Plugable USB Digital Microscope 250x, 2MP Micro Camera with Flexible Arm Stand - Handheld USB & USB-C Microscope, Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, Linux, Android, iPad Compatible

I was VERY skeptical about this little device, but I needed something to help me rework some old Macintosh logic boards and decided to give it a try. I was very impressed with the quality, ease of use and overall utility of the camera. I downloaded the viewer app from the manufacturer's web site and plugged it into my Windows PC and that was it. The camera provided crisp, bright images of the tiny surface mount components I needed to work on. The light and focus work very well at it's all powered from the USB cable so no additional power supplies or wires. The cable supports regular USB-A with a USB-C adapter so it will work with everything. The zoom from 50-250x is a bit of a misnomer. There is no zoom control; rather it works like a regular microscope where you move the object closer or further away to get the desired picture. The focus control then allows you to see the picture clearly at whatever distance you have decided to view from. It comes with a sturdy stand and mount that work well. Overall, a really nice product and a very good value.

In my search for an inexpensive, entry level digital USB microscope, I found thousands for sale on Amazon. I read many reviews and finally decided to give the Plugable Digital Microscope a try. Here's what I found.... At the $35 price point, I certainly wasn't expecting "Dino-Lite" quality or performance, but I must say that I was not disappointed. The Plugable is all plastic, but appears to be reasonably well made. It was easy to setup and get the software installed. The drivers and software are not included, but there is a link to them in the included "quick start" guide. I prefer to download software and drivers to get the most recent versions. Once the software is installed and the microscope is assembled on the stand, just plug in the USB connection and you're ready to go. The software is easy to use and appears to provide just about everything you need to make the most of the microscope. You can take photos or videos. There is a button on the camera for photos, but you can also click on the software button to take a picture. Since the microscope is so sensitive and can be easily moved out of position, I found it much more beneficial to take photos by clicking the button in the software. Fact vs fiction??? The specs state that the microscope will provide 10x to 250x magnification. I didn't see any way to vary the magnification so I contacted customer service. They told me that the magnification depends on the distance the microscope is from the object in conjunction with the focus ring. It's somewhat confusing and takes getting used to, but you will get "interesting" results. In reality, there is no way to even come close to guessing what magnification you're at. I have included some photos of a quarter at various "magnifications". As I said, it's just a matter of moving the microscope closer to the quarter and focusing accordingly. If you place the microscope right on the object and continuing turning the focus ring towards the "+", you will get two focus points, the later one being the highest magnification possible. Hopefully, the photos will demonstrate what I'm talking about. Overall, if you just want to have some fun and you're not doing serious research or lab work, this is worth a try. It won't break the bank and it's fun for "kids" of all ages. I'm 63, retired and always looking for new "toys". I did have to contact customer service regarding a minor issue I was having with the software. Sam, the customer service rep was very patient and knowledgeable and stayed with me until he reached a satisfactory resolution. His customer service made this purchase well worth the very reasonable price!

This is a really nice little scope for the money. It has helped in my coin hunting a lot. However, for me I think one with more megapixels is needed. It just does not have enough definition when I get zoomed in close on my coins. The pics are still a little grainy and that makes it difficult to identify some errors and varieties on some coins. I find I’m still breaking out my handheld loop to verify. Also, it does not go high enough to take a picture of a full Lincoln cent, let alone a quarter or half dollar. I have to put it up on a book to get a full coin shot. So a taller one is also in order. Nothing major wrong with the scope at all, it does everything advertised, I just didn’t know I needed more mega pixels that one that went taller. That’s just my ignorance on the subject. One issue It does have is a tendency to pop off the base if you adjust it with one hand. If you use two hands it is not an issue, but another annoyance. I like the scope, I just need one with slightly different features and parameters.

