OMAX - MD827S30L Built-in 3MP Camera 40X-2000X Digital Biological Compound Binocular LED Light Microscope with Double Layer Mechanical Stage Oil Immersion NA1.25 Condenser

I have used many different scopes over the years at work and teach lab courses that require students to use compound microscopes, but I wanted one for home use and specifically to easily capture digital images for website and class use. This microscope works great for the purpose I bought it for, and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the scope and images for the low price I paid. It is easy to set up and use, especially if you're familiar with compound microscopes and e.g. already know what a condenser is and what it does. (The instructions tell you how to adjust it, but not why this is important.) It plugs right into the computer via USB to capture images on screen. I found that once you have installed the software and set up the scope, you have to always plug it into the same USB port to make it work or the computer won't recognize it (I use Windows 7). The ScopeImage software manual reads a bit like "Chinese English" in terms of grammar - certainly not written by a native speaker - but it's not too difficult to understand and figure out how to use. The maximum image resolution the camera can save is 2048 x 1526 pixels (jpg or bmp). I have successfully used photo stitching software to assemble several images into large, high resolution pictures of around 5,000 pixels across. I've also used focus stacking software on image Z stacks with great results. It even captures video (avi) if you are observing things that move. You can use a ruler or stage micrometer to calibrate the software to measure objects. Overall, it does a great deal of things and I have been very pleased with it. For print quality images, I prefer to use the higher resolution cameras on the more expensive scopes at the university, but for online image archiving and class use, this scope does a great job.

I have used many microscopes that cost 5 to 10 times more than this smaller version and I would recommend this to anyone who needs to do biological or metallurgical work at magnfications from about 40X to 2000X. I used a calibrated grid to calibrate all of the lenses with the computer that I am using, which is a Windows 7 Professional driven Compaq. It is very easy to set up and use but you need to go on-line to get the most recent manual. There is a paper in the box that lets you know exactly where to find this. It is important because the manual this is in the CD is not for this microsope. If you are going to use this as a metallurgical microscope (not using tranmitted light but using reflected light) there is no through lense lighting. You will need to have an outside light. I purchased the AMScope LED-8WD from Amazon to go with this microscope. I had read a review that says you can not run the software on a Windows 8 machine. That is true if it is Windows 8RT but not a true Windows 8 machine. I installed the software on two of my Windows 8 computers and it works very well. You may have an issue with the drivers because windows installation may say that it is incompatible. Ignore this and make sure that you install the drivers for the camera before you plug in the USB cable. When installing the software leave the USB unplugged until you get a message saying that you need to plug in the camera. I would be happy to share more about this if you get into trouble. As an additional note: I also purchased the AmScope 20x-40x-80x Digital Stereo Microscope with top and bottom illumination. Which is another great microscope with digital camera lense. You have to remove the lense from the body and it is held in there with a very small phillips screw. There is nothing in the instructions that tell you this. This could also be too much microscope for your needs as oftern you want to record digital images at even lower magnification. You can see my review on this by looking up this AmScope. In the past, I ordered the AGPtek USB 800X digital microscope with 2 MP camera and believe it or not you can get some great pictures with it. I took some of some composite material that I was trying to analyze and I needed about 10X magnification. I will also review this separately. Make sure you buy a stand with this one such as the universal stand with x-y base.

What a wonderful learning tool this is! A quality microscope paired with a good camera and software. My intent is to make this available to students in our local church - and my only problem is parting with it myself!! The microscope arrived in 3 business days in perfect order. Included is a website address. There I found a phone number, requested the manual and received it via email about 10 minutes later. Instructions were clear and I had no issues assembling the scope and trying it out with the slides I had prepurchased. Images appear clear and as bright as I need them to be. Controls are firm, the stage and slide holder are very easy to work with and overall quality is obvious. The software installed to my Windows 7 laptop with absolutely no issues and works in real-time - so instead of peering into the scope, I can place a slide on the stage, and watch my large screen while I postion the slide and do all the focusing. I have not yet experimented with the video, but the .jpg images can be saved with one mouse-click and look just fine to me. This will encourage group participation with the students and will let them migrate their work into photoshop, powerpoint, etc. To sum-up, the many other positive reviews were "spot-on" - this is a great item at a great price!!

