What is a low-power objective?

The low-power objective on a microscope is the shortest or second shortest objective lens found on standard laboratory microscopes. Low-power objective lenses typically add 10x to the magnifying power of the microscope.

The standard laboratory microscope is outfitted with an ocular lens that provides a magnification power of 10x. The total magnification power can be found by multiplying the ocular magnification by the magnification of the selected objective. This means that the total magnification of the ocular lens and the low-power objective would be 10 x 10 = 100x. A smaller objective than the low-power objective is known as a scanning objective.