Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope Pro

[duece2seven]

Great news, Viv! I will add more later but I can tell this will work very well with some tweaking. Lighting is the key. As for editing, there are several free programs that will allow you to edit in post. For the money this will be hard to beat. Good news! Take care.

Tracy

[VAB2013]

Thanks Vivien for working on this.
I like the fact that it is American made and the images look good and are "normal".
My last scope (a competitor) had soft ware that was not updated when the new Windows came out so it is useless now. That is why I have a make do system I concocted to use my cell phone.
You may have answered this but does it have the ability to edit and add noted to images it has taken?
Looking forward learning more from them.

You are welcome Cliff! Tracy was so nice to help and I have learned a lot from him! Some cell phones take good photos and your photos are very good!

The software does allow you to add notes to the images, and it's compatible with Mac and Windows XP and greater (Windows 7 and 10)

Thank you for asking!

[VAB2013]

That is a nice little microscope/camera... 5 mp is fairly good for most images... Wish they had a trillion mp camera then I could really over anal eyes With a longer post that would be able to adjust out far enough for a full coin image with out having to turn it around set on a book or hold it... Could even set it up to use a loupe for super magnification!!!

Thank you Jim! You know, we have all gone to many extremes to create the best photos we can with the different scopes we have. I think with what all we know, and very little tweaking, this microscope will create very nice images! The Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope Pro has 20x to 200x powers which is a lot more than what we need!

[VAB2013]

Great information Viv! Hmmm, I may have to upgrade my scope now. I'll have to start saving my penny's.

Thank you Tom! I am anxious to get one myself and start putting it to good use! You know how much heartache I have been dealing with with what I am currently using. It literally takes me forever to get a half way decent pic, it will be nice to be able to snap and go look at more Lincoln's!

[VAB2013]

Great news, Viv! I will add more later but I can tell this will work very well with some tweaking. Lighting is the key. As for editing, there are several free programs that will allow you to edit in post. For the money this will be hard to beat. Good news! Take care.

Tracy

Hello Tracy! Thank you so much for helping me with this research! I know you are very busy, and your knowledge on this subject is greatly appreciated! We may need your assistance on lighting techniques and software editing! Take care too! Thank you!

[VAB2013]

Jim, I just realized this thread should be in Off Topic Discussion (Coin Photography). Please move it for me, thank you!!

[makecents]

Pretty impresive Viv!! I was looking at specs on my Andonstar I bought a few years ago and it's only 2 megapixel and the Celestron is 5. Maybe I could get those pesky dots to show up with yours!!

[VAB2013]

Pretty impresive Viv!! I was looking at specs on my Andonstar I bought a few years ago and it's only 2 megapixel and the Celestron is 5. Maybe I could get those pesky dots to show up with yours!!

Thank you Jon! You are right, some images are very difficult to capture... even those pesky dots The Celestron Handheld Digitial Microscope Pro is listed as number 5 in the top 8 USB Microscopes on wiki.ezvid.com for 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=lszWLWwrmcY

I have gotten used to a handheld scope even though the one I currently have is very inferior. What I do like about it is I can search coins fast, and see the images on my monitor so there is less neck and back fatigue. It will be nice to still be able to do that and just pop the scope in the stand for taking photos.

[GrumpyEd]

Looks interesting, a simple setup for pics and does not cost an arm and a leg.

[duece2seven]

Hello Tracy! Thank you so much for helping me with this research! I know you are very busy, and your knowledge on this subject is greatly appreciated! We may need your assistance on lighting techniques and software editing! Take care too! Thank you!

You're welcome, Viv. I looked at the Celestron setup again. If you can turn the scope around backwards and counterweight the stand, that will allow you to max out the scopes working distance and also give you more flexibility with your external lighting. Hopefully, the scope's capability is much greater than the stand. More distance from coin means more light. You will need two $5-20 LED desk lamps after that and you'll be on your way. I use 2 Jansjo lamps from IKEA for close-ups and 2 Mainstays lamps from Walmart for whole coin shots. I will include links for these below for illustration purposes but I would shop around pricewise ( I only paid $6 for the Mainstays lights at Walmart but it appears they have gone up to $15 ).

For those of you who are new to this, please just understand one thing - buying ANY microscope camera at ANY price will NOT turn you into Ray Parkhurst overnight! Even the $1200 DinoLite cannot touch the quality of a Canon DSLR camera with all the trimmings. They're simply two different things. A microscope cam is made for searching and taking really good "Average" pictures. A DSLR is made to take high quality "Precise" pictures and is not made for searching. What Vivien is striving to achieve here is to help you guys find a happy medium that will allow you to both search and take much better than average pics for less than $100. I don't mean to scare you away from the Celestron because I think it's a really good value from what I can tell. Just PLEASE don't think you'll be getting a Bausch and Laumb quality scope and a Canon quality camera all rolled into one. Ain't gonna happen.

I really hope the Celestron can deliver for us. I see so many people on here struggling with poor quality microscope cams just like I did early in my searching days. Bad scopes lead to false attributions, bad pics, and a red arse!! I kid you not when I say this. I shutter to think just how many amateur cherrypickers have simply given up the hobby after posting 20 or 30 coins in a row that they just KNEW was their 1st big find only to be told "Nope. Sorry. All you have there is a normal strike that looks doubled due to your bright, friggin LED lights." !!! I have felt this pain many times and I truly hate to watch anyone go through that. This hobby is meant to be fun, not grief. I'm no expert by any means but I will be glad to offer any help I can as this thread evolves. This is a very important subject where the hobby is concerned in my opinion and I'm really glad to see Viv pursue it.

Tracy