USB Microscope Recommendations

[Howie911]

I see some folks using USB microscopes to check the edge. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I’ve ordered several microscopes for this purpose.. I ve yet to get one that works on my 64 bit Windows 10 unit. Ive bought these Chinese microscopes that claim to work on windows systems both 32 and 64 bit. I have a windows 7 laptop, that they wont work with either… while I know people have them and use them, I can not find one that works from either amazon or eBay… the two I’ve bought, I received my money back, and in both cases the seller told me I did not have to send it back… seems strange to me but then I’m guessing these things are so cheap for the seller, they would not want to get them back and just throw them away because they are open. they come with software that loads but does not work… these are USB microscopes, which are recognized as a new device, they are present in the device manager, even the LEDs work, but when you bring up the software, you can not get an image. Ive had some success with a smartphone app for my android but  not what I would call very good.

Good luck

Bill aka ET

[Howie911]

Thanks Bill. As a fellow retired 24 years Air Force (retired in 94) and probably about the same age group I appreciate your candor and introspect. Do you recall which ones you tried that didn’t work? sure would help the elimination process. Thanks again for the reply.

Howie

[Anonymous]

Anything that looks like this even if it says windows compatible… I tried two one from amazon and one from ebay

here is one I bought note the similarity in design it doesn’t work either

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PHX8YG2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

From EBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-500X-2MP-USB-8-LED-Light-Digital-Microscope-Endoscope-Camera-Magnifier-USA-/161813012333?hash=item25acce9f6d:g:5hMAAOSwT6pV5ls9

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[Pinkfloyd]

Bill,

I have Win7x64 OS on my laptop and this Veho USB Scope works

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JCSCYI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 

[Anonymous]

I’ve read over the reviews, Pinkfloyd and I’m Up against ” The Wall “…. apparently there are two versions of this microscope.. Ver: 1 and Ver; 2

I think what I have is a Ver: 1  but all of these Chinese microscope come out of the same factory… IM guessing the Ver: 2 is backward compatible from Win 10. but there seems to be no guarantee which one you will get.

[Mark76]

There are two brands of microscope quite popular on this forum. One is Veho, the other one is <<why can’t I recall the name? if anyone mentions it, I’ll be the first one to say “yeah, that’s it”. Clay used to use it>>. Both are indeed USB microscopes of the cheap type.

I’ve got a Veho and it works (with Windows 7 and Windows 10). You’ve got to be aware that the challenge in these types of microscope is not the magnification (they work, so don’t take 200x or 400x as a selling point), but focus. It is really hard to get them to focus and they seem to have only two focus points.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Anonymous]

I can turn my auto focus off on my Samsung Note 4, and can zoom in tight… using an android app from the play store..  I can use one of my Macro lenses on one of my DSLR’s  to get a close up and digitally log them into my gallery..

I only bought these Microscopes because they were convenient

My cameras and lenses are not toys.

here is a close up from one of my cameras.

 

[tcmeyer]

I have tried several of these USB cameras.  All have worked on my XP and Win 8 computers.  Each has software which is so-so or worse.  The Celestron works well for me.  All of these cameras have two magnifications which will focus at any one plane.  For handheld use, you want to focus at the face of the lens shroud, which you hold steady against the edge.  The Celestron will focus at about 50X and 170X at that point when displayed on my 21″ monitor.  I use the 50X almost exclusively as it has the greatest depth of field.  You can see it in use at:

[Anonymous]

Tom,

That was extremely enlightening and well done. Your Video convinced me of the value of a hand held microscope. Now my challenge is to find a microscope that works . I have a 23 in HD monitor hooked up to my Windows 10 machine. It would be nice to find a Win 10 compatible microscope,

I have several smaller flat screen.. I could dedicate, but Ideally the 23 would be the best… Now the search for a Win 10 compatible microscope. I think Ill give up trying to get these two 20 dollar microscopes to work… At least I was able to get my money back.

Thanks again your video, is really great

Bill aka ET

Also what, exactly is this ” slippery tape ”  manufacturer , part number etc> ? photo ?

[Anonymous]

OK>>> SUCCESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After viewing Tom’s great video on the value of a hand held microscope, I did some thinking…. ( the mind can be a scary thing… )

I was about to contact Celestron about buying a windows ten hand held USB microscope… I see them offered in the 100 to 200 dollar RANGE.

I then thought to my self, that my windows 10 system has a capture program for my Logitech PC webcam  , So as great minds do, they think outside the box. I brought up my Logitech webcam and immediately there I was on the screen.. so what did I do ? I disconnected my Logitech webcam from my win 10 pc. ( unplugged it )

This left the software running but with a error banner saying ” something went wrong “.  I plugged in my cheap Chinese 20 dollar microscope, and magically the software recognized it, and it gives me all the capture and video capabilities of the Logitech software, making my microscope work.

When I plugged the Chinese microscope into my PC it recognized it. It was present in the device manager, but when the Logitech webcam was plugged into the PC, even when I selected the microscope, the software only recognized the Logitech webcam. Once I unplugged the webcam, the microscope worked.. So for 20 dollars I have a Win 10 microscope that works properly. Yeah!

 

this edge needs some work… captured using a 20 dollar microscope on a Windows 10 machine. Using the latest Logitech webcam software

[tcmeyer]

Here’s one of the slippery tapes I’ve used:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00153HUIG?keywords=Slippery%20tape&qid=1450549670&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

There’s some offered on Amazon that are 1/32″ thick.  They’ll work maybe even better.

[Anonymous]

Ok Tanks….

[Author]

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