I am a error coin collecter, and in searching for a way to share my coins online in the detail I needed, I looked for a microscope that was professional, and stand alone, so I did not have blurry photos. I chose a compound scope, and upon it's speedy arrival, I realised my mac could not read the mini disk that held the software. I run windows on parallels, so I contacted the seller and they quickly sent me a guide and a link to the software to download. Once up and running, I realised I had purchased the wrong kind of scope! after contacting the seller again, I was quickly sent very detailed info to return my item. I ordered a stereo microscope of a similar price, and also a calibration slide for measurments, and a cold led light ring for overhead lighting as I suspected the scope has an unforgiving overhead lamp that comes from the side. Once again, a super speedy delivery, and an speedy email to get the software my mac could not read on a minidisk, and I was on my way. The scope is a solidly built well oiled item. It comes very well packed and loaded with accessories. My only gripe is the stage is raised and lowered by a set screw which slides up and down a pin. It is hard to lock, and will spin or fall if accidentally knocked, I am thinking of ways to keep it from slipping such as a rubber o ring below the set screw... The software is easy to learn, with a bunch ways to measure size, and change the view type, color, white balance, intensity, and video vs. photo snapshots. Much like a basic photo manipulation program mixed with a basic cad program. The manual is easy to understand if you have a basic background in these types of programs. The camera is great, though I would love a wider angle when the scope is set at the lowest magnification setting. I can see a whole coin through the scope lens, but am unable to do the same with the camera. For coins, this scope does not need to be any bigger than 80x as this magnification is one letter or number for the whole image. One note about the cold led ring: It is a lifesaver. Intensity is adjustable and using a light meter and color meter I was able to calibrate the program and light to settings I wanted to get a better image. But this extra equipment is unnecessary! The software program has an auto white balance that works great, and a way to save settings for each type of coin I view. I never have to calibrate the set up again unless I remove the ring from the scope. Please note: the ring is not built to fit on this scope. The set screws on the ring have nothing to hold onto. I have closed them to rest on the scope nose where I want it and have used a series of rubber bands to hold it up and in place. Not ideal, but it works well. Two thumbs up for the seller. Fast, responsive and helpful, and detailed. I am sure if you have questions before buying, you could contact them and get help making the right purchase.

Ok, So for the price its a great microscope...Lots of fun, easy to use....everything was shipped nicely. Overall a 5 star purchase....AWESOME tech support...I love these guys...real nice and informative. A++ on that note. The big problem here (for Mac users) is the camera issue... The camera does work on mac...plug and play, sometimes you have to trick photobooth into seeing the camera..but that's not so difficult. Photobooth however is forced to downrez the camera to 640 x 480....this sucks...it is nice to see the things I am looking at, and take pictures and video of it, but I really was hoping to have full 3 megapixel image/video capability for this.... **NEW INFO** So this Microscope ships with software for PC only...the guys at Omax or their distributor can only talk to us about this software, as it is the only one they verify officially...which is fine..3rd party software is often not covered nor should Omax be expected to answer questions concerning this matter....They are seeking to acquire licenses to this 3rd party software, so that in the future they CAN and WILL be able to answer these questions.... The 3rd Party software is called miXscope, it costs $17.95 I know that sucks..but considering the fact that we saved about $1000 purchasing this microscope, we can at the very least shell out an additional 20 bucks for this added MAC user functionality...(as Mac users we are used to this anyways.) miXscope will NOT utilize the full 3mp camera...but it will give you a much higher resolution than the native 640 x 480 photobooth software..I highly recommend this, and will post details/updates when I have fully figured the software out. Hope this helps some of you mac folks a bit... Otherwise, thanks again Omax for a wonderful microscope/camera and support. You guys are great!

I'm surprised at all of the high ratings, sure, at this price I wasn't expecting a lab grade microscope, but one of decent quality. Mine came with spots on the optics that were internal and couldn't be cleaned. On a high end gaming PC with Core I7, 24gigs RAM, nVidia GTX 780 video, using the software at 3mb image was terrible. slow updates when moving the image, almost 2 seconds delay, like a bad slide show. Image quality was TERRIBLE. Overall build quality seems ok, but spend a little more and get one with a 3rd eyepiece with the camera put on it. This design is not for those who want a nice clean image. Seller didn't even try to address, just denied the unit had issues, so it was returned.

I received the item swiftly as amazon.com's prime delivery service once again is superb. The microscope is a good quality in built and function for the price. Built in camera and software is mediocre at best. The image on the computer is magnified compared to what is seen on the actual and live slide. The quality of image on the computer is once again mediocre. However, you have options to tweak the quality for a better resolution or image, but it does not change much. On the other hand, the actual image quality from viewing through the ocular lens is pretty clear and good. I have been around various student microscopes, and I consider this to be a very good one. There are many options, though minuet, that can be helpful depending on your preference. For example, the focus knob lock. It allows you to lock in the course focus knob so that you can't accidentally bump or turn it once you get it in focus. Also, knobs on both sides is a plus. The stage has several other features that might be of use, the forward and backward movement. The whole package comes with an ADDITIONAL halogen bulb and fuse if the original is blown, which can save you a little change in the long run. Although this item is fairly decent for the price and function, I do have negatives. On Amazon.com and microscopenet.com website, it states this microscope has the ability for 2000X. However, to do that, you will need the WF20X ocular lens, which they DID NOT SEND. So be careful to check your inventory when received. Moreover, there is no instruction book or manual whatsoever. You get a sheet that says you should go to a website to download it, and "if you are having trouble downloading it, please email" them. Well, THIS TELLS ME THAT THEY ANTICIPATE TROUBLE DOWNLOAD IT. Why not just print it out and include it instead of the hassle for the customer. I contacted Amazon.com and after a good discussion with the CSR, i concluded that I will contact the manufacturer first to see if they can send the missing WF20X; I contacted them via email once, and twice by phone so far. However, its been 2 days and I have not received a reply. I understand its the holiday season, therefore, I will give them another few days. I will update on the usage and customer service aspect later in a week or two.

