AmScope SM-3B Series Binocular Zoom Stereo Microscope - 3.5X-90X Magnification - Includes 80 LED Compact Ring Light & Single Arm Boom Stand

Overall, I got a product well worth what I paid for it. The image quality is terrific, and overall construction is perfectly good. N.B.: The product description says: "3.5X-90X continuous zoom power with great flatness & contrast" -- but what they don't say is that the actual zoom range of the microscope head is 7x-45x, and that you have to attach the 0.5x objective lens to get 3.5x - 22.5x, or the 2.0x objective lens to get 14x-90x. You don't get one continuous 3.5x-90x range which, in retrospect, makes sense. I wish I had known that ahead of time, as I would have opted for a different configuration. Although I did want to have the 90x magnification, I primarily wanted the scope for doing electronic circuit board work. If I wanted a microscope strictly for doing board work, I think I would have been better off spending just a little bit more for the trinocular 3.5x-45x 3D-boom unit with the 144 LED zoned ring light. (The SM-4TX-144A) The product did not come with a manual. The single photocopied leaflet pointed to a URL that supposedly has the manual -- but at the time of this writing, AmScope had apparently redesigned their website, and I could not locate the manual anywhere on the site. I did, after some false starts, figure out how to put everything together and sorted out the purpose of the 0.5x and the 2.0x lenses. I wish they would have at least thrown in a 1.0x lens to act as a protection lens for the primary optics. Overall, this is a great product and it would have earned 5 stars. But I'm dinging them a half-star for the misleading product description and another half-star for the lack of a manual. I hope AmScope adequately addresses both of these issues. --- UPDATE 2014-02-25: Amsco has provided a link to the user's manual (see the comment to this review). After having the scope for several months, I'm more satified with my purchase. I've made good use of the 1/2X and 2X lenses for various work, so I'm much more happy about having the add-on lenses than I was originally. (I still do think the description could have been more clear about the zoom range.) I'm undinging them, so it's 5 stars for the product. I do now wish I had spent a little more and gotten the trinocular with the double-arm boom stand, though. I've had a few times where I have wanted to take pictures of my workpiece. And, I've occasionally had the head flip down when the arm was not tightened down (the double-arm would have prevented that). http://www.amazon.com/AmScope-SM-4TX-144A-3-5X-45X-Circuit-Microscope/dp/B004UDFFSU

I've been in the electronic industry for quite some time now. I've worked for semi conductor companies, to top-level manufacturers of electronics, so I've used quite a bit of "name brand" scopes in my time. The AmScope is every bit as good, if not better, than some of the more expensive Olympias and Bausch & Lomb stuff. I am very please with this scope. Note: The base is VERY heavy (estimate 20lbs?), which is what you want, since the boom should be bottom heavy for stability and be able to hold the scope without tipping over when the boom is extended quite a bit. To my surprise, the included LED ring light does its job very well. I've used Fluorescent type of ring light, which are utter crap, and also halogen-type fiber lights (which are the best), however, price-wise, the LED ring light does its job quite nicely. I was avoiding halogen-type lights because first, they're crazy expensive, the unit and the bulb, second, the halogen-type lights are very poorly built, at my workplace, we have two out of four that are defunct. With the advent of LED type, the lifetime of the bulb should be much, much longer and it's not as hot (not a fire hazard). Plus, the LED ring light comes with a dimmer, so it's great to adjust the intensity of the light when working on shiny things such as metal.

