Carson MicroFlip 100x-250x, LED UV Pocket Microscope with Smartphone Clip, STEM Education (MP-250)

Firstly, I'd like to mention when I received my order yesterday that the one I got was used and missing the clip. I submitted my request for a replacement and let me say, in just under 24 hours later, I already got a new replacement. I have NEVER experienced such rapid and hassle free service. Amazon amazes me more every day!And so on with the product. I am definitely giving this a 100% positive review. When I saw it on Amazon, I thought it would be something my grandson would like. After looking at others, this one seemed the best for the price.I had a such a hard time putting it down, I spent hours using it this morning!!The microscope is built sturdy, slim enough for your pocket, purse, or hand, big or small. The functions are all easy to use. And when I used it on my phone, I was even more impressed. I have not tried the slide yet, but I can only guess based on what short time I have played around with it, that will be a favorable feature as well.As for the price, I did get it on sale, but I believe even full price it is worth it. So much that I will be keeping this one and not only ordering another for my grandson, but also for my high school aged son and my husband, who both want one too!

The media could not be loaded. Pictures first to last: Tissue paper at 100x and 250x, a small clover at 100x, a "clear" drop of water from my fish tank at 250x.I didn't expect much for $20. I expected the lighting to be subpar and the magnification to be less than advertised or falsely increased (i.e. just enlarging an image at 100x without increasing resolution)That isn't the case at all. This little plastic rectangle houses some nice, genuine lenses and is relatively easy to use. I think many of the people who say it's difficult to use have never used a microscope before or are out of practice - focusing is about the same difficulty as a much larger table scope.One downside - the included slide has a frosted cover slip. Why? That makes it completely unusable. I'm going to get some more slides but that seems a bit silly. Also, the phone attachment is a little bit unwieldy to use (but entirely functional).

As someone that did microscopy at various times in both education and in volunteering for a local museum, I have to say I'm impressed at how well this scope performs. For a handheld (and some tabletop ones I've used), this actually is a really good and clear scope! The UV part only activates as you hold its button down, and the regular light is on point for being able to look at slides and other things like paper and carpet fibers and hairs. I highly suggest if you're the type of person that takes walks in their neighborhood that includes curiosity of your surroundings, this would be a valuable tool to look at leaves and such up close. A worthwhile investment.The slides suck. Sure, you can see stuff because the scope is good, but there are so many bubbles in the production of these slides even I don't always know what I'm looking at without a label. Too cheaply made, especially for a layman that doesn't do microscopy a lot and won't necessarily know a bubble from an actual structure that's the subject of the slide. I'd just buy the scope.

I purchased this for a homeschool Middle School science course. The stability is poor because you have to hold the phone the entire time you're trying to use this. It is difficult to focus, though that might be the case for any microscope? The portability is great! The price is great! I wish that it had some sort of tripod design so that you didn't have to hold the phone steady the whole time while fiddling with the focus dial

It works well, it's easy to use (both my 8-year-old son and my mom figured it out pretty easily), and is powerful enough to clearly see things like spirogyra cells, larger dinoflagellates and other marine plankton, and OMG that's what the fibers of my jeans look like?!?!This is one of my new favorite toys, one that I wish that I had when I was studying biology in school. Back in the 80s this would have cost a few hundred bucks, if not more. Optical tech has improved by leaps and bounds since then, and for the price, the MicroFlip is impressive as heck.The phone option is nice, too, but we don't use it a lot. It's just a clip that centers your phone's camera over the lens, you'll want to use your zoom options on your phone to make it visible. I appreciate the option, it's worthwhile and almost-practical, but you get the best fun from looking in the lens directly (it's great for viewing at home with several people, hopefully fellow nerds. But it's a "field microscope," you want to use it in the field, right? With some twiddling, and care, it works fine for classes and camping if you want to use the phone option.)The slide doen't really fit well on the clip. No slides do, in fact. That's a little annoying for a field instrument.But, overall, the optical quality is lovely, and the price is right, and it's taken a slight beating and survived and still works at 100%. Even if I dropped it and lost it forever somehow, I could still replace it for the cost of coffee, lunch, and gas.Recommended, highly.

What should costumers know? This is a great value for the price but keep in mind what you're observing should be either a solid surface or a prepared slide (or a droplet on a slide if that's what you want to do) the objective is very well controlled and pretty hard to accidentally dip inside your sample, overall for simply checking if something is there on an outdoor situation this is amazing, yes there is some distortion but nothing major, and definitely not what you'd expect from this price tag. Very very satisfied.