Digital magnifiers

[cteno4]

Well I finally broke down to try a digital magnifier. I’ve wanted one I can get in close with on parts past what the phone or pad cameras could and do it live to work on tiny stuff. The lighted magnifier loops do well for medium stuff but for some tiny stuff I wanted something else. I looked at usb microscopes but many were higher magnification and not high resolution when in live mode.

 

so after looking around I decided on this one. It’s got a 7” lcd screen at 1024x600 resolution. It says 10mp resolution in still mode, but I’ve yet to confirm that. Nice lighting but when pulled back for low magnification it does need some extra light as the light is pulled back.

 

its pretty shark with an ok depth of field. A few hours of battery so you don’t always have to have it plugged in all the time. Metal base and column so it’s steady.

but a new fun toy!

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSTOOL-G1200-Digital-Microscope-12MP-7-Inch-Large-Color-Screen-Large-Base-LCD/164162573021?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Looks to be doing quite well considering the price. These would be good for some detailed soldering / painting, but getting used to look on the screen instead of on the model you're soldering / painting is going to take a while.

[cteno4]

Yeah for $75 it’s quite decent. It’s a bit easier than trying to use the big lens and get the arm right me over the lens right and then the part in the focal range. Lens works well if I need just a tad of enlargement to work by for a while as you don’t have to do the brain flip at all. Even under something like this or a dissection scope you have to get use to not looking directly at your fingers but at the fingers on the screen, but I’ve worked a lot on scopes over my life it’s no issue.

 

this I got more for just looking closely at stuff and maybe a little work under. It’s just super easy to look at the screen with your head relaxed, bit having to use it to get the right angle. I like that I can snap pictures as well or even a movie. I’m getting older and finding I’m having to get out my magnifying up close glasses more for little bits or to read the ultra fine prints! 

 

whats more fun is working under compound microscopes where everything is upside down and backwards! Use to do that in grad school all the time. Funny how you can train your brain to flip like that as I would have to locate and isolate tissue culture cell clumps under the scope then switch right away out of the scope to do a couple of steps then right back under the microscope and repeat the 30 second cycle like a hundred times at a sitting. A few in the lab could never train their brain to do the flip. It also drove up the coordination in my left hand (I’m pretty much right handed but always a good left) a lot, not sure why but it may have just been the layout where the scope was and where I had to put stuff around the scope but I always wondered if it was the conscious training of the backwards coordination helped.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

Now go the next step, Jeff, and get robotic remote-controlled arms, like surgeons use. 🤩

 

Rich K.

[cteno4]

Oooh Waldo’s! I want the big ass ones in front of a 85” tv working on a T gauge loco! 😜

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

@cteno4 - How is this working out?  The eBay page is closed so I can't really see it.  I have been struggling with some of the fine work on my Tomytec shunter and looking for something to help.  I have a visor with changeable lenses I can wear which helps a bit but is clunky and uncomfortable.  I have seen a few digital magnifiers on line but don't know enough to make a good decision.  Thinking I would like something where I could place the item under the magnifier to work on it.  Any suggestions appreciated.

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Tony,

 

there are a ton of these around here is one similar to mine on aliexpress. They now also come with 10” screens cheap! Also called soldering scopes. There are a lot of them on amazon. These are all in one units that are fairly inexpensive ($50-100). You don’t want super high magnification actually only like 5-20x for our purposes. There are fancier ones that have more specialized lenses that can give a better depth of field, longer focal distance, and high rez hdmi output but they require a monitor them to plug into. For now when I’ve needed closer look now and get at something tiny. I have various glasses clip on magnifiers and magnifier head sets, but I’ve found generally they are a pain to work with like you. I have my bifocals for may small vision correction that I had the lower for up close (like 12”) and upper for medium distance so I can see stuff at 2’+ on the upper. Generally that works well for me for most all stuff without resorting to a magnifier as well and the digital is great for a Quick Look close.

 

one thing with working thru a scope is it takes a bit of practice to get use to not looking at your fingers and what you are working on directly. After a bit your brain gets retrained to do it. The little digital magnifier is better than a scope as it’s all ope and you can glance at your hands as well. But when you got to a big monitor where you can’t see your hands/item at the same time it’s another little getting use to again! In grad school I did tons of microscope work with tissue culture cells so o got very practiced. At one point one lab had a video camera on one of their scopes and I decided to try it hooked to a bigger monitor to look at to take in a wider field of view and magnification at the same time. Worked great, but I had to retrain my brain from the usual microscope conversion to the big screen! All this is to say don’t be frustrated if it takes you a little time to get use to using the scope. Almost everyone in the lab got their scope hands quickly. Only one never did, but he had like zero eye hand coordination anyway. At lease these aren’t compound microscopes where up/down and left/right are flipped, that’s another brain conversion to proactive as well.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

@cteno4 - appreciate all the info!  I am thinking/hoping that this would work for me relatively easily.  I am so used to playing music looking at sheet music and the band director and not at my hands that I think I can adapt. We shall see.

Thanks,

Tony

[cteno4]

Yes it’s easy to adapt. I just mentioned it so you would not get frustrated if it felt clumsy at first. Jsut some time and practice and no problem adapting. 
 

jeff