I don't write reviews often, but after purchasing this USB microscope (my first), I was compelled to share my experience for those who are considering purchasing a USB microscope and may be on the fence about the quality and usefulness considering the low price compared to other similar products. I was also skeptical considering the low price, but after reading the mostly positive Amazon reviews, I decided to give it a try. I figured worst case scenario, it would make for a fun educational toy to show the kids if the quality wasn't all that great. The reason I purchased it was because I enjoy electronic circuits as a hobby and frequently solder and tinker with different circuits using various tiny components such as ICs, transistors, surface mount components, etc. Some of these components have part numbers printed on them and are hard to see because of how small they are. Even with a magnifying glass and perfect lighting at just the right angle, it can be a challenge to read the numbers. Also, as a beginner to the hobby, I felt it would be a valuable ability to be able to take pictures of my soldering work and take videos of my work for later review to make sure I didn't accidentally create solder bridges or not use enough solder and then go back and make corrections as needed. I included some pictures and videos I took using this microscope and it's viewer software. I have to say, I'm blown away with the quality of this device considering the price. It includes everything you see in the picture. The plastic board with printed grid lines is solid and sturdy and not a thin plastic mat that I thought it would be. The microscope suctions onto it and stays put with no issue. I really like the zoom control (the gray part). It has a rubber texture so it has a nice grip and it feels great when adjusting focus. It isn't loose at all and the rotation has some torque to it so you can really fine-tune the focus with ease and not have to worry about losing it by removing your hand from it. There is also a touch button on the back which was a welcome surprise, I didn't know it had this until I received it. There is a picture of a camera on the back end of the microscope and when you touch it, it snaps a picture of whatever you are looking at while in the viewer software and stores it in a folder for later view. It isn't a tactile button, just a touch-sensitive button which I really appreciate because I can take a picture of what I'm magnifying without worrying about shaking the microscope while snapping a photo. The pictures included in this review were taken using this function. The videos were also shot using the software and shows a close-up view of me soldering some header pins onto a couple of different components. I was in awe when I viewed the videos after I completed my soldering work. I really can't say enough good things about this microscope, its a great piece of kit for the price. I don't have anything to compare it to since its my first microscope, but if the more expensive ones can do things better than this one can, they must truly be magical devices because its hard to imagine anything doing it better than this one. I would have paid double the price knowing what I know now. Even if you are questioning whether or not you're going to use it a lot, just buy it. The uses this tool will provide will present themselves.

TL;DR: It's a buy. The microscope worked as designed. Better than I thought. Zoom, lighting, and photo/video capture all worked great. Details on the screen is super clear. Took less than a min to set up and use straight from the box. Pro: - Ease of use: 100% on point. - Set up: 100% on point. Took less than a minute from box to installing the app. - Features: Zoom and lighting is 100% on point. Camera is stable when you're not touching it. Worked as designed. - Picture: Very clear picture on both screen, captured picture gives enough quality to make out smaller details. Con: - The stand: The suction cup at the base of the stand is too weak to hold the stand. The stand keeps falling over every 10 sec or less (I timed it). I ended up super glued the base to the mat because I am not using this for anything else. - The mat : There is a smooth circular part of the mat above the grid, it is where the suction cup supposed to go but the circle is small and hard to see to properly place the suction cup on. This is a useless feature. May as well make the entire area smooth. - Camera shifting: The entire microscope is very light. When you adjust the light or the zoom, the camera will shift position. But once you're done the camera is very stable. - Taking picture using the camera: Don't use the camera to capture the picture. Use the app on your screen. The camera is light and when you hit the capture button, the picture may come out blurry if you hit it too hard. Over all, good product. Does the job, zoom detail is great and clear. The only down side is the stand. My suggestion to the company is this, put the pin on the mat, and have the stand screwed directly onto the mat. But then you'll make to make the mat heavier because you know, physics.

