HELP WANTED:Digital Microscope

[N9WXU]

I need to upgrade my microscope.  I have a nice binocular dissection microscope that works well but it takes a lot of desk space and it does not allow me to take pictures of my work.  I often use the zoom function of my iPhone which works remarkably well but it is not a microscope.  So I bought a basic USB microscope.

It shows up on my PC & Mac as a basic webcam and works with any of the webcam applications.  I thought all was well but I ran into a few snags.

1) It is laggy.  It is very hard to solder under this microscope because the lag is probably 200msecs.

2) The focus & the zoom are interrelated.  When you get an acceptable zoom factor, (i.e. move the unit closer or farther from the work) you must then focus at that distance.  This often leaves me with only 50mm or so of room under the scope to work with.

3) It came with a goofy stand that does not weigh enough so I 3d printed something slightly better.  It needs some lead to hold it steady.

So now this is in my parts pile waiting for some future need (perhaps automated case inspection for my shooting hobby) and I am looking for a new unit.  Any ideas?

[Orunmila]

Have you tried something like this, it attaches to your IPhone via WiFi and it does 1000x enlargement. There is a whole bunch of them on Amazon, I think if you hit the image link you should get the comparison at the bottom, otherwise just search for "microscope camera for iphone" or something like that and you can check the reviews.

I saw these at Best Buy last week and almost got myself one for XMas!

https://amzn.to/2s6FsKV

 

[Orunmila]

Actually for soldering I am not sure that will work very well, I think the focal distance is too close to the tip, but they are cool, I want one!

EDIT: I see it claims focus range up to 250mm, which should be plenty, not sure if it can do that focus range at 1000x magnification though! 

[N9WXU]

The camera looks EXACTLY like the one I have.  It works ok for a basic microscope but not great for working under.  Mine is USB 2.0 but the lag and the lack of focal length really hurts it.

[Orunmila]

What is the frame rate that it is giving? The only reason I could imagine there would be lag is for transferring the data and if the lag is 200ms it should not get more than 5fps? If the frame rate is higher than that then I am stumped as to why they would implement it like this ...

[N9WXU]

frame rate seems like 30-60 fps but there is definitely a time-of-flight lag.

[Orunmila]

If the frame rates are that high it may depend a lot on the brand/make you get ...