I use a beautiful Wild M3Z that I got at a good price from a British Aerospace auction. It does have the disadvantage that there's a very exact spot to place your eyes, but the image is superb. I typically start at the bottom end (6.5 x 10 x 0.5) but often use the other zoom levels (up to 40 x 10 x 0.5). It has a Volpi fibre optic ring light but LEDs may be a better solution nowadays.
I also have an illuminated magnifying lamp - I like the ones made by Lux. I've considered a video microscope for the times when a large screen would be desirable but computer and tablet ones are said to have a bit of lag that make precise movements difficult. Direct video without a computer is probably better. On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 2:14 PM, Bob Camp <kb...@n1k.org> wrote: > Hi > > You can get a pretty good microscope new for about $1,000. Getting them > used is a hit or > miss process. A lot of this stuff actually works very well when in good > condition with all the > parts (The Mantis is one example). Without all the parts they don’t work > or work poorly. > > For most of what you do, there is no need for anything fancy. There is a > Mantis in full working > condition at work. It never gets used. Magnifier lights get used a lot. > Low magnification > microscopes with really good halogen / fiber optic ring lights seem to be > the most > popular option. > > Bob > > > > On Aug 11, 2016, at 8:06 PM, Steve <stev...@suddenlink.net> wrote: > > > > Can anyone compare the stereo microscope to a camera/monitor for use > with SMT? I have a cheap stereo microscope that I would like to replace > with either a much better stereo microscope or a camera/monitor. Is there a > marked advantage(s) of one versus the other? I have no "floaters" to > contend with. > > > > Steve, K8JQ > > > > On 8/11/2016 4:06 PM, Chuck Harris wrote: > >> Lots of good suggestions have already been made, but for > >> me, a boom style stereo microscope, with a distance between > >> the objective, and the focal point of at least 3 inches works > >> fairly well... > >> > >> One other thing that may force your decision, if you are > >> older, your eyes will likely have lots of "floaters", which > >> are debris that floats around in your eyeballs. This debris > >> floats in and out of the center of your field of view, and > >> looks like a bunch of translucent worms, or shadows. > >> > >> Your brain, the magnificent organ that it is, tries to compensate > >> for your eye's degradation, and as long as your eyes can move > >> about in your field of view, it effectively removes the floaters > >> from the scenes you are viewing. > >> > >> However, if you use a stereo microscope, your eye position > >> is fixed by the very limited amounts of off axis motion > >> that will allow a through optical channel. This lack of off > >> axis motion will emphasize your floaters in a great way, and you > >> will see *every* *single* *one*, clearly, as if it were something > >> you really wanted to view. Some times, the floaters will cover > >> the exact thing you need to see clearly, and you will have to > >> move it off axis by moving it on the microscope stage. > >> > >> The only answer to this problem, is to either have perfect eyes, > >> or to use a microscope where you are looking at a screen, rather > >> than through a pair of oculars. This way, your eyes can dart > >> around, and inspect what they need to see clearly, and the > >> floaters will be ignored by your brain. > >> > >> As far as I know, there is only one optical microscope built this > >> way, and it is the very expensive Mantis. > >> > >> Because of the great expense of flat screen optical microscopes, > >> most modern SMD viewing equipment is going to the trivially cheap > >> method of using a CCD/CMOS color video camera and an LCD screen. > >> > >> You can do a lot with a cheap USB camera mounted to a boom, a fiber > >> optic light source, or a ring light, and a laptop computer to > >> display the image. > >> > >> -Chuck Harris > >> > >> Bob Albert via time-nuts wrote: > >>> What are the important parameters regarding purchase of a stereo > microscope? I > >>> see some on ebay for around $50; are those good? Bob > >> _______________________________________________ > >> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > >> To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/ > mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > >> and follow the instructions there. > >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/ > mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > > and follow the instructions there. > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/ > mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.