Video Dino-Lite USB Digital Microscopes Review and Experiments

[Hugoneus]

In this episode Shahriar takes a close look at some of Dino-Lite’s USB Digital Microscopes and accessories. Two of the microscope stand offerings from Dino-Lite are demoed (model MS36B and RK-10) with a close look at their features and usability. All USB stands offer precision Aluminum bodies and flexible ranges of motion for a variety of viewing angles and distances.

Three USB Digital Microscopes from Dino-Lite are also demoed: models AM4113ZTL Dino-Lite Premier, AM4515ZTL Dino-Lite Edge and AM4815ZTL Dino-Lite Edge. These microscopes offers features such as large magnification combined with long working distances, adjustable polarizer, adaptable cap design, MicroTouch shutter button, extended depth of field (EDOF), extended dynamic range (EDR) and automatic magnification reading (AMR) which are all compatible with the provide DinoCapture 2.0 interface software.

Using Dino-Lite’s microscopes, a variety of electronics components are presented: An Analog Devices PCB containing 0102 footprint components, A PIC UV erasable Silicon die, a 325GHz horn antenna, a composite wafer probe with 150um pitch from GGB industries. Finally, the complete breakdown of a QuinStar mm-wave PA module is shown with microwave filters, pre-amplifiers, and a Wilkinson-based GaAs PA as a final stage.

You can watch the video here: [44 Minutes]
http://youtu.be/1U5wcJ98_rU

More videos at The Signal Path:
http://www.TheSignalPath.com

[HighVoltage]

Thanks for a great review. I would not have expected this quality from a simple USB based microscope.
Especially the capability of measuring distances in such a detail seems to be very helpful.

[miguelvp]

No prices on their website and did I hear correctly at the end of your video about $1,000 range?

[Hugoneus]

No prices on their website and did I hear correctly at the end of your video about $1,000 range?

That is for the top of the line model including the more expensive rack. The scopes themselves start from $199.

[Rasz]

for comparison $130 chinese "2.0MP HD Industrial Lab Microscope Camera VGA USB AV TV Output Zoom C-mount Lens"

google translate of polish service forum:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.elvikom.pl/kamera-i-obiektyw-do-inspekcji-pcb-t30532.html%26complete%3D0%26hl%3Den&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=pl&u=http://www.elvikom.pl/post123773.html%3Fsid%3D00c72b8f875cdab063506107284cbd6b&usg=ALkJrhhPMB4--GNrR4nalOD88dxlL_BbgA#p123773

all screenshots at 20cm between work piece and lens

[nixfu]

Lots more good (and MUCH cheaper) options for the bench here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-566-cheap-usb-microscope-reviews/90/

I am looking at this $89 one myself for SMT work.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dental-USB-LED-Microscope-Endoscope-Magnifier-Oral-ENT-Camera-Vedio-Otoscope-/261473927434?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce10f810a

[Hugoneus]

Lots more good (and MUCH cheaper) options for the bench here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-566-cheap-usb-microscope-reviews/90/

I am looking at this $89 one myself for SMT work.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dental-USB-LED-Microscope-Endoscope-Magnifier-Oral-ENT-Camera-Vedio-Otoscope-/261473927434?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce10f810a

I am all for competition and lower prices. But what you have linked to on eBay is not even remotely in the same league, which is fine of course, it is much cheaper.

[German_EE]

As always we get what we pay for. I have bought cheap Chinese made test equipment in the past and it was either unfit for purpose or it fell to pieces within a year. Now I save up my money then purchase quality equipment such as the microscopes that Shahriar has just reviewed. The clarity of the images on Shahriar's monitor should be enough to settle the argument.

[miguelvp]

The only and huge problem with the ones reviewed is the frame rate, that kills them for me.
On the Dino Lite website they have 60 fps ones but I bet those are the ones in the $1000 range, I couldn't find the price list.

[Shock]

I have been enjoying your repair videos Shahriar you need to do some more.

[Hugoneus]

I have been enjoying your repair videos Shahriar you need to do some more.

For sure. Next video is a repair video, I promise! And it is a pretty tough one I think...

[nanofrog]

The only and huge problem with the ones reviewed is the frame rate, that kills them for me.
On the Dino Lite website they have 60 fps ones but I bet those are the ones in the $1000 range, I couldn't find the price list.

http://www.microscope.com/digital-microscopes/dino-lite

The least expensive AM4113ZTL is $549, and the top end AM4815ZTL is $849 of the units reviewed. The MS36B stand is $169 and the RK10 stand is $269. Might be able to find it for less if you hunt (i.e. via email or phone).

They're nice, but keep in mind you can get an entry level Mantis Compact for what the AM4815ZTL + RK10 stand goes for, and a nice trinocular Amscope w/ 5MP camera for a lot less (example).

[Jane]

Can anyone explain how  resolution and magnification correlate?
E.g.AM7013MZT4 model has about 470 x magnification and 5 Mega pixels resolution
but
AM4515T8 has only 1.3 Mega pixels but magnification up to 900.
I thought the higher resolution, the higher magnification

[eas]

Can anyone explain how  resolution and magnification correlate?
E.g.AM7013MZT4 model has about 470 x magnification and 5 Mega pixels resolution
but
AM4515T8 has only 1.3 Mega pixels but magnification up to 900.
I thought the higher resolution, the higher magnification

Think "glass" rather than silicon. Ie, the optics.

[con-f-use]

Can anyone explain how  resolution and magnification correlate?
I thought the higher resolution, the higher magnification

No they are two different things. They do not correlate. You can have 1000 times magnification, with only a single pixel of resolution. Of course, by itself that pixel is almost useless. However they can lead to the same thing:

Resolution, broadly speaking, tells you how many points your camera can distinguish from each other. That is how many parts of an image your camera can make out as different.
Magnification on the other hand tells you about how large the area is, that you take in image of. Say you have a camera with a resolution of 9 Mpixel. You want to photograph an area of 3cm x 3cm. Then you will be able to make out details lager than one micro meter (provided your camera can focus that). Now if you have two times magnification on your camera, you can only see a 1.5cm x 1.5cm part from the same distance. But with that higher magnification, you will be able to make out details twice as small, that is larger then 0.5 micro meter. If you had an 18 Mpixel camera with the same magnification, you could make out the 0.5 um detail from double the distance away. Hope that helped.