Thread: USB Microscope for honing

Am looking for a reasonably priced scope that works. Bought a Veho and it is a nightmare to get in focus every time you want to take a shot. I like to take a pic and save it to my hard drive. Maybe somewhere up to 400 power.

This is an economical step up, even at (only) 250x/2MP:

Amazon.com : Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope with Flexible Arm Observation Stand for Windows, Mac, Linux (2MP, 250x Magnification) : Camera & Photo

I have this microscope and find it to be not much better than an inexpensive lighted loupe. The depth of field is very shallow and getting an image which improved the feedback I got from the loupe was hard to get.

Were I to assess the purchase I made, I would take a pass on it. There are some wonderful microscopes out there, but spending the necessary money to get one is hard to justify if you are doing this as a hobby.

I have often considered getting one and I hone on the side but still hard to justify the expense over my go to Belomo 10X triplet loupe, I am sure looking at my edges with a 100X or more would reveal some dirty dark secrets but the shaves I get are more than acceptable.

I got one that is rated at 300x, but my 60k loupe works just as well. Now when i get tired of looking thru the loupe i will use the usb microscope just for the ease of not sqinting thru the loupe. Plus it works great for pics of the edge/bevel. B7t its no way even close to 300 as advertised.

I have had a number of different scopes over the years and have found them to be very useful when learning to hone and as a teaching tool. For those purposes a 20x to 40x is adequate. More than 100x is useless. That assumes you are using a quality optical grade glass lense. The cheap USB scopes out there now are not a true 400x nor is the resolution anywhere near as good as an optical grade glass lense.
That being said I learned with a very inexpensive 30x with a plastic lense. Worked just fine! It showed me everything I needed to know!

I have cataracts, so I have a very difficult time using a loupe.

I purchased the Plugable microscope noted above, but the 2MP resolution was not good enough. I then purchased a Celestron 5MP microscope.

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Han...70_&dpSrc=srch

It is more expensive than the Plugable, but the higher resolution and the decent stand makes it a better value.

When they quote the magnification, they are including both optical magnification and digital magnification. By getting a 5MP unit, you get more detailed image quality to view on your screen.

That looks just like the one i bought. I would have thought it would work much better than it does. Compared to my 60x loupe its not much better.

After trying several magnifying solutions, I finally found one that I'm really happy with: USB microscope

Much better than I had. Creates images on a par with many of those you see on Youtube.

Originally Posted by treadstone

After trying several magnifying solutions, I finally found one that I'm really happy with: USB microscope

Much better than I had. Creates images on a par with many of those you see on Youtube.

@treadstone you say you have use many in the past. Have you tried the one that Rayclem posted? Wondering if you think this one is better than that one. Just curious as I now find mine, the same one above, to be decent and the price was a touch less.