Carson Micro Max Lighted Microscope

by Carson

Product Features

• Powerful 60x to 100x magnification microscope
• Extremely lightweight and portable design
• Built-in light provides a bright, clear image
• Rubberized eyepiece ensures comfortable viewing
• Fits easily into your pocket for portability
• Built-in light provides bright, clear image
• Measures 2 x 3.5 x 0.75 inches (W x H x D)
• Pocket-sized microscope for on-the-go viewing
• Powerful 60 to 100x magnification range
• Rubberized eyepiece for comfortable use

Product Description

Amazon.com

Lightweight and portable, the Carson MicroMax lighted microscope is ideal for on-the-go science. The MicroMax offers a powerful 60 to 100x magnification range, making it easy to examine blood samples, bugs, and anything else that's worthy of a closer look. The microscope also includes a built-in light that provides a bright, clear image, along with a rubberized eyepiece for comfortable viewing. Best of all, the MicroMax fits conveniently in a jacket pocket, so you can bring it along wherever you go--whether it's a school field trip or a visit to a friend's house.

Specifications:

• Magnification: 60 to 100x
• Batteries: 3 AAA (not included)
• Dimensions: 2 by 3.5 by 0.75 inches (W x H x D)
• Weight: 1.28 ounces

Product Description

The MM-100 micro max from carson optical is a powerful 60 - 100x power magnification pocket microscope with an extremely lightweight and portable design. This pocket microscope features a built-in light that provides a bright, clear image and a rubberized eyepiece for comfortable viewing. The micro max fits easily in your pocket so you can bring it with you anywhere. magnification weight: 1.28-Ounce. Dimensions: 3.5-Inch x 2-Inch x .75-Inch batteries: 3 AAA (not included).

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 2 x 0.8 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009MFTSW
• Item model number: MM-100
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,452 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #9 in Industrial & Scientific > Lab & Scientific Products > Lab Equipment > Microscope Equipment > Microscopes
  • #36 in Industrial & Scientific > Measurement & Inspection Products

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful toy you won't mind taking into the field, September 18, 2008

By 

S. Grush - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carson Micro Max Lighted Microscope (Electronics)

This little field microscope is a good bargain. Powerful enough to see details that can't be observed with the naked eye, light enough to take everywhere - maybe even backpacking, if you left the batteries out. Plus, it's cheap enough that you won't worry about taking it into the field.

Although toy-quality, the microscope is easily strong enough to use in plant and mineral identification. I have not tried mushroom spores, nor have I found a good way to use it for observing pond life. I would remove the batteries and bulb before attempting the latter!

The eyepiece is tiny, so you won't be taking decent photographs of anything with this microscope. However, the view through it is actually quite good. To give you an idea of the actual magnification of this thing (since other reviewers have said it's not 100x): At maximum magnification, something of about a millimeter in size will fill your field of view. The cells in the stem of a plant are easy to see, but the cells in leaves are only visible in some plants.

It's easy to focus, though the depth-of-field is not great. The picture is sharp and there are some hints that you can use to make it sharper.

1. For the best picture, don't rely on the tiny and suboptimally placed incandescent bulb that this microscope contains. It'll do when you don't have a free hand, but you can get a much better picture if you can hold and focus the microscope one-handed while shining light on your subject with a flashlight (LED works well) held in the other hand. This way, you can find angles that show details of the object that can't be seen with the incandescent. In particular, translucent objects (such as some minerals, many flower petals, and you) will not show up well under the included incandescent. Light such objects from farther away and at an angle. A brighter light going into the microscope also means a clearer picture coming out.

2. Remember that you can't focus beyond the clear plastic base of the microscope. Your subject must be at or above the bottom of the base. You can, however, pop the base off! Theoretically this is so you can change the bulb, but it's very useful if you want to look at something beneath a layer of glass, or into a crack on a surface. Don't just discard the base, though, because it *is* useful for holding the microscope steady.

3. Although there are other models of field microscope that are specially designed for slides and probably work better, you *can* use this like a slide microscope. You just need to provide a light source beneath the object. This is a good way to look at leaves, and is the only way you will see cells.

For all that it requires some tweaking to get optimal pictures, this is still a wonderful toy. It will open new worlds to explore and allow you to identify things in the field, and it costs very little. It's easy to use and difficult to break. I expect that to get something better, you would have to spend real money, and then you might not want to expose it to field conditions.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great idea, August 15, 2006

By 

C. Carabine (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carson Micro Max Lighted Microscope (Electronics)

This has become one of the highlights for people coming over to my apartment and hanging out. I keep it out on the coffee table and inevitably during the night someone picks it up and starts checking everything within reach using it.
It gives you a view you don't get to see normally without any fuss, just turn the knob to focus or zoom. It works well on nearly everything short of glossy objects and bright white objects. For the price, this is a great toy for the curious.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful "toy", August 30, 2007

By 

Sudarshan Karkada (Missouri City, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Carson Micro Max Lighted Microscope (Electronics)

I agree with previous reviewer that this is more of a toy than a tool.

It is very small (about 3" tall) and easily portable. I found the product to be sturdy and well built. Controls are not smooth and it does feel cheap.

The item we received has a small pieace of stray material on the inside of the scope towards the rim of the lens. While it doesn't obstruct the main view of the subject, its presence is annoying.

It takes 2 AAA batteries (not supplied). There is a switch on the back to turn the light on and off. The light is bright and illuminates the subject very well. Overall, the product met my expectation and my family likes the product.