I've seen these microscope style cameras that plug into your computer with a USB cable. I would use if for coin photos as well as looking for tiny details like DD and over marks and such. I've seen one that does 10x to 100x magnification. Does anyone have one, like it? hate it? use it? What is a good one. Would like to keep the price under $200 if you can get a decent one for that. What do you recomend?
I had one of the DinoLite scopes about 8 years ago. I found it to be a piece of junk, so I gave it to a neighbor's little boy. I use a standard stereomicroscope that has a USB gooseneck camera attachment so the photos can be processed via my ACDSee software. It has halogen lighting with a dimmer control as opposed to most of the USB scopes that use LED lighting which I find somewhat lacking. The thing you have to remember is that the primary purpose of any scope should be to take good close-ups for varieties and errors. For most full-coin images, you need a camera. Chris
I couldn;t take a decent pic with a million dollars worth of equipment. But the cheapo usb microscope I got works for what I need it to do. Take a closer look at specific areas of a coin. The pics are better after photoscape edited, but not near pro quality. Still for $30, what can you expect ? But doubling is easier to spot as well as die cracks, minor cuds, etc. With aging eyes, it was a must for me. gary PS Someone told me that the images through the plastic end were really poor. That's a dust cap that comes off. Removing it helps a lot. LOL
I have one of the $30-$40 Celestron's and haven't been overly thrilled even after finding a work around for the lights that won't turn off. I'm not sure if the other manufacturers are putting out a better product, but I'd say to stay away from the cheaper Celestrons if you do pick one up. There have been several instances where it created a false doubling effect (likely due to the lighting issue) and it's very difficult to see errors, clashes, etc. It seems to work best for coins that are not slabbed. I don't hate the fact that I bought it, especially since the cost was reasonable, but I wish I had a better alternative so that I could pass it on to my son who has just begun collecting.
cheapo usb sounds like what I'm looking for and dd and such is the main reason. a couple of you mention you have a cheapo but didn't mention what brand?????
I've got the Celestron - see post 3. It's obviously not as good as a stereo microscope, but it does what I want it for. If you'll be looking at lots of coins the stereo microscope would be best as the USB are a bit flimsy and would most likely require refocusing on each coin. It's nice to see what your looking at on the computer monitor though.
What do you think of this one at Wizard Coin for $144 (of course it's out of stock right now) http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/lighthouse-digital-microscope-and-camera-20x-200x.html
That Wizard scope and stand are virtually identical to the one I got off eBay from Hong Kong (with free shipping!) for about $35. The scope isn't good for full coin pictures but is great for tight, detail shots.
Here's a sample of what my cheapie microscope camera can do: I bought my camera in 2009. The same one - and others - are available on Amazon starting at about $28
One of the problems encountered with the set-up for this scope is that you can't set it completely vertical to take photos from directly overhead because it looks like the base is in the way. I would think that it would be difficult to get close-ups in this fashion if the specimen was a large coin. Did it come with any accessories to overcome this? Is there any problem with stability with the scope in a vertical position? Can you zoom in closer than what you've shown in the pic of the Lincoln date/mm? Sometimes it's necessary to show more detail like these............ Chris
I bought this camera in 2009. It's a 1.3 megapixel, however, the there are ones with a higher density sensor available that will do a better close-up. Here's the widest angle and the tightest zoom in I can do with this camera. The LEDs are set on "low" for these shots and the stand is too short to take the "wide angle" shot so the camera sitting of a box that's 1.5 inches high:
