The compound microscope typically has a total magnification range of 40-1000x. There are usually 3 to 4 objectives on each microscope. Another 10x magnification is gained through the eyepieces. The compound microscope is used to view wet mount or stained slides for fine details of fungal fruiting structures and spores. It is usually not possible to identify a fungus solely on spore characteristics.
Many fungi produce similar spores.
An example is Cercospora and Septoria fungi. Both produce thin, elongated, multi-celled conidia and if only the spores are viewed, the fungi are virtually indistinguishable from one another. To accurately identify the fungus, you must see where the spores were produced. Cercospora conidia are produced on darkly pigmented naked conidiophores, whereas Septoria conidia are produce within a pycnidium. Some fungi can be identified based upon spore characteristics such as pigmentation, shape, size, and ornamentation.