Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sure the vast majority of the readers of this article have also not heard of a $10K, $100K or $700K microscope either which is why it's incongruous to have the price in the first sentence of the article without any context. Here are many other microscopes the prices of which you may not have heard. Is it enlightening? http://www.technicalsalessolutions.com/
There are only seven microscopes there which are more expensive. This is journalism of course, but there is no need to discredit everything simply because you can word it in such a way as to make it sound stupid. Personally, once the sum for the microscope was mentioned I was able to judge that the research is quite serious, has the latest technology and advantages of the latest technology and thus give me more confi…
Aside from its price, does it have some unusual capability that enabled them to make this discovery? That is the kind of fact which would make the article more informative. When it's possible to image molecules with a device you can build for under $100, knowing the cost of the equipment someone used isn't very useful. It's analogous to an argument from authority.