>\n<p>But this is also the most affordable I could find in Celestron\u2019s range with a mechanical stage. A mechanical stage allows you to make fine movements of the stage on the horizontal and vertical access to get the perfect view.<\/p>\n<p>The mechanical stage combined with the 10X eyepiece\u2019s pointer, this makes for an excellent teaching microscope setup.<\/p>\n<p>Without a mechanical stage, you find yourself moving the slides manually. Under the pressure from the clips, the slides are hard to move about. They tend to stick, then move too far once they finally budge.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve got kids doing this, it\u2019s a recipe for frustration \u2013 and a slide with fingerprints all over it.<\/p>\n<p>So, I prefer a mechanical stage (like on this model) and will pay for it.<\/p>\n<h2>Downsides<\/h2>\n<p>While none of the following downsides of this model are particularly important to me (I think this model strikes a good balance), they may be for some people:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Not Binocular \u2013<\/strong> Some people prefer binocular microscopes, and I understand this. They can be nice and comfortable. I choose to use monocular scopes because I like them for teaching purposes, mainly. Those working alone and not sharing a scope might like to step up to the CB2000 instead.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not Battery Operated \u2013 <\/strong>You need to have it plugged into AC to operate the light.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No Digital Camera \u2013<\/strong> While you can get models packaged with a digital camera, I prefer an aftermarket camera eyepiece so I can choose my camera quality. Nonetheless, I understand if some people would want to get a package where there\u2019s an included camera with the purchase. Don\u2019t go below a 2MP camera if you\u2019re wanting to do quality presentations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Conclusion &amp; My Verdict<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Celestron CM2000CF is my preferred compound microscope in Celestron\u2019s range.<\/strong> It strikes a good balance between price point and features. I particularly like it for a teaching microscope thanks to the monocular head, pointer in the eyepiece and the mechanical stage. This combination makes for the best user experience in a classroom.<\/p>\n<p>I also think the zoom is satisfactory \u2013 and in fact is more than I\u2019d need.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest downside I find personally is the lack of battery. You need it plugged in to use the light.<\/p>\n<p>But I also understand some people would want a binocular model for comfort if it was a personal microscope and wasn\u2019t going to be used by children \u2013 for that, step up to the Celestron CB2000.<\/p>\n<p>But, if you\u2019re happy with a monocular microscope, it\u2019s hard to look past this model. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Celestron-CM2000CF-Compound-Microscope-40x\/dp\/B00WHPJZ6Q\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Celestron+CM2000CF&amp;qid=1611424675&amp;sr=8-1&amp;linkCode=ll1&amp;tag=scopedetective-20&amp;linkId=ab93733e9adbd1b1da1d3a6c6fc02227&amp;language=en_US\">You can buy the CM2000CF here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Celestron CM2000CF is Celestron\u2019s mid-range compound microscope. It\u2019s the most affordable option you\u2019ll get from Celestron that also comes with advanced features like: a mechanical stage, 4 achromatic objectives, and 2000X magnification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":555,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions\/555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scopedetective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}