Best Inspection & Analysis
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was able to snake this thing up there and see everything that I was doing with my hand, and also lay under the car in a comfortable position while I watched what I was doing on my phone. Most of us are carrying around super high quality video monitors in our pockets, so I decided to give this device a try. Also those more expensive units have the cable connected to the screen which is usually mounted to some kind of handle. I have a magnet attached to the back of my phone and it just stuck right up to the pan on the bottom of the transmission. As to durability, I have only had it a week or so and it's holding up so far, although I can envision some problems over time with repeated flexing of the cable. The view you get with it is just like with your phone camera, meaning if you rotate the scope clockwise, the image will also turn which can be disorienting. I got the camera in the right orientation and then bent a "W" shape in the cable a few feet back from the end of the scope. The app allows you to show a mirror image of what you are scoping and you can get rid of the icons on the screen so they don't interfere with what you are trying to look at with the camera. Pros: Price, image quality for live video, stills and captured video, long cable length, WiFi connectivity. Cons: Cheap WiFi box, barebones app, resolution not really changeable."
"I bought this inspection camera for my Dillon XL650 bullet press to be able to inspect brass bullet cartridges while reloading them."
"Really impressed with the Depstech Wifi Endiscope."
"For the price it is fine, but if you're looking to use it for serious inspection inside of things, be sure you have a light to chine into the item or run in separately."
"I purchased this endoscope because I didn't want to take all my kids to the dr when they are already not feeling well, making them more vulnerable to other illnesses, just for their doctor to say "it's a virus, just let it run its course" I wanted to be able to look in their ears and see if they might have an ear infection on top of a virus."
"Focus range is extremely limited: 1.2" to 2.4" (3 cm - 4 cm-- same as what the company website says). I'm quite surprised that something with such a tiny sensor would have such a minimum depth of field (focus) (Technically these are different terms, but bottomline is: is it sharp enough to tell what it is? The blurry results from my ear nixed any ideas of DIY colonoscopies.... the other areas it was pretty useless. In the past I've needed a device like this to examine a sewer line, look under tight spaces. I would suggest buying a lower resolution, USB connected endoscope, with a greater depth of field (focus range)."
Widefield all optical glass elements includes single lens condenser with disc diaphragm.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Got mine very well packaged and fast shipping. I would highly recommend this product to ANYONE, especially a high school student because this one is the same quality as the ones we use in school AND it's only 80 freekin dollars!"
"Picture 1 is a fruit fly taken with the 40x objective lens. Picture 2 is a fruit fly taken with the 4x objective lens. Picture 3 is cheek cells stained with an IKI indicator with the 40x objective lens. Picture 4 is an onion root tip with the 10x objective lens."
"I also purchased a gram stain and bacterial growth kit and I am having waaaaay too much fun."
"I bought this to check fecal samples for worm eggs in my animals, to assess wool fiber quality, and to identify bacteria and fungus in cultures."
"I give prepared slides, Greg's Microscope, The World in a Drop of Water, and AmScope The World of the Microscope A Practical Introduction with Projects and Activities along with it."
"Very high quality and solid metal frame."
"My biggest disappointment is the optics are not very clean but good enough for looking at bugs, and goo with my five year old grandson."
"Long story short, I guess I was stupid for thinking that a microscope would come with glass slides included."
Multi-Pack: Includes 4 units of the MicroBrite Plus 60x-120x Power Pocket Microscope.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A little hard to use at first but in time it's nice."
"They were just barely big enough to be seen with the naked eye, I needed something inexpensive to take a better look to see if i could identify them by internet research instead of paying the money to send off the sample."
"2) it takes a standard AA battery, instead of the tiny/costly watch batteries most other scopes require, 3) it has a firm grip, so you can hold it very steady with one hand while focusing with the other, and. 4) it has a very user-friendly and fast coarse-focus lever, plus a separate fine-focus knob. This is important because it eliminates reflective glare that can obscure the image."
"I've used more expensive scopes and several natural light scopes over the years, and this LED light scope puts them to shame. The results are excellent from full sunlight to dark. You can use the focusing ring with the same hand you're holding it with, and you'll need to use your non-dominant hand to adjust the zooming dial when needed. Whether you're looking at a praying mantis casing, diagnosing spider mites, checking herb for readiness, or exploring the micro world with kids, this is an excellent portable microscope for the money."
