AmScope SM-4BZ-80S Professional Binocular Stereo Zoom Microscope, WH10x Eyepieces, 3.5X-90X Magnification, 0.7X-4.5X Zoom Objective, 80-Bulb LED Ring Light, Double-Arm Boom Stand, 90V-265V, Includes 0.5x and 2.0x Barlow Lenses

I have a one man computer repair business. I also repair phones and tablets. I've purchased some things to make my job easier. For soldering I bought a rework station and also a separate soldering iron. For small items I used either a round 8" lighted magnifying glass or lighted seamstress glasses. But they aren't good enough for soldering some items, such as some ribbon cables as on the iPod Touch 5th Generation A1509. There are a bunch of soldering points right next to each other and I couldn't do the work with my equipment. I had turned down some jobs because of this. I finally decided to bite the bullet and spend the money. Now, I wish I had done it a long time ago. This is very heavy. The base alone probably weighs 20 or 30 pounds. That keeps the whole assembly from tipping over. There is practically no angle you can't get. Up down, left right etc. It comes with a .5x and a 2x barlow lens. I put the .5x lens on and looked at what will be my first soldering job with this microscope and I was amazed at how large and clear it looked. No way could I ever achieve this with my other equipment. This will make soldering so much easier. Since the .5x lens did that, I decided to try the 2x lens. WOW! It was extremely large. But I can't use the 2x lens for my needs. The 2x lens will be great for someone who needs to do something other than soldering. With the 2x lens attached, you need to put your specimen or whatever right up next to the lens. That's no good for soldering. For me, the 2x lens would be for playing around looking at bugs or something, but the .5x lens will be great for soldering. The eye pieces also adjust. You can move them farther apart or closer together depending on how near or far apart your eyes are. You can twist each eyepiece individually. Most people don't have 20-20 vision and each eye is different. With this, you close one eye and twist the eyepiece till your specimen is in focus, then close that eye and do the same with the other eyepiece to get both perfectly focused for your vision. You only need to do this once. I could go on and on, but I don't want to write a book. Suffice it to say, this microscope is more than worth the money. As I said previously...I wish I had bought this a long time ago.

Having owned this 3.5 to 90X Am Scope for over 5 years, I am very pleased with it. I paid less than $300 for it and it is very similar to the $2000 microscope I purchased and used in my Circuit Card Repair shop in the Air Force. The dual arms make it much more stable than a single arm model and the base is heavy to prevent tipping. I use it in the 7X to 45X configuration (10X eyepieces with no .5X or 2X Barlow lens) which gives me a 6 inch working distance between the bottom of the lens and the table. This allows plenty of room for working with a soldering iron. The ring light is adequate, but I like to use a separate LED lamp to provide better depth perception. Having a goose-neck light would be ideal. Unlike fixed magnification microscopes, this one has a zoom which allows me to solder at a lower setting and then easily zoom in to inspect my work. It is also simple to focus.

bad quality

The microscopes themselves are decent for what you pay. That said, the electronics are below average. I have multiple Amscope microscopes and I have had lights go out on two units. One unit I took the LED control box apart and desoldered/resoldered a cold solder joint on the PCBA. The other microscope has a bad potentiometer. It is probably a $3 part and I did the troubleshooting. The company doesnt want to simply send me a new part for a microscope that is 5 weeks old (I am going to repair it). After I have spent time going through and troubleshooting what is wrong, they have the nerve to ask me to pay shipping. Microscopes are pretty good for what you get. The electronics leave a lot to be desired and you are on your own if something goes wrong.

This was a stretch for my budget; but I know that i will be glad years from now that I went for the quality. The entire assembly is well built and functions flawlessly. The optical quality is as good as I expected. I considered buying the trinocular version. I decided against that because of some comments about the camera quality and the fact that it was set up for a proprietary camera. I would only consider such a scope if I could choose a camera from other sources.

Excellent product but be warned. The item came missing many of the small screws required for assembly. Luckily I happened to have most of them on hand and it did not cause too many problems.

I wasn't expecting an awful lot from the Chinese-made optics of this unit, but I was pleasantly surprised. It works great with a very clear view, very little aberration of any kind. The only problem is that it has a small exit pupil so you have to hold your head and eyes very still so as not to lose the image. I think that's a common issue with these devices and not actually a fault. It also has quite good build quality. I think the base plate is the heaviest object I've ever encountered that wasn't designed for weight-lifting.

Product is great as was the service . I use this for many inspection applications . Not for Biological purposes that's a different unit . I would suggest getting the led light in stead of the florescent but that was my mistake . I would recommend this to any one wanting a quality professional scope . Its heavy duty I love it .