Luxo magnifier?

[RobA]

My not so trusty lighted magnifier died (well, it's got floppy anyway, so it's near death). In looking for a replacement, I've come across the Luxo KFM LED magnifiers and they do look really nice. But, they are really pricey and I can't find any reviews of them, so I was wondering if anyone here has tried them and if they are actually decent and will last a for a good long time.

Here's a link to the product page,
http://www.luxous.com/product/kfm-led-572.aspx

[Droogie]

I use a pair of lighted magnifying glasses with several different lenses available. It has the added bonus of making one look like a complete dork while doing all things pedal related!

[pickdropper]

The other option is to get a StereoZoom Microscope.  I have a Chinese scope from Amscope that I like a lot.  It's similar to this:



http://www.amscope.com/microscopes/3-5x-90x-inspection-trinocular-zoom-stereo-microscope-144-led-compact-light.html

[jubal81]

My not so trusty lighted magnifier died (well, it's got floppy anyway, so it's near death). In looking for a replacement, I've come across the Luxo KFM LED magnifiers and they do look really nice. But, they are really pricey and I can't find any reviews of them, so I was wondering if anyone here has tried them and if they are actually decent and will last a for a good long time.

Here's a link to the product page,
http://www.luxous.com/product/kfm-led-572.aspx

I have a similar one I payed about $70 for on amazon and I think it's worth it to spend the extra for LEDs. I trashed the old one because the replacement bulb was hard to find and really expensive.


EDIT: Wow, Dave, that's a heckuva deal on that 'scope. 

[davent]

I tried the lighted magnifier route but find a head magnifier infinitely more practical, flip it up out of the way when not needed and it's always right where it needs to be for viewing anything. And like mentioned... can't beat the dorky look.

dave

[pickdropper]

My not so trusty lighted magnifier died (well, it's got floppy anyway, so it's near death). In looking for a replacement, I've come across the Luxo KFM LED magnifiers and they do look really nice. But, they are really pricey and I can't find any reviews of them, so I was wondering if anyone here has tried them and if they are actually decent and will last a for a good long time.

Here's a link to the product page,
http://www.luxous.com/product/kfm-led-572.aspx

I have a similar one I payed about $70 for on amazon and I think it's worth it to spend the extra for LEDs. I trashed the old one because the replacement bulb was hard to find and really expensive.


EDIT: Wow, Dave, that's a heckuva deal on that 'scope. 

Those scopes are rock solid.  I've used mine for years and it's been great.

While it's Chinese made, the optics are quite good.  I'd have no hesitation recommending it.  You can get a camera for the trinocular mount as well.

[RobA]

[...]

Those scopes are rock solid.  I've used mine for years and it's been great.

While it's Chinese made, the optics are quite good.  I'd have no hesitation recommending it.  You can get a camera for the trinocular mount as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The scopes do look like a good way to go. Does yours have the boom stand? Would it help to have one with the boom or is it OK without one?

[pickdropper]

Mine doesn't have the boom stand because that wouldn't fit on my desk.  In fact, even now I take it off my desk when I'm not using it; it's just easier to move it around without the heavier boom.

If you have the space, the boom stands are nice, especially the upgraded version.  But the stand I have is perfectly stable.  I would recommend the larger, flat base as it gives a little bit more of a work area and adds stability.

[RobA]

Mine doesn't have the boom stand because that wouldn't fit on my desk.  In fact, even now I take it off my desk when I'm not using it; it's just easier to move it around without the heavier boom.

If you have the space, the boom stands are nice, especially the upgraded version.  But the stand I have is perfectly stable.  I would recommend the larger, flat base as it gives a little bit more of a work area and adds stability.

Sounds good to me. I'll look around and see what I can find price and feature wise.

Thanks for all the info.

[RobA]

After seemingly endless hours searching through the 8 billion possible configurations that AMScope sells, for the perfect fit at minimum price, I ended up with the scope with the mount for the camera on the big base with the minimum of a 3.5X using the 0.5X Barlow. I had to get the externally powered 80 LED light ring because of the weird configuration options for the guys with the larger base. I like it though, the external dimmer brick works well and is really solid. It's nice that light ring housing on this one is metal too, because I was a bit afraid of slipping and hitting it with the iron and melting one with the plastic rings. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the camera mount, but this configuration was cheaper than the one without it, so I guess I'll just have to figure out something to do with it.

The scope itself is really solid and the optics are great. I got it yesterday and soldered together a couple of things last night. Working this way is so much easier. One of the projects has an MSOP-8 part and even that was pretty easy. I got through the projects without having to break out the solder wick and that's saying something for me  .

Thanks for pointing me in this direction Pickdropper. I'm really happy with it.

[davent]

Haven't tried this for soldering yet but to help my botched vision for pcb drilling (binocular scope would be pointless) i splurged on a $13 usb endoscope and bought a magnetic flashlight holder from Lee Valley. Used those two purchases and other stuff i already had to put together a pcb drilling rig,  should be able to use the endoscope/holder and laptop as a seeing aid for soldering the little bits.

Standard magnification, software zooming available.



dave