Features:

  • SEE EVERY DETAIL CLEARLY Advanced CMOS sensor provides high-definition 1600x1200 resolution, so you can fully view fine details
  • PLUG AND PLAY- for Windows 10 and Mac- simply use the Camera App already installed on Windows 10 or Chromebook. For Mac open and run the Photo Booth application already installed on the Mac. Additional software for Windows and Mac supplied. Contact us for additional software options if needed.
  • PROFESSIONAL DESIGN Aluminum construction makes this microscope durable enough for daily use on the job, but it's also lightweight and easy to store for home use. Full size software and instructions disc included
  • CAPTURE FOOTAGE WHILE YOU EXAMINE YOUR SAMPLE With the USB cable connecting the microscope to your computer you can capture live AVI video or record images in BMP format
  • FULLY ADJUSTABLE LIGHTING Includes a total of 8 LED lights that you can dim or brighten to provide the perfect light conditions
Opti-tekscope Digital USB Microscope Camera

This Microscope magnifies well but it is not high enough in power to view microorganisms in pond water. You can view the small print on a dollar bill or look close at an object, beyond what you can normally see. There are two good words to describe a microscope/magnifier. The magnification and the resolution. High magnification is useless if there is not enough resolution. Think of what you see if you zoom into a picture you took on your cell phone. As you zoom in you see more detail but at some point the detail stops and continuing to zoom provides nothing of value. How much resolution you need depends on what you are looking at. You could zoom into text letters with lower resolution and still be ok because you can make out the letters. I was able to confirm the 200x magnification on a 23” monitor. But as stated above, magnification is not the only thing that matters. You could project the same image on a 52” TV and get further magnification but that does not mean you will see anything further or see any value in the image. I think 200x is about the limit of what is useful. The best way to describe the magnification is with something we can all look at and understand. For that I used the US dollar bill. This camera will magnify George Washington’s eye in a one dollar bill to fill the entire viewer. Picture included to see the maximum magnification using George Washington’s eye from the dollar bill. It doesn’t matter how big your monitor is, you still get the same image in the frame of the viewer. A larger screen just has a larger eye in a larger frame but that does not mean it shows more detail. This web camera can run on any device that supports web cameras. You can use any software you can get that works with web cameras. So yes, this works on Linux and it works on cell phones and tablets that support USB cameras. Not all phones or tablets will support USB cameras. I have tried the Linux Camarama Webcam Viewer software from the Ubuntu software library. It works as well as the Cheese application. It will likely work on any web camera software because this is just a web camera. This camera works on my Android Pixel XL phone as well using a OTG cable. The OTG cable is a cheap cost connector that lets you convert the micro USB to a standard USB connector. This allows you to use a USB drive to back up software or pictures from your phone. You do need the OTG labeled connector, it is not just a simple USB micro to USB connector. And of course you phone needs to support OTG. Many newer phones support it. The Google pixel phones and the Samsung Note5 support OTG as well as many others. There are a couple steps to turn OTG on these phones. Research phone OTG and turning it on prior to attempting to using the camera to save some frustration. For the android phone, there are may webcam apps, I tried a few and liked the Endoscope app but it has low resolution images, like 640 x 480. But this is enough for many things. There are others, try them all if you want. Some will store much larger images. Resolution: The camera description states the camera sensor provides 1600 x 1200 image resolution size. However not all software supports that. Using the android Endoscope app, the images are saved as 640 x 480 (0.3 MP) size. The Linux Camarama Webcam Viewer software will display the image in 3 different views, Small, Medium, and Large. The Small image was saved as 160x120. The Medium image was saved as 800 x 600. The Large image was saved as 1600 x 1200. CameraFi Android application Can select different video sizes