Microscope with photo unit

I am looking to buy a microscope with a photo unit to make images of micro minerals and closeups of specimens to put on my website. I see on e-bay an offer from Precision World for a super widefield stereo microscope 10x20x30x40x at about 325.00. This is the price range I need. I have a sony digital camera, but precision world says they do not have an adapter for sony cameras to use with their scope. I am woefully ignorant of microphotography and would appreciate any input on this matter. First of all, is it better to use a digital camera with a scope to make photos? What type of adapter would I need and where could I get it? If a digital camera is not the best way to go, what is? I do not want to spend more than 500 dollars for the scope and photo unit. Also. I use a mac computer and the images need to be in jpeg format. My sony camera uses a floppy disk. Does anyone know of a good deal on a combined scope and photo unit? Used equipment is fine if it works perfectly. Any help is greatly appreciated.

It depends what quality you are trying to achieve. If you want photos of comparable quality to those you see on the mindat photo of the day, you would need to think about several thousand dollars worth of equipment. You might also find that a second-hand SLR digital camera (canon digital rebel or EOS300D for example) with a bellows extension and good lighting may give you great results without needing a microscope. Alternatively at the cheaper end of the market you can get digital USB microscopes now that you just plug into your computer (but check whether they have Mac support). Your sony camera that records to floppy disk (mavica) is quite old technology, probably doesnt have good optics and is unlikely to work well with any microscope.

Jolyon

Thanks for the info jolyon!