Hand held microscopes

[Wild-Woman]

Anyone ever used a hand held digital microscopes like Dino-lite? Are they any good?

[earthdragon64]

I'd be interested in the answer to this as well, it's something I've looked at, but not in any great detail.

Regards, Audrey.

[bigdave60dog]

Yeah I bought one last year. It was egg shaped and designed for kids - I thought that I woulds cope with this-. It was called a TTS Easy-Scope" or something like that. It conflicted with some of my software so I gave it to my Grandson who got on really well with it. The after sales support was amazing. The designer even phoned me up when I was having software problems
The results are amazing. It zooms up to 200x magnification, It has a button on top that will take photo of what you are looking at. For under £30 it is wonderful value. I really don`t know why everyone has not got one.
Dave

[Bobbobthebob]

I recently ordered a £30 Summit Microfix after seeing the pics here: Sections Blog Archive Digital Microscopy. I'm picking it up this weekend so hopefully I'll have some sample pics later.

[robin28]

I bought one by Veho. Very cheap, so not bad value. Great for education.

However, image quality and colour rendition are poor in absolute terms. Built in lighting does not work for me. Physical controls are clunky - impossible to press the button without disturbing the focus. Software not brilliant.

Now considering DynoLite. Would love to know how people find them.

Robin

[Hobjob]

I've played with one once and was impressed by the magnification, but the image size is still small in terms of pixel count.

The Stands are useless too - though I note WW wants to 'handhold'.

One problem is that after using a reasonable binocular conventional microscope the screen results are not quite so pleasing.


I'm waiting for the next generation, but I think for education they could be really great. Seeing little aphids running about on leaves would entrance the kids, though might need big or multiple screens.

[Lancashire Lad]

One of (if not the) very best of the digital portable microscopes is the "Proscope HR", which (I think) originates in America, but can be obtained in the UK (from, for example, GX Optical).

The Proscope HR "system" has a very comprehensive set of optional lenses, lighting units, and general accessories, geared towards different professional users.

The downside is the price, which in this case does reflect the quality of the item. (As the axiom says - you definitely pays for what you gets).

Regards,
Mike.

[Bobbobthebob]

Well I've had a little test of my new microscope. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a modern PC due to driver issues. But if you're running 32-bit Windows XP or Vista you may be fine; on 64-bit Vista the driver fails. The system requirements mention nothing of needing a 32-bit OS.

I've cobbled something together by using a driver for a constituent part (so it works more like a webcam) but I still can't get the LED lighting working yet. I managed the below with some side LED lighting from a headtorch. Max resolution is 640x480.



With proper lighting it may have some potential. So I'm going to hack away a little more when I get the time and see if I can get the built-in LEDs working.

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by Bobbobthebob

...But if you're running 32-bit Windows XP or Vista you may be fine; on 64-bit Vista the driver fails. The system requirements mention nothing of needing a 32-bit OS....

Is it possible that the driver problem could be fixed by using the "Program Compatibility" wizard - (located in Windows Control Panel / Activity Center)?

Regards,
Mike.

[Lancashire Lad]

For those who just want to have a dabble with a USB type microscope, Lidl have one on sale next week.

Obviously, at £29.99 it won't be up to professional standards, but might be an ok introductory device:-

LIDL

Regards,
Mike