Mantis vs Tagarno for SMD work

[wholder]

I'm considering ponying up the not so insignificant change need to buy now of these, but wondered if anyone who's used both (or similar) has an opinion of which might be better for SMD soldering and inspection.  For the Mantis, I like the idea of 3D and see how this could be useful in many situations.  But, I like the standoff distance of the Targarno, as this would gibe me more room to maneuver larger tools, such as a hot air rework tool.  I also like the variable zoom of the Targarno vs fixed lenses for the Mantis.

Wayne

[AlfBaz]

There is a "cheaper" alternative that I ended up going for and have not regretted (admittedly I have never used the other two)
Search this forum for amscope

[EEVblog]

Nothing beats the optical clarity and 3D ability of the mantis, nothing.
The Tagarno is a top notch digital microscope, but you can't really compare the two. One is stereo optical, one is 2D digital.
The Mantis has two selectable lenses, but the working distance can be a pain at the high magnifications. 90mm at x4, dropping to 55mm at x8
If you are working under is 8 hours a day (as I have done), the Mantis is the best choice, your eyes don't get tired due to the match lenticular distance.
The Tagarno at high zoom suffers from wobble if your bench isn't ultra stable.

[Rasz]

Targarno is a great idea, but poor execution, Dave has a lot of trouble with it - fixed 60Hz uncompressed usb output, hex garbage on the screen
it feels like engineering sample, not a multi thousand dollars product

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-magnifiermicroscope-to-use/