We have recently been shopping for a confocal microscope and have found a simple way to test the capabilities of the various units that have been demonstrated to us. Some of the important aspects that we were looking for in our “ideal” multi-user system were:

1. 1) Ease of use.

2. 2) The ability to obtain good X-Y, X-Z and hence X-Y-Z resolution, and the accurate display of these images.

3. 3) The depth within the sample at which the system can resolve structures (this of course depends mostly on the lenses used), but is still an important criteria as it reflects on the system as a whole.

4. 4) “extras” such as a transmission detector and reconstruction/ analysis/image manipulation software.