200x Microscope under £100? UK

[ABall]

Hi folks, I did a little searching and ive found loads of posts that include the word microscope but I havent found any recommendations. Obviously the ones that say 1000x for £17 are probably junk but can anyone recommend a model?

Many thanks
Alan

[Ukfraser]

I would have a look at the WEX site and talk to them. They carry a comprehensive range of good quality products. They also have stores in a few major cities where you can view the products. I get the majority of my photographic equipment from them including second hand, both online and from their branches. And you can phone them up and talk to them for advice. The celestron handheld digital claims x220 but i think that is partly dependent on display. But certainly worth a look.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/search/?q=Microscope&search_type=All

The conventional binocular microscopes tend to go up to x60 in that price range and reflective microscopes are considerably more so i think digital or secondhand is probably the way to go.

I couldnt find anything at LCE on line but they also have a range of optical stuff so would be worth a call as they have lots of branches throughout the uk.

[RickKrung]

What are your looking to do, use it for?  Hard to make a recommendation without some knowledge about the "objective". 

[ABall]

I would have a look at the WEX site and talk to them. They carry a comprehensive range of good quality products. They also have stores in a few major cities where you can view the products. I get the majority of my photographic equipment from them including second hand, both online and from their branches. And you can phone them up and talk to them for advice. The celestron handheld digital claims x220 but i think that is partly dependent on display. But certainly worth a look.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/search/?q=Microscope&search_type=All

The conventional binocular microscopes tend to go up to x60 in that price range and reflective microscopes are considerably more so i think digital or secondhand is probably the way to go.

I couldnt find anything at LCE on line but they also have a range of optical stuff so would be worth a call as they have lots of branches throughout the uk.

Many thanks, i dont know anything about microscopes so I was looking for a model that maybe has been recommended here before, I will check wex out though.

[ABall]

What are your looking to do, use it for?  Hard to make a recommendation without some knowledge about the "objective".

Sorry I thought that posting on a sharpening forum the objective would of been clear. I would like to use it to look at the knife edge, I intend to buy the BESS at some point too. I read a post here that said to buy a 200x optical zoom but they are expensive so I wondered if anyone has purchased anything cheaper that they use to look at the burr.

[Ukfraser]

I had guessed you were looking at the edge

I used to work in a materials lab testing all kinds of products, biology labs and hospitals and all the optical equipment i have used was expensive and i also have expensive tastes when it comes to optics. In the lab i had a fantastic zeiss binocular with schott fibre optic light source but you would need to add a few naughts to your budget!

I havent invested in a microscope for looking at edges but your post got me thinking and i just went to my current suppliers to see what they have in your price range and celestron do have a good reputation for their optics to i thought it might meet you need though id go for the newer one which is slightly over your budget if digital ones would meet you need.

[RickKrung]

Yes, looking at the edge seems like an obvious objective.  But "how" you look at it matters.  Do you want to look at it real time, as you sharpen, to evaluate progress and examine the burr?  Or do you want to take photos of it during or after, either just as information, to share online or whatever. 

Actively examining the edge during the process of sharpening, I have found the Kingmas 60X hand microscope to be the best. I've tried a variety of other mangifucations, the 40X that came with the Vetako goniometer, but it does not appear to be included in their current offerings. 

I looked into USB microscopes back when I wanted to get really good high magnification photos of the edge and burr, but was frustrated by their profound lack of clarity.  There has been some discussion of microscopes for this purpose on the BESS Exchange, which was the beginning basis of my search. 

I had previously tried a dissecting microscope, but also found it lacking.  I now just about exclusively rely on the Kingmas 60X.  At around $7 US, it is hard to beat. 

Rick

[ABall]

I had guessed you were looking at the edge

I used to work in a materials lab testing all kinds of products, biology labs and hospitals and all the optical equipment i have used was expensive and i also have expensive tastes when it comes to optics. In the lab i had a fantastic zeiss binocular with schott fibre optic light source but you would need to add a few naughts to your budget!

I havent invested in a microscope for looking at edges but your post got me thinking and i just went to my current suppliers to see what they have in your price range and celestron do have a good reputation for their optics to i thought it might meet you need though id go for the newer one which is slightly over your budget if digital ones would meet you need.

Ah I just checked out the name, found a cheap ish one for £55 but no mention if its digital or optical zoom, for the price it must be digital which begs the question how good is it realy.... https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/celestron-deluxe-handheld-digital-microscope.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAt9z-BRBCEiwA_bWv-DaRyYQtKtn3ABtUjSA9Ir5PDs8NyFXolLetRr70T9XW3EagSWDaIxoCerEQAvD_BwE

[ABall]

Yes, looking at the edge seems like an obvious objective.  But "how" you look at it matters.  Do you want to look at it real time, as you sharpen, to evaluate progress and examine the burr?  Or do you want to take photos of it during or after, either just as information, to share online or whatever. 

Actively examining the edge during the process of sharpening, I have found the Kingmas 60X hand microscope to be the best. I've tried a variety of other mangifucations, the 40X that came with the Vetako goniometer, but it does not appear to be included in their current offerings. 

