Is this any good?-Microscope

[Wilson]

B) Well, I was wondering if this is ok for a newbie at magnification. It falls in my small price range
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 :dunno:

[JoshinMO]

Should do great! :woohoo:

[clovisoid]

It's got a very low megapixel camera and uses a slower USB 2.0 which came out back in 2008 or so.  It was probably cutting edge back in the day.
It'll work for you, but the images on your computer probably won't be quite what you expect, but for the price it looks like a decent combination.

[painshill]

If you want a microscope that also produces pictures, I would agree that’s a poor amount of megapixels for a camera by modern standards and the actual image size is also rather small at 640 x 480 pixels. The advertorial picture is misleading because it shows an image displayed “full-screen” on a notebook of unspecified screen size. This is how an image of that size will actually display (unless forced to be full-screen by imaging software, in which case the resolution would be terrible):

  Also it’s not clear from the specification whether the device has its own drivers (installed from disc) as opposed to it using the standard generic drivers that come pre-installed with Windows. That can be a real issue. I threw away my old USB microscope a couple of years ago because it had its own drivers and they stopped working when I switched from Windows XP to Windows 7.
The issue was not so much the updating of Windows per se but more because I had a professional version of XP and my new PC came with the Home version of 7. Microsoft (for your comfort and convenience) now blocks the installation of “unsigned” third party drivers (ie where the device manufacturer has not paid Microsoft to verify that the drivers are fully compatible) on everything apart from the expensive Pro versions of Windows. Device manufacturers have to keep paying to keep their drivers as up to date as the Windows platform and many of them don’t do that (they rely on their own testing). There will then come a point in time where Windows doesn’t allow the drivers to be installed. On Pro versions of Windows, you simply get a warning if the drivers are “unsigned”, but you can proceed to install them anyway (and 99 times out of 100 they work fine).
My problem was that Windows blocked the installation of the unsigned drivers and wouldn’t allocate standard drivers to an unrecognised device. The manufacturer said no signed driver updates were available and couldn’t help further. I would never again buy another USB device (of any kind) that needs its own drivers. I always look for “plug and play” devices that don’t come with a driver disc. That’s what I have now: I use a small inexpensive Celestron portable device for low-medium power work and a Bresser USB microscope with an integral pre-viewing screen for high power work (too powerful for most lithic artefact examinations, but that’s not what I use it for).

[Wilson]

i  appreciate the help. I just hope since its new that is will be compatible with one of my computers. I was nervous about what the replies were gonna be.....lol

[JoshinMO]

Excuse my inexperience, i just started using a jewlers loop and am amazed at what can be seen through it.

[Wilson]

B) Scope came in. I dont know what I am doing yet, but Robert Butler was correct. I can see now :laugh: Oh, almost forgot.....I cancelled the order, and then re-ordered and got it for 225 with no tax and no shipping. 60 bucks less! :evil:

[Wilson]

B) Well, i got the scope and am getting used to it :dunno:  Looking over Bob Butlers kill letters and the items listed show up big time. The problem is that I am getting a black screen when I connect the camera. I installed the software??  I sent a note to Amscope. Amscope doesnt come with directions. The program starts up, But I guess it doesnt recognize the camera? Anyways, with using the 10x eyapieces, it looks pretty darn magnified to me? I havent tried the 20x yet. Dont know what I am  doing. It has a small area of vision. It has a 2x objective. I dont even know what a "objective" is? It says to install the driver? Does that happen when I run the disc or is it different? I dont think its safe to download from internet? I want it to work :rolf:  :rolf:    It takes a picture of the black screen :rolf:  The amscope screen pops up :unsure:

[painshill]

See my cautionary note about drivers earlier in this thread. All versions of Windows come with a universal set of generic drivers which work with many devices (cameras, printers, scanners etc) plus a selection of specific “signed” drivers tailored to popular device brands/types. If Windows does not recognise the device then it doesn’t have a driver available and should then offer you choices of something like “search the internet” (in which case Windows will try and find a website where compatible drivers are available) or “have disc” (for situations where you were provided with drivers by the device manufacturer).
The spec for your device says it comes with: “One CD with Software, Driver and User's Instructions for the Camera”. So you should have been offered the choice to install the drivers from your CD. Sometimes, devices have a specific protocol whereby it is necessary to install drivers first and reboot without the device plugged in before you connect it up. The manual should tell you the required sequence.
The packing list indicates that you should have received a paper manual for the microscope, but the separate manual for the camera is only on the CD (probably as a pdf file). You really should have looked at that first. If you are missing any documentation, you may be able to download it here:

http://www.amscope.com/download

You need to enter a password for your particular device (it tells you underneath the password box how to find it, and below that there’s a link to download camera related software/drivers).
As I warned, if those drivers on the disc are “unsigned” (or the Verisign is out of date) then Windows will probably block them from being installed unless you have a pro version of Windows. The only reason for downloading drivers from the web is to get a more up to date version than was supplied on the disc. That disc (or the device) could be several years old… and the spec actually suggests that it probably is. In general, if more up to date drivers are available, I would always look for them on the manufacturer’s site rather than allow Windows to try and find them for me. That’s a last resort.
Good luck.

[Wilson]

Whoever finds me that driver gets a couple arrowheads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  lol hope that was ok?

[Wilson]

Give a try tonight. BTW, I have a HP 8.1 I got 6 months ago new. Appreciate

[Hoss]

since you are running 8.1 you might need to use microsoft to install your camera software.  I bought a dell a few months back a lap top I was going to use for travel. it came with 8.1 installed.  The thing was telling me I need a Microsoft account (which is free of charge) to instal my printer.
I sent the PC back to dell because of a flaw and I am patiently waiting for windows to introduce windows 10. Anyway I hope that helps. Another thing you can try is this I do it because I do better as a visual learner.  Search for the camera by name or model. then try and see if there are tutorials on youtube.
Good luck with it. I hope it all works out for you because I would love to see your pictures.

[Ron Kelley]

Hi Wilson, Since you are not familiar with the scope this may help.
Look to see if your camera is listed under camera list: (See red arrow). If your camera is listed then click on the camera name to select it.

This tool must be extended outward to use the camera: (See red arrow).

If the above tool is pushed in you will get a black screen. If the scope is out of focus you may get a black screen. If the scope is pointed at a black base you will get a black screen.

Here is a screen shot with the scope focused and with the lighting adjusted, and with the point placed correctly.

And if you save that picture it looks like this. (Well I did decrease the file size)

   Attached files 

[painshill]

Wilson wrote: Whoever finds me that driver gets a couple arrowheads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  lol hope that was ok?

  In addition to that helpful advice from Ron... if you have installed the software (Toupview) from the CD, then you already have the drivers installed... according to this how-to video:

https://unitedscopellc.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/amscope-installing-toupview-software/

All you should then need to do is activate the camera from the list that appears when you run the software (also shown in that video).
If you then want to see if there is a more up to date driver available for the camera or a more up to date version of Toupview which I would guess is probably bundled with newer drivers, then check the link I originally provided... but you will need the password and/or will need to know exactly which model of camera came with your microscope. It seems that particular microscope has been sold at different times and at different prices with a number of different cameras of various specifications.

[Wilson]

:dunno: They sent me this. What do I do with a zip file? :dunno:  Please guide me through it. He said to unzip it and download the 2 drivers :dunno:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0t0ruf5u0eaqnsh/2014_05_03-mu%2Bmd-AmScope3.7.3036-Software-and-Driver.zip?dl=0