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Koolertron LCD Digital Microscopes
ilmcoins
Posts: 525 ✭✭✭✭
I have seen some great images here from people using digital microscopes. The link below seems to be a very good one and is $20 off. Does anyone have this or a great recommendation for something similar in price?
Koolertron 4.3 inch 1080P LCD Digital USB Microscope with 10X-220X Magnification Zoom,8 LED Adjustable Light,Camera Video Recorder for Phone Repair Soldering Tool Jewelry Appraisal Biologic Use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J4K3JV9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KC3.DbZV9F0KQ
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The reviews are kind of spotty but as long as it can be returned you might be okay. I've seen some pretty awesome photos on this forum with $20 microscopes so make sure you do your research.
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This is an image from a $15 one I found on eBay a few years back. I just took a quick image but I could've played with the adjustable light to make the photo a bit richer. The software it came with was archaic, but it didn't take much to figure it out and get it running nicely.
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Good calls. I dont need professional photos.. just the ability to do closer inspections of scratches, alterations, etc.
Thank you for providing the link! I decided to buy it for $116.00 seems worth the try. I like it has a screen to view and the ability to snap a shot and put it on a card for easy transfer.
go ahead and get me one... I will PM you my address. I do not care if you ship it to me, or if you have them directly send it my way.
Legitimately though, I have a 20 dollar discount... did you see that... makes it a bit cheaper
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Nice job David a smart shopper!
I like the idea of a digital microscope and was unaware that they were very inexpensive. But I found one that I like a little better:
7 inch LCD Digital USB Microscope with 8G TF Card,Koolertron 12MP 1-1200X Magnification Handheld Camera Video Recorder,8 LED Light,Rechargeable Battery for Circuit Board Repair Soldering PCB Coins $119.00 - $20.00 discount.
For coin photography, I liked the following features:
I would like a model that connects directly to my computer with a USB port, which this one does not do. My existing set-up is Nikon D7000 with 100 mm macro lens. A Nikon digital microscope would be $2500-$6000. The Koolertron devices are a very economical package.
Thanks to the OP for a very informative post.
OINK
That does look like a better option. Thanks for the heads up.
You should be able to use the free tethering software "darktable" to connect your D7000 to your computer monitor via the USB or HDMI cable.
https://www.darktable.org/
Or you could use paid software like Nikon Camera Control, or https://www.tetherscript.com/controlmynikon-home/ .
Wow... and I just use a magnifying glass....
and an Android phone.... 
Onward pioneers.... the future lies ahead 
Cheers, RickO
Thanks Yosclimber. I do have Nikon Camera Control and a Kaiser copy stand. But disadvantages are that magnification is limited with my prime lens and using my 70-200 telescopic lens is too much of a good thing, and you only could get about 4x magnification. Not good for fine details on coins, but images are excellent. But large and bulky set up. The digital microscopes are very compact........could probably find space on my desk.
OINK
Thanks to this thread I went ahead and ordered one of these. Much nicer looking than the old Intel Play microscope setup years ago. I have my macro lens and copy stand for the beauty shots but I will probably use my new toy for varieties and such when the new cherrypicker’s guide comes out.
Did you order the one in the OP or the one OINK liked?
I > @ilmcoins said:
I went with the one in the OP. The 10-220x one with adjustable lights. I’ll probably keep it mostly at 10x as I suspect the increased magnification is just cropping the image to simulate the magnification.
How about with your 100mm macro lens?
I use a 100mm macro lens with my Canon T2i, and I can fill the frame of the sensor with a half dime. That is about 3400 pixels high.
Here is an example with the date of a half dime (open in new tab to see full size: 936 x 368).
I could get even closer, or closer still with an extension tube.
The above photo is cropped from a 3331 x 3313 photo of the full obverse.
On my screen the above date photo is 10.7 inches wide. On the coin, this date area is about 0.13 inches wide.
This is a magnification of about 82x.
Are you looking for more magnification than this?
If just looking at details on a coin in hand, I prefer to use a stereo microscope.
I use a Spencer / American Optical. These are around $100 on ebay.
The exaggerated stereo aspect makes a big difference.
A couple of years ago, I bought a $40 USB microscope on ebay, and tried using it to photograph coins.
It is not great for shooting the full coin and then cropping later on details like the above macro shot,
because its sensor is not that big.
It is also bad at colors - it does not have white balance correction like a good camera.
There is room on my desk for my Kaiser copy stand. I can just put other things on its base when I'm not using it.
I'd be interested any quick reviews that anyone may have who purchased one of the options mentioned above -- if the Amazon vs. FedEx spin up didn't slow things down too much, that is.
My quick review: it works quite well. I’m using mine with a battery pack instead of mains power. It’s basically a macro lens with a 12mp sensor. It’s quite sharp and the two adjustable lights are plenty bright. There is also a top down light to help fill in unwanted shadows. It uses a micro SD card if you’re not shooting tethered. The controls to switch modes (video/photo) are not the nicest but overall it’s a nice system and works nicely for identifying varieties, etc.
Mine came in and I sent it back yesterday for a refund, and got another model it just arrived today.
I now got me a Koolertron 5 inch LCD 1080P Wireless Remote Control Digital Microscope with Adjustable Stand, HDMI/AV/USB Output Camera Video Recorder with 8 LED Adjustable...
Sitting on my dinning room table collecting dust! It was about $60.00 more than the first one.
This one lets me zoom in more than once I thought that was a nice feature.
nice... when you can, show some images of coins. would like to see a fully zoomed out coins
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First Happy New Years to all. I managed to finally get my fingers moving. This is working off the unit and I have not teathered it yet to my screen. But this is on the lowest magnification x1.1
Using my remote on the upper arrow 20 presses stops at magnification x3.1.
Nine more presses on the remote to Maximum magnification x4.0
Then when I manually move the unit down closer to the coin maybe half way.
Then all the way down max closeness via the handle and using the focus . Really simple. Now if I can only figure out how to turn on the other two lights and need a SIM card to snap a few pictures.
I like it simple.
Connect the light switch and plug in via USB port for power.
Well maybe a few more cords if that does not bother you as there is no built in power for everything.
Thanks for the write up!
FYI So this is not the OPs pick but another style with a few more bells and whistles.