Product Description

A large breakthrough in microscope design! It has a digital camera and LED illuminator built into a small, compact package that weighs just three ounces. You view and capture images (snapshots or video) at 20x power or 400x power on a PC or laptop computer with the attached USB cable. This microscope can be used in virtually every area where a traditional microscope is used. What Uses Are There for the HDM? Hobbyists - gems, coins, stamps, collectibles, relics, etc. Consumers - adults nd children for learning and discovery of the world around them from plants, insects, prepared slides, rocks, foods, etc. Teachers - Students for individuals or groups in the educational process at all levels covering chemistry, biology, botany, and many other fields. Industry - inspection of electronic assembly components and many different materials such as metals, plastics, textiles, etc. Used by jewelers, geologists, printers, breweries, miners, and in many other industries. Medical - dermatology, dental, and veterinary use. Examinations in doctors offices. Used in many different medical fields from medical schools, medical labs, and hospitals. Government - many different areas for public health and safety such as forensics, lab work, pharmaceuticals, water quality, forgeries, military work, etc. Science - uses in the fields of archeology, oceanography, metallurgy, etc.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #913 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Celestron
• Model: 44300
• Dimensions: .60 pounds

Features

• Handheld digital microscope with 20x and 400x magnification
• Digital camera and LED illuminator
• Small, compact package that weighs just three ounces
• View and capture images (snapshots or video) at 20x power or 400x power
• White LED illumination and USB 2.0 connectivity

Amazon.com Description
The Celestron 44300 Handheld Digital Microscope is a large breakthrough in microscope design. It has a digital camera and LED illuminator built into a small, compact package that weighs just three ounces. You view and capture images (snapshots or video) at 20x power or 400x power on a PC or laptop computer with the attached USB cable. This microscope can be used in virtually every area that a traditional microscope is used. It also features a knurled ring for focusing, white LED illumination, and CD-ROM driver. Operating system requirements are Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista.

Customer Reviews

An excellent microscope for the price
Received and tested. Found Celestron handheld microscope all that it claimed to be. With either 20x or 400x, together with computer software magnifications I was able to effectively range in magnification from 20x to 400x...Clear images were easily obtainable and the four LED lamps together with self adjusting software provided excellent lighting. computer installation of included software is relatively fast and easy.

Poor Quality Control, Not Recommended
The major problems I had with this item are:

1. The lens had edge-to-edge streaks on the surface.
2. The image had constant blobs that did not move, as if the CCD was dirty.
3. The focus cylinder would stick and jump making focusing impossible. A drop of grease could have fixed this.
4. The software issued a Windows Certificate warning and has no options to set the install directory. It is a one-shot installation.

The microscope is too expensive for such poor quality.

Doesn't work with Vista 64 bit
The driver won't work with windows Vista 64 bit system. I found this out after talking to multiple support people and submitting requests on the internet. I never recieved any response, I always had to spend 20 minutes on hold to talk to someone.

Camera feels cheap and I imagine it would be difficult to push "click" button without shaking the camera.
Since I was never able to use it, I can't say if the quality is good or bad.
I have used Dino-lite scopes before and I was impressed with them, that is what I am going to buy right now.

I was impressed with Amazon's return procedure, if you buy one it will be easy to return.