Is this a decent Digital USB Microscope for taking pics of coins?

I ran across this Digital USB Microscope in an add in Coinworld magazine. Does anyone have any experience with this or similar Digital microscopes? Im not looking to spend over $200. Id just like something that takes decent pics and is easy to use.

http://www.lighthouse.us/epages/lig...?ObjectPath=/Shops/leuchtturm_us/Products/DM1




Thanks,
Scott

 

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The problem you will encounter with this scope is that you can't place it directly over the coin, and the angled photos are practically useless. Also, LED lighting leaves a lot to be desired. I'd hate to see you spend money on something like this, and find a month or two down the road that it is not all that great. You might want to hold off, save your money and buy a traditional stereomicroscope/camera package with zoom capability and halogen lighting.

Chris

 

Take a step back and do a bit of detailed planning.
What do you want your images to show?

There are macro-capable point-and-shoot cameras that will give you images large enough for one side of a coin to fill the screen.
Together with a simple copy stand (I find tripods always have a leg that gets in the way) and a "white" light source you can have a setup that will do the job.
That setup will probably cost more like $300 if you get a used camera.

But if instead you want an image of a mintmark that fills the screen then you have crossed over into the microscope realm.
And that isn't cheap.
Ask yourself, "Do I have enough longterm need for that capability?"
Very few of us do.

I like the magnification range of the scope you're asking about
BUT
only 2 Mpixels concerns me.
Real closeups could come out grainy which would degrade the magnification factor.

Also with a point-and-shoot camera you can take your vacation pics.

 

I have one, they are great, the arm swings up or down and is very flexable, it will fit right over a Dime, or Cent on a flat surface.
For larger coins you just stand it on a higher base, you can see all die cracks, photograph them and have it displayed full size on your PC Screen.
Don`t pay that price from the magazine they are about $40 - $50 on Amazon. Look for VEHO -001
View the enlarged photograph on my eBay listing 360350568799 I took with mine to show the die break.
I wouldn`t be without mine, highly recommended.

 

I have that usb scope. Here is a quick shot to give you an idea of what you can expect.



Richard

 

Thanks for the imput guys! I mainly wanted this camera to take a few pics of some of the more valueable coins in my collection for insurance reasons and occasionally to use to identify mintmarks. Davey, the pic in your auction is very nice and for $50 I think this is the camera I will get. If i find that one day I would like to get something more advanced then I wont be out of much money.

Thanks again for everyone's input!

 

Can you turn the LED illumination off and use other lighting to show colors a bit better?

 

Can you get all of a morgan?

 

The light doesn`t turn off, if you covered a coin with the whole of the scope an external lighting source would not get through.

If I was photographing a whole Morgan I would just use my Camera.

They are great for inspecting your back teeth and other places you cannot normally see LOL

Viewing the inside of your ear no matter how hygenic you are is a scary experience. LOL

 

http://www.amazon.com/Veho-VMS004DE...0L8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300051724&sr=8-1

I ended up getting this one for $56.50 shipped. It is 2 megapixel and the LED's have a switch to turn off and on.

 

I really hate when you are looking for complete information on anything and you get conflicting information such as:

cpm9ball - ........you cannot place it directly over a coin.

daveydempsey - .....it will fit over a cent or dime and for larger coins simply stand it on a higher base. He makes his point by providing pictures of a whole coin in his auction at 360350568799.

 

If you look at the photo of the scope in the OP's very first post, you can readily see that it cannot be pivoted so that it is perpendicular to the tabletop because the base of the unit extends into that area.

If you want a scope to take photos of an entire coin rather than to zoom in to a particular area of a coin, I would think you would want a camera rather than a scope since it would be very limited in its use.

Chris

 

The picture in OP`s post is the same as the one I own,the scope will move completly around the base as its on a ball fitting, it also tilts and turns.
at the top of the arm that fits to the scope will also tilt and turn and completly cover a small coin.
I will photograph mine later to prove it.

 

The truth is out there:smile

 

You must of drove the demand up, cause it's now 64 bucks on Amazon!

I might take this route myself, but I'm holding off a little longer hoping for a windfall to get a nice Canon purpose built macro lens.
They don't come cheap, and adding a macro lens light puts these suckers well over a grand or two!... Might check out what Sigma has to offer?

 

Davey, could you show us the actual photo of the dime, and while you're at it, how about intermediate-to-maximum levels of magnification? Please?

Thanks,

Chris

 

Chris,
I have better things to do than try and convince one person they are mistaken.
Why don`t YOU go to Youtube and enter "Digital USB Microscope" and watch the numerous demonstrations
people have uploaded.

 

It seems that YOU had plenty of time to post all of your other remarks. I guess YOU can't back up what YOU claim with a simple demonstration of YOUR own.

Chris

 

I guess you can`t fix Stupid.

When you Can back up your statements of :

"If you look at the photo of the scope in the OP's very first post, you can readily see that it cannot be pivoted so that it is perpendicular to the tabletop because the base of the unit extends into that area."

And

"The problem you will encounter with this scope is that you can't place it directly over the coin"

​

I will gladly show you some more pics when I have time.

 

I was only asking you to demonstrate what it can and can't do with actual photos from some everyday Tom, Dick or Harry. Let's see some of the great close-up shots of the dime and the mintmark from lowest magnification to highest magnification. How about some photos of a Morgan or a Kennedy without any outside lighting or placing the scope on a stack of books or blocks of wood?

If all you can do is call me names, then the only thing I can assume is that it isn't as good as you claim.

Chris