USB Microscopes Recommendations? (molt sexing and other neat things)

[Nmilburn14]

Looking for recommendations for a high quality USB microscope! I have a small handheld microscope, but without completely crushing a molt, it's pretty useless. In all the reading all these reviews for various models, I'm realizing that most of them don't specify what their intended use was (or if the reviewers had previous experiences with microscopes), so I've had to take them all with a grain of salt. So, I'm reaching out to you, my fellow tarantula/invert hobbyists, for any suggestions you may have.

I know I'll use it often (for molts and dissections and other cool things I find--I'm a nature nerd), so I don't mind shelling out a bit of extra cash. I just want something that'll work well and last me a long time.

I'm also open to suggestions for high quality non-USB microscopes, but I've been leaning towards USB due to the ease of capturing the images right there on the computer screen.

Thanks in advance!

Note: software would have to be Mac-compatible!

 

[EulersK]

This wouldn't be considered "high quality", but here's what I use. It's not too steep at $40, and you're able to hook it up to either an Android phone/tablet or your computer. Not sure if it's Mac compatible, you may need to look into that.

https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-P...qid=1512683676&sr=8-6&keywords=usb+microscope

Pros:
-Easy to use/setup
-Adjustable lighting
-High magnification for the price
-Water resistant
-Fully articulated stand
-USB and micro USB compatible

Cons:
-Terrible color saturation (all of the photos below have been edited in Photoshop to improve color)
-Absolutely kills battery life (it drains about 2% per minute on my phone)
-Requires a steady hand, as the base isn't particularly heavy
-Cable could stand to be longer

Here are some pictures I've taken with it (click to expand):

M. robustum rear spurs

• EulersK
• Sep 30, 2017
• 1

If you've ever wondered why M. robustum act like they're auditioning for Roadhouse... it's...

Adult Spermatheca v2

• EulersK
• Sep 15, 2017
• 7
• coloratovillosus concepcion parahybana phlogius robustum vagans

More of my subadult/adult spermatheca. This will be the last of the year, as the warm months...

Adult Spermatheca

• EulersK
• Jul 9, 2017
• 8

Spermatheca from a few select adult females in my collection. Very interesting to see the...

MM E. uatuman

• EulersK
• Jun 8, 2017
• 3

No color changing here, I was as surprised to see orange as you are

B. dubia tarsal claw

• EulersK
• May 29, 2017

Adult male specimen

Chrysopidae sp.

• EulersK
• May 21, 2017

More fun with the microscope

Common Housefly (200x)

• EulersK
• May 21, 2017

Fun with the microscope

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

In contrast to EulersK's USB microscope recommendation, I will make suggestions on the non-USB microscopes or more accurately, optical microscopes. When it comes to microscopes, you need to think long and hard about what you want to look at. If your primary focus is going to be tarantulas, other spiders, bugs, or any other 3D objects, then you are going to need a stereo microscope. With tarantulas, you will need a stereo zoom microscope with a magnification range of 7X - 45X. When I use my stereo zoom microscope with tarantulas, I'm primarily using it in the 10X-30X range.

When it comes to optical equipment, the more money you spend, the higher the quality. That being said, I'm willing to bet you aren't prepared to spend thousands to tens of thousands on a microscope and related imaging equipment, so I recommend AmScope which are made in China. Their stereo microscopes range from around $200 to $700 (more or less) and have a line of common main objective stereo microscopes that are in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. If you don't know what a common main objective microscope is, then you don't need to worry about that. If you can do the professional microscopes and have a budget in the tens of thousands, then awesome for you and you can go shopping for Leica or Nikon stereo microscopes which pair nicely with their own imaging systems for high magnification, high resolution images.

I use an AmScope ZM series 7X-45X trinocular stereo zoom microscope. After using a cheaper stereo zoom, I decided to plop down the cash and get their top-of-the-line microscope. It works really really well at the lower end of the magnification range, but image quality starts suffering toward the higher end and I can barely see anything without straining my eyes at 45X. For taking images, I use an iDu iPhone adapter which fits into the ocular port of the microscope for easy picture taking. Using iCloud, pictures I take with my phone pop up on my iPad and Macbook for viewing and editing. Also, I have the ability to tether my iPhone to my Macbook using QuickTime to see my iPhone screen and the microscope image. It works really well for seeing the image on a large screen to get the best framing/ composition. There are also various tricks and techniques I can use on the iPhone camera to get the picture just right.

The photo port on the AmScope microscopes are terrible for taking pictures. For some reason on these cheap made in China microscopes there is never enough light that reflects back through the objective lens into the photo port for the camera to pick up. If you go the optical microscope route, save a few dollars and get one without the photo port and just hold your phone up to the eye piece.

Here is one thread with pictures I took using the stereo microscope/ iPhone setup I have. Click
I don't edit and post a lot of pictures on this site so my examples of image quality using my microscope setup are quite lacking.