I've tried a handful of USB microscopes and this one is the best so far. Two things warrant mention. The first is the camera adjustments available under Windows and the other is resolution. The Plugable software (Windows version is all I've used), which requires download, can be set to auto adjust brightness but it can be manually adjusted too. My application requires locking exposure and this microscope can do it. That isn't the case for the other microscopes I've tested. It also isn't a feature mentioned by manufacturers. For my application, autoranging is undesirable. The ability to control exposure makes this scope stand out and why I like it so much. I am baffled by the magnification numbers given by manufacturers. This scope gives equal or higher magnification compared to others claiming 1600X. To change magnification, the scope is positioned above an object and focused. There is no zoom. All the others I've tried operate the same way. I've enclosed results at distances of 0, 20 and 40 mm from the clear plastic guard showing a 1 mm scale. I've also shown a penny's date at 0 and 40 mm. A penny is nominally 19 mm with 1 in the date being about 1.17mm or so. While the scope is great, I am not a fan of the flexible mount when operating at maximum magnification. Touching the microscope to focus or adjust lighting causes annoying movement. It is easy to get in a seemingly endless loop of adjust, move the object, readjust. I have a more rigid stand and find it to be far easier to use due both to rigidity and gears to move the microscope up and down. Circling back to software control, the camera app native to Windows can be used with add-on setting apps to set exposure and other options. Other USB microscopes have most of these setting greyed out whether in the Windows settings or in the apps supplied. They just aren't available.. I find the Plugable app does everything I want to do and does it quite nicely. Still pictures, videos and time-lapse are all available.

OK, this review is about using this microscope with a Mac. After you order it, Pluggable Technologies will send you an e-mail with a link to the latest software. If you're using a Mac, don't bother. This little jewel works right out of the box using Photo Booth. Just plug in the device, open PhotoBooth, select the USB 2.0 camera (that's the microscope.) and you're good to go. When you select the camera, you'll get a black window. That's OK. The unit ships with the LED lights OFF. Turn them on with the brightness wheel at the top of the barrel. You'll now have a hazy grey window. Now turn the focus band (the wide grey section of the barrel) until the silver hatched background of the platform comes into focus. Put a coin on the platform, center the camera over it, and turn the focus band until it comes sharply into view. You may have to increase the brightness. Is it too big? Move the camera further away from the coin until you see all of it you want. Refocus as necessary. Picture not big enough? Click on the green button at the top of the window and you've got about 27" of picture on a 27" iMac. You should know that I bought this for viewing knife edges and coins, not for counting blood cells. It functions well for that purpose. It will focus more closely, though. The platform to which you mount the camera is cross-hatched with what looks like ¼" or 5 mm squares. You can enlarge ONE of these squares all the way to full screen--and then some. I haven't tried for higher magnification yet. Realize too that this is not a laboratory instrument, so it is not as stable as a lab microscope. At high magnification, every little attempt at adjustment is magnified, jiggling the daylights out of the picture. High-magnification is going to be frustrating to adjust, and to obtain exactly the field of view that you want. Be patient, use a steady, careful hand, and you will be rewarded. Or spend a grand or more on a lab-grade instrument. When plugged into PhotoBooth, the touch switch on the back doesn't work. I.e., you cannot take a picture that way. Instead, don't touch the camera--remember, every movement is amplified. Instead, use either the camera icon at the bottom of the PhotoBooth window, or use Command-return, to capture what you're viewing. A prior reviewer noted that there was some software for the device available from a firm in the UK. I haven't tried that, because PhotoBooth does everything I need. This is a sweet little device that is well worth the money. It appears well-constructed for its tasks, and I see no reason why it shouldn't hold up for years.

First, as many other reviews mention, the semiflexible tube stand is much more difficult to aim, orient, and focus simultaneously than a traditional stand which moves up and down independently, separately from its position, and vice versa. It also unfortunately doesn't work on Windows (including 10 and 11) or Android (Google phones and Tablets) without a custom, specific "viewer" software installed. So it's not great to bring "to the field" or anywhere you don't have admin privileges to install onto the compatible onsite computer and OS. Many others will simply appear as a "webcam" or external camera without any proprietary software, which is much easier. Apart from those two things, which really have no relationship with the actual image sensor quality, it is a great sensor and scope for the price. Almost all cheaper and no-brand products like this exaggerate their zoom level and sensor size by including "digital" zoom in the advertised number; that isn't a real measure of how finely it can capture - it's just zooming in to the captured picture (reducing effective resolution). "Digital zoom" is really a meaningless number, because any image can be "zoomed in" or cropped, but it does NOT change or improve the "quality" or definition of that zoomed-in area. However, THIS product has a decently large (& higher resolution) image sensor and quality lens, especially for the cost, when compared to others in its price range. And that's ultimately what probably matters to most buyers, more than a poor included stand and software, when many cheap scopes don't even include a stand at all.

