Digital microscope recomendations?

[Zephrant]

Dug out my kid's DigitalBlue QX5 microscope. Manufacturer's web site and support sites are down. Managed to find a driver, but it's not compatible with Windows 7 64bit. Will never buy anything from them again, but it looks like they may be out of business anyway.

So looks like I need something new. A search turned up old threads, but nothing that was current. Since camera tech changes so fast, I wanted to see if anyone had a unit in the $100-$200 range that was usable? Maybe even something that mounted on an iPhone?

I realize the pro units are in the thousands. The binoc scopes we use at work are $5k or so, but for home use I can't justify that kind of expense.

Follow up question- For identifying nuisance critters and algae, is 200x enough?

 

[mcgyvr]

200x isn't good enough IMO.. but might be just for what you want..
I'd do 500x or 1000x just so I had it..

not sure if you have seen this..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2567904

 

[Zephrant]

Thanks, had not seen that one yet. Very nice pictures, and it gives me a better idea of the magnification needed.

Found this one, but it may be too cheap to be usable:

https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-40X-1000X-Student-Microscope-Camera/dp/B00O9GNOTA

 

[mcgyvr]

If it does what it says price is just price..
It doesn't "need" to be expensive.

Let us know if you get it and how it works of course..

 

[ROlympia]

I have two AmScope microscopes. They are good quality.

 

[bblumberg]

Dug out my kid's DigitalBlue QX5 microscope. Manufacturer's web site and support sites are down. Managed to find a driver, but it's not compatible with Windows 7 64bit. Will never buy anything from them again, but it looks like they may be out of business anyway.

So looks like I need something new. A search turned up old threads, but nothing that was current. Since camera tech changes so fast, I wanted to see if anyone had a unit in the $100-$200 range that was usable? Maybe even something that mounted on an iPhone?

I realize the pro units are in the thousands. The binoc scopes we use at work are $5k or so, but for home use I can't justify that kind of expense.

Follow up question- For identifying nuisance critters and algae, is 200x enough?

I'd look for a good quality microscope on ebay and add an inexpensive digital camera to it. I was able to buy a nice Zeiss dissecting microscope for $300 a few years ago.