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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Explore the microscopic world with the only microscope that connects to a computer. Software lets you view, edit, animate and even measure samples, then create slide-shows and videos. The Digitial Blue QX5 has the mobility to come out of its base for viewing of larger or possibly live samples in the natural habitats.
Product Description
QX5 Microscope Refresh Pack. Explore the microscopic world with the only microscope that connects to a computer. Software lets you view edit animate and even measure samples then create slideshows and videos. The microscope has the mobility to come out of its base for the viewing of larger or possibly live samples in their natural habitats.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
153 of 157 people found the following review helpful
By I. Harding
Durability:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Educational:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Qx5 microscope is the natural follow-on from the Qx3. Used as a toy with the "child friendly" supplied software, it will load onto the latest machines; difficulties with the old Qx3 software on Windows XP Pro were not encountered with the Qx5. I have found this software to be intensely irritating for my use, but letting my two young nephews loose on my computer I was delighted to find that the whizzes, zips and boings the program generates during its natural operation freed me to be elsewhere in the house without fear that my young guests had given up on the microscope and were trying to sabotage my machine in ways available only to the very young. Not that I need have feared: a simple walk around the local park produced more than enough samples to keep them delighted until dinner. An excellent Christmas game can also be knocked out with the Qx5 and a laptop by wandering around the house, taking magnified snaps of the decorations and furniture, then challenging guests to identify the objects. (Print thumbnails and you can have a dozen people wandering around different parts of the house peering at ornaments.)
However, I have not bought two new Qx5s to supplement the Qx3s I already have just to play games. These `toys' are truly excellent scientific instruments. They allow for rapid inspection of small components, provide good images for presentations, and an image of a graticule can be used to calibrate distance per pixel, providing simple distance and area measurement. These images can be fed to image-processing packages for colour-dependent area measurements and other techniques. Contact angles of droplets on surfaces can also be measured from these images, with the 60x magnification matching the best droplet size. The improved pixel count of the Qx5 gives markedly better resolution of crystal morphology and the more intense LED illumination at last makes 200x magnification generally workable. The rectangular grid of pixels on the old Qx3 has been corrected to a square grid meaning circles are now the same number of pixels across as they are high (rather than 10% fatter). They can be used to monitor and record movement because they collect movies as well as stills: with 15 frames per second (up from the Qx3's five) much faster events can be captured.
So what are the downsides? This is a souped-up Qx3, with a better webcam at one end and brighter light at the other, so in common with the Qx3 the optics are not perfectly matched. The focal plane for each magnification is therefore in a different position requiring re-focusing after every change, as well as producing occasional microscopes with one of their focal planes squeezed quite close to the microscope body. This can mean the plastic stand is at the limit of its movement and bouncing on the last tooth of the cog, or if you've built your own holder you may start bumping into the plastic shield around the light. The TWAIN driver is new, and has no light control, and there is no utility offered to control light separately from your Start Menu. It captures images on command, but then you have to select the image to pass it on to your graphics package - an unnecessary extra step for most applications. The automatic colour balance bleaches images of predominantly one colour, and with the bluish LED illumination, yellow seems to come off particularly badly. This is not true with the interface that opens for capturing movies, where all sorts of settings can come under the operator's control, but the driver (at least in XP Pro) is a Windows Driver Model (WDM) rather than Video For Windows (VFW), limiting your options to only more recent software, and the light is still not accessible.
Generally, however, I'm delighted with the improvements in image resolution and frames per second that the new camera and light offer, and for a price that seems lower than the Qx3 commanded until the very end of its commercial life, these `toys' are extremely good value for anyone who wants to peer at small things through the eye of the twenty-first century.
However, I have not bought two new Qx5s to supplement the Qx3s I already have just to play games. These `toys' are truly excellent scientific instruments. They allow for rapid inspection of small components, provide good images for presentations, and an image of a graticule can be used to calibrate distance per pixel, providing simple distance and area measurement. These images can be fed to image-processing packages for colour-dependent area measurements and other techniques. Contact angles of droplets on surfaces can also be measured from these images, with the 60x magnification matching the best droplet size. The improved pixel count of the Qx5 gives markedly better resolution of crystal morphology and the more intense LED illumination at last makes 200x magnification generally workable. The rectangular grid of pixels on the old Qx3 has been corrected to a square grid meaning circles are now the same number of pixels across as they are high (rather than 10% fatter). They can be used to monitor and record movement because they collect movies as well as stills: with 15 frames per second (up from the Qx3's five) much faster events can be captured.
