I really want a dissecting scope for fish identification, zooplankton, etc. I'd appreciate any suggestions on brands/models, desirable features, or sources to find one at reasonable cost (Ebay?). I'm willing to spend up to a few hundred dollars if I get something that'll serve me the rest of my life.

Or... are video camera scopes usable? I definitely like the idea of being able to capture still photos & video. Any suggestions on those?

I was a biology major in college, so I've definitely spent a lot of time using scopes -- don't be afraid of getting too technical on me. One of these days I'll get back into that field...

Ben Meadows, Forresty Suppliers, Carolina Biological Supply, Fischer Scientific are a few off the top of my head that anyone can easily order from, though you'll get catalouges for life every couple months from the first two. You can get imaging devices that go over the ocular piece of a microscope that interface with a computer and take still and video. A bit cheaper of a route than an internal camera.

The one I use at work is from the Cole Parmer catalog. It's 10 X 20 and is illuminated from above the subject. There's tons of room between the stage and lens which gives you lots of room to work with bigger subjects and/or tools. It's binocular which helps seeing in 3 dimension. I use it for everything from fixing small equipment, soldering jewelry, identifying rock crystals, butterfly eggs, inverts and bugs, doing post mortem exams on my fish that die, even removing tiny prickers from my hand.
We also have a standard compound microscope for really small stuff but you can't work on anything under it.
As far as photographing stuff, there are inexpensive adapters to hook a camera lens to a scope. There are plenty of scopes with built in cameras for big bucks. A video hook up is cool. I took a class where the teacher put slides of live critters on the scope and played 'em on the big screen in real time for the class. Obviously you're getting far beyond your few hundred bucks now.
Or you can do what I do. Cheap P&S digital camera, set on macro, press the lens against the eye piece. Don't laugh, it works, with practice and good editing. Here's a couple I took recently. The first is with the 10 x20 dissecting scope, the second is from the high powered compound.

I would look for a Wild field scope. eBay is definitely the way to go. I see Wild scopes there a good bit - I'm in the market for one myself.

Thanks for the feedback. Any more viewpoints would be awesome.

For once Irate isn't pulling someone's strings!

I'd strongly second the vote for a Wild -- sometimes you can find really good deals on the old M3s, which are a rugged old scope with first-class optics. If you're good with PVC, you can probably rig an adapter to fit over one eyepiece and connect to your digital camera, way cheaper than any commercially produced rig would cost.

Dave

I dunno about digital cameras, but Spiratone used to make a bellows for 35mm cameras which I used to take pictures through the ocular of almost any scope. It was also great for macrophotography.