"Over the last 55 years, I have used and owned Microscopes including research quality Leitz models so I am not new to magnification, and I am impressed with both the image quality and flatness of field which extends from border to border as well as the relative ease and preciseness of focus and magnification change."
"Really great handheld scope."
"With the low price on this scope, I did not expect much."
"With this microscope it is possible to see things like the stomata on the underside of leaves or individual pollen grains of many plants."
Best Borescopes
Introduction: This newest Tusazu wifi endoscope inspection camera is the best endoscope. Enter your model number to make sure this fits. this wireless endoscope offers you a wonderful experience of recording a clear close range HD video in AVI format and snapshot image in MJPEG format with two adjustable resolutions 640 x 480, 1280 x 720. With the IP67 waterproof rating, this endoscope can be fully submerged in water for extended periods of time, making it especially suited for underwater pipe, car engine, vent pipe etc.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This camera is more than I expected."
"Works GREAT on Iphone 6 took seconds to set up app."
"This is very useful and the item works better than expected."
"My husband used it several times to fix things around the house and his car."
"This camera is awesome."
"The app works well, the image is fairly clear (for a fixed focus endoscope), and for the 30+ dollars I paid for it, it is a good value compared to others of similar capability."
"First, I downloaded the app to my cell phone and then connected with Wi-Fi ,camera just jump out right ,very good picture for such a small lens , When time to get one ,it should Serve useful .improvements I would recommend would be a brighter led light as its been tough to see things without a little help from a flashlight."
"My husband and son are always doing projects...with cars or stuff around the house."
Best Flaw Detection Tools
The Newest Type Endoscope: Unlike other endoscope camera on the marketplace, this wireless wifi endoscope camera not only work with Android smartphone(Above Android 2.3), but also iPhone IOS system(Above IOS 6.0). Featuring 33FT cable, waterproof and 8.5mm diameter camera, this endoscope can suitable for various types of environment, for example, low-light or dark area, damp or wet area etc.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Two days prior we had a mouse fall and get trapped in wall behind baby crib. Drilled a 10.2 mm hole and inserted unit at a hooked position."
"(not too bad). I have had a bunch of endoscopes in the past that use a micro usb port to attach to the smartphone in order to view the video feed of the camera and to record what it sees. The connection process was fast but I did encounter a problem where the app didn't show the feed. I found that I needed to turn off my cellphone data to fix it. The light of the endoscope was very bright and helped a lot when going down dark pipes. The one thing about the endoscope and every other one out there is that they do get very hot at the end since cameras generate a lot of heat."
"The build is solid, there is a huge length of bendable wire to feed into places, the wifi works perfect for me to connect my phone and tablet to, the LED lights are adjustable all the way from off to super bright for its size, it comes with several attachments such as a 90° angle mirror to see various angles in small areas, and best of all is the picture quality- this tiny little camera gets PERFECT photos and live video when it gets close to your targeted area."
Best Leak Detection Tools
You can use this borescope for. home inspections, notice electrical wire, Dredge sewer drain pipe, HVAC, auto repair and industrial applications. etc. 【WIRELESS】 This wifi borescope has its own Wi-Fi Signal and a build-in Li-lon rechargeable battery, there is no external cable or adapter needed, all you need to do is just to download and install the "WIFI VIEW" app on your smartphone and connect to its WIFI.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It clearly shows my car's oil drain plug and oil filter (pix attached) to find out which of them is leaking. The pictures clearly show the oil filter is leaking and the drain plug is clean."
"Afterwards I ended up walking around my home looking for dark holes to stick my 'lil camera just to see inside because I could."
"My dad works as an hvac technician and does some ac work on the side and has used similar cameras that cost more and are of lower quality."
"I bought this for my dad, as he was looking into something similar at a hardware store, for a lot more and less features. So this one is a much better fit for him, as he still does A/C, cars, etc…. This endoscope is so user friendly. WiFi feed was very clear, lots of details, as if you are looking through a magnifying glass. It's useful, user friendly, and more features than other products in local stores."
"I went to Home Depot and I found an inspection camera but it is not very long. So I checked on Amazon and found a long one but much lower price."
