The AmScope M500-MS monocular compound microscope has a 10x widefield eyepiece, a forward-facing nosepiece with four DIN achromatic objectives, tungsten illumination, coaxial separate coarse and fine focus, a 1.25 NA Abbe condenser, and a plain stage with a mechanical specimen holder. The monocular viewing head has a fixed 45-degree vertical inclination to reduce eye and neck strain, and 360-degree rotation capability to enable sharing. An anti-mold head preserves optics in high-humidity areas. The forward-facing revolving nosepiece has 4x, 10x, 40xS, and 100xS (oil) DIN achromatic objectives that provide color correction of magnified images. The 40xS and 100x S objectives are spring loaded to prevent damage to the slide or objective when focusing. The 100xS oil-immersion objective uses oil between the specimen and the objective lens to provide increased resolution over a standard objective. The fully-coated optical system provides sharp, high-resolution images. A compound microscope is used for inspection and dissection of specimens when two-dimensional images are desired.

The microscope has lower (diascopic) Brightfield illumination that transmits light up through the specimen for enhanced visibility of translucent and transparent objects. Brightfield (BF) illumination allows the specimen to absorb light, resulting in a dark image on a light background. Tungsten (incandescent) illumination provides bright light, and a rheostat controls the amount of light emanating from the lamp. The 1.25 NA Abbe condenser can be adjusted to control the distance of the light from the stage and has an iris diaphragm to optimize the amount of light illuminating the specimen. The condenser is controlled using a spiral mechanism. The plain stage has clips to secure the specimen in place, and is 4-3/8 x 4-3/4 inches (110 x 120mm) (W x D; where W is width, the horizontal distance from left to right; D is depth, the horizontal distance from front to back). A