I'm a hobbyist who occasionally needs to do detail work on printed circuit boards and miniature models, and for these tasks this scope is wonderful, magnificent overkill. The optics are clean, I've not had problems with focus drift, the included LED (dimmable) light source works great and the entire unit feels sturdy as a lead ingot. All that said, however, there are a few items keeping this scope from a 5-star rating. 1. The full zoom range is achieved by attaching an auxiliary 0.5x or 2.0x lens to the primary. This requirement is not surprising for a scope in this price range, but it would have been nice if it had been noted in the product description. More importantly, and a half-star nit for me, is the lack of a 1.0x pass-thru filter to protect the primary optics if the other lenses aren't being used. Sure, 0.5x + 2.0x = 1x, which is what I'm currently doing, but that solution is clunky and I'm not a fan. 2. The kit comes with eyepiece cups and a heavy, plastic dust cover. This is great, but again not mentioned in the product description and ironically, Amazon even suggests adding these two items to your purchase. 3. There is zero documentation. None. For me at least, there wasn't even the piece of paper some other reviewers mentioned that supposedly pointed to an online reference manual. Using the Amazon product picture as an assembly guide, I was able to get everything put together, but no manual nor registration card nor warranty information was worth another half star. 4. I think this is a great scope for $400. For AmScope to suggest the list price is actually $1900 and I'm getting a 77% discount through Amazon, however, is absurd. EDIT: Grammar

I bought this microscope February 1, 2018. I bought the microscope for general use nothing in particular. I have entered a world that I have never been in before. I have looked at rocks plants splinters under fingernails that I removed from other people. I have looked at dandelions and have seen the pollen within the flower the beauty that I have never seen before, I have looked at the seeds of the dental line I only wish that I had a camera to take pictures of that to show with the world. Now about the scope itself I have used it all the minimum power to the maximum power of 90 X and it is as clear from minimum to maximum there is no difference. This is a very quality microscope. I see where people have bought microscopes and wanting to build up to a better one why not get better went to begin with. I would not take anything microscope the only regret that I have is I did not get one of these many years ago. I would highly recommend this to anyone. I absolutely have no regrets whatsoever in getting this I am 100% happy with.

A well made product at an excellent price. But, upon receiving it I found its size and configuration do not fit my needs. After corresponding with Amscope I opted to return the product. The combined return fees and my return shipping costs were nearly $140. Ouch. I don't think I had a way to anticipate such high return costs. I know now I should have more carefully considered the fine print. So, in the future I'll be careful to assess the total cost of a product return and buy from sellers with more generous return policies.

Quality was not as expected, clumsy not strong.

Hello I do hand engraving on firearms, I have had this for about 9 months now and it has served me well. Other, engravers, say that the higher priced scopes are better but I have had an opportunity to see through one of those higher priced scopes and believe me this scope can handle its own. This scope has and adjustable led lights, this is important because some item that I engrave, like silver for example reflects light and you cannot see it clearly, so all you do is adjust the light and your good to go, other more expensive scopes don't have that option, this scope comes with a barlow lens, meaning it gives you more clearance between the scope and your item being worked on, don't remember the actual working space but your mileage will vary. Great scope for a great price, I highly recommend!

One of these is NOT going to be enough in my household. I bought it to use it for fine tuning things I do with my hobbies. Light Benchtop machining, soldering. Small clamps and gizmos for bikes, cars, you name it. I ordered it Sunday, it arrived four days later on Thursday, it took about 10 minutes to set up. I left it on the kitchen table to put away tools I didn't need for it's setup (it is EASY!!!) and came back to find my daughter examining her fingernails under it -- "for just a minute dad." I went to bed hours later and she was still looking at things, making noises of interest. I came down this morning and it was gone. Checking up on my daughter I found the scope on her desk in her room with all of her cosmetics around it, and a notebook she's making sketches in. I gently removed the unit (the base IS heavy) and took it to the basement to look at a solder joint problem in an Arduino shield. It's exactly perfect for that purpose. It's got a BINOCULAR ZOOM LENS!! You can zoom OUT to find what you want, then zoom IN on the specific point (with slight adjustment needed for focus.. it is NOT follow focus, but wow -- for 400 bucks what do you expect???) This scope knocks the socks off the dissecting microscope I used in Grad school for similar purposes. It's WORTH the full $1600 "sticker" price. It's designed along professional guidelines -- so the oculars are interchangeable (you can change THE POWER of the scope!!! By changing the eyepieces!) I'm online looking for more eyepieces, and any OTHER accessories. I do recommend the dust cover. I recommend the SCOPE!!!

Perfect scope for the price. Good working distance speciali in combination with barlow lens, clear image . Come on time well packaged