Update
First try today with the Amscope SM745NTP.
fwiw, the packaging was done very well by Amscope. Hard to imagine something that weighed as much and had as many parts (some heavy and some delicate) could have been packed better to protect everything and to survive shipping. So nice work Amscope on the packing.
I still don't have the camera set up but the rest took about 30 minutes to put it together, no surprises.
All the parts seems to be of very good quality. Everything seems to have good fit and finish and is very durable, very substantial.
The 144 LED plus the double gooseneck with the individual light controls are a great combination for controlling light.
I tried the scope without the 0.5 Barlow and just looked at the brass cleaning pad; I have one of these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/120989275793?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338679340&customid=120989275793_3&toolid=11000My first impression was WOW. There is excellent clarity and sharpness, very good width (FOV), and excellent depth. I could see the entire silver holder all the way around the top circumference, and I could look deep inside the brass pad to pick any brass loop of interest and focus with very sharp detail on the particular loop. Zooming in and out is easy. Compared to the USB camera it was 3D; almost like being at an Imax with the 3D glasses. You could almost feel being inside the brass pad among the loops. Overall, it met my expectations and probably exceeded them. (I really didn't know what to expect, but I was hoping it would be good.)
Next I tried the 0.5 Barlow. My impression is that it is still good but not as good as without the Barlow. I'm already thinking about trying to find a better Barlow - maybe an Olympus or Nikon, etc. if there is such a thing that will fit. I have a hunch that when you stack glass it might be an additive sort of challenge, but if I could get better glass and minimize the additive problem that would be good. The view without the Barlow spoiled me. It was REALLY good.
The working distance is similar to what everyone describes: about 8" with the 0.5 Barlow and about 4" without it. It might be possible to solder with just the 4" clearance if it turns out the added sharpness is the way to fly (without the Barlow).
I tried holding a phone camera to the lens but it's pretty tricky to get it lined up and focused. My guess is you might have to take about 100 to get one really good photo with the handholding method. I tried setting a small tripod on cardboard box to get the phone camera lined up better but it was too rickety to get anything that resembles what you can see with your eyes.
There is no doubt that what your eyes can see with the optical view is substantially better than what the HDMI camera captures in terms of sharpness and it's a different experience completely with respect to depth. Overall, I'd say the direct optical view is somewhere between substantially better and dramatically better compared to what I saw with my interim HDMI camera tests. And to be fair what you see with the HDMI camera on a good 1080P 60 fps monitor is not bad, it just doesn't compare to what your eyes see directly through the scope.
Tomorrow I'll try to get the simul-focal part of the scope with the camera running and see what happens.
So far, I'd rate the experience as worthwhile but I'm still early - only about an hour so of initial impressions.