The AmScope M500-PZ polarizing 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 polarizing attachment. 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 and polarizing imaging 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. Polarization is used to view rocks, minerals, and other anisotropic substances. The polarizing kit includes a round stage and a polarizing filter. The round stage can be rotated to change the direction from which light hits the specimen, and is graduated in 5-degree increments to record coordinates. The polarizing lens filters light from below the stage. 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 st