So what are the downsides? This is a souped-up Qx3, with a better webcam at one end and brighter light at the other, so in common with the Qx3 the optics are not perfectly matched. The focal plane for each magnification is therefore in a different position requiring re-focusing after every change, as well as producing occasional microscopes with one of their focal planes squeezed quite close to the microscope body. This can mean the plastic stand is at the limit of its movement and bouncing on the last tooth of the cog, or if you've built your own holder you may start bumping into the plastic shield around the light. The TWAIN driver is new, and has no light control, and there is no utility offered to control light separately from your Start Menu. It captures images on command, but then you have to select the image to pass it on to your graphics package - an unnecessary extra step for most applications. The automatic colour balance bleaches images of predominantly one colour, and with the bluish LED illumination, yellow seems to come off particularly badly. This is not true with the interface that opens for capturing movies, where all sorts of settings can come under the operator's control, but the driver (at least in XP Pro) is a Windows Driver Model (WDM) rather than Video For Windows (VFW), limiting your options to only more recent software, and the light is still not accessible.
Generally, however, I'm delighted with the improvements in image resolution and frames per second that the new camera and light offer, and for a price that seems lower than the Qx3 commanded until the very end of its commercial life, these `toys' are extremely good value for anyone who wants to peer at small things through the eye of the twenty-first century.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
My son got this for his birthday and absolutely loved it. Immediately he was making movies and magnifying everything. He loves that it comes off the base to magnify just about anything that he can get close to the computer. He asked me if he could take it to school and share it with his class. His teacher loved that they could all gather around the computer and look at the images. It is even better in the classroom becasue she can verify that they are looking at the right things, and when students ask questions they can point to it on the computer screen instead of trying to explain what they are seeing through the regular lens. This is a great item for beginning to use a microscope and helping a child learn the ropes.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Karla Thomas
Amazon Verified Purchase
Durability:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Educational:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I bought this microscope to help introduce 'natural science' to my almost 3 year old. He had been playing a bit with toddler software but would lose interest. Since buying this (and we have to leave setup at all times!) my son is not only fascinated with looking at things (the stuff he wants to look at! dead earthworms, onion skin, leg from a dead spider, every feather) but his computer skills are really developing. He loves the software that comes with it (graphics type for 'art' and making your own movies) and handles it like a pro. The only fault with this is it did not include slides (for $90 you'd think they would include a few) - I am currently purchasing some - cool water experiments here we come (I think I have as much fun with this as my son!!)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Digital blue Microscope
I returned this item when I returned the microscope. I was not able to use it without the microscope. That was the reason I returned it.
Published 4 days ago by Laura Caddick
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worthless
I didn't buy this product through Amazon, but through a science supply distributor to schools. I purchased this microscope for my classroom 3 years ago. Read more
Published 8 days ago by KHICKS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another way to use it
If you are irritated with the software sound effects dont use it ! After installation of the device software, install Paperport software and configure it to recognize the QX5 as a... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Gopinath Jvs
1.0 out of 5 stars
customer service sucks
Like many others, I had a broken microscope and required the assistance of customer service to help trouble shoot. They only allow communication through email. Read more
Published on January 25, 2011 by david p lange
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the reviews - sorry!
Cheap I suppose, but shaky rubbishy picture almost impossible to focus reliably.
Hoping my child would enjoy: it is not user friendly enough for frequent use. Read more
Hoping my child would enjoy: it is not user friendly enough for frequent use. Read more
Published on January 20, 2011 by Breb
5.0 out of 5 stars
Digital Blue OX5 Microscope
THis is a wonderful introduction to making keen observations. My grandson is looking at everything with a new perspective. Read more
Published on January 9, 2011 by patmoriarty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a document camera
I bought this for use at school. It works well as a digital microscope for elementary purposes, but does not function well for a document camera like some of the reviews claimed.
Published on January 8, 2011 by Safari Kenya
5.0 out of 5 stars
Microscope
Husband volunteers at the extension service. They use this microscope on a daily basis. It is perfect. Going to get one for each of the grandchildren. Amazing what you can see.
Published on December 31, 2010 by Betty Charvat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice product.
Purchased this microscope for our visual impaired son - he loves it! Maybe the first time he actually could see with a microscope. Read more
Published on December 28, 2010 by D. Morse
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mac users watch out!!!
Nowhere in the technical info about this product does it explain that the software one must install works ONLY with PCs, not Apple computers! Read more
Published on December 27, 2010 by Pastel painter
