The main task of metallography is the study of the structure of materials. The interpretation of the structure image depends on whether the image of the structure is informative. In this regard, in addition to the development of methods for analyzing the structure of materials, the right choice of research equipment is important. As a rule, this issue is little covered in the specialized literature. The existing literature does not address the narrow questions of the applicability of a particular type of microscopy to specific materials science problems. There are no publications in which the comparison and description of photographs of the structure of materials obtained with the help of fundamentally different microscopes, in particular, metallographic and raster, would be done. Consideration of the issue is important both for researchers and for training students and young professionals. A scanning electron microscope is attractive for most researchers and technologists. Reasons: a large increase (tens of thousands of times), the possibility of local determination of the chemical composition, greater depth of field, a simple sample preparation process. Optical microscopes have a shallow depth of field and an increase of up to 3000 times. It also requires the manufacture of a section. However, an optical microscope can not be replaced by a scanning microscope. A comparison is made between the use of metallographic and raster electronic microscopic scopes for the study of surfaces and sections of metal alloys [1]. The microstructural analysis of the steel sections provides an opportunity to evaluate the character of the distribution of carbides in the alloy matrix, the homogeneity of the structure, the presence of a carbide or ferrite grid, etc. Raster micrographs perfectly illustrate the quality of metal by the nature of the fracture, but the reason for the unsatisfactory quality of steel raster microscopy is not called. This is impeded by a greater depth of field. For analysis on compliance or non-compliance with standards, as well as analysis of carbide non-uniformity and structure in general, a scanning electron microscope can not be used. A typical example is the study of the isolation of tertiary cementite along the grain boundaries, which significantly reduces the toughness of carbon steel [2]. Metallographic analysis unambiguously and reliably fixes the structure and explains the relationship with the properties. The fractogram of the fracture indicates a brittle intergranular fracture, passing through the cleavage along the grain boundaries, but does not provide information on phase constituents. The metallographic microscope also makes it possible to study the surfaces of materials with an undeveloped surface relief that is insufficient for scanning electron microscopy. In particular, these are various thin films and coatings; the relief formed at high-energy impacts, photomasks and microcircuits [3].