USB Microscope

[Yoda]

Hi All

 

I am looking to buy myself a usb microscope that I can connect to my laptop. 

Budget is £250 max. 

 

Can anyone recommend me a brand and model. 

 

Thanks

[Troodon]

Dino-Lite has pretty nice scopes in a wide price range.   Worth check out the different models snd features

[Yoda]

@Troodon

Thanks for the suggestion. 
I will look into one of those

 

I stumbled on this one: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OMAX-40X-2000X-Trinocular-Compound-Microscope/dp/B01BPJIWQI/ref=sr_1_9?crid=2Q9J286R4K5PZ&keywords=omax+microscope&qid=1664818684&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjgzIiwicXNhIjoiMy4yNiIsInFzcCI6IjEuNTUifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=Omax+%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-9
 

Looks quite good?

Any thoughts ?

[Troodon]

So are you looking for a USB or Compound Trionocular or not sure?

[digit]

I use one similar to this to pick micro-matrix as well as to photograph. Maximum size for a specimen is around 1" (~25 mm) down to sub-millimeter scale. I use the version with a 34MP camera but the UK version of this website does not seem to show this one for sale:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HAYEAR-Microscope-Industry-Recorder-C-mount/dp/B07DYR28JX/ref=sr_1_9

 

https://www.amazon.com/HAYEAR-Digital-Microscope-Electronic-Forward/dp/B085HBFXQK/ref=sr_1_5

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[Yoda]

15 hours ago, Troodon said:

So are you looking for a USB or Compound Trionocular or not sure?

I am not sure. 

And that's where I am after some advice. 

Many years ago I had a "standard" microscope which I used while I was at school. 

 

I should add, the main reason I want one now, is to get a better look at my amber with inclusions. But will use it to examine my other fossils too. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by Yoda

[Yoda]

So I ended up getting a Topnisus 5MP usb microscope

 

It came with instructions and software on a disc, but my laptop doesn't have a reader. Was a real pain to find operating software online, installed that, but no instructions. 

Was just playing around to see how it worked

 

Here are some of my first images

Any input appreciated

 

 

[digit]

Nice!

 

You will find that with increased magnification that your depth of field (DOF) for a single image gets razor thin. You may wish to investigate some photo stacking software to combine the in-focus areas of several images with different focal planes (an image stack) into one hyper-focused image. There are free versions available online (though I have not investigated the speed or features). Some years back I purchased the Helicon Focus image stacking software and I'm happy with the speed and results from that software package. I'd also suggest that you look into Topaz Photo as a means of both reducing noise in the background and sharpening the details in the subject. Both software packages are part of my digital workflow.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Yoda]

@digit

 

Thanks for the advice. 

I will look into stacking software. 

 

Question :

The closer the microscope lens is to the subject, the higher the magnification and the shallower the depth of field. 

And the further, the lower the magnification, and the wider the depth of field ? 

 

[digit]

Pretty much. The depth of field gets narrower the closer you get to the subject. Using a smaller aperture (f-stop) can increase the DOF but this is rarely an option when using a digital video camera setup to grab still frame images.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken