Cheap BARSKA 20x 40x Binocular Stereo Microscope

Customer Ratings:

I suppose most other similar microscopes are just as good, but I'm glad I got this one. They also make rifle scopes so it's strong and well made. I'm going to do short trips in my camper just for the appreciation of nature. Almost anything I examine is exquisitely intricate and full of surprises.

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I bought this specifically to assist me with soldering and inspecting surface-mount components, but hopefully this perspective will be useful to others. I've had it for a couple months now, here are my thoughts:

First, build quality: (5 Stars) Surprisingly good. Feels solid, and the knobs move smoothly. The whole thing has a bit of a heft to it, which I like for something that just sits on my desk. Most, if not all, things that are painted white are metal, and thick enough for a bit of a beating. My one quibble might be with the eye-piece rubber hoods, which seem to fall off for no reason every once in a while. No biggie though.

Second, ergonomics: (5 Stars) The vertical adjustment (focus) knob is precise enough for anything, no problem there. The upper portion of the microscope rotates around, so it doesn't need to stand over the lighted base, Excellent! This lets me solder on a mat that is sitting next to my scope while looking through the scope. The switches/lighting knobs are well positioned such that they can be adjusted without removing eyes from the scope. (Though I sometimes forget which one is the base and which one adjusts the top lamp.)

Third, optics: (3+ stars?) I don't really have anything on which to gauge the quality of the optics, as this is my only stereo microscope. At the 20x setting the optics are quite good. Sufficiently bright, sharp in the center and edges of the frame, and minimal chromatic aberration. However, and the reason I give this 3 stars here, the 40x setting is a bit less good. There is pronounced contrast reduction (which can be a bit resolved by placing something VERY black below the object of interest, which reduces glare), the sharpness is not amazing, and chromatic aberrations are pronounced. It is definitely not BAD, per se, but i tend to leave it on 20x most of the time, because 40x doesn't help me to resolve much more detail.

Overall, for the purpose of soldering, where 20x setting is most needed, I give it 5 stars. Were it for something I needed common use of 40x, I would go with 4.5 stars.

Oh, some things to note: the depth of field at 20x (portion of the image that is in focus, is less than 10 mil (.01"), which can be important for some applications. Most people whom have used microscopes commonly are used to this, but while trying to solder it can be obnoxious for the top of a component and the bottom of a component not to be in focus at the same time.

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not received my item but the service at amazon is very impressive and satisfactory.i would definitely recommend and will do more shopping through amazon regularly.waiting for my microscope (which is with my friend in virginia) to write more ...