Dual view microscopes can be monocular or binocular. However, binocular dual view microscopes are generally called trinocular microscopes. On the other hand, monocular  microscopes that are also dual view microscopes are not necessarily binocular microscopes. And much of that is because they do not look anything the same.

A binocular microscope has two eye piece ports. Basically, you can view your sample with both your eyes. A dual view monocular microscope, on the other hand, has two separate eyepiece ports. One would be inclined at an angle and the other would be pointing up. It is impossible for a single person to look through both the eyepieces at the same time, plainly because they are very far apart.

Although there are also dual view binocular microscopes available in the market today. Being binocular in nature, this one doesn’t have three ports like a trinocular microscope. Instead, it has four eye pieces so that two people can view the specimen at the same time using both eyes.

In a classroom setup, the additional port of a dual view microscope can used by the instructor to inspect the sample with his or her student simultaneously. In the same setting, the process of instruction becomes a lot simple. Teachers can simply tell her student what to see, where to see it, and why it is significant. Learning become fairly easy and enjoyable even.

But more importantly, the additional port of dual view microscopes are used with a compatible adapter for attaching another device, such as a video or a digital still capture camera to it. The imaging devices in turn, can be connected to a video monitor for enhanced viewing. Connecting it to a computer system, like a laptop is also possible. This way, the images seen through the microscope can be stored, sent, and even manipulated as required.

The price of a dual view microscope depends entirely on its features and types. Dual view binocular microscopes are the ones that are relatively higher. This type costs around $650 a piece. For monocular dual view microscopes, the price ranges anywhere from $150 to as much as $250. Trinocular microscopes, on the other hand, are the most complex types of microscopes. They are the most pricey too. Trinocular microscopes are priced somewhere from $800 to several thousand.

Monocular microscopes are mostly low powered microscopes. And that is the reason why they are relatively cheap. The objectives of a monocular dual view microscope are only capable 4, 10, and 40x magnification power. It is the higher quality trinocular microscopes that has the ability to magnify to as much as 1000x. And that is the plain reason why they don’t come cheap.

Dual view microscopes can also be used with accessories to enhance its functions. The dual head of these types of microscopes are each equipped with a 10x wide field eye pieces. Some can be used with a 100x objective lens. But more often than not, these lenses should be used with immersion oils before they can be functional.

The lighting system of dual view microscope is usually a 20 watts halogen bulb, which in turn need to be connected to a power source. The other features of a regular microscopes, such as iris diaphragm, spring loader, and the coarse and fine focusing controls are also in place. Using a dual view microscope is not different from using any other microscope. What it gives you is an enhanced feature that is going to be useful in a number of applications.

The main, and probably the best, advantage of using dual view microscopy it the ease of observation it gives to users. Because of the additional port it has, you need not strain your eyes as you look through the eye piece while examining your specimen. All you have to do is to connect it to the right adapter and you will easily view the sample through a much bigger and fairly better video screen.