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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,156 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
603 Posts |
I was looking through old threads to find what power magnifier people use to exmine coins, and so I bought a X5,X10, X15 at Radio Shack, and am now having fun trying to use it correctly, but I also would loike to look into this Q5 thing mentioned on several threads. What search terms should I use on e-bay? I tried several and got no matches. Also, the pictures it takes, are they only closeups or can you image a whole coin? Edited by cpfull
02/27/2007 10:33 pm
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New Member
United States
34 Posts |
What is x5, x10 ? Q5? I am in need of something to take closeup pics
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
603 Posts |
the 5X,10X dealie is a small handheld magnifier with three lenses, 15 magnification max. I got it at radio shack cheap (under 10) and so far it is HARD to use properly. The Q5 is a picture taking microscope that hooks up to your computer I think. I am not sure if it is named Q5 or its what people call it, hoping to get the answer here.
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Moderator
 United States
23531 Posts |
Here is an ebay link for QX5s http://search.ebay.com/qx5_W0QQfromZR40you can also get good results doing a search for QX5 Never pay over 80USD as there are many available for under this price Due to the magnification you can not get a goo picture of an entire coin , but for doing close up work - for the money it is great I had a QX3 and will be getting a New QX 5 next month. rggoodie
aka Richard
"catch em doing something right"
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Edited by biokemist6
02/27/2007 11:10 pm
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
Here are 2 images I took with my QX5. While a little grainy, they have pretty good detail. You have to remember, this is a kids toy, so do not expect high quality. However, it is very good for live viewing on the screen also for someone like me with not so good vision.   On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 5. 2 issues with it I find a pain. One is you HAVE to set the shortcut to the software to windows 98 compatibility or it will screw up your resolution every time you run it. The other is it is almost impossible to focus on coins that are in holders because of the plastic hood...(I guess you could cut it off) MM  Edited by morganman
02/28/2007 06:19 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
Wow, there are a lot of posts here. I thought I remembered reading another thread about a microscope questions a day or two ago, and I think I had to go back 4 or 5 pages. Anyway, here's the other thread. I didn't look if Jim1953 submitted an update and got the new scope yet or not. https://goccf.com/t/10942Hope this helps. I think rggoodie also posted a few more links to check out different scopes as well. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2600 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1626 Posts |
I have a QX5 and it is real good for close up pictures, but you cannot take an image of a complete coin unless it is a real small coin. Basically, the QX5 plugs into your USB drive. Once on, you can change the magnification from 10X, 60X, and 200X. Once you get the picture you want on your computer, there is a button to take a snap shot and save the picture to your hard drive. Here is a picture of some die cracks on a 2 Cent coin at 60X .jpg) I really like mine, but I think I will upgrade to a better one in the next year or so Tim |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Morganman, if you start the QX5 through Control Panel - Scanners and Cameras, you'll get a Windows-based interface which doesn't screw up the resolution. Trust me, going from 1680x1050 to 640x480 was a severe pain in my, um, eyeballs, too!
The tradeoffs are: First, you have to provide your own outside light source. I've found that to actually be beneficial for bringing out details. Second, the screen on which you observe the image is smaller than the one provided by the QX5 software, making focus even more iffy. That's a toughie.
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
quote:
Morganman, if you start the QX5 through Control Panel - Scanners and Cameras, you'll get a Windows-based interface which doesn't screw up the resolution. Trust me, going from 1680x1050 to 640x480 was a severe pain in my, um, eyeballs, too!
Yeah, but that interface will not let you turn on the camera lights. If you just right click on the desktop icon for the program, then properties, and them compatibity, then check the run compatibility mode, and select windows98/ME mode, your problems disappear. ( I got this fix after calling tech support) MM  |
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Posted 02/27/2007 10:40 pm