When you get your microscope and start wanting to dissect tarantulas or other spiders, post another thread about that. I can share a lot of techniques and tips that will save you time, money, and frustration!

 

[Mentat Ix]

This wouldn't be considered "high quality", but here's what I use. It's not too steep at $40, and you're able to hook it up to either an Android phone/tablet or your computer. Not sure if it's Mac compatible, you may need to look into that.

https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-P...qid=1512683676&sr=8-6&keywords=usb+microscope

I got this one a while back. It works pretty good, but the apps for it suck for windows and android. They both work, I guess. I tried to install it on my wife's Kindle and it crashed it, went into a boot loop. Never did get it to work again

I haven't actually used it to sex a T yet, but I'm sure it will work. It's a bit finicky. I've had fun playing around with it, for sure.

 

[EulersK]

It works pretty good, but the apps for it suck for windows and android.

The program for Windows is terrible, I won't debate that. I could program something better than what they offered. But the Android app is pretty solid in my experience. Can't say that I have any negative comments about it. There are no flashy features, but I don't really want that in such an app.

 

[EulersK]

Never did get it to work again

PM me, I might be able to help.

 

[Mentat Ix]

In contrast to EulersK's USB microscope recommendation, I will make suggestions on the non-USB microscopes or more accurately, optical microscopes.

This post gave me some pretty severe microscope envy. I'd love to have a setup like that for my son and I to play with. Just can't justify the expense, even though I spent all weekend trying. :'(

When I grow up, though...

 

[TN ANTMAN]

This wouldn't be considered "high quality", but here's what I use. It's not too steep at $40, and you're able to hook it up to either an Android phone/tablet or your computer. Not sure if it's Mac compatible, you may need to look into that.

https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-P...qid=1512683676&sr=8-6&keywords=usb+microscope

Ive actually been looking at this same usb microscope for a few days now for sexing my Ts. How big are the molts you are sexing in those pics? And do you have an A. gen molt sex pic I could use to compare to my molt? I'm not needing anything expensive and I know to get the absolute best results id have a stereo scope but as mentioned, I don't need/want/nor have the expenses atm for a decent stereo scope. I'm just looking for something I could use to sex Ts around 1 1/2"-2" and up.

 

[EulersK]

Ive actually been looking at this same usb microscope for a few days now for sexing my Ts. How big are the molts you are sexing in those pics? And do you have an A. gen molt sex pic I could use to compare to my molt? I'm not needing anything expensive and I know to get the absolute best results id have a stereo scope but as mentioned, I don't need/want/nor have the expenses atm for a decent stereo scope. I'm just looking for something I could use to sex Ts around 1 1/2"-2" and up.

It largely depends on how good you are at unfolding the exuvia. Here's one that was under 0.5" dls.

And unfortunately no, I don't have a female A. geniculata. I've had around five of them raised from a sling, all turned out to be male

 

[TN ANTMAN]

It largely depends on how good you are at unfolding the exuvia. Here's one that was under 0.5" dls.

And unfortunately no, I don't have a female A. geniculata. I've had around five of them raised from a sling, all turned out to be male

Wow lol. That would suck. I'm hoping this one I have is a female but using my magnifying glass (think its 15-20x...really great and ive used it a lot looking at my ants) I think it may be a male. We will know next molt though cuz I kept trying to get better look and ended up ripping it. But seeing that picture makes me want it even more now. I'm sure for just what I want it for it will be great...till I can get me a great stereo scope in a couple months.

 

[EulersK]

Wow lol. That would suck. I'm hoping this one I have is a female but using my magnifying glass (think its 15-20x...really great and ive used it a lot looking at my ants) I think it may be a male. We will know next molt though cuz I kept trying to get better look and ended up ripping it. But seeing that picture makes me want it even more now. I'm sure for just what I want it for it will be great...till I can get me a great stereo scope in a couple months.

Just remember - even if you had an electron microscope, you still need to be able to unfold the exuvia That is by far the hardest part. Took me a dozen molts or so of practice before I could do the small ones.

 

[TN ANTMAN]

Just remember - even if you had an electron microscope, you still need to be able to unfold the exuvia That is by far the hardest part. Took me a dozen molts or so of practice before I could do the small ones.

Oh yea lol. Ive recently got back into the invert hobby, other than my ants, and from even before, doing the lil ones is always a pain. So much easier to rip or something. But practice makes perfect lol

 

[YoshiDavid]

what are the best tools to use for unfolding the exuvia? I have pretty shakey hands

 

[l4nsky]

what are the best tools to use for unfolding the exuvia? I have pretty shakey hands

Lol, loving all these resurrected, zombified threads recently. I personally use blunted needles and I make sure to rest my hands on a solid surface and just use my finger movement to slowly un-twist the fragile skin. I'll also cut some of the (wet or moistened) skin away (if you have a full abdomen, cut about 3/4 of the distance up between the last pair of book lungs and the spinnerets) so the molt is less likely to tear under its own weight when I'm manipulating it.

