Well, sorta off topic. I want to use it on my design desk to do visual inspections of parts. Stuff my aging eyes don't see as well as I would like with the little 3X magnifying glass I keep in my desk. I've actually got a nice little pocket microscope I use sometimes, but I have to use it over by the shop door daylight hours only, and it can be kinda fiddly holding the scope and the part while getting everything lined up.
In a pinch I've actually used the camera on my cellphone and then just emailed the picture to my computer where I can look at it on the big screen.
I'm not looking for a high dollar high end scope. Maybe just something that does a pretty good job at a couple megapixels at 12X. That I can just leave hooked up on my desk so I don't have to run out to the shop door with my pocket scope.
Good luck finding what you want. I have yet to see one that isn't jerky in its motion. The one's I've tried have cheap rack and pinion stages that are damned near impossible to get god focus. There are some with a lead screw adjustment similar to a caliper, but they take a large step up in price.
- focus: I mounted mine on a rack & pinion that I had in my junk pile. Much better than the stock mechanism. That arrangement is mounted on a lead-filled base that solves the problem of keeping it steady. And cantilevered to give the object room.
- depth of field: it's physics - the greater the magnification, the smaller the depth of field. This is the biggest PITA for me - the small DOF requires precise focus. So, go with the lowest magn that you can live with.
If it's android, checkout "alfred" at the play store. There are many alternatives to turn your phone into a security camera. You can wifi your camera to your computer in real time.
I have a Dino-Lite 211. 640x480 It's worthless as a handheld device. Just can't hold it still enough. I mounted it on an adjustable light stand and that works well. I set the focus approximately with the knob, then do fine focus by bending the flexible light stand. The depth of field is poor. At higher magnifications, if you focus on the label on a SMT device, the board is out of focus.
Another problem is that I'm having trouble using my hands in one direction while watching a monitor in a different direction. Hand-eye coordination is gone. Maybe it gets better with use, but so far, I find the whole thing useless for actual work. If you just want a picture of something, it's great.
I also have a BW-788 device. You can find both devices on ebay. It's way out of my price class, but I got mine at a garage sale. The supplied app has the ability to save obviously fake/extrapolated resolutions. The box hints at UP TO 2M pixel image sensor. My experience suggests that it is 640x480. There's a vendor comment that the device has been copied by many other vendors with different specs. It worked in win7 for a while today, but quit. Still works in XP. May be a driver issue or I messed up a configuration while swapping cameras around.
I bought a 2MP inspection camera off ebay that turned out to be
640x480. The vendor response suggested that they had no idea what they were selling. There are a zillion sellers who take orders and forward them to a shipper. They don't know and don't care what the device is. EBAY is pretty good about getting your money back.
I've experimented with an eye-loupe stuck onto an autofocus webcam That didn't help at all...need a more complex lens.
Some cellphones with macro/autofocus work great for still pix. I use a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Takes great closeups, but you have to get so close that there's no chance of working underneath.
The logitec C910 USBcam takes stellar 5MP autofocus pix up close. Blow 'em up on a 24" monitor and they look better than the ones from the microscope cams.
Bottom line...most cameras on ebay aren't anywhere near as capable as the specs claim. There are some cameras/microscopes that might well be better, but they're WAY more expensive.
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