from 640 x 480 to 2048 x 1536, 2592 x 1944 at1 0fps, 1600 x 1200 at 30 fps So the choice of software/application can change the resolution of the image saved. The Linux Camerama app saves the files to png type. The android app stored the file as a jpg. The type of file is determined by the webcam software not the camera. So if you want jpg files, find an app that saves as jpg. Png file format probably makes the most sense for storing the detail of a magnified image. jpg files have too much compression which does not work when trying to capture details of a magnified image. The light is adjustable but can be too much for looking up close at shiny objects. It is very hard to look at a diamond because of all the glare. Can turn off the light and use an external light which is better in some cases. It is helpful to use reflected light or light diffusers, on some objects. The stand is stable enough. It has enough weight to it to hold the apparatus stable while turning the focus knob. With all the knobs on the stand locked, the camera is stable. It does not move in any direction due to vibration or tilting of the stand. There is a radial pivot on the camera holder. It can move radially and does not have a lock but it is does hold in place well. It will not move due to any small movements, you have to put some pressure on it to move it. Appears to be a rubber on metal grip. A quick pull on the camera wire could cause the camera to move radially but this is not something that would easily happen if you are careful. There are two black turn knobs on the standup post, the one with the gear notches. These two knobs are locked together, turning one turns the other. This set of knobs will raise and lower the camera on the stand. At first I was loosening the lock nut then using the larger knobs to move it up and down. This works but you have to lock the position before removing your grip from the larger black knob. Otherwise the weight of the arm will cause the arm to drop all the way down. Then I found if you tighten the lock nut snug but not any tighter, you can move the larger knobs and the arm will not fall when you remove your hand. This is the way to use the device, it works really well. The camera comes with several attachments. At first I didn’t think much about the attachments. Then I decided to look more closely at them. They are helpful for viewing some things. For instance, one attachment is a plastic piece that fits over the camera tip. Does not look like it would do much good but it does help look at objects up close when hand holding the camera. Given the magnification, it is hard to hold the camera still enough to view something clearly when using the higher magnification. Using the plastic tip, put the tip on the camera then place the end of the tip up against a table and focus the image. Then you can just put the tip up against anything else to see that object in focus without using the focus knob and not dealing with your hand moving the camera around. This works really well to view up and down the edge of a knife to see the edge in detail, see attached pictures. It also helps to look at your skin, you can just move it around on your skin and see it in focus. This is not easily done without the attachment. There is another attachment that looks like the end piece used on that instrument your doctor uses to look into your ear. With that piece you can do the same thing, focus it first then put up into your ear and likely need to fine tune the focus to see. You can see inside your ear well with this piece. Without the piece it is hard to focus on anything. The other attachment is a long tube, I think to look inside something, like your mouth. These attachments make it much easier to focus on certain types of things. The last attachment is the 90 degree mirror. It works for looking around a corner, like into a wall or something like that. The camera will focus up close, around 5mm from an object. This is not an exact measurement, I just held up a ruler at what I found to be the closest I can get from a penny. On the other end, the camera can focus to infinity, meaning you can see around a room like a traditional webcam. Nothing special there, don’t really see much use for that given the stand. Summary: The camera works well for looking at images magnified up to 200x. The camera is compatible with a lot of third party software. I have confirmed it works on Linux, Android, and Windows 10. Took two pictures of the same dime, one at 800x600 and the other at 1600x1200. Other pictures included too.