 

[YoshiDavid]

In contrast to EulersK's USB microscope recommendation, I will make suggestions on the non-USB microscopes or more accurately, optical microscopes. When it comes to microscopes, you need to think long and hard about what you want to look at. If your primary focus is going to be tarantulas, other spiders, bugs, or any other 3D objects, then you are going to need a stereo microscope. With tarantulas, you will need a stereo zoom microscope with a magnification range of 7X - 45X. When I use my stereo zoom microscope with tarantulas, I'm primarily using it in the 10X-30X range.

When it comes to optical equipment, the more money you spend, the higher the quality. That being said, I'm willing to bet you aren't prepared to spend thousands to tens of thousands on a microscope and related imaging equipment, so I recommend AmScope which are made in China. Their stereo microscopes range from around $200 to $700 (more or less) and have a line of common main objective stereo microscopes that are in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. If you don't know what a common main objective microscope is, then you don't need to worry about that. If you can do the professional microscopes and have a budget in the tens of thousands, then awesome for you and you can go shopping for Leica or Nikon stereo microscopes which pair nicely with their own imaging systems for high magnification, high resolution images.

I use an AmScope ZM series 7X-45X trinocular stereo zoom microscope. After using a cheaper stereo zoom, I decided to plop down the cash and get their top-of-the-line microscope. It works really really well at the lower end of the magnification range, but image quality starts suffering toward the higher end and I can barely see anything without straining my eyes at 45X. For taking images, I use an iDu iPhone adapter which fits into the ocular port of the microscope for easy picture taking. Using iCloud, pictures I take with my phone pop up on my iPad and Macbook for viewing and editing. Also, I have the ability to tether my iPhone to my Macbook using QuickTime to see my iPhone screen and the microscope image. It works really well for seeing the image on a large screen to get the best framing/ composition. There are also various tricks and techniques I can use on the iPhone camera to get the picture just right.

The photo port on the AmScope microscopes are terrible for taking pictures. For some reason on these cheap made in China microscopes there is never enough light that reflects back through the objective lens into the photo port for the camera to pick up. If you go the optical microscope route, save a few dollars and get one without the photo port and just hold your phone up to the eye piece.

Here is one thread with pictures I took using the stereo microscope/ iPhone setup I have. Click
I don't edit and post a lot of pictures on this site so my examples of image quality using my microscope setup are quite lacking.

When you get your microscope and start wanting to dissect tarantulas or other spiders, post another thread about that. I can share a lot of techniques and tips that will save you time, money, and frustration!

Hey AphonopelmaTx,

ive enjoyed reading your explanation of microscope use and have decided to take your advice on using an AM Scope with the specifications you listed. I am, however, overwhelmed at the sheer amount of choices that exist on their website and was wondering if you could list a couple specific models that would be best and why. It got a little confusing searching their stock where there seem to be negligible differences but decent price swings. I’m also wondering what lighting source is best and any accessories I may need. Thanks for your time and effort

 

[l4nsky]

Hey AphonopelmaTx,

ive enjoyed reading your explanation of microscope use and have decided to take your advice on using an AM Scope with the specifications you listed. I am, however, overwhelmed at the sheer amount of choices that exist on their website and was wondering if you could list a couple specific models that would be best and why. It got a little confusing searching their stock where there seem to be negligible differences but decent price swings. I’m also wondering what lighting source is best and any accessories I may need. Thanks for your time and effort

@AphonopelmaTX

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Hey AphonopelmaTx,

ive enjoyed reading your explanation of microscope use and have decided to take your advice on using an AM Scope with the specifications you listed. I am, however, overwhelmed at the sheer amount of choices that exist on their website and was wondering if you could list a couple specific models that would be best and why. It got a little confusing searching their stock where there seem to be negligible differences but decent price swings. I’m also wondering what lighting source is best and any accessories I may need. Thanks for your time and effort

I know exactly what you mean by being overwhelmed by all of the different options AM Scope provides. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide an exact model number of what I have because the model numbers are not printed on the microscopes and I have lost all of my receipts for the microscopes. It has been many years since I bought them. I will do my best to list out what I have so you can find an exact model number.

Microscope #1
SM series 7-45x trinocular zoom stereo microscope with super widefield 10x eye lenses (30 mm width)

Microscope #2
ZM series 6.7-45x trinocular zoom. I think it is SKU ZM6745T.

Stand
Pillar stand with 3 inch ring and top and bottom illumination.

