Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Product Description
Handy desktop 400x magnifying USB Microscope
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
408 of 410 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unhelpful user's manual, microscope provides two fixed levels of magnification, appx 20x and appx 400x
November 9, 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase
I just bought this microscope and after some initial disappointment, because I didn't really know how to use it and the documentation that comes with it is almost useless, I am now quite pleased with it. There is some confusion in reviews here over what this microscope can do -- is it really a 400x power microscope? The advertising describes it as "Magnification: 20x - 400x (Plus digital zoom in 640x480 mode)" Does that mean it can continuously zoom from 20X to 400x? The manual that comes with it does not really tell you how to use it. So I did a little experimentation, and found that it really has two fixed magnifications, appx. 20x and appx. 400x.
There is a cylindrical drum you can twist for focusing the microscope. As you turn it an internal lens moves up and down the barrel, changing the distance to the specimen. On the drum, there's a scale, with markings from 20 to 400 on it, that is quite misleading -- it suggests that you can optically zoom continuously from 20x to through 400x. But that is not the case. Instead, there are two fixed magnification levels, one nominally 20x and one about 400x, corresponding to two different focus locations, and they do not correspond to the locations on the scale you would expect!
Using it at 20x power:
If you place a specimen, like a piece of paper, directly under the microscope and place the clear plastic end of the microscope directly on the paper, the 20x focus occurs when you turn the drum beyond the top of the scale, past the 400, then a little past the 20 mark as the scale starts repeating. At this focal point the internal lens is moved up the tube, far from the specimen. The field of view is 13.5 mm. You can then move the microscope farther from the paper, readjusting the focus as necessary. You can even move the microscope quite far from the specimen, and still be able to focus it with 20x magnification. When it is focused at infinity, (at the extreme end of the scale, about 60 over the top), the field of view is 11.2 degrees, or about 3" wide when the subject is 12" from the end of the microscope.
Using it at 400x power:
To get the the 400x magnification, again place the clear plastic end of the microscope directly on the specimen, say a dollar bill. The 400x focus location occurs when the drum is rotated beyond the bottom of the scale, to the 400 below the 20 mark. At this point, the internal lens is moved down the tube, to nearly as close to the specimen as it can get (about 22mm). The field of view is only about 0.8 mm, or 2 degrees. Most users would never notice that the microscope can focus at the 400x magnification: to attain it you must move the focus lens to nearly the full bottom of its travel; it is easy to go through the focal region too quickly to see it; and the documentation makes no mention of it. People may think the higher magnification is obtained by zooming in digitally on your computer screen, without realizing that the microscope focuses with high magnification itself. You'll need to turn on the LED illumination for the 400x scale to get an image. (There are eight white LEDs that provide good even illumination, not four as advertised.)
Zooming:
As well as these two focus regimes, there is a software zoom option. If you choose a capture size of 640x480 you can go to the preferences menu and choose zoom to zoom in digitally. The field of view zooms from 13.5mm down to 4.2 mm.
Measuring actual magnification:
The 20x and 400x are only approximage values, but you can measure the actual magnification by viewing a millimeter ruler or finer reticule if you have one. If the image capture size is set to 1280x960, I find that the width of the field of view is 13.5 mm at the "20x" focus, and about 0.8 mm at the "400x" focus. (about a 17x difference) The resolution, that is, the size of a single pixel in the field of view, is 13.5mm/1280= 10.5 microns for the "20x" focus, and 0.8mm/1280=0.6 micron for the "400x" focus. (Of course, the optics aren't perfect, and it appears to me that at the "400x" focus the optical resolution is about 3 pixels, that is, the smallest features you can see are about 2 micron in size. The magnification you see on your computer screen depends on the screen pixel size, also called the pixel pitch. Mine is 0.282 mm (or 90 pixels per inch, most LCD screens are 90-100 pixels/in.). For my screen, the two actual magnifications are then, 1280*0.282mm/13.5mm = 26.7x and 1280*.282mm/0.8mm = 451x. This is for viewing on the computer screen at "actual size", not zooming in.