"Looking into the squirrel nest was not easy; it was not always possible to tell which way was up as I fed the camera in, and it's not easy to understand the scale of things yet, but I think I'll get better at it eventually."
"I inserted it in water for about a minute, then I the camera stopped working and all that i saw on my screen was green! Got the GREEN SCREEN OF DEATH AFTER 5 MINUTES of use!"
Best Optical Inspection Apparatus
Aging eyes lose their ability to focus at close range, yet this slender LED desk lamp only takes up a mere 2 inches of desk space and has a 5-diopter lens to make small print loom large again! Up Close and Personal This space saver desk lamp with magnifying lens lets you get closer to your hobbies again. Mount to a stand in your garage or workshop, and you'll be able to see the finest details or spot the smallest flaws in any task with our 2.25X lens. PERFECT MAGNIFYING LAMP FOR WORK OR HOBBIES: The Brightech Lightview Pro LED Magnifying Clamp Lamp was designed for anyone who needs to constantly focus close up or anyone with vision problems such as aging eyes or macular degeneration. The 5 inch diameter lens with a 9 inch focal range brings renewed clarity to reading papers, doing cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, beadwork, sewing or other hobbies that require small pieces. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED WARRANTY: Our goal at Brightech is to provide creative, innovative, and beautiful lighting so that everyone can have quality, high end lighting in their home and office.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The many other magnifying glasses I've tried before, that supposedly had positioning arms that were easy to position and supposed to stay in place once they were positioned, just never did work..... this one does the job perfectly!"
"), but my husband says he prefers the magnifying glass from the old lamp compared to the one in this Brightech. This is perhaps a personal preference and the reason for half a star less - my husband says the magnifying glass is a bit too convex - it "bubbles" everything he looks at, but he doesn't do a lot of fine detail work (for which this lens is suited), just uses it because his eyes are getting worse (even with glasses)."
"We used for years a magnifying desk lamp with a fluorescent light bulb."
"This light replaces a really old (1970's) dorm room articulating type of light."
"I started fly tying and at my age I needed a good magnifying light. I anticipated that I would just you the magnifying part of the light to help see when I tie flies, but I find I use the light a lot as it provided a bright light on my tying station without glare."
"Sturdy metal parts, bright efficient light, easy positioning and a lid to protect the lens from dust and damage."
"I was also considering the Brightech LightView Pro 2-in-1 Dimmable LED Magnifier Table and Floor Lamp, but the lens is smaller and is only a 3 diopter, so I decided to go with this 5 diopter/5 in model."
"I bought this lamp for electronics and micro mechanical assembly work."
Best Video Inspection Equipment
Go back to your phone settings, choose WiFi network settings, search and find out the WiFi named “Jetion_********”, the initial password is “12345678”; NOTE, when connected well, the blue WiFi signal led will flick. After the WLAN is connected, click “WiFi View” icon, you can see camera view through your phone. TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL - Advances in camera and LED miniaturization technology has allowed us to bring you an affordable snake inspection camera with a diameter of just 8mm, with excellent image quality and bright illuminatio 8.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Went to the app and could see the images fine. I have not yet experimented with capturing images in the app, but, again, if there is an issue, I'll update this."
"The only real drawbacks that I would take into account if i were to shop for a similar product in the future are that the length of the cable makes the scope fairly unruly when using the product to view inside of a shallow area, and that the battery life is shorter than one might expect."
"Has all the features that you want, including the ability to dim or turn off the LED, rotate the image, take a video, take a photo, or view live."
"One problem I ran into with my specific phone (Essential phone PH1) is that I had to ensure cellular data was off before the WiFi connection would work."
"Con would be that cable isn't totally rigid, so hard to direct it if using inside a wall or similar enclosed space."
"You can adjust the brightness, Clarity and the color depth on the app."
"Works well!"
"I was a little worried with some of the comments but it was very simple to set up although I do understand some frustration from others since the instructions are somewhat misleading for iPhone users."
