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 Replies: 54 / Views: 8,512 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
I know that this has probably been discussed to death but what kind of microsope should I get to use when I am roll searching? I wanna start looking for RPM and DDO / DDR. Any ideas? |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4037 Posts |
My main hobby pursuit is Lincoln Wheat cent varieties. I use a Bausch & Lomb Stereo2 with 15X eyepieces. The fixed magnification pod has fewer moving parts to go out of alignment. Since you posted on the photography sub-forum, I assume you want to take pictures with the same microscope. If you get a Stereo2 or similar (Stereo1, Stereozoom4, etc) you can take pics through the eyepiece or add a photo eyepiece if you want. I use a separate MonoZoom7 for variety photos to avoid the tilted perspective of Stereo scopes, but you can tilt the coin slightly to eliminate the problem so it's not a significant limitation. ...Ray |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
yankee1227, Give us an idea of your budget and we can give you some ideas. I use a $60 Celestron that's just o.k. while my nephew has a $300 Dino-Lite that is great. There are a few members that use a Lighthouse,don't know which model and I here they work good. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1151 Posts |
I'm looking for something that isn't really expensive but isn't so cheap that it breaks the first time I use it. And whether or not I can take pictures, it doesn't matter. While I would like it to take some pics,it doesn't have to. Maybe one where I can stick the lens of a camera in it? That probably wouldn't work, would it?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
Point and shoot cameras work great as eyepiece cameras. My favorite was my old Nikon 990 but it broke, and that's when I got the D5000 and then the D7000 I use now.
The B&L Stereo-2, with 10x eyepieces, and A-stand will cost you about $150-$180. Add a couple of Jansjo lights and you have a first-class setup for less than $200. Is that in your price range?
...Ray
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
I was kinda hoping for under $100 but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. I wanna ask for one for Christmas and wanna keep the price low for my parents so if I can get something for cheap, we'd both be happy.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
The Bausch & Lomb's aren't really something you can put on a Christmas list. You'll need to search around on ebay to find one, and it could take some time as they are not available new. There are some new microscopes available that will do the same thing but will probably be a lot more expensive...Ray Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
Is there anything out there that I would be able to use directly out of the box? And why aren;t they usually available new?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
The Bausch & Lomb microscopes like Stereo-2 or StereoZoom-4 have not been made for many years. They are available surplus because of the various downturns in the economy, but this means they are hit and miss to find. But the quality to price ratio is very high once you locate what you need. These scopes sold for thousands of dollars when new and go for hundreds of dollars on used market. There are much cheaper (still hundreds of dollars), out-of-box solutions from companies like AmScope: http://www.amscope.com/These companies sell Chinese-made scopes that many folks seem to get good use out of. I can't recommend them as I have no personal experience with them. I don't know what to recommend for <$100. I picked up a couple StereoZoom4 scopes on ebay a while back for $75 each, but those deals are few and far between. Even the USB microscopes go for more than that. Perhaps someone else on the group has an idea for this...Ray Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
I can't make an informed judgement but I am not particularly fond of any of them:
779 gives you little flexibility for moving the subject around
515 is too high power. 40X minimum is way too high
780 looks OK, with 15x or 30x mag, and plenty of flexibility, but no stand to hold it steady
781 is probably best of the bunch, with good mag range and a stand
If I had to choose between these, I'd go for the 781 for coins, but please don't buy on my recommendation since all I have is the picture of the scope to judge function by.
...Ray
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
My reply is based on the fact that most Microscopes are baised for magnification purposes. and that is just what they do.. very well, in most cases.. yet the coin and color is not correct, another most important factor..IF one just wants Magnification, then its all ok...It really depends on the amount of money for the reason you want the pics, or some newer cameras give all of the needed results...still it takes time to use the equipment to its best results for any certain application...
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
yankee1227, I have the 44302 and I paid $60 for it incl. s/h on e.Bay a few years ago. It's OK for the money but it is frustrating to use. The lights can not be adjusted so I had to block off all but one of them. I do like that it comes with a stand but it to isn't all that great, I had to weight it down with a Ziploc bag of sand. I would suggest that you save up and get a Dino-lite because whatever scope you get you will use for a lifetime in this hobby so the price being a little high would justify the length of use. John1 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
John, the 44302 has a newer model, the 44302A and is surprisingly cheaper on Amazon. It has a 2MP camera instead of a 1.3MP camera. So all in all John, you would reccomend the 44302? |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
If you don't mind messing with the LEDS by having to cover them up. I can't really recommend it,it aggravates me every time I use it. There are some members here that use the Lighthouse brand and it seems they like it. I still think you should get the Dino-Lite if you want a USB microscope. John1 |
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Replies: 54 / Views: 8,512 |
Posted 11/27/2011 7:15 pm
