Abstract: The invention is directed to a microscope with multifunctional operator controls for operating a plurality of electrically controlled components such as objective turret, filter turret, diaphragms, focus, illumination devices, and so on. Since the number of microscope functions to be controlled far exceeds the number of operator controls which can be operated in an ergonomic manner, one of the available microscope functions can be selectively assigned to every operator control. Further, functions of externally connected devices such as image recording cameras or manipulators can also be assigned to the operator controls of the microscope.