25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, but..., January 16, 2004
This review is from: Soehnle Mara White Digital Food Scale (Kitchen)
I'm generally pleased with the Soehnle Mara.
It's good points include: It can weigh in grams or ounces by changing the position of a slide switch located on the underside. It measures to the nearest gram or .05 ounce. It has a "tare" function, so you can zero out the scale with the weighing vessel on it, and just weigh the contents. It can do negative weights so you can zero out the scale with with the vessel plus contents and remove a specific amount. The LCD display is clear and easy to read. It uses 4 ordinary AA batteries. It has a 2-minute auto shut-off which is smart enough to reset itself if the weight on the scale changes, so it won't turn off in the middle of weighing something. It has a 4lb 6oz maximum capacity which is fine for most food-oriented tasks. It is smaller than other food scales I've owned (about 6"x8"x2") and stores away easily.
Unfortunately, I've experienced 2 problems with the Mara that make me less than 5-star enthusiastic. The first and most serious to me is that it takes the scale a while to "settle". When you first turn it on, the scale reads zero, of course. But then, for the next minute or so, it drifts downward by almost a half ounce so the LCD reads -.4 or -.45 oz (-10 to -12 g). If you zero it at this point it is stable, but if you want accurate readings you have to wait that minute! Doesn't seem like much, but it gets annoying after a while. Until more reviews show up here, its impossible to say whether I got a defective one or there's a flaw in the scale's design.
Secondly, because of the platform's small size and the positioning of the LCD readout, if you put a dinner-size plate on it, the LCD will be obscured by the edge of the plate. You can shift the plate backwards slightly so you can see the LCD without it toppling off but, again, annoying.
All things considered, I'll keep mine. But if you are considering the Soehnle Mara, be aware of it's shortcomings.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent but not accurate description, February 4, 2005
This review is from: Soehnle Mara White Digital Food Scale (Kitchen)
We paid thirty dollars for this on amazon. One reason we choose it was that it said it weighed in .03 ounce increments - which it doesn't. It weighs in .05 ounce increments. Guess that's what happens when you buy online. The scale is extremely flimsy feeling, and requires a stable surface like a kitchen counter - it won't work on our table which sits on a wood floor. But it seems to work fine - we don't have the problem the other reviewer had with it taking a minute or longer to zero. Decent product for what we paid.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The weight changes??, January 23, 2006
This review is from: Soehnle Mara White Digital Food Scale (Kitchen)
I just want to second, or confirm the review earlier.
1. Yes, the plastic is very flimsy, both in look and feel.
2. Let's say you put on something that's 15 grams-ish. For the next 3 minutes, you will see the readout changes from 15 to 16, then back to 15, then to 14, then back up to 16, then up to 17, and finally comes back down to 15. What kind of scale does that?!
Yes, it is cheap, but don't bother.
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