Im thinking of buying this to take pics of my coins, do you think it will do a good enough job? it is a (USB DIGITAL MICROSCOPE--1.3 MEGA PIXAL- VIDEO CAMERA 200X) The price is 44.00. I tried to put a link to it , but cant, its on e-bay. what do ya think/ save my money or what/ thanks BILL
Here is a clickable link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390082985897&ssPageNam e=STRK:MEWAX:IT These microscopes are very difficult to get whole coin shots. I have one. They really are meant for close up shots.
that is the exact one I was looking at. No good for taking pictures of pennies? ( the one crusty coins showed)
You could take decent photos of Cents, it's just really difficult to focus and manage vibrations at the distance it has to be to fit the whole coin in the viewer. That said I guess it's not that easy to take decent photos of cents with a regular camera either as lighting the coin up takes a lot of time and practice where the scope in question. I have found that the scope takes better photos on shiny objects if you provide your own lighting instead of the built in lighting.
I use an antique Bausch & Lomb from 1898. Its always better to look at old coins with an old scope. Traci
........many collectors prefer using this. http://www.microscope.com/dinolite-am413tad413t-13mp-measuring-p-579.html
1.3 Mpixels isn't that much unless there's something about it I'm unaware of. Goodman recommends at least 4-5 Mpixels, but that's with a regular camera. Plus 200x is for getting screen-sized images of mintmarks. And then there's the comments about not being able to image a whole coin. And only $44 ... you get what you pay for. If you want quality at a low cost get yourself a Nikon Coolpix 995. I saw it somewhere recently listed as a recommended low-end camera for imaging coins. I used one for years with excellent results (got a newer camera now). Only 3.2 Mpixels BUT with the recommendation AND with a price of only about $100-150, it's hard to beat. They are no longer produced so if you look to buy one, make sure it's been refurbished. Check eBay for a start.
Here is what you can do. Measure the diameter of the eye piece of your microscope and the diameter of the lens of your camera. Using a small piece of 1 inch thick lumber - drill a hole all the way through using a drill bit size of the smallest of the two diameters of your eye piece or camera lens. Using a drill bit size of the largest diameter centered over the original bore - drill half way through. A little sanding and voila you have a camera coupler for your microscope.
Jezzzzz Grizz that is some gadget. But this Ole timer, thinks there might be ghost inside of it. Nope, I will stick to my 1898 microscope a 0-1 micrometer and a 1-2 Mic. I have a equally obsolete Brinell Hardness tester (Scleroscope) (circa 1932) to id the material. Alas my loupe is pretty new a 1910 Bausch and Lomb. Ole Timer Traci (Errrrrr young un's, It was good enough for us in our time and we liked it !!!)
.......hey ripley! i'm lazy and i love gadgets that make things easy. and i'm a bit long-in-the-tooth to boot.
I just bought one of these exact same microscpoes on ebay. Paid $49.99 and it included shipping. Check me out on ebay under "DEALZD" and see the feedback. It's not the greatest quality and kind of hard to work but I did manage to get some great close ups. With a little work I've been getting better at it. Check my post on the 1942 uniface error sent and see the pics it actually took. I'd say you get what u pay for but for $49.99 it wasn't terrible.
For from $40 to $50 price range you don't have much to loose. Just remember that when you purchase items like that just how often will you use it. Yes for now you would, as most do, then the novelty rears off as most such things do. So now you have that sitting in a corner and trying to decide to sell it on ebay or give to some kid. Still for that amount, might be worth the fun. I've got several Microscopes that are in boxes for many years.
