I'm after comments/opinions about Digital Stereo Microscopes as used in numismatics. I'm toying with the idea of getting one. Here's my thinking so far: -- 10X/30X or 10X/40X -- 2 megapixel imager Would this setup be sufficient to create images such as those seen in publications such as the Cherrypickers' Guide? What I'd like is comments/opinions on those two specifications. And suggestions about lighting, plus whatever else I haven't thought of.
My thoughts are save your money and use it to buy a coin. Unless your into biology and want to see bugs close up. You've asked in the right place though. I'm sure there are people here that take great photos with just a Macro feature on thier cameras. Not if you take a clear enough digital photo, there are many programs that are free and can blow up any portion of any photo. Before you invest in something you may never use, wait and see what others say.
I'm a big fan of stereo microscopes. What else will let you see in 3D? Nothing...you must have 2 eyes to see in 3D. If I had my druthers, I'd get the 7-45X variable with the high resolution CCD camera. I believe you can hook it up to the computer and get a real-time display of what the microscope is looking at, (with the trinocular port). I'm saving for this setup right now and their are some beauties on eBay (new). I currently have a 10X/20X which meets my needs, but I'll probably be offering it in the open forum soon. If you get one, you'll probably want to get the variable halogen lighting on it. Good luck!
You will also want the largest 'field of view' eyepieces that you can get. That reduces eyestrain and gives you a much better view of the whole coin as you go up in power, to an extent. I've spent months researching these things and read more technical optical articles than I care to remember. LOL
Oh yeah, you'll definitely want the 'LED light ring' for illumination. With that, there won't be any shadows on the coin as there will be with only a single, angled, overhead light source.
Item number: 170141198691 (eBay) I'm saving up for something along the lines of this one. I'll get the LED light ring to mount on the objective housing, and probably a USB camera to mount in the trinocular port. A guy COULD go cheaper by a fair amount. I'll see what else is out there....
No one is mentioning prices. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather have a nice coin than an object to take bigger photos of coins. I think I've got a few microscopes in the attic that just sit there. Same with telescopes. Sorry, just to old to spend time on some thinigs I guess.