Bought this to use for taking microscope pictures & also for a jewellery hobby. I tried a jewellers loop and couldn't view the mark on my bracelet, it took seconds to focus the camera and take a snap of the mark, amazing clarity. You can hold it in your hand or if you want close up shots and have shaking hands this is perfect as it will attach to the included white gridded mat for hands free. The stem bends so you can move the microscope around to view from different angles. Works on my Windows 10 desktop pc. I plugged in the usb & downloaded the software, the website is printed on the instructions leaflet (It also works with Photo Booth which I did try but I prefer the digital viewer as I find it easy to use) On the website you can watch a video of how to install & use everything, I had no issues. The microscope light comes on when you open the installed viewer software, focus the microscope, one click of the mouse and you have a picture. You can also do time lapse & record but I haven't tried those yet. It comes boxed with the microscope, stand, mat, usb lead, instruction leaflet. The microscope is compact about the size of a small torch but packs a punch in quality imagery, the mat is roughly A5 size. Very impressed so it get a double thumbs up!

Gebruikt om blaadjes, stenen en schelpen met de kinderen te bekijken! Werkt top. Lekker simpel.

Shandaar quality, picture quality is best, control over focus is fine

Lo uso en una Mac OSX Mojave sin problema alguno. El equipo es perfecto para poder apreciar las medidas de seguridad de billetes como micro impresiones y lineas finas. Puede tomar fotografías de buena calidad de lo que se está observando, lo cual es muy bueno para mis presentaciones de mi trabajo.

UPDATE! Below is my first review of this plugable 2.0 camera scope. I liked it immediately but became disappointed when it fell apart so quickly. I must have received a factory friday reject by accident. I applied for a return authorization one day late so was unable to get a refund from Amazon. Plugable saw my review and contacted me to see if I would like to have a replacement sent as my experience was not typical for this product. I gladly accepted the offer and I am LOVING! this little camera. I went through a Sourcing Bay handheld with 3" screen and a Supereyes 5MP auto fine focus coming in at over $150 and over $250 respectively in my search for a decent camera for my purposes. All that experience did was frustrate me to no end and I mourned the loss of that first week with my plugable. This little plugable blows the more expensive competition away. The clarity of the images even on the highest magnification was staggering as compared to the other 2 cams mentioned here. Supereyes claims 500X but my plugable at 250X outperformed in magnification and image quality. I can't believe the performance of this camera at $45! If you are disappointed then something is not right with the unit. Contact plugable and let them know your concerns. I am so impressed with the integrity of this little company. I highly recommend this product and the company that makes it. This little camera started out great. I was happy with it for the first 2 weeks. It quickly became very difficult to keep in focus after that. Twist, twist, twist...wind, wind, wind. I found it challenging to keep it at the mag and focus level I wanted to work with at any given time. The mechanism at the top of the cam designed to take the shot never did work from the outset. That was annoying as reaching for the track pad often screwed up the shot. I use it handheld not mounted. The ring covering the led lights detached and flopped around loose after week 2 of use. I set the cam on my chair to answer the phone one day. It rolled off and hit the vinyl floor in the kitchen. A sizeable chunk broke off the housing around the lights and cracked right up to the focus wheel. Images were blurry after that. I was "ONE" day late when I tried to return it so was unable to do so. That's what happens to us procrastinators. I just received its replacement today. I bought the mobile microscope with built in display. I will let you know how that pans out once I have had the chance to play with it. All that said, the Plugable 2.0 is capable of being a great little camera if you are very gentle with it and do not use it every day. For $45 it is a great device to have on hand should you need it for the odd thing. Based on my own experience I would not expect it to last long for a child or an everyday user. I also found the base to be useless. It is top heavy so falls over all the time. The suction cup does not hold its grip. When functioning optimally this camera has superb image quality for the price point.