Question: looking to buy new microscope need advice

[york7238]

3.5X-90X Trinocular Stereo Microscope on Ball Bearing Boom Stand

Key Features:
•3.5X-90X Continuous Zoom Microscope on Ball-bearing Boom Stand
•Super Widefield Optical System Offering Crisp Clear Stereo Images
•Versatile Ball-bearing Stand Allowing Effortless Forward and Back Adjustments
•2-1/2" (65mm) Large Field View and 8" (200mm) Working Distance
•Trinocular Port for Adding Photo / Video Capability

is this a good scope new for $599.98

 

[mrthe]

Do you know that in this type of trinicular scopes to use the third eye port or photo ports you will loose the vision in one of your two eyepiece when you split the light to take photos or videos?
Considere that before buying

 

[york7238]

but thats only when i take a pic or video right?

Do you think this is a good quailty scope for the price its msrp is $1,199.99

 

[mrthe]

Yes , only wehen you use the split for the photoport.
I imagine that you are talking about a Amscope or a Omano, are not bad at all for engraving, but his real value is not 1.200$ i think.

 

[york7238]

do you know of anyone who's ordered from AmScope.com

 

[york7238]

yea you know thay have to beef up the MSRP so you think your gettin a good deal
so do you think this Amscope is worth $600.00

 

[dlilazteca]

I just ordered mine...steve lindsay also recommends AmScope microscopes for people who are starting out you can see it on his website he has a review I will make a video review once my comes in I'll be leaving the country and will be back in 3 weeks I'll do it then. Here is a link to the one I bought

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QN5T5G/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Carlos De La O III

 

[mrthe]

I have tested one time ago and is a nice scope,make the job, my answer was to understand why you need a trinocular instead a binocular, is only because if you think that you can work and grab videos at the same time ,this will not work,and maybe you can go for a binocular model,maybe more cheap and more clear,trinocular should be a little more dark than the binocular models,my personal opinion about this type of trinocular scopes is that if you can't use the three ports at the same time don't worth the pain and the extra money.

 

[york7238]

thank you all for the advice think im going to make the purchase, also its only a $50 diff. between the binocular and the trinocular just thought it would be nice to have the ability to take close up pic. of my work thanks again for all your input on the subject

 

[Sam]

Look in the TIPS ARCHIVE for the sticky thread on buying microscopes. Good info there.

Whether this scope is a good buy or not is, in my opinion, impossible to tell without testing. It's most likely Chinese and that can mean an acceptable scope for the price or a real dog. Chinese goods are unpredictable. Just because someone has good one is no indication the next one will be good.

One thing you can be absolutely certain of is you get what you pay for when it comes to optics, whether it be a rifle scope, binoculars, camera lenses or microscopes. Personally, I don't think optics that you spend many hours looking through are a place to cut corners. Your eyes deserve the best.

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

Great advice Sam.

 

[silverchip]

I wish I had started with a scope like the Leica A60 instead of a cheaper one,Why would you start off with something that just makes you spend more time adjusting the focus on than engraving? I spent countless hours setting up and focusing,fiddling around with the dang thing until I just go fed up and spent more money on the Leica,but I set it up and went straight to work and haven't looked back.Kinda reminded me of my youth with a .410 single shot trying to kill ducks,I didn't knock one down until I got a 20 ga. dbl bbl.!!!

 

[mrthe]

This scopes are not the best true , for this price you can buy a second hand good scope, ever is a risk true, but the difference is high.
About the list..... is a good reference but for example i desagree in some scopes to avoid, i own a Leica stereozoom 6 that is in the "black list " and for me is a fantastic scope for engraving.

 

[Sam]

i desagree in some scopes to avoid, i own a Leica stereozoom 6 that is in the "black list " and for me is a fantastic scope for engraving.

Then we should add your comment about the Leica to that microscope article, Paolo. If it's a good scope then people need to know that.

