Digital Microscope (QX-5) $49.95 @ Blacks Photo

[skinflint]

Blacks Photo has the QX-5 Digital Microscope (http://www.blackphoto.com/blacks/product.jsp?skuId=5464&prdId=5464) on sale (both online and instore) for $49.95 (50% off). Seems like a good gift for those with kids.

This QX-5 Digital Microscope can capture and record images and video on most PC computers. Make learning fun while experimenting with the microscope and the PC, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Resolution - 640 x 480 VGA resolution when streaming to PC
Magnification - 10x, 60x, 200x

Well I thought I had struck gold with this present - the kids were throwing around words like awesome and cool for maybe an hour - even though the 200X power never worked they were having a great time. Then a blue screen (XP) - first time I have ever seen one for a hardware device - then thing wouldn't work - tried updating driver - still no picture. It will be heading back to Blacks - I am not sure if I will try another. I also ordered the Radio Shack one - but it didn't make it in time for Santa and will see if it works as well.

[fun4uoc]

Blacks Photo has the QX-5 Digital Microscope (http://www.blackphoto.com/blacks/product.jsp?skuId=5464&prdId=5464) on sale (both online and instore) for $49.95 (50% off). Seems like a good gift for those with kids.

This QX-5 Digital Microscope can capture and record images and video on most PC computers. Make learning fun while experimenting with the microscope and the PC, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Resolution - 640 x 480 VGA resolution when streaming to PC
Magnification - 10x, 60x, 200x


Had a microscope when I was a kid and would have killed for it to do what this one does.:lol:

http://www.only-the-best.org/pics/95e6834d0a3d99e9ea8811855ae9229d.jpg

[killoverme]

hmm maybe i should get one of these. what is the return policy at blacks anyways? just incase it sucks

[robg]

Thanks for this, skinflint. I stumbled across the one thesource has which is double the price, on sale as well. That one has way more magnification tho, fwiw...

By the way, here's the product website for this one:
http://digiblue.com/digital_blue/qx5.html

Bummer... looks like I missed a deal for the one from thesource:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=669022&highlight=eastcolight

[killoverme]

Thanks for this, skinflint. I stumbled across the one thesource has which is double the price, on sale as well. That one has way more magnification tho, fwiw...

By the way, here's the product website for this one:
http://digiblue.com/digital_blue/qx5.html

Bummer... looks like I missed a deal for the one from thesource:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=669022&highlight=eastcolight

damn that makes me not want to get it now lol. since that one was 450x and this is only 200x =/ how much is 200x anyways...

[robg]

damn that makes me not want to get it now lol. since that one was 450x and this is only 200x =/ how much is 200x anyways...

Yeah, it's a good bit more, for sure, plus the fact that the res of these things is not that high so you can't really "zoom" it after the fact either.

I've decided I'm going to pass for now.

[Black Adder]

damn that makes me not want to get it now lol. since that one was 450x and this is only 200x =/ how much is 200x anyways...

I don't think that having a higher magnification on these things is really too important. It's probably like cheap telescopes which are generally sold by magnification number (eg 450x!), while actually viewing anything above 100x is useless because there isn't enough light coming in the end of the scope to see anything. Back to this microscope, I see Amazon reviewers have given it a pretty high rating (http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Entertainment-QX5-ENTERTAINMENT-Microscope/dp/sciencehobbyist/B0002HLKI2). I'm tempted to get one for my son now. Thanks for posting OP.

[Tornado F2]

Had a microscope when I was a kid and would have killed for it to do what this one does.:lol:


These USB-connected microscopes sound like they could be fun for inquisitive kids, but I'd wait a bit longer for higher-res sensors to come to market. There's no real point in buying a 640x480 (0.3 MP) model when a 1 or 2 MP model would be much more useful and shouldn't cost more than a few dollars more to manufacture.

[takumi111]

YES

now i can check my food for melamine

[Tornado F2]

YES

now i can check my food for melamine

Even "good" food probably looks gross under a microscope - though it would still be fascinating, for a while.

[skinflint]

These USB-connected microscopes sound like they could be fun for inquisitive kids, but I'd wait a bit longer for higher-res sensors to come to market. There's no real point in buying a 640x480 (0.3 MP) model when a 1 or 2 MP model would be much more useful and shouldn't cost more than a few dollars more to manufacture.

I agree .. I wish it were higher resolution ... etc ... but I am pretty sure that my kids won't ever be better 'equipped' to enjoy it than now. :)

BTW you can get an idea of what this thing can do by having a look at Flickr.

http://flickr.com/photos/tags/qx5/interesting/

[snplow]

Back in the day when studying for lab finals, I would take a normal digital camera and put it up to the eyepiece to photograph the slide.

Its in very sharp focus and the image can fill up most of the field of view if you zoom in.

If I can find one, I can post a sample pic up here!

[h_alone]

This Scope was originally designed by Intel in 1999/2000. It was called QX3. I have one that I bought on clearance for $40 6 years ago. It is nice for young kids.
But as many mentioned, it is old technology. The resolution is too low. The plastic knobs are really difficult to adjust. Takes my daughter for ever to get the picture focused correctly.
Was fun few years ago. But now it is too old.

