Check this out, it's only $54

[LeonhardEuler]

Something caught my eye as I was picking out a stereo microscope. I got a 45x scope which is really nice.

But there is also a stereo microscope available for only $54, my wife said I could buy it if I finally file taxes. So I think I might get around to doing that so I can check this thing out in person

I feel like it would have a variety of applications in the field, and I could even gift something like this to someone who seems like they might be interested in microscopy but don't know where to start. I think stereo viewing is certainly a good opportunity to start learning, especially for such a budget friendly value. I will be able to say more about it once I own one of these units. I will keep you guys posted

[Greg Howald]

I have been tempted to make this purchase. There's also a bundle of this scope with a monocular compound scope for $114. They are very basic but they work well.
I bought the inverted scope to check it out. Cheaply made but it works. I made accessories for it. I made an iris diaphragm and color filters. I can dark field with it and polarize. Images are fair to decent.
They are not a bad buy.
Greg

[jmp]

I bought a similar one for my son from Amazon a while back. When we tried it, the image was way off, on the borderline of an instant headache. I opened the head and found out that one of the prisms was loose and out of its socket. Not a surprise given its cost. I think I had to hot glue the prism back in place, or just push it into its molded socket; either way the fix was trivial. After that fix the image was quite good, decent field of view, all glass optic (no plastic lenses/prisms), and comfortable for my son to use. Its not a toy but its definitely meant for children: the eye distance adjustment is not that suited for adults, and the oculars are kept in place by small grub screws, but the best part is that its light weight, small and can be carried and moved around easily (which means that my son actually uses it to examine things from time to time). Overall a good purchase for its intended use (foster child curiosity, draw him away from screens).

Yet, there there are other alternatives available at around this same price range (I've seen digital inspection microscopes that include a camera, sd card, and LCD screen at the $60 range) that might be best suited for other use cases (like soldering small electronic components, etc).

[LeonhardEuler]

I bought a similar one for my son from Amazon a while back. When we tried it, the image was way off, on the borderline of an instant headache. I opened the head and found out that one of the prisms was loose and out of its socket. Not a surprise given its cost. I think I had to hot glue the prism back in place, or just push it into its molded socket; either way the fix was trivial. After that fix the image was quite good, decent field of view, all glass optic (no plastic lenses/prisms), and comfortable for my son to use. Its not a toy but its definitely meant for children: the eye distance adjustment is not that suited for adults, and the oculars are kept in place by small grub screws, but the best part is that its light weight, small and can be carried and moved around easily (which means that my son actually uses it to examine things from time to time). Overall a good purchase for its intended use (foster child curiosity, draw him away from screens).

Yet, there there are other alternatives available at around this same price range (I've seen digital inspection microscopes that include a camera, sd card, and LCD screen at the $60 range) that might be best suited for other use cases (like soldering small electronic components, etc).

Interesting, yeah I never though of what the eye distance might be, but thats a good consideration to factor in.

It still could be good for my son though, maybe I could get it for him next christmas or his birthday

[PeteM]

FWIW, if I were stuck with a single stereo magnification - for most uses (kids or adults) it would be in the 7x to 10x range.

[LeonhardEuler]

I bought a similar one for my son from Amazon a while back. When we tried it, the image was way off, on the borderline of an instant headache. I opened the head and found out that one of the prisms was loose and out of its socket. Not a surprise given its cost. I think I had to hot glue the prism back in place, or just push it into its molded socket; either way the fix was trivial. After that fix the image was quite good, decent field of view, all glass optic (no plastic lenses/prisms), and comfortable for my son to use. Its not a toy but its definitely meant for children: the eye distance adjustment is not that suited for adults, and the oculars are kept in place by small grub screws, but the best part is that its light weight, small and can be carried and moved around easily (which means that my son actually uses it to examine things from time to time). Overall a good purchase for its intended use (foster child curiosity, draw him away from screens).

Yet, there there are other alternatives available at around this same price range (I've seen digital inspection microscopes that include a camera, sd card, and LCD screen at the $60 range) that might be best suited for other use cases (like soldering small electronic components, etc).

I just rechecked and the Interpupillary Distance is 55 - 75mm.

My pupils are only 63.5mm apart. This one that I posted will work for an adult too. You must have gotten a different microscope