 

[mrthe]

Well is only a personal opinion maybe who have done this list have his reason to include it in the scopes to avoid and is a person much more qualyfied than me, but i have tried a lot of scopes and his brightness and clear image is great and is very confortable to work with.
Amscope and Omano are cheap and do the work but in my opinion if you are going to use it a lot of hours every day , save your money and go for domething better, a a scope is like a pair of glasses , good optics are good optics.

 

[dlilazteca]

I don't know why but I think I can trust steve lindsay in his review of amscope, but he does make a reference to quality control, maybe you get a good one maybe you get a dud we will just wait and see I purchased mine through Amazon I can always return it for free. An others have pointed out in this form that they own AmScope equipment in a very happy with it. Here is a link to the review.

http://airgraver.com/microscopes.htm

Carlos De La O III

 

[Sam]

I don't know why but I think I can trust steve lindsay in his review of amscope, but he does make a reference to quality control, maybe you get a good one maybe you get a dud we will just wait and see I purchased mine through Amazon I can always return it for free. An others have pointed out in this form that they own AmScope equipment in a very happy with it. Here is a link to the review.

http://airgraver.com/microscopes.htm

Carlos De La O III

Yes, you can trust Steve's review. What you can't trust is Chinese manufacturing. Another thing is that until a side by side comparison with a known world class microscope can be done, it may never be known how a particular scope compares. Many of the Chinese scopes I've tested are not nearly as bright, have a yellowish tint, focus that drifts as the scope is zoomed, and limited sharpness across the field of view. This is a result of reverse engineering as opposed to knowledge of optics.

It's similar to the Lindsay and GRS copies coming out of China. Do they work? Well, yeah...the handpieces tap-tap-tap and someone who knows nothing about them might think they're fine, but an experienced engraver and immediately see the difference. I know I sound like a broken record but you get what you pay for. I also confess to being a optics geek of sorts, so I'm definitely biased.

 

[mrthe]

Carlos if you read the review,you can see that this is a low cost solution for a beginner that have a limited budget, do the job,but if you follow the review ,Steve talk too about bausch & lomb used scopes that are good scopes used and from my point of view if you have a limited budget the way to go,i had recently buyed a Carl Zeiss Opmi-1 and compared with all the other scopes that i had try is like a sunny day vs a raining day,i can be able to engrave without a light source on my bench haha (is a joke but are extremly clear) .
The value of this scopes are what you pay 400$ nothing more,do the job but are not great scopes compared the medium range good ones,if you are going to use it 1 or two hours every two days can go well,but if you will working 5,6, or 8 hours daily,belive me after 3 months your eyes will say to you" Hey ,please we need something better!".

 

[Jahn Baker]

For what it's worth - when I started the budget was too tight to afford a new scope of any kind. I found a used Bausch & Lomb stereozoom for $400 on eBay. It was being sold buy an optical engineer who refurbishes scope and sells them. I used the B&L for several years and was quite well pleased with the quality. Last year the same gentleman listed a Leica stereo zoom scope that was delivered to my door for less than $800. It is a quantum leap in brightness and clarity above the B&L and still a really great value! IMHO new, questionable quality cannot compare with pre-owned excellent quality.

 

[KeithBebo]

Just a little more can make a big difference. I have had a Zeiss OPMI-1 Have used it for a few years and they are really a great scope excellent optics. You can use them for hours without eyestrain. However I had a few problems with it and wound up not having a scope for several weeks my eyes are to bad to work without it. I was very fortunate and seen the info on the Leica scope Tira Mitchell has on her site. I ordered it and it is absolutely great. The clarity is fabulous, the Zeiss is great but the biggest draw back is what I just ran into trying to find parts as these are usually pretty old scopes. I was able to put them side by side and must say Tira's scope is for me the way to go. They are plentiful and easy to get parts or upgrades for. Just my thoughts and working impressions. Anyone need a good Zeiss scope? Just kidding. I plan on using in different location. Which brings up another point the Leica is very easy to transport and setup.

Keith