Measuring object sizes:
The software allows you to measure objects with rulers you can draw over a picture, but you need to enter the actual magnification to calibrate the software ruler. They suggest you take that reading from the scale on the microscope, but there's so much up and down play in the focus drum that you can't rely on its readings for the true magnification. It's best to calibrate the field of view by taking a picture of a millimeter ruler. Then you know what true size the full width of the captured image corresponds to. That works well for the appx. 20x focus point. Unfortunately, the magnification box allows entry of only integers up to 220, so you can't enter an actual magnification, like 451, to get accurate numbers.
Even so, you can measure object sizes and do the math yourself. In particular, you can use the software ruler to measure sizes in pixels with a magnification factor of one, and get an accurate pixel measurement.
Saving images:
The software lets you save the images in uncompressed *.bmp or compressed *.jpg file formats. You can choose the level of compression for the *.jpg files; remarkably, the 3.7 MB files (1280x960x3bytes) can be compressed to about 100KB without much loss of resolution.
Image resolution:
Despite the ad hype, the sensor is not a 2 megapixel (Mp) sensor -- the spec sheet in the instruction manual says it is 1.3 (Mp). The maximum resolution is attained when you choose an image size of 1280x960 = 1.23 Mp. Although there is an option for capturing images at 1600x1200, those images are interpolated, and don't result in any greater actual resolution.
With these considerations in mind, you'll find that this microscope is a great value for the money, and you can take some really good photomicrographs with it.
There is a cylindrical drum you can twist for focusing the microscope. As you turn it an internal lens moves up and down the barrel, changing the distance to the specimen. On the drum, there's a scale, with markings from 20 to 400 on it, that is quite misleading -- it suggests that you can optically zoom continuously from 20x to through 400x. But that is not the case. Instead, there are two fixed magnification levels, one nominally 20x and one about 400x, corresponding to two different focus locations, and they do not correspond to the locations on the scale you would expect!
Using it at 20x power:
If you place a specimen, like a piece of paper, directly under the microscope and place the clear plastic end of the microscope directly on the paper, the 20x focus occurs when you turn the drum beyond the top of the scale, past the 400, then a little past the 20 mark as the scale starts repeating. At this focal point the internal lens is moved up the tube, far from the specimen. The field of view is 13.5 mm. You can then move the microscope farther from the paper, readjusting the focus as necessary. You can even move the microscope quite far from the specimen, and still be able to focus it with 20x magnification. When it is focused at infinity, (at the extreme end of the scale, about 60 over the top), the field of view is 11.2 degrees, or about 3" wide when the subject is 12" from the end of the microscope.
Using it at 400x power:
To get the the 400x magnification, again place the clear plastic end of the microscope directly on the specimen, say a dollar bill. The 400x focus location occurs when the drum is rotated beyond the bottom of the scale, to the 400 below the 20 mark. At this point, the internal lens is moved down the tube, to nearly as close to the specimen as it can get (about 22mm). The field of view is only about 0.8 mm, or 2 degrees. Most users would never notice that the microscope can focus at the 400x magnification: to attain it you must move the focus lens to nearly the full bottom of its travel; it is easy to go through the focal region too quickly to see it; and the documentation makes no mention of it. People may think the higher magnification is obtained by zooming in digitally on your computer screen, without realizing that the microscope focuses with high magnification itself. You'll need to turn on the LED illumination for the 400x scale to get an image. (There are eight white LEDs that provide good even illumination, not four as advertised.)
Zooming:
As well as these two focus regimes, there is a software zoom option. If you choose a capture size of 640x480 you can go to the preferences menu and choose zoom to zoom in digitally. The field of view zooms from 13.5mm down to 4.2 mm.
Measuring actual magnification:
The 20x and 400x are only approximage values, but you can measure the actual magnification by viewing a millimeter ruler or finer reticule if you have one. If the image capture size is set to 1280x960, I find that the width of the field of view is 13.5 mm at the "20x" focus, and about 0.8 mm at the "400x" focus. (about a 17x difference) The resolution, that is, the size of a single pixel in the field of view, is 13.5mm/1280= 10.5 microns for the "20x" focus, and 0.8mm/1280=0.6 micron for the "400x" focus. (Of course, the optics aren't perfect, and it appears to me that at the "400x" focus the optical resolution is about 3 pixels, that is, the smallest features you can see are about 2 micron in size. The magnification you see on your computer screen depends on the screen pixel size, also called the pixel pitch. Mine is 0.282 mm (or 90 pixels per inch, most LCD screens are 90-100 pixels/in.). For my screen, the two actual magnifications are then, 1280*0.282mm/13.5mm = 26.7x and 1280*.282mm/0.8mm = 451x. This is for viewing on the computer screen at "actual size", not zooming in.
