Features:

  • 10X-20X-30X-60X stereo magnification settings
  • High quality widefield optical glass lenses
  • Forward widefield binocular head
  • Sturdy pillar stand with metal framework
  • Built-in incident (top) and transmitted (bottom) lights
Perfect for viewing 0402 SMT electronics! Very very happy!

On a tight budget and having to buy things out of pocket for work at a startup. They went to 0402 (sized components) without any prototyping. I looked for about a month for something I could afford. Almost bought used scopes more than once for more $ than this one cost new. When the shipping rang-up at about $3 I was worried that the unit was actual size in the photo. But when I opened this puppy up... wow! It's a real microscope! Absolutely full size, heavy, and solid. More than that, it is absolutely perfect for what I am doing. One of the options for changing magnification is a quick turn of the large circular, bottom lens carrier to select "1X" or "3X". When you turn it, it clicks in and out of place very smoothly, locks into new position very firmly and has the perfect resistance during the turn. You just know that the people that designed it, and the people that built it nailed this one. I am so impressed, and so happy to be able to write a positive review. If you check back through my reviews of a wide variety of products, they are all negative because I am too lazy to write positive reviews. But this microscope is so well built that ... I have to write about it. The unit comes assembled. There is a second pair of higher power top lenses supplied, but I found that the lower power ones that come pre-installed are perfect. As mentioned, the bottom lens changes between 1 and 3 power. That turns out to be perfect. You will usually use it at the lower power. It is powerful enough to see and solder 0402 sized components, but weak enough that you can see a little bit of the surroundings to orient yourself on the board. To more closely examine a solder joint, you can swivel that bottom piece to the 3X position. In doing that, you don't lose optical position. This thing is very precise. Very very good deal. Note that there are two halogen lights provided, one above, and one below the specimen platform. If you are using it as I was, for electronics, perhaps you should remove the bottom light. Use a rag or paper or something since you are not supposed to get skin oil on those halogen bulbs. Of course do it cold. There is a power switch for selecting the high light, the low light, or no light. There is also a cover for if you are not using the bottom light. It makes sense to remove the bulb if you are not using it so that you don't overheat that bottom area if you accidentally turn that light on with the metal cover in place. They probably designed it to handle the heat, but just in case, I would remove it. The halogen lights provided are generally better than LED lights. The color is better. Everything is great on this microscope as far as I can tell. I love it! The people I work with are also quite pleased with my purchase.

Amazing first scope/gift for kids!

This scope is a bargain for its quality and ease of use. I already feel I made the perfect choice for a first scope for our children (ages 10, 9, 7,3). It was very easy to set up. Within minutes we were viewing slides (bought the set of 25 from Amscope). Then we grabbed a Japanese lady beetle off the floor and put it under 30x. Creepy! Amazing! Crisp images of its still twitching legs and mouthparts. Great view of its compound eyes. Wife practically jumped off the chair when she saw it! We have also looked at: moss, fungus, lake water/gravel (complete with tiny live clams), coins, toothpick, a band aid, rock salt. Can't wait to find some spiders! Things I like about this scope: inexpensive, metal construction, crisp optics, bright light, easy to adjust inter pupillary distance, ability to throw just about anything you find under it, kids' delightful responses to seeing things, stereo optics. Things I don't like: nothing yet. If you are looking for a great easy to use, quality scope this seems like a perfect choice. This is a high value item to bring into your home. Will update review in a the future. Happy shopping! Update 1: (one hour later) Couldn't resist going back to 'the scope' tonight. Found what appears to be live midge larvae and an aquatic worm in the lake sand sample. Sucked them out with a pipette. They are now waiting in small bowl for my kids to check out when they wake in the morning. This thing is so darned cool! Also I dialed in the diopter on the left eyepiece and the image clarity went from crisp to ultra HD. Update 2: (about three months later) It is great to own this scope. We throw anything under it and are amazed by what we see: feathers, bugs, coins, etc. I just brought it to work to check out some high tech sandpaper we just bought. It was incredible to see it at 30X. My colleagues couldn't stop looking for things to put under the scope, and one even said "I have to get one of these!" So, I recommend this for anybody for a home scope of low/med power that is great for kids and adults alike. Very easy to set up an use. BONUS: You can use an iPhone (I have an iPhone 6) to take pictures through the eyepiece! See attached photos.

clear sharp image suitable for checking plants for bugs on the leaves

perfect for my purposes - checking for nearly invisible mites on garden plant leaves. The left eyepiece tube has a diopter adjustment - an important feature. I just added a pair of high eyepoint eyepieces from the same vendor - much more comfortable for a user who wears glasses. Also substituted LED bulbs for the tungsten - bulbs purchased from Amazon illuminate very nicely - diffuse white light. Only shortcoming is post rotates if you push the microscope body too hard to one side.

