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Post a picture taken with your USB digital microscope

BodinBodin Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭
There are SO MANY! How to choose? I was hoping to see some of your pics. Dino Lite's website has 68 different models listed for sale. SHEESH.
I do love my Olloclip, but I need to do better.

Comments

  • ms70ms70 Posts: 13,956 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This will be good info. Looking forward to the responses.

    Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

  • TwobitcollectorTwobitcollector Posts: 3,886 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Dino-Lite Plus AM311s

    image
    Positive BST Transactions with:
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  • I use my DSLR for full images of coins but use a digital microscope for closeups at times.
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  • pcunixpcunix Posts: 620
    There are so many. I bought and reviewed this AGPtek® USB 800X Digital Microscope
    . Pictures at the review. For my needs, I'm happy enough, but I'd prefer something easier to focus.
  • The problem with the lower end (cheap) digital microscopes is that they are usually .3MP and do not represent the correct color of coins. Another issue is control of the LED lights on some of them, this can be very problematic as it washes out the coin being viewed. It is very hard to bring color post op to an image where none is present. I just ordered a 9MP scope that when it gets here, I will post pics and a review. I actually own % of the under 75.00 scopes and 2 of the higher dollar scopes and have not liked the overall performance when trying to do a full coin image. I am also working on a digital CMOS sensor set up that is a bit more expensive and is 10MP we shall see...
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,773 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Stay away from Dino-Lite. It is total junk as far as I'm concerned.

    When I went to Windows 7 the thing would not work, and even when it did work the white balance was always off.

    I bought the thing at a coin show and it has been several hundred dollars wasted.

    To expand on this, the thing is totally useless for slabbed coins. The internal lightly system does nothing but reflect back into the lens. If you try to use an external light source, the white balance can't be corrected. They have lights at the shows that make their product look good to sell the thing to you, but they don't offer those lights for sale and won't tell you where to buy them. The sales people are there only sell the product, not to help the consumer.

    As you can see I am a very dissatisfied customer.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • Wabbit2313Wabbit2313 Posts: 7,268 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Lostincoins must be using this version:

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  • blu62vetteblu62vette Posts: 11,943 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Taken using a camera, I have never been impressed with result from digital microscopes.

    They are not cameras so do not expect a high quality image.

    image
    http://www.bluccphotos.com" target="new">BluCC Photos Shows for onsite imaging: Nov Baltimore, FUN, Long Beach http://www.facebook.com/bluccphotos" target="new">BluCC on Facebook
  • CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭
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  • halfhunterhalfhunter Posts: 2,770 ✭✭✭
    Dino-lite 411T
    Thru plastic
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    Thru Mint pliofilm
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    Not the greatest pictures, but not totally awful either, especially since I'm horrible with a camera. Would probably get better if I played with it more.
    I now mostly use 2 ott-lites with it.

    HH


    Need the following OBW rolls to complete my 46-64 Roosevelt roll set:
    1947-P & D; 1948-D; 1949-P & S; 1950-D & S; and 1952-S.
    Any help locating any of these OBW rolls would be gratefully appreciated!
  • GotTheBugGotTheBug Posts: 1,717 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I bought the Dino Lite 1.5mp with the lights that can be turned off, along with the light box. I find the device to be a most useful tool, since I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn high-end photography.

    [URL=http://s112.photobucket.com/user/ondisplay1/media/1887TenCents-AU-Obverse_zps151db329.jpg.html]image[/URL]

    [URL=http://s112.photobucket.com/user/ondisplay1/media/1887TenCents-AU-Reverse_zpsc686135f.jpg.html]image[/URL]
  • LanceNewmanOCCLanceNewmanOCC Posts: 19,999 ✭✭✭✭✭
    .
    does anyone use a 500x or 800x? i saw some recently and was curious if the magnification was close to accurate.

    i've used 300x many years ago and would enjoy seeing updates.

    also would be nice to compare to my microscopic objective i purchased from a kind board member.
    .

    <--- look what's behind the mask! - cool link 1/NO ~ 2/NNP ~ 3/NNC ~ 4/CF ~ 5/PG ~ 6/Cert ~ 7/NGC 7a/NGC pop~ 8/NGCF ~ 9/HA archives ~ 10/PM ~ 11/NM ~ 12/ANACS cert ~ 13/ANACS pop - report fakes 1/ACEF ~ report fakes/thefts 1/NCIS - Numi-Classes SS ~ Bass ~ Transcribed Docs NNP - clashed coins - error training - V V mm styles -

  • DaveWcoinsDaveWcoins Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Taken using a camera, I have never been impressed with result from digital microscopes.

    They are not cameras so do not expect a high quality image.

    image >>



    Oh man Blu62vette -- that is one cool image!
    Dave Wnuck. Redbook contributor; long time PNG Member; listed on the PCGS Board of Experts. PM me with your email address to receive my e-newsletter, and visit DaveWcoins.com Find me on eBay at davewcoins
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,572 ✭✭✭✭✭
    One of my nephews found a 1937 DDO Quarter cherry picking. I thought I found one and then used the digital microscope . Looks like someone tried to "make" one, upon closer inspection.
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  • CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭
    image

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  • DIMEMANDIMEMAN Posts: 22,403 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I wish the was a good cheap camera for us non-photographer people.
  • CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭
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  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,773 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A worthless piece of junk. The one I have is useless. A waste of several hundred dollars.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • Cam40Cam40 Posts: 8,146
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  • CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭


    << <i>A worthless piece of junk. The one I have is useless. A waste of several hundred dollars. >>



    What model do you have?

    Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots

  • This image is from a dino lite

    image

  • I can not attest to the photography aspects as I am basically computer stupid.

    But I use my Dino Lite extensively for the ease of variety identifications. It is
    easy and convenient to use and the images displayed on the monitor are great.

    doug
  • TreashuntTreashunt Posts: 6,747 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • rmpsrpmsrmpsrpms Posts: 1,948 ✭✭✭✭✭
    For $350 you can buy a decent (used) Canon DSLR, appropriate lengths of extensions and adapters, a 4x or 5x microscope objective, and a tripod or cheap copy stand and get near world-class results.
    PM me for coin photography equipment, or visit my website:

    http://macrocoins.com
  • KyleKyle Posts: 1,822 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Taken with a cell phone (iPhone 4s) and a $2 loupe.

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    Successful BST Transactions With: tonedase, streg2, airplanenut, coindeuce, vibr0nic, natetrook, Shrub68, golden, Lakesammman, drddm, Ilikecolor, CoinJunkie, wondercoin, lablover
  • RonyahskiRonyahski Posts: 3,119 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good timing on the post. I just bought a Dino-Lite AM4115ZT at the ANA show and got it two days ago. So now I am fiddling around with it. The main reason I bought it was the seemingly ease of use - just click and there is the picture on the screen. Keep it or delete and try again. It is also much easier on the close ups.

    This picture was taken using a dome with one Ott light. Diffused lighting subdues the luster, but is easier to control the lighting. I'm not yet pleased with the crispness of the picture, don't know if it is me or the scope.

    And now BillJones comments and others have me wondering, can you really get full coin pictures that are detailed and crisp. I compare my picture to other posts with camera pics and think they are better. You can see detail like the die lines on this coin, but something still seems a bit blurry about the pic. Any thoughts?

    image
    Some refer to overgraded slabs as Coffins. I like to think of them as Happy Coins.
  • rmpsrpmsrmpsrpms Posts: 1,948 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The inherent blurriness you see is diffraction at work. USB microscopes are designed to have good depth of field so you can take a single picture and it is all in focus. The optical aperture (basically the diameter of the optics compared with the focal length) is small to achieve this, but the tradeoff for good depth of field is blurriness from diffraction. Regular camera optics can do better because the optics are relatively larger in diameter so they don't show as much diffraction blurriness. But the tradeoff is that they have shallower depth of field, so only a part of the image in a narrow plane is in focus. In this case it is possible to take multiple images, each at different focal planes, and use software to compose a final image made up of just the in-focus pixels. This is called focus-stacking. However, for most of the USB microscopes the depth of field is quite deep and focus stacking does not make sense or would not be helpful.
    PM me for coin photography equipment, or visit my website:

    http://macrocoins.com
  • blu62vetteblu62vette Posts: 11,943 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>And now BillJones comments and others have me wondering, can you really get full coin pictures that are detailed and crisp. >>



    I think by definition, no. These are not cameras. They are microscopes meant for close-ups. Why would they take good full coin pics?
    http://www.bluccphotos.com" target="new">BluCC Photos Shows for onsite imaging: Nov Baltimore, FUN, Long Beach http://www.facebook.com/bluccphotos" target="new">BluCC on Facebook
  • RonyahskiRonyahski Posts: 3,119 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The inherent blurriness you see is diffraction at work. USB microscopes are designed to have good depth of field so you can take a single picture and it is all in focus. The optical aperture (basically the diameter of the optics compared with the focal length) is small to achieve this, but the tradeoff for good depth of field is blurriness from diffraction. Regular camera optics can do better because the optics are relatively larger in diameter so they don't show as much diffraction blurriness. But the tradeoff is that they have shallower depth of field, so only a part of the image in a narrow plane is in focus. In this case it is possible to take multiple images, each at different focal planes, and use software to compose a final image made up of just the in-focus pixels. This is called focus-stacking. However, for most of the USB microscopes the depth of field is quite deep and focus stacking does not make sense or would not be helpful. >>



    Most helpful, thanks.
    Some refer to overgraded slabs as Coffins. I like to think of them as Happy Coins.
  • RonyahskiRonyahski Posts: 3,119 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The inherent blurriness you see is diffraction at work. USB microscopes are designed to have good depth of field so you can take a single picture and it is all in focus. The optical aperture (basically the diameter of the optics compared with the focal length) is small to achieve this, but the tradeoff for good depth of field is blurriness from diffraction. Regular camera optics can do better because the optics are relatively larger in diameter so they don't show as much diffraction blurriness. But the tradeoff is that they have shallower depth of field, so only a part of the image in a narrow plane is in focus. In this case it is possible to take multiple images, each at different focal planes, and use software to compose a final image made up of just the in-focus pixels. This is called focus-stacking. However, for most of the USB microscopes the depth of field is quite deep and focus stacking does not make sense or would not be helpful. >>



    Most helpful, thanks.
    Some refer to overgraded slabs as Coffins. I like to think of them as Happy Coins.

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