Amscope or Bresser

[lacek]

Hi,
Which one to buy:   Amscope se400-Z  or "Bresser Optik Stereomikroskop Binokular 20 x Biorit ICD-CS 10x"? I am EU-based, and they cost me more or less the same. I want to depart from "magnifying glass", which I find insufficient and not really cool with super small elements.

I would like to have possibility to upgrade the microscope with other lenses (say 5x for some hoppy jewelery applications).

I like the offer of the Amscope company, but shipping of $199 scope costs $180 to my country (+2.5% customs + 2# VAT so $475 in total:) (hurray EU, you are so great). Anyway, after intensive Amazon work I have figured out that I can get Amscope SE400-Z for approximately $350.  But then this becomes not "under $200 scope" but "under $400 scope, and most of the comparisons made by people in the US do not apply.

Could anyone tell me if these two microscopes are actually different?

[NivagSwerdna]

Just to add confusion and not answer your question... this is what I got and I love it...

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html

[screwbreaker]

I suspect they are the same, just different brand.

I have the Bresser:

https://www.bresser.de/en/Microscopes-Magnifiers/Bresser-Biorit-ICD-CS-Stereo-Microscope.html

I got it instead of the Amscope because the Bresser is easier to find in europe, also RS has it on is catalog. They also have the spare parts like the light bulb.

http://it.rs-online.com/web/p/microscopi/7187337/

From RS it's more expensive than in other places, but it's normal for RS 

I like it it's a very nice microscope, the 20x is almost unusable, the viewing area is too small. But the 10x it's great.

I don't like the light. I think that in this case the goose neck light of the Amscope is better.
But it's a minor issue I also got an Ikea lamp to have more light and also an angled light.

http://www.ikea.com/it/it/catalog/products/50163202/

The main problem with the light are the light bulb, they are the incandescent type, 12V 10W, and they became very hot, I have this microscope from less than a year and I've already replaced one light bulb. Sometimes the light won't turn on just because to the heat the light bulb has loose it's contact. In this case you have to open the light holder and screw back it.

In this days I was working on a little mod, I've got some led light to replace the original incandescent ones, but I have also to place a rectifier to use them, because it has only a big and heavy transformer, it just provide 12AC for the light bulb.

[lacek]

How about the height of the Bresser? It says that maximal height of the object is 70mm.

This Zenith is the famous Sovet/Russian manufacturer of SLR cameras? Like the cult Zenit XP?

[NivagSwerdna]

This Zenith is the famous Sovet/Russian manufacturer of SLR cameras? Like the cult Zenit XP?

I believe it is Russian.  There are also references to LOMO and Ukraine.  I'm not exactly sure.

[NivagSwerdna]

That BRESSER looks EXACTLY the same as my Zenith.... on mine the light slots in the middle rather than off to the side in the same way as shown on the Bresser photo.

[lacek]

The Amscope does not look very different either (but its not exactly the same). So is there a single factory in China that makes all of these products? The Zenit photo cameras were famous (in Sovet times) for their random quality: one would be very nicely done, the other one would rip your film, or say open the film tray.

I wanted to say that with Zenith did not earn my trust (but that Zenit E which I played with as a child was purchased by my parents in 70s...). Now it seems Zenit and Bresser are just brand names, not actual manufacturers?  Or maybe they are not the same products after all but its just not sufficient quality of these pictures?

 

[lacek]

Another brand:  Delta Optical.   
http://deltaoptical.pl/mikroskop-stereoskopowy-delta-optical-discovery-l,d3837.html

Again the same stuff.

[screwbreaker]

How about the height of the Bresser? It says that maximal height of the object is 70mm.
...

Probably it's true. I have a PCB holder which is ~9Cm height and I can't get it on focus.

But you can go higher than that, you have just to bend it like in this photo:



Or placing it on a raise.

The best thing of this microscope is that you have a very big working area, more than 20 Cm. But sometimes this is not a great thing, because it can only get things in focus at this distance. The focus system just turn the head up and down. Basically it has a fixed focus.
Sometimes this is very annoying because if you have an high workbench it force you to stay in a very uncomfortable position, or to work stand.

Most of the times I have to increase the height of my chair to work on it.

I wonder if there is an objective that reduces the focus distance, in order to work with higher objects.

[lacek]

I guess it should be a feature of more expensive models (those in $600-$800 range).
This microscope costs less than most lenses for a SLR photo camera. It seems that it is mass produced and sold under many brands It is impossible to get decent optics for that price And I am not kidding myself that I am buying quality optics here. I would expect these higher models with variable zoom objective 1x-4x to have a focusing ring.

[screwbreaker]

It still a very good microscope for the price. I think with one of those plus an usb microscope, you can do almost everything.

[obd.tech]

Hi Guy's,
i've just bought a Prior SM3 microscope for pcb inspection & soldering work. It is similar to all those listed and no doubt come from the same factory in china? It has the light 'torch' that locates in the stock by the 2 optic tubes pointing down to the subject.
It comes with a candescent bulb of 12v 6w with a flat shaped filament that makes quite a bit of heat and not too much light
The Bulb appears to be a bayonet 9mm size equivalent to a 233 car fitment type bulb.
I wanted to know what LED bulb i can replace this with for a bit of an upgrade in the light (and less heat etc advantage) that someone has tried and tested 

Thanks in advance 

[cdev]

Much of what Amscope sells seems to be made by OEMs in Ningbo, China, which is a city south of Shanghai which seems to serve as a center for optical R&D and manufacturing in China.  The name Amscope seems to have been a very successful example of branding to have their products stand on their own merits, rather than be viewed as less valuable.

There are several companies - you can find some of them by using Google Image search's similar images feature, although there are slight visual differences. For example, use of rubber eye cups in the export-oriented products.

At this point, it seems as if they could probably stand on their own merits without the loss of their individual identity, but there are a lot of advantages in dealing with a supplier that has a presence in your country, if you can afford it, and also it's NOT so clear to me at this point that there definitely is that much money to be saved unless you go to Taobao or similar and buy direct.

On ebay and aliexpress you are probably dealing with a middle-person. 


Quote from: lacek on 2017-06-08, 10:25:15

The Amscope does not look very different either (but its not exactly the same). So is there a single factory in China that makes all of these products? The Zenit photo cameras were famous (in Sovet times) for their random quality: one would be very nicely done, the other one would rip your film, or say open the film tray.

I wanted to say that with Zenith did not earn my trust (but that Zenit E which I played with as a child was purchased by my parents in 70s...). Now it seems Zenit and Bresser are just brand names, not actual manufacturers?  Or maybe they are not the same products after all but its just not sufficient quality of these pictures?

[Nuno_pt]

I've been looking at taobao also for a Amscope, but can't find a way of translating the site, I see nice trinocular x7 - x45 at 340€ ($450) with light.

Dunno about the shipping charge, and then 23% VAT.