Best Lab Compound Binocular Microscopes
This is an OMAX compound biological microscope with eight level magnifications from 40X to 2000X.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"FYI I'm writing this review by comparing the OMAX to name brand microscopes such as Olympus and Nikon because these are the microscopes typically available at any JC, SU, or university. The microscope is a slightly smaller than name brand microscopes, yet it does not fail to produce the same results as name brand microscopes. The microscope comes with a 5x, 10x, 40x, and 100x objectives. Again the OMAX come with 4 main objectives (5x,10x, 40x, and 100x) and 2 sets of ocular objectives (10x and 20x). UPGRADES - The ocular objectives are removable, so these can be swapped out for better ocular objectives, Also the main objectives (5x, 10x, 40x, and 100x) are removable, so these can be swapped out for better objectives. THE PACKAGE - The OMAX came with the microscope along with the 4 main objectives and 2 ocular objectives. The OMAX also came with a two ocular covers, so if one would like to store the microscope the ocular objectives can be removed and covers can be placed in the eye piece slots. All I had to do was plug it in and pop in the ocular objects to begin viewing things under the microscope. This is a great high quality microscope that produces the same results as name brand microscopes. Some people might be tempted to purchase a microscope for more money because of the rationale that more money equates to better quality but the OMAX delivers the same results as the Olympus and Nikon microscopes for a fraction of the price. If your looking to buy to buy a microscope to do college or professional work or use just looking to buy a hobby microscope look no further. With the OMAX i can view probably about 95 percent of the slide because the X axis does not have the same range as high end microscope, but this is not an issue for me. I was hesitant to buy this microscope because of the low price, but was pleasantly surprised when it came operated like and better than the microscopes on campus."
"And, as we will see below, most microscope kits don't offer any intermediate magnifications between 1000X and the maximum magnification they offer (2000X or 2500X), so that maximum magnification doesn't really give you any extra resolution over a 1000X microscope. Compound microscopes obtain their magnifications by combining the eyepiece magnification with the objective magnification. The objective magnifications usually are: 4X, 10X, 40X, and 100X. The 100X objective cannot be used as is, it requires a special immersion oil (see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_immersion for explanation); so in inexpensive microscopes, this objective is usually missing, Regarding eyepieces, you usually get 10X or pairs of 10x+20X or 10X+25X. I still don't have an exact formula, as it depends on several factors including the wavelength of the illumination light, but a comment to this review pointed me to a rule of thumb that I also found mentioned in a Zeiss article on microscopy - that rule says that the maximum magnification that can be expected to be achieved with an objective would be 1000 times the numerical aperture value of the objective - see zeiss-campus.magnet.fsu.edu/articles/basics/resolution.html). The numerical apertures and maximum magnifications for the OMAX objectives are the following: 4X (0.10/100X), 10X (0.25/250X), 40X (0.65/650X), 100X (1.25/1250X). So, if we exclude the false magnifications, these are the magnifications that we can expect from each combination of objective and eyepiece (note that even this is optimistic, because we evaluated the maximum magnification, which we will probably not reach in practice): 10X: 40X (with 4X objective), 100X (with 10X), 400X (with 40X), 1000X (with 100X). A few more things you should know about this OMAX microscope: The objectives come pre-installed, but not everything is configured for optimal operation. There is a focusing rack stop screw that is supposed to help prevent the slides from being pushed into the larger magnification objectives (40X and 100X) - that screw will need to be adjusted as it does not come pre-set and on my sample it allowed the slides to be pushed into the high magnification objectives (40X and 100X - those objectives are spring loaded to prevent damage, but it is better to avoid it by also limiting the movement of the stage using this screw). A few accessories suggested: OMAX A Pair of Rubber Eyecups for Microscopes with 23.2mm Eyepieces. OMAX 60X Achromatic Objective Lens (spring) for Compound Microscopes. Some quick comments on these items: - The rubber cups are very nice and I wish they were included even if they had to bump the price of the package - they really make it more comfortable to use the eyepieces."
"Within one minute of opening the box, I used my Galaxy 5 phone camera and snapped this pic of the microbes on some old cheese."
"I am a veterinarian that purchased this microscope for use in my clinic (for examination of blood, tissue, urine, fecal samples, etc)."
"I put a drop of my blood on a slide and went looking around in it at 1000x seeing things I had no idea of. One thing, I wish it had come with a manual."