I tried to post a of bacteria and yeast that I made with this microscope but the upload froze at the end. Perhaps it froze due to confusing Amazon by having no sound track? I'll take this cheap, but new and properly calibrated microscope over the super expensive but abused and poorly calibrated microscopes at the college any day. When the college microscopes are properly calibrated (as in when you find a lab aide and have them adjust it on the spot) they might offer a clearer view than this. But most of the time the expensive college microscopes are trashed and you can't see much with them in spite of all the expensive optics. I kind of dread going to the college microscopy lab now, because I never know what condition my microscope there will be in. I have been using my omax scope for looking at moss. I am very happy with it. It has an adjustment knob for condenser and a diaphram that I can see to focus on the edges with. It does not do dark phase, but I'm not sure what I'm missing with that. Some people find a way to get these types of scopes to do dark phase by putting something in the filter holder. I wish I knew how to do that. The biggest complaint I have is that it did not come with an eyepiece reticle and I had to order a different occular to get the eyepiece reticle. I tested the lenses with a slide micromenter after I bought an occular with an eyepiece reticle, and found they were exactly the same as the college scopes.. to convert to micrometers at 4X multiply by 25, at 10X mulitply by 10, at 40x multiply by 2.5 and the oil emmersion lens requires no multiplication. I'm not sure what the multiplication would be for the x20 occulars and x2000 magnification as I did not purchase one of those with a reticule. I'm sure that someone who is good at math could figure it out for me. (hint) I've been using this microscope about every other day for the last 4 months. I use it to look at moss leaves. I've gotten some great pictures with the camera but I had to learn to adjust the focus for the computer monitor and not for the eyepeices. The focus for the USB camera seems to be set for 100X magnifacation. The camera has a small width of view than the occulars, I can get around this by stitching images together so I can get a picture of a whole moss leaf even if it is a big leaf. But it takes photoshop for me to to a good autostitch. The manual for the camera software is written in very poor Chinese to English. I can not understand it. I can use the software to measure things but I find that I have to calibrate it with the eyepiece reticle each time I use it. The software does not save your values, you must load a file with your values but the values do not seem constant. So when I want to measure stuff I measure stuff I calibrate the software with the eyepiece reticle each time. After that I can capture and image and make multiple measurements with ease. The camera software is not very powerful, for exaple, it will not do time lapse photos and the text it puts on measured items is way too small. I see no way to change the text size. Still I'm very happy that I got this microscope with a camera so I can share all my images and videos and for clearer viewing with the x20 occulars. The hexagonal diaphram thingy is not a perfect hexogon anymore and I don't know if that is a problem or how to adjust it. The stage scrolls smoothly but has slightly more friction than the college microscope stages. I am very happy with this microscope and am glad I did not pay thousands of dollars for a name brand scope. Update, I have now been using this microscope for 8 months. It is still working great. The lightbulb did burn out once, so I replaced it with the extra bulb that came with it. At first I found the x20 occulars to be worthless, becasue the glass is so small, (the field of view is the same I think) but now I have learned to use my PC and the built in camera to view things using those occulars. The camera actually gets a better image then my eyes do at x2000. At x2000 I can see bacteria swimming around! I'm beginning to think that name brand microscopes are way overpriced!

Whoa, this is not a simple student microscope. It is a beautiful instrument & using it with a computer & screen is great fun! Am still working on complete usage with the camera.

it is good. The 'lens size' is very small. My vet is always disappointment that she cannot get a good view of the cells. It is also very difficult to get that 'fine tune' focus. I can never get the eye pieces so that I can see through comfortably. But it doesn't matter because I can view on the computer. It is a good starter microscope

Works very well. I've see blood cells, bacteria, etc.

It worked ok for about 2 weeks then the light started turning off and on. Now it is sporadic, I can be looking at a slide and then it turns off and is hard to get light back on. Have to switch the light switch on and off and hope for the best. Also the optical lenses need to be adjusted when you switch from 2x to 10x and then to 40x etc. These should be set so there is no adjusting once switched to another optical. The fine adjustment seems to stick or something then once you turn the knob what seems like many turns it shoots past focus range. I am trying to contact the seller to get rectified but I can't figure out who to contact. Camera is ok. I really liked it when I first got it because it was superior to my old one but now I am not happy.

I expected alot worse, however it's by no means perfect. The only things I have to complain about is the program that's included and the "cheap" feeling aperture, Other than the aperture the build quality is superb, my biggest gripe is the program, At the moment I'm unable to take measurements since the program (or microscope) does not display what objective I'm using, Some features are locked for no apparent reason, but the worse offence is that there is no true manual control over the camera settings, and the "auto" setting overexpose/underexpose upon launching the program (sometimes) and won't correct itself, relaunching the program is the only option, having said that the images/video is good and; I've added some photos and a link to a video I took all of which are unprocessed. 1) honey bee (2,3) grain of salt (4) rebloodcells (5) spiderweb