EEVblog #566 - Cheap USB Microscope Reviews

[Winston]

Did you try the software for the cheap on on the better one? Since no drivers had to be installed, they will both be standard WDM capture devices and should work unless there is a hard coded string check for the device name.

Same question I thought of.

And me too.

If the more capable software for the garbagecam is downloadable from some support site created by one of the sellers or the OEM and works with the better camera, that would be great.

[upl8]

I bought the second model yesterday from the same seller, but with some extra accessories.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2MP-USB-Digital-Microscope-Endoscope-Video-Otoscope-dental-oral-ENT-Camera-AU-/200994145191

The box contained two mirrors, three nose/ear inspectors, and two plastic tubes. It's a few dollars more, but I thought the mirror might come in handy.

It arrived this morning, and it's slightly different to Dave's one. The cable doesn't slide out when I zoom. The tail section telescopes out to reveal a black plastic tube.

The software is also different. The application is called "andostar 1.exe", and the timestamp is 7/7/2011. So if anything, this appears to be an older model than Dave's. No "hair" in this one either.

BTW Dave, the User's Manual explains how to pull it apart for cleaning. Of course, it also tells you not to disassemble it in a different section!

[Rasz]

I noticed this when passing yesterday: eBay auction: #310796555638

>800 lines Definition

its a PAL cmos camera module with a USB/VGA combo adapter
composite output is a dead giveaway

(C.-mount, common on security cameras)

because it IS a security camera just adapted to a microscope role

[PlainName]

because it IS a security camera just adapted to a microscope role

I don't see that as necessarily being a show stopper. The question is whether it works in its desired role.

Actually, for me, I would prefer the composite output since it is real-time up to the display. USB can be laggy but also requires a PC/laptop, so immediately you've cluttered up your desk with junk you'd rather wasn't there before you start. OTOH, nowadays plain video is hard to display without converters to VGA...

I can see the attraction of just paying $300 or so to that Lifecam chappy in order to get a job done, as opposed to tinkering with the tools and not actually getting around to doing the job.

[sleemanj]

Linking this thread for those who haven't seen it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-new-1080p-usb-microscope-for-easy-smt-soldering/
(short version, poster took the good stand with a custom head, a microsoft lifecam, replaced the lifecam's lens assembly, and seems to get good results, if rather more expensive).

[Zbig]

if buy some cheap stands and cheap microscopes.. why not buy cheap china normal microscope?
in my local repair shops i can buy YA XUN YX-AK04 for 174$

I'm sure it's great for examining specimens but I can't quite picture myself leaning against it while doing some work like soldering, etc. Or am I missing something and it has a camera, too? Plus, I have some sight deficiency which prevents the views from both of my eyes to converge properly while using binocular-type instrument.

[Rasz]

Linking this thread for those who haven't seen it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-new-1080p-usb-microscope-for-easy-smt-soldering/
(short version, poster took the good stand with a custom head, a microsoft lifecam, replaced the lifecam's lens assembly, and seems to get good results, if rather more expensive).

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/home/48-1080p-smt-microscope.html

finally, thats what Im talking about. True 1080p hardware compression, M$ lifecam + microscope optics at $200-300. Good middle ground.

[upl8]

Andonstar support sent me this URL for the latest version of the software. It has the same timestamp as the one Dave tested.

http://share.cx.com/ngc54v

They said that the USB button is not supported in this version, but there is a software button for photo and video.

[EEVblog]

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/home/48-1080p-smt-microscope.html
finally, thats what Im talking about. True 1080p hardware compression, M$ lifecam + microscope optics at $200-300. Good middle ground.

I'm getting one of these for review.

[psycho0815]

Linking this thread for those who haven't seen it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-new-1080p-usb-microscope-for-easy-smt-soldering/
(short version, poster took the good stand with a custom head, a microsoft lifecam, replaced the lifecam's lens assembly, and seems to get good results, if rather more expensive).

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/home/48-1080p-smt-microscope.html

finally, thats what Im talking about. True 1080p hardware compression, M$ lifecam + microscope optics at $200-300. Good middle ground.

That looks really interesting. Even with import taxes that's quite reasonable, if it wasn't for the customs hassle i might think about getting one.
actually i might anyway...

[hikariuk]

I wonder how well a cheap 2ndhand DSLR (like a canon 300d) plus a cheap macro zoom lens would work using its TV out on a nearby monitor.  There wouldn't be any lag at all and the working distance could be a foot easy.

Resolution would be limited to composite TV, so 580 lines or whatever, but the good working distance would make up for it.
The optics would be much better too, so it would probably look sharper than a HD webcam with plastic lens.

Macro photography was usually around trying to achieve a 1:1 magnification on the 35mm film. To get more than that would require an additional extension of the lens from the film (or sensor) plane in the form of tubes or a bellows. Apart from optics refined for close up focusing the chief difference of a macro lens to a standard lens was the macro lens had a very long focusing helical to get the initial separation of the lens from the image plane conveniently. Many macro lenses came with a tube to take it from 1:2 to 1:1  life size. It hadn't changed that much with the transition to digital. A bit more because the sensor was smaller in most dSLRs.

Working distance is part of the physics of magnification. More magnification implies less working distance.

You absolutely will not get 30cm working distance. 30mm would be more likely. Even then 1-2x magnification is as much as you could expect. At 1x magnification you would lose 1/2 the light coming through the lens, and it gets worse quickly.

The laws of physics are immutable. i.e. unchanging over time or unable to be changed.