I was disappointed with the more expensive ZM series microscope head since I really couldn't tell a difference in image quality between it and the cheaper SM series. The only difference between the two I noticed was in the zoom mechanism which only became apparent when I used the iDu Optics iPhone microscope adapter for pictures. In the SM series, an ugly black border appeared in my photos as I went up the magnification zoom level; it did not appear in the ZM series head so I would assume the ZM series has a better build quality.

As for accessories, you will need one of those 64 LED dimmable ring lights which attach to the objective lens. The lights that come on the stand are useless. I see on the AM Scope web site that they have models which bundle a 64 LED ring light with a stand with no included lights. That is what I would go with if I knew back then what I know now.

For photos, the USB models are complete crap. If you want a dedicated microscope camera, you will definitely need to shell out the cash for one of the big blue HD 1080p (or better) ones. I specifically use the model with SKU number HD200VP-UM and it is very very good. As I mentioned in the previous post, I take most of my pictures with an iDu Optics iPhone adapter which is not sold by AM Scope.

That should about do it.

EDIT

After spending a few minutes browsing the AM Scope web site, my recommendation based on my own experience would be SKU: SM-1TSL-64S-V331 with the HD200VP-UM microscope camera.

 

[YoshiDavid]

I know exactly what you mean by being overwhelmed by all of the different options AM Scope provides. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide an exact model number of what I have because the model numbers are not printed on the microscopes and I have lost all of my receipts for the microscopes. It has been many years since I bought them. I will do my best to list out what I have so you can find an exact model number.

Microscope #1
SM series 7-45x trinocular zoom stereo microscope with super widefield 10x eye lenses (30 mm width)

Microscope #2
ZM series 6.7-45x trinocular zoom. I think it is SKU ZM6745T.

Stand
Pillar stand with 3 inch ring and top and bottom illumination.

I was disappointed with the more expensive ZM series microscope head since I really couldn't tell a difference in image quality between it and the cheaper SM series. The only difference between the two I noticed was in the zoom mechanism which only became apparent when I used the iDu Optics iPhone microscope adapter for pictures. In the SM series, an ugly black border appeared in my photos as I went up the magnification zoom level; it did not appear in the ZM series head so I would assume the ZM series has a better build quality.

As for accessories, you will need one of those 64 LED dimmable ring lights which attach to the objective lens. The lights that come on the stand are useless. I see on the AM Scope web site that they have models which bundle a 64 LED ring light with a stand with no included lights. That is what I would go with if I knew back then what I know now.

For photos, the USB models are complete crap. If you want a dedicated microscope camera, you will definitely need to shell out the cash for one of the big blue HD 1080p (or better) ones. I specifically use the model with SKU number HD200VP-UM and it is very very good. As I mentioned in the previous post, I take most of my pictures with an iDu Optics iPhone adapter which is not sold by AM Scope.

That should about do it.

EDIT

After spending a few minutes browsing the AM Scope web site, my recommendation based on my own experience would be SKU: SM-1TSL-64S-V331 with the HD200VP-UM microscope camera.

Hey AphonopelmaTX,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. The only question I have is in regards to the dedicated microscope. It’s not something I had previously considered but seems like a good idea. If i understand correctly, the idu optics adapter accomplishes the same as the HD 1080p you linked above so it would be up to me which I would prefer. Any substantial difference if I were to splurge on the AMScope branded option or would the idu optics suffice. Thanks again.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Hey AphonopelmaTX,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. The only question I have is in regards to the dedicated microscope. It’s not something I had previously considered but seems like a good idea. If i understand correctly, the idu optics adapter accomplishes the same as the HD 1080p you linked above so it would be up to me which I would prefer. Any substantial difference if I were to splurge on the AMScope branded option or would the idu optics suffice. Thanks again.

As previously mentioned, the iDu Optics iPhone adapter doesn't work right with the SM series stereo microscope heads, but works fine with the more expensive ZM series stereo microscope heads. With the iDu iPhone adapter, you put it in the ocular lens slot and as you use the zoom to increase the magnification a black border starts to appear as if something blocks the camera sensor in the iPhone with the SM series. Of course, with the iPhone there will be a black circle any way so you have to zoom in on the phone to get a nice fully framed picture. It is hard to explain, but you will see what I mean if you look at the iDu Optics LabCam web site.

The dedicated AM Scope HD microscope camera works with any model of stereo microscope head and fits in the photo port on the top of the microscope. It is a little more work to get pictures since you need to connect to a 1080p monitor with an HDMI cable or connect it to a computer through USB. But once you get it setup once, taking good quality pictures is easy. No black borders of any kind appear.

Basically, it just depends on where you want to spend the extra money. You need the more expensive microscope to get the best results from the iDu Optics iPhone adapter, or you need the more expensive camera to work with the less expensive microscope.

If you want to discuss this further, feel free to send me a PM. I feel we are going way off topic for this old thread.