Digital Cam/Microscope for SMD soldering

[KedasProbe]

Hi,

Does anyone use this "toy" for live soldering work (not only inspecting after it)
Ebay_UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET

The camera will be very close but it's not very big (D=33mm) 45° soldering should be possible, in worsted case you have a bit burned plastic I assume.
Anyway, I ordered one we will see if it's useful for this or not.

[digsys]

I've tried a few devices over the years, and ended up with a Boom 3D microscope. Absolutely excellent.
I bought a hi-res camera attachment, but rarely use it (only for pix). 3D is awesome !! Tried all types of
cameras, just can't get a good "feel" for DOF, plus glare is always a problem. 3D boom microsopes are
reasonably cheap on fleabay, Advantage of the boom is you can have quite large working area.

[ablacon64]

That "toy" is not good at all, it's very slow, there's a lag between what you see and what is really happening, I've stopped using it.

[T4P]

That "toy" is not good at all, it's very slow, there's a lag between what you see and what is really happening, I've stopped using it.

I read that was on the highest reso's. Very common of "cheapies" not cheap at all but still much cheaper and much worse than name brands

You do get what you pay for, these microscopes are not so good so if you are lucky you might get a quick one not a shit one (Especially the 30 buck "Digimicro")

Better know what you are getting first they might only be useful for a few things

[ablacon64]

Yes, but I'd rather take a very good resolution webcam and invert it's lens. I've done like that and got a very good result. The problem is that you have to put the webcam very close to the PCB you're working on.

[KedasProbe]

It can only see up to 7mm (at max 2-3cm distance) so I will probably use my digicam for soldering, it should be good enough in macro.
The microcam is nice for inspecting though,  but keep in mind that zoom and focus is the same control.(bigger zoom=focus closer) not like a digicam where you can change the zoom and stay in focus.

A lower magnification like 10x would have been better. (bigger focus range)
like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-0MP-USB-Digital-Microscope-10X-220X-Magnifier-Video-Camera-w-Measure-Software-/320944237424?forcev4exp=true

[Fraser]

I use a video presenter aka visualisers. It provides overhead illumination superb optical zoom and a decent working platform.

I attach pictures of the units I own. The Elmo P30s has a built in LCD monitor and great zoom capability. The Samsung I imported from the USA...... its as much a work of art as a visualiser. From the Patent papers (US D493812 S) it is obvious that this was what Samsung intended when they designed it ! I attach more pictures of this beautiful unit

They are cheap on the used market but cost a small fortune for a new one. Avoid cheapie brands with cheap CMOS sensors, they are poor performers. Some are Composite Video output, some VGA, some USB and others....all three 


Fraser

[Berni]

I actually use one of these USB microscopes for dead bug prototyping tiny 0.5mm chips and such. I brought this thing for about 20 bucks:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-MICROSCOPE-Supereyes-200X-Digital-Portable-Microscope-Endoscope-/230846995558?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35bf8d9c66

You of cruse get webcam quality images from this but it does have about 4cm of working distance on a magnification useful for soldering and because its so thin it doesn't really get in the way at all. You also get a nice smooth 30fps image that doesn't seam to lag behind noticeably on my PC. The down sides are the not so high resolution and the tripod stand that comes with it might not be the best. But for 20 bucks it was more than worth it as it gets the job done.

[Smokey]

Go straight to a decent used stereo zoom microscope.  They are up on ebay all the time.  10X eyepieces, and 0.7x to something like 3x zoom.  Shouldn't cost more than about 100 USD if you wait for a deal.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=stereo+zoom+microscope

Only thing to watch out for is if it doesn't come with a stand, you have to rig something up and it needs to be pretty steady.