Excellent Digital Microscope

This is a sturdy, well made, top quality USB microscope. Unlike some of the other bulky toy-like scopes out there, this one is thin and easy to hold in your hand, like a pencil, if you choose to use it that way. It is easy to adjust when on the stand, and the focus knob at the top of the scope is precise. There is a control on the USB cable that lets you adjust the brightness of the 8 LEDs in the head as well as button to make it easy to snap a photo. I've had no problems and am very happy with the purchase. The scope comes with a CD that has a couple of basic viewing programs but I recommend getting the free VLC Media Player program for best results. OasisScientific.com has some additional software and a troubleshooting guide, as well as an app for using the scope with an Android phone or tablet.

Just WoW.

I do not wright reviews. Normally. But I would glue an extra STAR on if I thought all of you could see it! I had this item on my wish list for a while and my mother wanted to buy me something to help me grow my business. I do computer and phone repair, among other things... Judging by the price I though "This will probably do the job ok but like other cheap Chinese equipment it's probably cheap.." Let me tell you... The quality of this thing is f&#$@ing AMAZING. All the parts are put together with stainless steel screws or torx, high quality aluminum, and easy-free motion movement. This may be my favorite piece on the work bench. I will be seeking out the manufacturer for other products!

This thing is Amazing

Its perfect in every way. The image quality is superb and its zoom level is amazing. As a test I zoomed in on some tiny text from documentation. At a high enough level the printed text looked like a dozen amoeba crawling out of a black rectangle. Anyways I ran the software on two laptops and had issues with each. The first one needed to be restarted after the first time i tried running the software. The second laptop needed a micrsoft x86 c redistribution 2010 pack installed beforw it would run. Regrdless after different initial issues the software and scope function perfectly. I bought this after getting a $35 usb scope on primeday. That scope didnt work out of the box on any of the three computers i tried it on. I had to return it. Im actually quite happy it was broken because even though this cost 3 times more its truly just better. Granted I couldnt see an image on the one i returned but thw build quality was garbage compared to this. This scope is like a precision tool compared to the cheap scope with fat camera and bendy arm. If you need anything like this, just get this one. I couldnt be happier with it, you wont regret spending the $90.

Excellent for its intended purpose

This is not a professional, $2000 microscope, intended to be used by a clinical microbiologist; and so, neither should it be judged by that standard. It is instead an excellent layperson microscope, ideally suited for a hobbyist or as an educational toy for a child or teenager. Plastic sheaths provided are intended to allow the probe to be inserted into body cavities. So, I suppose if you have an earache or hemorrhoids, then it could be useful for something like that. Or, if you have a splinter in your finger; it would be helpful in removing that splinter. It hasn't been too many years ago that a microscope of this sort would cost over a $1000. So be glad that in year 2017, any layperson can now enjoy such a microscope for under $100. If you are trying to decide between buying a great magnifying glass versus a USB microscope; I would recommend this microscope. It is also a better deal than standard non-digital field microscopes that magnify only to 100x or 200x.

This is a GREAT microscope!

I got this microscope so that I could search for Micro-Meteorites. These are very small (almost dust-sized) meteorites. Millions of them fall to the earth every single day - but no one knows about them because they are so small - a millimeter in size or less. With my old microscope, I could see only one or two specks at a time. With this Opti-TekScope I can see hundreds at a time. It's really good! Searching for Micro-Meteorites is not that hard - but the better microscope you have, the faster you will find them. Google the subject if you are interested. You can find meteorites yourself in your own back yard, and start a collection of outer-space meteors. This is the microscope you want if you are going to try that, because you can see hundreds of possible meteor specks at a time, instead of just one or two or three. The first day I got this, the frame rate was slow - but I found the menu choice to increase the frame rate, and that made it really fun and useable - it was just like the guy demonstrating it on you-tube - but even better. Also, on the first day I had it, (before I started my Micro-Meteorite search) I thought I would look for cells - I remembered from high-school biology class you could pull a bit of "skin" off of an onion slice if you broke the onion slice and pulled the very thin layer off - that is a single-cell-layer. Then, I put it on a pieces of clear plastic (glass is better) and put a drop of iodine on it (get iodine from the drug store - CVS, etc.) and that stains it so you can see the cells and nucleus better. I attached the picture to this review - it's really cool! And, I did this my very first day with the Opti-TekScope! It was easy, it was fun. I also attached a photo of magnetic "dust" that I gathered while searching for the Micro-Meteorites. Great Microscope! Love it!!! Steve Capps Tennessee

One Awesome instrument.

This is a finely tuned instrument, definitely not a toy. High resolution images of my stamps show every detail, down to the "hidden " details of similar stamps. Definitely recommend to everyone who needs a high resolution microscope. Problems: just call the number on the box.

