Andonstar Digital Microscope w/LCD Screen and HD Camera Review

Andonstar Digital Microscope w/LCD Screen and HD Camera Review

Buy it at Amazon: Andonstar Digital Microscope w/LCD Screen and HD Camera [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Easy to setup and use, clear video and photos, strong magnification, but don't lose the remote!

You’ll receive the microscope, a set of 12 prepared slides, stage clip block, three light filters: white black and translucent, a remote control, USB power cord with dual connectors and an instruction manual. The microscope is 8.5” H x 7” L x 4.5” W. Its construction is mostly lightweight plastic, and it has a 5” diagonal LCD. Just under the screen, the black tube is the focus controller for the lens. The large blue knobs control the height of the lens which can move up and down about 2 inches. Directly below the lens is the LED light source which you can use with any of the 3 light filters to produce difference images when viewing your slides. Before use, be sure to remove the lens protector cap over the lens.

Along the bottom edge of the screen are physical controls like power, mode, zoom in and out, IR receiver for the remote, brightness adjustment, OK key, and photo key. The remote control has more options than the physical buttons and can access menus and settings not found on the microscope's display panel, so be sure not to lose thhe remote control! The screen angle is also tilt-adjustable about 60 degrees. At the back of the microscope on the base, is the power port for the illuminator. Use barrel plug on the USB charging cable to power the light. At the top of the screen you have the microUSB charging port, three status LEDs, and a microSD card slot. The SD card slot accepts up to a 64 GB card, though one is not included. Once inserted, push down on the card and it should click into place. There is an empty port on the far left next to the SD card slot that is not used for anything. The hole to the far right is the reset pin hole. The right-angled USB connector on the charging cable connects to the power port on the LCD screen and when plugged in and charging, the first LED illuminates red and shuts off when fully charged. The unit can operate unplugged from the wall for several hours on a full charge.

When plugged into a power source, the microscope will automatically turn on the LCD and the LED light in the base. The microscope comes with a random set of 12 slides. Each slide has a colorful background, a label to the left describing the sample, the sample in the middle, and a graphic on the right that shows where the sample came from. Mine had samples from both plants and animals. To view the slides, first place them on the stage clip block, which has spring loaded clips that lift and rotate to keep your slides in place. But you’ll notice that out-of-the-box the spring clips are set quite high and aren’t able to tightly grip the slides. So what I did was use a small screwdriver to tighten the screws at the springs to lower them a bit and provide more tension.

After placing the slide and block under the lens, adjust the height of the lens lower until the image is in focus or use the black focus ring on the lens tube to bring the view into sharp focus. The magnification is about 200x. You’ll notice that the microscope is quite sensitive to table vibrations, and the image will shake around for a bit before stabilizing it you tap the table or touch the LCD, for example, to zoom in and out with the physical controls. To avoid causing vibrations when touching the screen, you can use the remote control to zoom in and out instead. The most zoom you can achieve at 8x digital zoom. It’s important to note that the photo button doesn’t actually do anything when you press it. To take a photo or video of what’s happening on the screen, you actually have to press the OK button. The same is true on the remote control. To start or stop recording, press the OK button, and the red photo button on top doesn’t do anything.

When viewing a sample, if you hit freeze on the remote, then the image on the screen will not change even if you move the sample around until you unfreeze the camera feed. When you change the mode the photo mode, the proportions are slightly different, but you can capture 12 MP still photos from the camera by pressing the OK button. The third mode is playback mode and you can view the recorded videos and photos saved to the SD card. You can also choose to lock them or delete them. The gridline feature is interesting because it allows you to add and customize 9 on-screen lines when you turn the cross hair option on. You can adjust the settings of each line which is assigned a number by selecting whether it’s vertical or horizontal, choosing a color, line width, and position on the screen. This can help you orient and define specific areas of interest on the sample you are viewing.

While you can view samples in the microscope without using any of the light filters, the filters can help you see details not viewable without them. When installing the filters, note that there’s a shiny side and matter side of each disc. Be sure to install the discs matte side up so that the light can pass through and diffuse correctly. With the translucent filter, I found that I could see more layers of the sample as edges are better defined and there is less reflection from the adhesive that holds the sample tot he slide. With the solid white filter, I saw more textures because the light doesn’t pass through the sample from the bottom, but is instead reflected from the top surface back to the lens. And finally, with the black disc, I saw more defined contrast of the sample versus the dark background, which gave a better view of some of the definition and detail of the sample.

Overall, this digital camera microscope works well and provides high-definition video and photos from its lens at a decently high magnification at around 200x. The images and video are clear and the microscope is easy to use. Not only would this be a fun and educational tool for kids to use and learn from, it can also be used for practical examination of small objects and electronics repair.

Buy it at Amazon: Andonstar Digital Microscope w/LCD Screen and HD Camera [Affiliate Link]