The Canon MP-E65 macro lens is a x1-x5 one.  Although at x5 with the aperture open all the way to f/2.8 your DoF is something like 0.04mm (it rises to a massive 2mm if you go to x1 and stop it down to f/16).  You can use it to do some lovely focus stacking shots though   Does have a reasonable minimum focus distance though, about 25cm.

[jesuscf]

Has anybody tried using an smart phone as a "microscope"?  My old Samsung Galaxy S3 is pretty good at it.  I use a little app called "Magnifying Glass".

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davidparry.magnifying&hl=en

[andtfoot]

I wonder how well a cheap 2ndhand DSLR (like a canon 1000d) with some macro extensions and a cheap zoom lens would work.
You would use the cameras live TV out on a nearby monitor.
There wouldn't be any lag at all and the working distance could be a foot easy.

Resolution would be limited to composite TV, so 580 lines or whatever, but the good working distance would make up for it.
The optics would be much better too, so it would probably look sharper than a HD webcam with plastic lens.

Cheap broken/damaged 2ndhand cameras might work fine for this purpose if the fault was with some part of the camera you dont need. like the build in LCD, hot shoe, auto focus etc..

Here is my attempt at doing that.
It's a Canon 550D with a Sigma 70-300mm macro lens. I'm using the HDMI out.


For reference, the IC on the left has 0.5mm pin pitch.

[kodi]

I wonder how well a cheap 2ndhand DSLR (like a canon 1000d) with some macro extensions and a cheap zoom lens would work.
You would use the cameras live TV out on a nearby monitor.
There wouldn't be any lag at all and the working distance could be a foot easy.

Resolution would be limited to composite TV, so 580 lines or whatever, but the good working distance would make up for it.
The optics would be much better too, so it would probably look sharper than a HD webcam with plastic lens.

Cheap broken/damaged 2ndhand cameras might work fine for this purpose if the fault was with some part of the camera you dont need. like the build in LCD, hot shoe, auto focus etc..

Here is my attempt at doing that.
It's a Canon 550D with a Sigma 70-300mm macro lens. I'm using the HDMI out.

For reference, the IC on the left has 0.5mm pin pitch.

That's what I call WORKING DISTANCE
How is the lag?

[andtfoot]

That's what I call WORKING DISTANCE
How is the lag?

It's actually not that bad. There is a bit of motion blur at 1920x1080, because it's only doing 25fps. Drop it to 1280x720@50 and it smooths up a bit.

[MrAureliusR]

Just wanted to update those interested on the New Andonstar model. After watching Dave's video I finally got pushed over the edge, and the Andonstar one definitely seemed good for me.

I found an eBay seller that is based in China, but who has warehouses in the US, UK and Australia. Here in Canada it only took 5 working days to show up, not bad for China prices!

My model is the exact same one that Dave reviewed, with the nice aluminum stand and adjustable... everything.

A REALLY important note: The "jell-o" effect Dave noticed at higher resolutions is easily resolved by increasing the amount of light! With my auxiliary LED lamps on and pointed at the board, I can SMD solder fullscreen at 1280x1024 no problems at all. 1600x1200 is still a little bit laggy but it's still workable. The version of the software I have doesn't have 800x600, it jumps from 640x480 to 1280x1024.

Believe it or not, I must say this New Andonstar microscope is very, very good value for money. Attached are two shots, inspecting an SMD resistor. It's a board where it appears an 0805 was soldered into the place of a 1206. Having this microscope for the last few days has been a blast! I've been checking out all sorts of boards I have where I was thinking "If only I could get a better look at that..."

Anyway, just my two cents.

[MLXXXp]

I found an eBay seller that is based in China, but who has warehouses in the US, UK and Australia. Here in Canada it only took 5 working days to show up, not bad for China prices!

Details?

[jesuscf]

My Andonstar camera arrived yesterday.  It worked out of the box quite nicely in two out of three computers.  In the third computer there was too much blur and lag using the software provided.  Finally I got it to work using Yawcam, which by the way is quite a nice free program:

http://www.yawcam.com/

Jesus

[ferrix]

Has anyone got a recommendation for a dongle computer that would be fast enough to interface a USB microscope to HDMI so I could basically just plug an Andonstar right into an LCD panel, rather than having an entire Windows machine dedicated to this?

[MLXXXp]

I received an Andonstar microscope yesterday. It was recognised and worked under Ubuntu Linux straight out of the box. So, a Raspberry Pi might work as a HDMI converter.

[ferrix]

I thought of that, but I am a little concerned about whether there's enough throughput.  I'm hoping someone here has one, and has tried something like this

[MLXXXp]

I thought of that, but I am a little concerned about whether there's enough throughput.

That's why I said a RPi might work. I wasn't sure about the throughput either. You mentioned dedicating a Windows machine to the task, so I just wanted to point out that a Linux based machine could be an option.

[ferrix]

Agreed.  I look forward to hearing whether anyone has had success with RPi or any mini-HDMI-type computer.

[GiskardReventlov]

It would be better to use the Andonstar microscope 180° horizontally turned around , so that the PCB is resting on the table, or an ESD mat, instead that the downside of the PCB, and its components scratch around on the stand plate.

Is it possible to turn that around?
And is the plate heavy enough that the stand does not tilt over? (One could put an additional weight on it..)

I had the same questions, I didn't see an answer.   Did you get an answer yet?  In Dave's video I was waiting for him to try that.

[kc9qvl]

Go to about 3:20 into Dave's video you will see the stand can rotate.