[JackMcMack]

If you do want to try out openflexure, I recommend 3d printing the v7 version [0]. At the time of writing it is still in alpha, but it's on par with v6 and the build instructions are a huge improvement.

And definitely read through those build instructions, and the forums. It's an incredibly capable microscope, but there are some rough edges. I would suggest trying the raspi camera with 40x objective, and then see if you can source all the required parts. You can find everything you need on aliexpress, if you don't mind the long shipping times.

If you don't need the motorized axis (eg for autostitching for research, or for autofocus), I would suggest skipping the stepper motors and driver board. The official board is not available, and stuffing cheap stepper drivers in the base is a hassle. You can always decide to add the motors/drivers later.

[0] https://build.openflexure.org/openflexure-microscope/v7.0.0-...