Best Lab Handheld Digital Microscopes
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was able to snake this thing up there and see everything that I was doing with my hand, and also lay under the car in a comfortable position while I watched what I was doing on my phone. Most of us are carrying around super high quality video monitors in our pockets, so I decided to give this device a try. Also those more expensive units have the cable connected to the screen which is usually mounted to some kind of handle. I have a magnet attached to the back of my phone and it just stuck right up to the pan on the bottom of the transmission. As to durability, I have only had it a week or so and it's holding up so far, although I can envision some problems over time with repeated flexing of the cable. The view you get with it is just like with your phone camera, meaning if you rotate the scope clockwise, the image will also turn which can be disorienting. I got the camera in the right orientation and then bent a "W" shape in the cable a few feet back from the end of the scope. The app allows you to show a mirror image of what you are scoping and you can get rid of the icons on the screen so they don't interfere with what you are trying to look at with the camera. Pros: Price, image quality for live video, stills and captured video, long cable length, WiFi connectivity. Cons: Cheap WiFi box, barebones app, resolution not really changeable."
"I bought this inspection camera for my Dillon XL650 bullet press to be able to inspect brass bullet cartridges while reloading them."
"Really impressed with the Depstech Wifi Endiscope."
"I used it to see if i had oil on the top of my pistons and even in the completely dark cylinder the light worked perfect to get a good shot."
"The image produced by the camera is quite clear and sharp, and the colors are pretty accurate."
"Great little camera for the price."
"Worked great with the app and still cant beat the price for something like this."
"I also used it ri retrieve an earring that was not reachable using the magnet."
Best Lab Stereo Microscopes
The AmScope SE400Z professional stereo microscope has interchangeable pairs of 10x and 20x widefield eyepieces, a 1x objective, LED lighting, and a boom-arm stand. The interchangeable pairs of WF10x18mm and WF20x10mm eyepieces combine with the 1x objective to provide 10x and 20x magnification, and a longer working distance for inspecting large-scale specimens that require handling or repair. A stereo microscope, sometimes called an inspection or dissection microscope, has low magnification and a long working distance that enables users to manipulate the object being inspected. Specifications Head. Binocular. Magnification. 10x, 20x. Objective power. 1x. Eyepieces (DIN, 30.5mm). WF10x18mm, WF20x10mm. Focus. Bilateral coarse. Microscope stand. Boom-arm stand. Vertical working distance. 9" (13.5" overall pillar length). Boom arm. 12" working distance (17" overall length). Head rotation. X- and Y-axes. Illumination type. Upper, reflected. Light source. 1W LED on adjustable gooseneck. Power. 110V-120V, UL listed. Microscopes are instruments used to enhance the resolution of an object or image. AmScope SE400Z stereo microscope with boom-arm stand WF10x18mm eyepieces, 30.5mm, one pair WF20x10mm eyepieces, 30.5mm, one pair 1x objective (2) Eye guards LED light Dust cover Power cord Instructions. 9" vertical working distance and adjustable 12" boom arm enables users to adjust the microscope on the X- and Y-axes.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is about 1" too short for me to place my PCB pre-heater under the head (an Aoyue model 853A) and still have adequate height to focus the image. The focus is literally less than 1" from the end of the microscope, making it pretty much useless for assembly / inspection work. Prior to purchasing the this AmScope, I used a stationary magnifier and reading glasses for my assembly work (at home). As with any wearable magnifiers, when the distance between your head and the work shifts the image will loose focus. I know this because I have a pair of surgeon's glasses I use at work for PCB inspection and (limited) assembly. The problem is going with a higher magnification will amplify any head movements and make it much more difficult to maintain focus on an object. Even guys who do assembly for a living have told me 2 hrs with surgeon's glasses is about the best you can do before taking a break."
"I use the 10X to solder and repair surface mount devices and it does a good job for that kind of work. A day later I received a new microscope that worked fine out of the box....but someone added a sticker to the outside of the box that covered the download code for the manual (the microscope doesn't ship with a hard copy manual, you have to enter a code from the outside of the box to download it from AmScope's website). Argh.... On the other hand, if you need a manual, the device probably is too complicated."
"So far, I've been impressed that this is a quality product."
"The biggest practical setup problem was finding the right focal distance - about 10 inches.The Celestron camera I bought at the same time worked straight away with my Mac, which was nice, though the magnification is a bit more than ideal for my mission - surface mount electronic assembly."
"I don't think I'll ever use the 20x, but the 10x are perfect for what I need this for (hand-soldering / repairing tiny SMD components, e.g. with 0.5mm pin pitch)."