Newbie asking for Microscope advice

[Radioman23]

Hello and thank you for reading!

I have a few questions that I need  help with, and I hope you good folks will lend me your wisdom for a moment.
I found this forum through Louis Rossman mentioning Dave, and then through Dave mentioning it in the many videos of his I started watching. But, that very truncated story aside, Rossman recommended a 7X-45X Simul-Focal Stereo Microscope on a double bar boom but he is not a fan of Barlow lenses...
 Right now I am looking to buy an Amscope specifically: "AmScope SM-6TY 7X-90X Trinocular Articulating Zoom Microscope with Clamp"  but I don't have experience with  much of these features. The LCD microscope I have been using  has some serious flaws..the most aggravating flaws being limited work space, lack of depth perception and minimal options for lighting and position adjustments. Hence my interest in a stereo microscope.
 So here are my questions:

I am looking for about 6 inches/15 cm of distance between the work and the microscope, and I understand a Barlow lens can help( as well as protect the inner lenses I was told): What strength Barlow lens will give me 4 to 6 inches/10 to 15 cm of workspace?

For  Micro soldering work & electronics work in general would a 3.5X  or a 7X starting magnification be better?

And how well do the articulating booms hold up over time versus the double bar swinging booms for these Amscope stereo microscopes?

For what its worth: I do wear glasses as I am near sighted. Last I remember, the numbers were  -3.5 in one eye and -4.0 or something in the other, and I am 186 cm tall.

I know this may have been asked  elsewhere, and perhaps I just missed or didn't see the right thread, but I did indeed use the search function here. Maybe I should have tried it in google, but I thought it would make more sense and less tress to ask directly.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to advise me. It means more than I can properly explain here, and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year!

[Electro Fan]

I'm pretty sure I was on the same path you are embarking on.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out working distance trade-offs and then translating those into Amscope product specs.  Here is a thread you might find helpful:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/the-ergonomics-of-microscope-soldering-direct-optical-view-vs-cameramo-257888/msg3332530/#msg3332530

This particular post has a chart attached that will give you the measurements you are looking for:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/the-ergonomics-of-microscope-soldering-direct-optical-view-vs-cameramo-257888/msg3332530/#msg3332530
Just above the chart you will see a measurement for floor to workbench surface that might help with your planning.

fwiw, you might be a tad taller than me and we might have roughly comparable eye sight (glasses often needed), but I think you will find that with the Amscope 745 and the 0.5 Barlow you will be able to see stuff under the microscope (maybe even without your glasses after you adjust all the scope optics) that will enable you to think that you have nearly Superman eyes.

On a related note, in case not only your eyes but the rest of your body is not in official Superman condition, once you figure out where you want the scope on your bench for working distance and for viewing (in terms of your eye level), make sure your chair / stool can adjust to just the right height to save your neck, shoulders, back, and legs from fatigue/soreness.  A properly adjusted sitting stool with a foot rest can be very helpful.

Based on my research and experience, imo, I would forget the articulating boom.  If you watch Louis R he notices the sensitivity to jitter caused by even slight bumps on his bench when he shows off his articulating boom; other users have noticed the same.

If you have room for the double arm boom I'd go for that with the caveat that there are lots of reports of users who found that over time the double arm boom and ball bearings used on the Amscope can cause some indents on the arms.  My advice is just don't over use the double arm boom; move it gently when you first get it to experiment with your layout, find where the stand settings give you the best layout and then lock it down.  If you just push the head back and forth because it's fun you will use up some amount of lifetime on the boom arms.  It shouldn't be this way - it's a defect and an opportunity for Amscope to improve the product (and they know about and have had years to address it), but it's worth dealing with because the double arm boom and the overall stand design gives you a LOT of flexibility to position the microscope where you will find it most useful and comfortable.  So don't be afraid of it wearing out, just don't over use or abuse it..