Measuring object sizes:
The software allows you to measure objects with rulers you can draw over a picture, but you need to enter the actual magnification to calibrate the software ruler. They suggest you take that reading from the scale on the microscope, but there's so much up and down play in the focus drum that you can't rely on its readings for the true magnification. It's best to calibrate the field of view by taking a picture of a millimeter ruler. Then you know what true size the full width of the captured image corresponds to. That works well for the appx. 20x focus point. Unfortunately, the magnification box allows entry of only integers up to 220, so you can't enter an actual magnification, like 451, to get accurate numbers.
Even so, you can measure object sizes and do the math yourself. In particular, you can use the software ruler to measure sizes in pixels with a magnification factor of one, and get an accurate pixel measurement.
Saving images:
The software lets you save the images in uncompressed *.bmp or compressed *.jpg file formats. You can choose the level of compression for the *.jpg files; remarkably, the 3.7 MB files (1280x960x3bytes) can be compressed to about 100KB without much loss of resolution.
Image resolution:
Despite the ad hype, the sensor is not a 2 megapixel (Mp) sensor -- the spec sheet in the instruction manual says it is 1.3 (Mp). The maximum resolution is attained when you choose an image size of 1280x960 = 1.23 Mp. Although there is an option for capturing images at 1600x1200, those images are interpolated, and don't result in any greater actual resolution.
With these considerations in mind, you'll find that this microscope is a great value for the money, and you can take some really good photomicrographs with it.
101 of 114 people found the following review helpful
By Neal
Amazon Verified Purchase
To start, I already own an $800 microscope that has a magnification of 400x, so I thought I would buy this after reading the magnification just to see how they compare, especially considering the price is so generous. I thought that after plugging it in, the magnification wouldn't be perfect, but it would at least be ball park. Not even close. In fact, its a down right lie. The maximum magnification that is claimed to be 400x is actually closer to 100x than any of the others I compared it to using the stronger microscope that I have. The clarity under that magnification is between fair and good, but not great. This is a neat piece of equipment, but it really is just a toy. It should not be considered by anyone that actually needs good resolution microscopy with a magnification greater than about 100x.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By Math Teacher
Amazon Verified Purchase
Paul gave a very good review of the product and a great mini-lesson on how to use it.
It is a great little toy to play with and is a lot of fun. However, I am a teacher and had hoped to use it in a more serious manner in the classroom. I liked the idea of being able to make on-screen measurements and unfortunately, that is the most lacking feature of the product. With my version of software, I am able to enter in a magnification of 400 while making measurements. It was pretty accurate showing .97 mm for one tic mark on a ruler. I know my degree of accuracy in drawing the line was certainly not within .03 mm so I am happy with the results. The reason I am rating it a 3 is simply because of the difficulty in this measurement process. Because the measurements can only be made at 0 distance (i.e. the object at 0 distance from the end of the clear plastic ring) it limits the types of measurements that can be made. For example the field of view at x20 is about 13mm as Paul points out. If I want to take a picture of anything bigger than a dime (or even a dime) I can't do so because a dime is 18 mm in diameter and won't fit in the field of view. If I back off a little bit and refocus, I can get an entire dime in the image, but then I have no means of determining the actual magnification ratio. Because this limits my use in a school lab setting, other than just capturing images and video which in itself is useful, I rate it down to a three. In all fairness, I don't know the capabilities of competing products such as the high priced pro-scope so they may all work this way.
Another issue is the funky stand that comes with it. It is too short and inflexible to be useful. It really needs to be twice as long as it is with a second joint between the two arm segments. This would allow the user to actually position it in usable positions. A snake type stand would be better and I am looking for a trashed desk lamp to convert it into a stand. The base of the stand also needs to be weighted more heavily to keep the scope upright.
