| Confocal Model | LeicaSP2 aobs | Zeiss 510 meta | Perkin Elmer | Leica4D |
| Microscope stand | upright | inverted | inverted | inverted |
| Lasers | Argon UV, Argon blue, diode pump green, HeNe red | Argon blue, HeNe green, HeNe red | Argon blue, green, red | Argon UV, Argon-multi blue, green, red |
| Laser Lines (nm) | 351, 364, 458, 477, 488, 514, 561, 633 | 458, 477, 488, 514, 543, 633 | ||
| Typical Fluorophores | Dapi, Heochts, FITC, GFP, Alexa 350, 488, 543, 568, 594, Rhodamine, Texas Red, Cy5, ToTo-3, Draq-5 | FITC, GFP, Alexa, 488, 543, 568, Rhodamine, Texas Red, Cy5, ToTo-3, Draq-5 | ||
| Transmitted & DIC | yes | yes | yes | |
| Objectives | dry, water, glycerol, oil & dipping | dry, water, oil | ||
| X-Z scanning | good | yes | no | good |
| Time lapse | yes | yes | yes | |
| FRAP | yes | yes | ||
| FRET | yes | yes | ||
| Spectral scanning | yes | yes | no | no |
| Dye separation | fluorogram & unmixing | fluorogram & linear unmixing | ||
| slides | yes | yes | ||
| transwells | no | yes | ||
| 35 mm dishes | yes (dipping lens) | yes (glass bottom) | yes (glass bottom) | |
| multi-well plates | no | 10x only | no | |