I think what you are looking for is something along these lines:

SM-4NTP 7X-45X Simul-Focal Stereo Lockable Zoom Microscope on Dual Arm Boom Stand

SM05 0.5X Barlow Lens For SM Series Stereo Microscopes (which will get you to 3.5X-22.5X)

LED-144B-ZK Ring Light with Adapter

LED-11C Powerful LED Dual Goose-neck Microscope Illuminator Light (you can get by without the independent controls to save on the budget but controlling the lights separately can be useful)

RU050 0.5X C-mount Reduction Lens for MU Series Cameras (depending on your camera decision)

Check out the links above and feel free to ask questions.  You are headed down a great path.

[fourfathom]

FWIW, I've got the AmScope SE400-Z binocular scope, which came with eyepieces for 10X and 20X magnification.  I use 10X for SMT soldering and similar detail-work.  There is good clearance from the work surface, probably about 6".  This scope comes with a single LED spotlight on a gooseneck, and I should probably add a ring illuminator.

I can use this scope when wearing my glasses, but I get a much better view with my glasses off (of course re-adjusting the focus).

[Psi]

+1 for using 0.5X barlow lens.
The vastly increased working distance is so nice!

I have the double boom arm stand and love it.
But I've not tried the single boom version, so I can't really comment on which is better.

For  Micro soldering work & electronics work in general would a 3.5X  or a 7X starting magnification be better?

I use the 3.5x quite a bit. Sometimes I want to see more of the PCB than 7x would gets you.
These microscopes have plenty of zoom so sacrificing some high end zoom in order to get a wider starting zoom is a very good trade IMHO.

[jfiresto]

I can use this scope when wearing my glasses, but I get a much better view with my glasses off (of course re-adjusting the focus).

What are your glasses's cylinder corrections? If they are large enough, it is well worthwhile to get a pair of modern, high eyepoint oculars that give the full field of view, even when you wear glasses. You can get some quite reasonable 10X/22 adjustable, widefield oculars from China for perhaps $40 a pair.

[jfiresto]

... Rossman recommended a 7X-45X Simul-Focal Stereo Microscope on a double bar boom but he is not a fan of Barlow lenses....

I am not too surprised: an auxiliary lens adds the challenges of a Common Main Objective microscope to those of his Greenough!

[Psi]

Don't take Louis's view on barlow len's as law.
Lots of other people, including people at his store, use a barlow lens.

It's really down to personal preference.

Also consider that he works on pretty tiny components like 0201.
He needs a higher level of zoom to most people, most people work in the 0805/0402 zone.

It's only like $20 for a barlow lens on aliexpress. (Or $30 for two sizes).
So I would definitely recommend getting one, even if you end up not using it most of the time, it's good to have.

[jfiresto]

I am not suggesting that you should not get barlow lenses for a microscope, just suggesting why Mr. Rossmann might not be enthusiastic about them. I find an 0.5X auxiliary objective can be quite useful, for the usual reasons and to distance a microscope and ring light from a PCB so that you can see further into plated through holes. (I need to make a near vertical illuminator.) The added lens. however, does somewhat degrade the image.

I also have a 2X auxiliary objective but use it very little.

[Fflint]

I can use this scope when wearing my glasses, but I get a much better view with my glasses off (of course re-adjusting the focus).

What are your glasses's cylinder corrections? If they are large enough, it is well worthwhile to get a pair of modern, high eyepoint oculars that give the full field of view, even when you wear glasses. You can get some quite reasonable 10X/22 adjustable, widefield oculars from China for perhaps $40 a pair.

Could you post a link to an example product to show what keywords to look for when buying those? I have a cylinder correction (1 and 1.5) in my glasses and my field of view is tiny with glasses on so I'm currently using my scope without glasses. I always thought this is the only way, but if there are oculars that will give me similar fov in glasses that would definitely be worth $40.

[jfiresto]

A few weeks ago, a fellow here asked me about adding these adjustable eyepieces to his M7A. Some years ago, I bought some narrower field 10X/20 eyepieces from the same seller, who were responsive and helpful when they were delayed in the mail. (I wonder if German customs still uses horse drawn coaches to move bonded goods.)

The 10X/20 eyepieces do not have quite the brightness or contrast of my "big four" eyepieces, but for the price I can not complain. I would expect the same of the linked 10X/22's.

[Fflint]

:-) thanks