I know many of you have one of these or similar. Am i correct that the optimum magnification for minute, focussed detail is between 30x - 50x? If not can you guide me in the right direction. I am looking to purchase one, preferably with inbuilt, adjustable lighting. Can any of recommend through experience those suitable for coin viewing. Thanks
I am on my third USB Scope. The first one was perfect but it stopped working and it has been discontinued. My second one was by AMScope and it wouldn't allow you too look at the full coin if it was bigger than a penny. The one I have now allows bigger coins and good magnification and resolution. It is called MUSTCAM. It takes good photos and allows you to look at bigger coins in their entirety. The stand that it is mounted on is adjustable but not with a ratchet. You have to loosen it, raise it and then retighten it. This is very clumsy. I mounted it to one of my old stands with a ratchet height control. The other issue is that the coins appear elongated or distorted a bit. I think this can be fixed using the "Calibration" feature. But, I'm not sure and haven't got that far yet. If you get one with too much magnification you will have trouble seeing the entire coin. Look at the reviews and search for those that are specifically stated as good for coins. Make sure the height adjustment is on a ratchet. Then read the reviews and the Q&A. Following is are photos from my new one:
Thanks for that. I guess having a ratcheted height adjustment makes sense as far as clarity is concerned. The only added requirement i would need is to accomodate the number of coins i have which are morgan dollar size and quite a number that are 55mm commemoratives from the Franklin Mint for other countries.
I bought a Plugable USB Microscope a few years ago and I've been pretty happy with it. They are on the cheaper side, so they may not stack up to more expensive models, but it's more than worked for my purposes. Here are some pictures that I took with it:
Nice and clear. I have a secondary question, i am looking to catalogue my morgan and peace dollars by their VAM references, so need to identify die markers, die scratches and polishing lines etc so accuracy of focus is important
@ewomack I like the Plugable but couldn't find one that suited my needs at the moment. The lead times were way out there, or, I couldn't find reviews that addressed the right stuff.
I have a $20 or so one from Amazon it is a pluggable USB one and it works fine for me. I don't check for a lot of varieties but it does make checking for them and dates on pennies and dimes a little easier.
I got this Opti-Tekscope Digital USB Microscope Camera a few years back from Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0184CCOY0/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . It's not real cheap, but actually has come down a bit since I bought mine. It does have an adjustable lighting feature, but I found that it doesn't "adjust" very well, it's either too bright or too dim, hard to get it in between, or just right. I can see my larger coins okay with it and it does also take videos if that's something you want.
My advice is to buy one that's reasonably priced preferably under $50. If you're not satisfied with the outcome at least you're not hundreds into the item. I have an expensive Dino Lite scope and it pales in comparison to my DSLR setup.
I looked at both of these USB microscope camera, which I would like to have, but both products had numerous complaints and with quite a few ratings below 3. I would really like a good one below $50. Any other recommendations?
I certainly won't be investing a lot into an untried (by me) product. so will give a low/mid range one a try. I have a Sony dslr a330 but need a new macro lens and satisfactory support system. Thanks for all your thoughts Stay safe everyone
The three things to remember when acquiring a camera/ scope for photographing any small entities, such as RPMs, DD, or other flea specks is : Focus and resolution, Focus and resolution, Focus and resolution. Every other difficulty can be overcome, but if those are not there, the photo will be pixelated and /or out of focus. The focusing mechanism on it should be easily adjusted but stay in focus during time it is used. 5mp resolution is about the lowest usable for details except for whole coins. DO NOT believe the ads that say "Up to 1600X" or any magnification above about 30X. Yes mathematically they say that , but it involves interpolation of non-existent data points. So the higher the magnification, the more fake pixels are added to fill the photo. If you are photographing a common subject like the weave of a cloth, you won't notice it, but if you are looking for a tiny part of an "S" under an overlying "D", the fake pixels may hide or distort it. It is hard to find a decent ( although more expensive) USB camera today due to remote learning, meetings, work, Zoom, etc. grabbing them very quickly, but it also means China is making better ones more actively. IMO, Jim
I purchased one of those and it worked out fine after I figured out how to get the light just right. It stopped working after less than a year and I found another very similar design (if not a knock off or same manufacturer) by eFlex. That one has interpolation up to 75x / 300x. I just adjust for larger coins by having it sit on a higher platform than the coin. As anyone can judge by my posts, the results are mixed.
That is a 10mp camera. It uses a common type 55 mm filter, so why not try some inexpensive closeup filters/ https://www.amazon.com/s?k=camera+closeup+55+mm+filter&ref=nb_sb_noss jim
I love my old canon 510IS camera and with the image stabilization and only 5.2 meg it took some good photos with such, but my son always has it . Jim
I bought one a few years ago that I'm satisfied with. The stand is marked DBPower, that's all the info I have on it. I think I paid around $20 for it. I would recommend buying one with a flat based stand instead of the swivel mounts. The swivel ones are typically just plastic and don't hold up well. A few pics from mine.....
My experience - I bought the Pluggable USB off of Amazon and every time I tried to use it on my laptop would work for a few minutes and then the computer would freeze up. Had to disconnect the microscope and do a complete restore on the laptop just to get my laptop back. I was using Windows 7. don't know if that made a difference. Contacted the manufacturer and they offered no help, so its been sitting in a drawer for a couple years. Got a new laptop now and have (reluctantly) moved on to Windows 10, but am hesitant to try the Pluggable on the new laptop. I'm not sure if the Pluggable USB is made for only desktops. Good luck and please let us know what you decide on.
I have done a couple more hours research. Just ordered through Amazon 5 megapixel, 0 - 500x, ratcheted height adjustment and adjustable flat surface which you can raise or lower up to 10mm either way. Think i got a good deal because i also needed new scales and got 200g in .001 increments, calibration weights and software disc. Both together for just under 50 euros. Delivery in 10 days to Spain. I will give them a thorough test and let you know the results. Thanks again everyone for your input