I Used This Microscope To View And Record My Recovery Progress After Surgery

I had "throat surgery" (otherwise officially known as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). This "cam" worked very well and IMO made my recovery a total success because I was able to SEE when I was allowed to eat heartier meals. (In the first stage of recovery I could only eat soft or liquid foods. In the final stages I could eat burgers. Yum!) This was a damn good cam for the price. The fit and finish is quite impressive. E.g., the silver tube is metal and IMO appears to be stainless steel. The microscope/cam focused sharply, and was easy to place in my mouth to shoot videos or take pics of my throat area as it healed. IMO its feel, heft, and precision makes it come across as a device that cost $400, not under $50. Note: Prior to the consumerization of these kinds of cams, patients had no idea how his or her recovery was progressing. The surgeon said "if you taste blood or the pain is significant go to emergency for intervention. The only way to fix bleeding is with surgery." This "cam" allowed me to see my progress rather than wait for the taste of blood being swallowed. My recovery lasted about 30 days. I was shooting video with this cam about five times daily, a v-log of sorts. Irony: When I had my post-op visit with my doctor he used his fancy ($25,000?) microscope/cam to look in my mouth. I had saved a copy of my videos on my cell phone to show him. Truth be told, he appeared shocked that I did the same thing as he, with a $35 microscope. Bonus Tip: There appears to be generic software that all these el cheapo microscopes use to record video or take pics. AFAIK they all use the same software code. Attach your microscope/cam to your notebook's USB port, the software detects the device and records or takes a (jpg) pic. Note: The videos I recorded were in AVI format. I played them using the free open-source VLC media player. On my phone I used "MPlayer" mobile video player and free downloadable "codecs" (side note: "codec" stands for "(co)mpression - "(dec)ompression." Over and out.

Excellent small boroscope / microscope

I found this to be an excellent pen microscope / boroscope. For the money it is an deal. The stand is made of anodized aluminum. The finish and machining is crude but works. For the price, the quality of the stand is excellent. The knobs are of ABS plastic, The cord is a Mac-style white USB cord with a dimmer. The dimmer has a still capture button. The focus ring is on the pen at its base and works reasonable well. The base is 5-3/4" x 3" and is large enough to accommodate the largest object that is viewable by the scope (about 1.5" x 2"). The device comes with 5 accessory attachments in high quality medical-style ziploc pouches, and a CD. The accessories are: (1) a protective sleeve for the pen, (2) a clear plastic offset attachment that allows the pen to be held against a flat object, (3) a clear plastic cone attachment that would be appropriate for using in a nostril, (4) a black plastic narrow neck attachment that would be appropriate for using in an ear canal, and (5) a right-angle mirror attachment. The CD has several instruction documents, including a well-written troubleshooting document, and two viewing programs, AMCAP.exe and ehe.exe for Windows. There is also a Mac folder with "WebCam Monitor v2" software. The camera functions like a web cam and will focus at infinity all the way down to about a millimeter which for my computer monitor was a 200-to-1 magnification. Since the image is 1900 x 1200, the smallest resolvable object would be about 0.001 mm in diameter, or 0.00004". I was able to photograph a human hair 0.001" or so in diameter (see photo below). The photographs also show typical views of a coin and a detail on the same coin. The ability to adjust lighting with the dimmer was crucial to getting good results. I was also able to use it like a medical boroscope, examining my own mouth. This device could be used for a variety of purposes, such as biology/naturescope, simple medical boroscope, metallurgy, numismatics, taking pictures of small objects like insects, electronics, viewing hard to reach areas, etc. The AMCAP software included is a free web cam viewing package which works reasonably well and operates fine on Windows XP, my platform. If you are doing serious work, you may want to get a more professional web cam viewing software package.

Best USB Microscope

I've been using other USB microscopes for the past several years - mostly for viewing crystals and plants. I enjoyed what they did and naively believed their claims about 150-200x magnification. But I wanted to get a new one and spent some time reading thru reviews to see which one would be best. I am so glad I decided to get this because it is incredible and makes all the other USB microscopes seem like toys for children. The other products are made from cheap plastic with flimsy stands. This is a high-quality product made from aluminum, with a sturdy stand that makes viewing objects so simple. When those other brands claim 200x or more magnification (some even laughably claim up to 1000x) they're completely lying. They don't even come close to that (it's only around 40x) and all you can do is adjust the focus wheel until the object comes into view, then keep turning it thru a blurry image until it reaches its other viewing capacity. With this brand, you get way more control. You use the wheels on the side to adjust the macro focus, then turn the top of the microscope to adjust the fine focus. When I first used this to look at a crystal at its highest magnification, it was absolutely mind-blowing. So bottom-line: no other microscope comes close to this one. If you want to waste your money on a toy that lies about what it can do, go ahead and buy another product. But if want a high-quality microscope, that's easy to use and will blow you away, get this. *For MAC users: they don't have software for it and recommend using Photo Booth. That works, but it also kinda sucks. I recommend a free application called Digital Viewer.

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