Cheap portable microscope

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Sauerkraut
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Cheap portable microscope

#1 Post by Sauerkraut » Mon Jul 22, 2019 3:08 pm

On a whim, I bought one of those cheap portable microscopes on Amazon Prime day for a friend who had seen someone else using one and liked it. He doesn't have a microscope and this seemed like a good way to get him interested without spending a lot. Anyway, he's starting to send me pics and for a $30 microscope, it is surprisingly nice.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DV ... UTF8&psc=1

Obviously this is no Zeiss, but it is a good way to get someone interested in the micro world without much of a financial commitment. We also thought it might be useful at work to see small breaks in PCB traces and solder joints.

Thoughts on this particular scope:

- There might be better scopes in this price range - I didn't research that.
- It seems to be functioning at around 50x. As for 1000x - hmmmm???
- The wireless feature is nice, and easy to hook up on iPhone. Less easy for me to hook up on Android. It does seem to cause a little delay so that the image freezes as you move a subject around. The hard-wired scopes may have less delay.
- This one hooks up via wi-fi (not bluetooth) to the phone. I don't know if that means you need to be on a wi-fi network or if it would work on normal LTE mode allowing you to go out of range of a router.
- The camera is surprisingly decent. Video has not been tried yet. Sends the image right to your phone, which is also your viewing screen.
- It has the advantage of portability and is good for viewing something stationary or large that can not be viewed under a regular microscope.
- Longevity - TBD

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised and my friend is out there somewhere right now searching for insect wings and etc to view under his microscope.

Heather

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Roldorf
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#2 Post by Roldorf » Mon Jul 22, 2019 3:26 pm

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MichaelG.
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#3 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:47 pm

Heather,

Thanks for the information ... it certainly appears to be good value: Perhaps you could post a few of your friend's images, please.

Incidentally; I suspect that the 1000x is measured at the screen of that iMac.
... and if that's considered to be cheating; perhaps someone needs to have a quiet word with Leica
https://www.leica-microsystems.com/scie ... ally-mean/

MichaelG.
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Sauerkraut
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#4 Post by Sauerkraut » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:51 pm

I'll try to get some pics uploaded, maybe by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the ones you see posted by reviewers on the Amazon site are a good representation of this mini scope's capabilities.

Mini-scopes and Leica may as well claim 1000x. The truth seems quite pliable in today's world.

MichaelG.
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#5 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:15 pm

Thanks, Heather

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Hobbyst46
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#6 Post by Hobbyst46 » Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:22 pm

Sauerkraut wrote:...Overall I'm pleasantly surprised and my friend is out there somewhere right now searching for insect wings and etc to view under his microscope...
MichaelG. wrote:...Perhaps you could post a few of your friend's images,...
Insect wings are IMHO better examples of the performance of the microscope than the images posted on the Amazon site. The wing is flat, uniform and usually not too rich in colors. So FOV flatness and uniformity of brightness and any aberrations should be detectable.

MichaelG.
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#7 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:28 pm

Hobbyst46 wrote:Insect wings are IMHO better examples of the performance of the microscope than the images posted on the Amazon site. The wing is flat, uniform and usually not too rich in colors. So FOV flatness and uniformity of brightness and any aberrations should be detectable.
My thoughts exactly

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Scarodactyl
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#8 Post by Scarodactyl » Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:31 pm

I got one of this broad type a few years back. Felt like it was surprisingly not bad for the price overall. That was a USB model. Seems like it could be a great intro item.

Sauerkraut
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#9 Post by Sauerkraut » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:46 pm

Attached is the best image obtained so far, taken by my friend. Black bee wing. This one was likely taken using the midrange resolution option, which is the default.

A few more observations:

iPhone7 has too much delay and it was almost impossible to take good pictures.
Newer Android - no delay. Takes much better pictures, even at highest resolution.
The OEM stand is not ideal. Stands with fine focus assistance can be 3D printed or purchased.

All-in-all, this and similar scopes have potential for inexpensively capturing images in a setting where portability is desired. Someone with experience could probably even create some nice effects with different lighting techniques.
Attachments
Alex_wing.jpeg
Alex_wing.jpeg (61.5 KiB) Viewed 8769 times

MichaelG.
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#10 Post by MichaelG. » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:31 pm

Sauerkraut wrote:Attached is the best image obtained so far, taken by my friend. Black bee wing. This one was likely taken using the midrange resolution option, which is the default.

A few more observations:

iPhone7 has too much delay and it was almost impossible to take good pictures.
Newer Android - no delay. Takes much better pictures, even at highest resolution.
[ ... ]
That looks very useable performance ... thanks for posting the image.
As an iPad user: I am rather distressed by [but very grateful for] your iOS v Android comparison.

MichaelG.
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Sauerkraut
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Re: Cheap portable microscope

#11 Post by Sauerkraut » Sat Jul 27, 2019 2:49 pm

MichaelG,

It's possible the scope would work better with newer Apple products. My iPhone7 is a bit dated. Also the scope comes with a short cable. Possibly with an adapter, it could be connected to the phone for less lag?

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