Carson Z-pix Digital Zoom Microscope

by Carson

Product Features

• High-powered digital microscope connects to your computer and captures images with 640-by-480 resolution digital camera
• Recognized with Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, Dr. Toy 10 Best Educational Products, Creative Child Magazine 2007 Preferred Choice, and Parents' Choice awards
• 25-to-130X magnification; measures 1.8 by 4.1 by 1.7 inches (W x H x D); seven-ounce weight
• Includes specimen base, three blank sides, one prepared slide, forceps, eyedropper, USB cable, and CD ROM software
• Compatible with Windows 98 SE, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.4 or later; requires USB 2.0 port

Product Description

Amazon.com

The Carson Optical zPix is a powerful digital zoom microscope that displays a magnified image right on your computer screen. Impressive 26-to-130X magnification allows you to see details of ordinary objects you never knew existed, and you can additionally capture images with an onboard 640-by-480 resolution digital camera. This renowned device is as fun as it is educational for curious kids, and has been recognized with Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, Dr. Toy 10 Best Educational Products, Creative Child Magazine 2007 Preferred Choice, and Parents' Choice awards.

Specifications

• 26-to-130 magnification
• Measures 1.8 by 4.1 by 1.7 inches (W x H x D)
• Seven-ounce weight
• Compatible with Windows 98 SE, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.4 or later
• Requires USB 2.0 port
• Includes specimen base, three blank sides, one prepared slide, forceps, eyedropper, USB cable, and CD ROM software

About Carson Optical
Carson is a leading supplier of consumer optics products for major catalog companies, nationwide retailers, and direct to consumers. The company's product line covers categories from recreation, sports, hobby, education, and crafts with products ranging from high-end binoculars to low-cost magnifiers.

Product Description

The zPix from Carson Optical is a powerful Zoom Digital Microscope that displays the Magnified image right on your computer screen. The impressive 26x-130x Zoom Magnification allows you to see details of ordinary objects you never knew existed! Capture an image to keep using the built-in 640 x 480 resolution Digital Camera. You can even capture close-focus video! The MM-640 Zoom Digital Microscope is compatible with the following: Mac OSX 10.4 or later, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista. A USB 2.0 port is required.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.3 x 2.6 inches ; 14.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000RNL2IO
• Item model number: MM-640
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,924 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #35 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Microscopes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great low-end microscope, December 24, 2008

By 

Orion (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Carson Z-pix Digital Zoom Microscope (Electronics)

This is an uncomplicated instrument that is well designed and works well. The MM-640D microscope can magnify from 26 times to 130 times. It is not the most powerful microscope on the market, but in this price range it is an excellent value. I bought it as a present for my youngest child, and she loves it.

It comes with software that installed quickly with no problems. Within minutes we were looking at veins on leaves, colored threads in dollar bills, and human and pet hair. The software lets you capture images in bmp format and movies in AVI format. Presumably you can make movies of bugs walking around or something like that.

There is a small plastic stand with a slide holder for looking at slides, and it comes with 3 slides. Slides are nice, but you don't really need them. You can use the microscope without the stand to look at the skin on your forehead, for example. (Lots of "ewwws" and "yucks" accompanied that view). You should be careful not to shine the light directly in your eyes.

There are two adjusting dials. The lower dial adjusts the zoom. The upper dial adjusts the focus. This seems well organized to me. I was pleased at how well the focus worked. The images were nice and clear.

My daughter has a science fair project coming up in a month or so. If you have ever been to a science fair, you know it mainly involves pasting pictures on a cardboard background. You can capture some nice pictures with this device, and print them, and they will look great on a science fair background. So hopefully my daughter will put it to good use.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stamp Collector, January 18, 2008

By 

D. Perry (Temperance, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carson Z-pix Digital Zoom Microscope (Electronics)

I purchased this as a present for my father who is a life long stamp collector to enable him to transfer pictures of his stamps to begin selling them. Although the focal lenght isn't long enough to include the entire stamp, we just made his ability to inspect the face and edges of his stamps VERY easy. Instead of looking at them bent over with a 2" square, hand held magnifier, he inspects them on a 15" laptop screen. Installation was a snap on a Vista laptop and the captured pictures are crystal clear.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good little microscope if you need 26X to 130X, April 26, 2009

By 

been there done that - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Carson Z-pix Digital Zoom Microscope (Electronics)

This is a nifty little microscopic camera for uses involving 26X up to 130X. It works well and the software is easy to install and use. The fine print is that you need to know what magnification you want for your particular application. I read the reviews and noticed the one about the stamp collecting. I was looking for something for coin collecting so I thought I would try it. I found the lowest magnification to be to high for your first basic look at the coin. You can never see the entire coin/stamp at one time, only a very small limited section at high magnification. Consequently that will never work for cataloging your coins/stamps or pictures for internet auctions, etc. The basic magnification you need for a camera for coin/stamp collecting is 10X with higher magnification of 20X & 30X for detailed inspection. If this describes your needs let also warn you about microscopes with cameras. The description of the microscope magnification might start at 10X, but when you get it home you find the microscope goes to 10X but the camera will only go down to 20X. They won't tell you this in the description and you have the same problem I have with this product. If you need a camera with the lower magnifications of 5X/10X be very wary about what you buy.