PRIME ENTERTAINMENT QX-5 Microscope @ richardeward.com

PRIME ENTERTAINMENT QX-5 Microscope
from PRIME ENTERTAINMENT

Features:

• Simply connect this microscope to any PC and watch as the tiny things are magnified to incredible size -- and displayed on your monitor
• Up to 200X magnification for seeing the tiniest particles and microbes, bigger than life
• Requires USB port

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Great hardware, not-so-good software
  I love this microscope! My kids and I are having lots of fun with it. The best part is being able to take photos and videos of the stuff you look at. My son has used the photos for science homework assignments. My only complaint (and the only reason I gave this product 4 stars rather, than 5) is that the software is buggy. The software interface is fine and child-friendly, however it crashed one of my computers (blue screen). The microscope would work just fine, then out of nowhere, a blue screen of death... more info

• 200 X in my dreams
  This product is almost there. Almost. Watching mites at 10x and 60x was awesome.
  Take it up to 200x, however, and you run into two problems. The most glaring problem is the insufficient illumination. Unless the object is pale or white, I couldn't see a thing. I kept searching for things to view, only to find that they were too dark.
  The second problem is that the microscope lacks the ability to move the stage left, right or fore and aft. At 10x and 60x this isn't a problem. You can use tweezers to... more info

• Also for serious research
  Believe it or not, this so-called 'toy microscope' can actually be used in a real research too. This gadget has been cited and used in the following publications:
  - "Profiting from nature: macroporous copper with superior mechanical
  properties"
  - "An inexpensive microslab gel DNA electrophoresis system with real-time
  fluorescence detection"
  - "GASEOUS MICROEMBOLI SIZING IN EXTRACORPOREAL CIRCUITS USING ULTRASOUND BACKSCATTER"
  - "Personal Cytometers: Slow Flow or No Flow?"... more info

• Difficult installation
  I bought this as an educational toy for my daughter. The design is cheap and very low quality. It also lacks its own power supply and relies on power from USB. The software is primitive and keeps putting my display in the lowest possible resolution. Installation was a nightmare as I have described below.
  Installation: I first tried installing it on a new XP machine. No luck as the microscope never came online. Then I tired it on a Win2K which did not fair any better. Next I tried their "trouble... more info

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