Great for a variety of uses

LOVE this 'scope! I bought it to help me study for my college General Biology labs when open lab days were inconvenient, but I keep finding things to investigate with it. Recently when one of my pet aquatic snails laid eggs, I used this microscope to monitor their development and to check the babies for signs of life once they hatched because they were too tiny to see with the naked eye. Pros: - Wide objective makes it fairly easy to find your target - Interchangeable stage plates are great for when you need contrast (or don't) to see your specimen well - Binocular-style eyepieces make it easy to adjust when switching viewers Cons: - To get the full range of magnification, eyepieces have to be swapped out by removing two VERY tiny screws. Luckily, I almost never need the 10X eyepieces and get along fine with the 20x. - Rough focus can be a little hard to achieve with a specimen already on the stage. Grasp the objective while you're fiddling with the knob at the back so it doesn't go crashing down toward the stage if you loosen it too much.

Great item for the price...

Very happy with this purchase. Well design, excellent quality, easy to use with or without instructions, has a nice weight to it--no cheapy feel, has top and under slide lighting (important feature: under slide lighting allows you to see transparent/see-through objects; top lighting is more for solid objects viewing from the top), ergonomically designed so that I can comfortably reach all nobs and levers comfortably, comes with multiple power lens, well suited for various novice to semi-serious educational uses, comes with a cover, len chambers are clean and clear (some cheaper microscopes have dust/particle trapped inside the len chamber which interferes/corrupts observation), excellent pricing, smooth operating parts--I have nothing bad to say about this microscope. Everyone loves using it--we put anything that fits under the scope to view a whole new world for awareness/knowledge. It is a jewel in our family and no one abuses it; it is used and left in its pristine condition to make this gem lasts.

Quite pleased

This was our 12-year old daughter's primary Christmas present this year. While we know our daughter well enough to suspect she would be delighted, 12-year old's in general can be unpredictable...and this scope arrived Monday and I hadn't unpacked it yet. So there was a bit of trepidation this morning, particularly since I'd originally planned to get her a compound scope. Needlessly so. This child has been glued to this scope since she opened the gift. It's been "Dad, you have to see this!" and "Mom, come look! You won't believe it!" all day long. I'm impressed with the build quality of this scope. Quite solid. The only caveat I would offer is that the upper lamp housing can become very hot and is easy to accidentally brush when adjusting the ring from 1x to 3x. Just be aware of it to avoid a quick ouch. If her interest develops, we'll definitely look to AmScope for a compound scope.

Pretty decent microscope for an affordable price

I really liked the fact that you get 4 magnification settings and a top and bottom lighting system. I primarily use this to inspect marks on solid objects to the top lighting was crucial. If you like to just look at random objects, the top lighting is what you'll want to use. The whole thing feels fairly solid and I've been very happy with the purchase so far. The one thing that I did not notice (probably because I don't know much about microscopes) was that the bottom only has 2 objectives so you really only get two magnification settings. The eyepieces can be changed out to give the other two settings. So, if you don't want to constantly change them, you'll have either have 10x or 20x with one set, and 30x or 60x with the other set. Not a big deal for me since I'm fine using only 30/60. But if you always need to switch between all 4, I suggest spending more on a real microscope that can hold different objectives on the bottom.

Fantastic scope for SMD work or pretty much anything

I needed a better scope for looking at small SMD soldering. I originally went with the USB microscopes but they were a pain to use. I saw an electronics guru at a convention using this exact scope so I had to try it. Amazing clarity and function. Very easy to adjust, plenty of room to place the viewing item. I love the stereoscopic viewing, WOW! I was worried that I might need more magnification than 60X for SMD but I usually use 10X. At 30X I can see the very tiny imperfections in the 0402 components. I cant imagine 60X. The lighting system is more than enough for me. I have ZERO complaints, this is an awesome scope in my book.

Awesome little unit.

This little scope is exactly what I hoped for. Having a PhD and used lots of scopes in the past, this one is perfect for my home use. I haven't experienced the heat that others have described and planting your eyes onto eyepieces is common on most other thousand dollar versions. Optics are good and operation like all microscopes. Only wish it came with a case.

Optics are excellent for the money

I did a great deal of viewing through dissecting scopes while in college and we generally had the top notch stuff like Zeiss or Nikon. These are darn near as good for a fraction of the price. I love that they have both top and bottom lighting, and the lamps they provide have a very color neutral light. It is very easy to get both eye pieces in focus and they stay that way even with bumps and jarring from use. Impressive build. This is a rock solid instrument and will give years and years of enjoyment.

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