[JWL]

These USB-connected microscopes sound like they could be fun for inquisitive kids, but I'd wait a bit longer for higher-res sensors to come to market. There's no real point in buying a 640x480 (0.3 MP) model when a 1 or 2 MP model would be much more useful and shouldn't cost more than a few dollars more to manufacture.

The original Intel QX3 came out in 1999. The Qx5 has been around since at least 2004. I don't think an upgrade is coming any time soon. It's not like this is a product under active development and is updated regularly.

[pulsar123]

You may in fact already possess a more powerful, and higher quality digital microscope - your point and shoot digital photo camera. I have a rather old one (Canon A620, 8 megapixels), which has a very small minimum shooting distance - d=10 mm (in macro mode). Other important parameters: the sensor size is 1/1.8", which means the sensor height is h=5.3 mm, the focal length f=7.3 mm, the pixel height is i=2304 pixels. Using geometric optics, one can calculate then the distance from the lens to the sensor, s=1/(1/f-1/d)=27 mm. The image of the object will be s/d=2.7x larger on the sensor than in reality. Which means that the full height of the image will correspond to h/2.7=1.93 mm in the real world, and each pixel will correspond to 1.93mm/i=0.00084 mm in the real world.

So, with the closest shooting distance, with A620 one can see details as small as 0.0008 mm! With modern cameras (more than 8 megapixels) one can see even smaller details.

I don't know what they mean by "200x magnification" for QX5. More meaningful number would be the pixel size in mm. But I doubt that QX5 can provide better resolution than my 2 years old P&S camera.

[skinflint]

I can't but agree with those who suggest a Point and Shoot provides impressive macro capabilities. My Canon S3 can do amazing things particularly when you put a styrofoam bowl around its lens as a flash diffuser ....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/469493861_b51d9a63a6_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/469476716_1ca024db3d_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/469493269_8687568a20_o.jpg

However, the S3 costs more than $50.00 and is a little harder from my kids to use, and probably easier for them to break. I also don't know if it can do the same level of magnification - I will let you know after Santa shows up.

[Black Adder]

I can't but agree with those who suggest a Point and Shoot provides impressive macro capabilities. My Canon S3 can do amazing things particularly when you put a styrofoam bowl around its lens as a flash diffuser ....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/469493861_b51d9a63a6_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/469476716_1ca024db3d_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/469493269_8687568a20_o.jpg

However, the S3 costs more than $50.00 and is a little harder from my kids to use, and probably easier for them to break. I also don't know if it can do the same level of magnification - I will let you know after Santa shows up.

Very nice shots.

[fatpiggy]

very nice shots.

+1

[Captain Snazzypants]

TSCC has two such models with prices slashed from $130 down to $38 and $69 down to $19.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/SearchResults.aspx?language=en-CA&ref=2000&aff=IntactEarnings&keywords=microscope&pagenum=0

Tempting...

[mobile_mic]

I owned the Intel QX-5 previously (it croaked - got full refund from Intel) and I currently own the EastCoLight with USB camera from TSCC (I paid $50 - now at $39).

The QX-5 is great because it has a whole package of software that makes great videos of what kids see under the microscope. You can even animate them with music. It is well suited for kids and older science-geeks (like me). It is meant to be used as a dissecting scope (also called stereoscope) with a small object (like a penny or an ant) placed under the lens and viewed with overhead lighting. It can be used for slides, but it is not very good for it. As pointed out by others, a good quality digital camera can do a better job than the QX-5, but I was able to make a time-lapse photovideo of a spider getting beaten up by a centipede (set to rockin banjo music) with my QX-5 in about 5 minutes with the included software. It was easy and fun. This is a great product. $50 is an awesome price. YouTube video of QX-5 production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJPCD9o05E

The EastCoLight camera microscope (TSCC) is a more complex compound microscope. It requires the use of glass slides with a mounted specimen that is cut thinly enough to allow light to pass through it. The lighting comes from beneath the stage, and allows for a different perspective on the specimen being examined. A skin flake, plant fiber, or perhaps the squished leg of an ant would be good candidate specimens. The software package that comes with it includes ArcSoft PhotoImpression and ArcSoft VideoImpression (full versions). The USB camera can also serve as a webcam. This package is better suited for older / more advanced kids, and requires an extra notch of geekiness to really enjoy. $39 is an awesome price.

But wait, you can have both the Intel QX-5 dissecting scope (Blacks) and The EastCoast compound scope (TSCC) for $89 + tax. Wow! Every school science teacher should be ordering these for the bio lab.

BTW, the EastCoast Microscope package is good for both Vista and XP (an important issue as anyone who does video capture). I'm not sure if the QX-5 has Vista support (XP for sure - several sites report it is NOT Vista compatible - BUT manufacturer site says it is compatible). Vista users beware!

[bogey]

:arrowu:

It does not appear that there is anything that will prevent you from illuminating the specimen from the top re: the Eastcolight scope (in addition to back-lighting).
As long as the objective barrel is not extremely close to the specimen.

[mobile_mic]

You can use both microscopes for either application. If you want to look at slides primarily, go with the Eastcolight. If you want to look at solid objects close up primarily, go with the QX-5.

:arrowu:

It does not appear that there is anything that will prevent you from illuminating the specimen from the top re: the Eastcolight scope (in addition to back-lighting).
As long as the objective barrel is not extremely close to the specimen.