- Joined
- Aug 14, 2013
- Messages
- 2,640
- Points
- 63
The new USB microscope just arrived, and
I'm not entirely disappointed in the results.
Portable 20x 800X 8LED 2 0M Pixel CMOS USB Digital Microscope Lift Tray Em 01 | eBay
It works with recent versions of guvcview
on Linux straight out of the box. There is
also a Windows driver disc included that I
will probably never use, but it's there
just in case.
Here are a few shots of an LPC
The image quality isn't all that bad, I
just wish there were more pixels. The true
sensor resolution of this type is only
640x480, not 1600x1200 as everyone selling
it claims. It even says so right on the box.
There isn't much dynamic range, but this
can be compensated using a thumb control on
the cable to change the light ring
brightness. guvcview also has some gamma
and brightness sliders to help compensate.
The light flickers at very low brightness,
but the sensor doesn't seem to pick it up,
even at 30fps.
The lens is a little loose. It moves back
and forth a little when you adjust the
magnification. It doesn't seem to affect
the operation at all, but does make it feel
a little cheap.
Probably the worst part about it is the
stand. There is a little protrusion that
is supposed to line up with a hole in the
support rod, but they glued it on wrong.
The scope was turned way off to the side.
I tried twisting to turn it, but it was
glued on so well that the protrusion
snapped off. I just tightened the screw a
bit more and problem solved, sorta. The
adjustment wheel is also fairly tight,
making it difficult to achieve perfect
focus. It will pop from too far, past the
focal point, to too close. This is more of
a problem at high magnification. Maybe a
little grease will help.
So the short of it is that it gets the job
done without taking up a lot of space or
the extra cost of having to buy a
microscope and a separate camera.
SOT-223 pin at full magnification
I'm not entirely disappointed in the results.
Portable 20x 800X 8LED 2 0M Pixel CMOS USB Digital Microscope Lift Tray Em 01 | eBay
It works with recent versions of guvcview
on Linux straight out of the box. There is
also a Windows driver disc included that I
will probably never use, but it's there
just in case.
Here are a few shots of an LPC
The image quality isn't all that bad, I
just wish there were more pixels. The true
sensor resolution of this type is only
640x480, not 1600x1200 as everyone selling
it claims. It even says so right on the box.
There isn't much dynamic range, but this
can be compensated using a thumb control on
the cable to change the light ring
brightness. guvcview also has some gamma
and brightness sliders to help compensate.
The light flickers at very low brightness,
but the sensor doesn't seem to pick it up,
even at 30fps.
The lens is a little loose. It moves back
and forth a little when you adjust the
magnification. It doesn't seem to affect
the operation at all, but does make it feel
a little cheap.
Probably the worst part about it is the
stand. There is a little protrusion that
is supposed to line up with a hole in the
support rod, but they glued it on wrong.
The scope was turned way off to the side.
I tried twisting to turn it, but it was
glued on so well that the protrusion
snapped off. I just tightened the screw a
bit more and problem solved, sorta. The
adjustment wheel is also fairly tight,
making it difficult to achieve perfect
focus. It will pop from too far, past the
focal point, to too close. This is more of
a problem at high magnification. Maybe a
little grease will help.
So the short of it is that it gets the job
done without taking up a lot of space or
the extra cost of having to buy a
microscope and a separate camera.
SOT-223 pin at full magnification