This is a fun scope to play with but these issues are really aggravating and take away from the true utility of the scope. It is a shame that Veho didn't take the extra step to make the zoom actually work and to make the stand more robust. It couldn't have added another $5 or $10 to the price of the product which I would have gladly paid to get a truly useful product.
For now, it is fun to play with and I am looking forward to the next generation of USB products.
It is a great little toy to play with and is a lot of fun. However, I am a teacher and had hoped to use it in a more serious manner in the classroom. I liked the idea of being able to make on-screen measurements and unfortunately, that is the most lacking feature of the product. With my version of software, I am able to enter in a magnification of 400 while making measurements. It was pretty accurate showing .97 mm for one tic mark on a ruler. I know my degree of accuracy in drawing the line was certainly not within .03 mm so I am happy with the results. The reason I am rating it a 3 is simply because of the difficulty in this measurement process. Because the measurements can only be made at 0 distance (i.e. the object at 0 distance from the end of the clear plastic ring) it limits the types of measurements that can be made. For example the field of view at x20 is about 13mm as Paul points out. If I want to take a picture of anything bigger than a dime (or even a dime) I can't do so because a dime is 18 mm in diameter and won't fit in the field of view. If I back off a little bit and refocus, I can get an entire dime in the image, but then I have no means of determining the actual magnification ratio. Because this limits my use in a school lab setting, other than just capturing images and video which in itself is useful, I rate it down to a three. In all fairness, I don't know the capabilities of competing products such as the high priced pro-scope so they may all work this way.
Another issue is the funky stand that comes with it. It is too short and inflexible to be useful. It really needs to be twice as long as it is with a second joint between the two arm segments. This would allow the user to actually position it in usable positions. A snake type stand would be better and I am looking for a trashed desk lamp to convert it into a stand. The base of the stand also needs to be weighted more heavily to keep the scope upright.
This is a fun scope to play with but these issues are really aggravating and take away from the true utility of the scope. It is a shame that Veho didn't take the extra step to make the zoom actually work and to make the stand more robust. It couldn't have added another $5 or $10 to the price of the product which I would have gladly paid to get a truly useful product.
For now, it is fun to play with and I am looking forward to the next generation of USB products.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Does the job for me, but not as per the specs
Let's start with the fact that you can purchase this same microscope under a different brand name here on Amazon for less than $35. Read more
Published 23 hours ago by Gegham Artsruni
4.0 out of 5 stars
VEHO is a good buy.
I'm very satisfied with the VEHO VMS-004 microscope. I am a retired Quality Engineer with 40 yrs. experience. Read more
Published 14 days ago by William W. Needham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice magnifier
I needed a little USB magnifier and this fit the bill. Very handy little unit. Magnifier came in original wrapping. Had to download software for my Mac.
Published 1 month ago by Wolfgang Ollenberger
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun for the kids and adults
Bought this to do some PCB inspection and as a fun way to interest my 5 year old in science. It is a little quirky to use, but other reviews discuss software install and switching... Read more
Published 1 month ago by TechDude
4.0 out of 5 stars
cheap and nice
this instrument is very good value for money. It is brilliant for helping identify plants and insects and it is very easy to make a photographic record. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Malcolm Alroy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Need manual improvement
The manual is too poor. It is just impossible to use the microscope with the manual. The image is good and it works quit well, if you don't need perfect images to do professional... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ary de Almeida Soares
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Too Shabby
I wrote a grant and got six of these. At first I thought I was going to need to return these because they wouldn't work with Apple, but the company their product and after a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by sphericalmatter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Veho 400x USB Scope
I'm not going to go too deeply into this review as there's a million other reviews. Suffice to say that this scope is fantastic for the $$$, but it does have a tiny bit of a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Drek
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great little Microscope
Great little Microscope, Perfect for a Labtop. Amazing zoom and very clear. I recommend this to anyone who need a portable microscope.
Published 3 months ago by John S
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just OK.
Somewhat Mac compatible. The software comes on a mini CD. Macs have been slot loading since 2005 so the actual disk isn't compatible unless you have an external tray loading... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mark_42