I looked into USB microscopes back when I wanted to get really good high magnification photos of the edge and burr, but was frustrated by their profound lack of clarity.  There has been some discussion of microscopes for this purpose on the BESS Exchange, which was the beginning basis of my search. 

I had previously tried a dissecting microscope, but also found it lacking.  I now just about exclusively rely on the Kingmas 60X.  At around $7 US, it is hard to beat. 

Rick

Thanks Rick, 7 dollars!!!!! Well if it's anywhere near that price in the uk it's worth a try, I want to look at the edge in real time as I'm sharpening, some of my knives need re shaping slightly due to uneven wear from a global waterstone sharpener, never noticed till I started looking to sharpen them on the T8. I havnt been brave enough to do my globals yet.... 

[ABall]

Doesn't look the the kingmas is available over here, loads of knock off on ebay by the looks, why copy a £3 product! I could order from China but we have a shit ton of stuff stuck in our docks right now  .. hate waiting...

[Ukfraser]

Ah I just checked out the name, found a cheap ish one for £55 but no mention if its digital or optical zoom, for the price it must be digital which begs the question how good is it realy....
[/quote]

Checking the specification, it has a very low res sensor.

[ABall]

You got that from the spec, you obviously know your scopes thanks, I won't be spending half a hundred on that then! 

Alan.

[Ukfraser]

Just a techie nerd!

The £99 one from wex is
5МР ѕеnѕоr сарturеѕ hіgh-rеѕоlutіоn іmаgеѕ аnd vіdеоѕ
5-Еlеmеnt ІR сut hіgh-quаlіtу glаѕѕ lеnѕ еnѕurеѕ ѕhаrр іmаgеѕ
3D оbѕеrvаtіоnѕ оf уоur ѕресіmеnѕ frоm 20х tо 200х

The £139 one from wex has a lower res but it has some slightly better features
3.5MP high-speed sensor
10x to 220x power magnification

The £55 one
built-in 2MP for Snapshot Images and Videos
* Power - 10x to 40x and 150x

Bear in mind that most digital cameras are now about 12 mp, the sensor is still using camera technology of about 10 years ago which is ok but you would want a reasonable monitor.

If you are checking while sharpening, this may be inconvenient so you may just want to get a good loupe or something more robust with a lower magnification, this is times 60 and would be very comfortable to use and the sort of instrument i used through school to the materials lab and only stopped using when i stopped working in a lab environment though rick wasnt impressed with the one he used.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/celestron-labs-s10-60-stereo-microscope-1744904/

Have fun! Make sure anything you get can be returned easily.

Ps, thanks for the post, ive been reliving memories of the sem and mtf equipment i used to get paid for playing with! Not to mention fuji's first digital camera with 900 pixels back in the 80's. Those were the days!

[ABall]

Just a techie nerd!

The £99 one from wex is
5МР ѕеnѕоr сарturеѕ hіgh-rеѕоlutіоn іmаgеѕ аnd vіdеоѕ
5-Еlеmеnt ІR сut hіgh-quаlіtу glаѕѕ lеnѕ еnѕurеѕ ѕhаrр іmаgеѕ
3D оbѕеrvаtіоnѕ оf уоur ѕресіmеnѕ frоm 20х tо 200х

The £139 one from wex has a lower res but it has some slightly better features
3.5MP high-speed sensor
10x to 220x power magnification

The £55 one
built-in 2MP for Snapshot Images and Videos
* Power - 10x to 40x and 150x

Bear in mind that most digital cameras are now about 12 mp, the sensor is still using camera technology of about 10 years ago which is ok but you would want a reasonable monitor.

If you are checking while sharpening, this may be inconvenient so you may just want to get a good loupe or something more robust with a lower magnification, this is times 60 and would be very comfortable to use and the sort of instrument i used through school to the materials lab and only stopped using when i stopped working in a lab environment though rick wasnt impressed with the one he used.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/celestron-labs-s10-60-stereo-microscope-1744904/

Have fun! Make sure anything you get can be returned easily.

Ps, thanks for the post, ive been reliving memories of the sem and mtf equipment i used to get paid for playing with! Not to mention fuji's first digital camera with 900 pixels back in the 80's. Those were the days!

Fantastic info thank you for the input. I think I will do as you say and get a loupe for now, didnt even know what that was before I posted this.  I may then stretch to something more expensivebif it helps me sharpen.
ATB.
Alan.

[RickKrung]

Fantastic info thank you for the input. I think I will do as you say and get a loupe for now, didnt even know what that was before I posted this.  I may then stretch to something more expensivebif it helps me sharpen.
ATB.
Alan.

I think you are best to start there and gain experience, both with sharpening and examining your work.  I've settled on the 60X hand microscope.  A couple of years ago, I bought and tried out this model of Dino-Lite, primarily for the purpose of capturing higher magnification images of apexes and burrs. 


Very hefty price tag and extremely disappointing result, particularly given that.  I ended up trying three different units and models.  Sent them all back. 

Rick