This microscope is awesome. I set it up and had trouble getting it to focus, and thought to myself, Oh no a piece of junk. Then here comes my nine year old, next thing you know the kids are enjoying all kinds of things, some kind of gross, some pretty cool. It allows you to focus really closely. I say you can't beat this microscope at this price point. The slides that it comes with are great to get the kids started and there imaginations going on making there own slides,and the instruction booklet was simple and straight forward with tips on making your own slides and advice on things to explore.Battery life is great too. I was very pleased with this purchase.