Microscopes |
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Cost |
$300 - $400 |
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Instructions |
The microscope that I use at my desk is an Eakins trinocular bench microscope with a 4K camera. On my watchmaker's bench and lathes I use HDMI video microscope cameras that don't have an optical path for your eyes. I recommend using HDMI camera microscopes with lathes even if you're not making videos because it's safer and it can be helpful to have a microscopic live view of the work. |
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Parts |
These links frequently break as vendor inventory changes. Please contact me if you encounter a broken link. Where multiple variants are offered please take care to select the variant that matches my description. |
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Eakins Double Boom Trinocular Stereo Microscope (select Without Camera or choose a camera based on specs) |
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0.3x Barlow lens - this increases the working distance for the above (select 0.3x) |
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Eakins 4K 25fps HDMI Microscope Camera This camera records 4K internally at 25fps (actually 16fps in a 25fps wrapper). It only outputs 1080P 60fps over HDMI (not 4K). It also outputs Mac-compatible USB 2.0 UVC at 1920 x 1080. UVC output allows it to be used with OBS and the free ImageView measuring software for Mac linked below. |
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Hayear 4K Microscope Camera with Audio This camera records 4K 30fps internally with audio. Audio recording requires a three pole 3.5mm stereo microphone with the correct pinout and impedance. A suitable microphone is linked below. When recording internally to micro SD card noticeable inter-keyframe noise is visible at low light / high gain levels. The solution is to use ample light when recording to SD card which is advisable anyway. The camera also outputs clean 4K HDMI or Mac-compatible UVC at 3840 x 2160 over USB 3.0 without audio when an SD card is not used. UVC output allows it to be used with OBS and the free ImageView measuring software for Mac linked below. |
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3.5mm microphone for above camera (select 3 pole stereo version) This microphone is designed for gaming headsets. It has the correct pinout and impedance for noise-free recording with the camera above. It can be flexed and holds flexed positions. |
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ImageView software for Mac (free) This free Mac software works with both of the above cameras when the camera is connected to a Mac with a USB cable. In fact it works with any UVC camera recognized by Mac OS. It has live camera control settings and live measuring. Because it works with any camera and lens combination it requires calibration before using it for measurements. You can calibrate it to within ~0.1mm tolerance using a metric a ruler or a metric scale on calipers. I use the calibration slide below for higher tolerances. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QXTSb2Y1fAfyvbvzk52f9dHtjzUawcsM Here you can see a screen cap of ImageView and an image with measurements saved by it.
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Measuring Microscope calibration slide |
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13-95X C mount microscope lens for 50mm focus mounts (select 95x) This lens supports the above cameras and mounts in the 50mm focus mounts below. https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDKHGOb Here you can see the 13x to 95x zoom range of this lens on a 1:1.8" sensor (Hayear 4K) at 210mm working distance.
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50mm universal arm mount (select C 50mm) I use this with my larger lathe mounted to the same board the lathe is mounted to. |
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360 degree bracket arm with 25mm mounting pin I use this with my smaller lathe mounted to a vertical tube beside my workbench. |
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50mm focus mount (select 25mm mount diameter) This is required to mount an HDMI camera by its lens to the bracket arm above. |
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Links |
For links to watchmaking tools and supplies see the Shop page. |
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