MiScope
reviewed by Robert Pritchett
Zarbeco, LLC 12 Ridge Road Randolph, NJ 07869 973-989-2673 Fax: 973-989-2674 http://www.zarbeco.com Product Site: http://www.zarbeco.com/miscope_1a.htm $275 USD for the base unit with one-year warranty. $480 USD - with accessories (includes the MiScope with LED switch (MiSC-SW), 1 watt LED flashlight for oblique illumination, portable light table for back illumination, hard case, and Video ToolBox Pro advanced image capture software (Windows environment only). Everything necessary for portable inspection or documentation. Requirements: For the Mac, miXscope 2.0 for $15 USD. Mac OS X 10.2 or later; 400 MHz G3 or later; 128 MB RAM; 50 MB hard drive space; 800 x 600 resolution, USB port. Windows 2000/XP; Pentium III 500 MHz or greater; DirectX 8.1 or later, Internet Explorer 5 or later; USB port. Oh, and a desire to want to photograph things up real close! Comes with: MiScope, USB cable, printed User Guide and software CD. Strengths: Moves from 40X to 140X with the slide. Four bright white LEDs for source light. Weaknesses: The basic unit has no LED off switch. The Video Toolbox Pro is only for Windows environment. The GPS accessory requires the Video Toolbox Pro to operate - at this time. For Macs, pay another $15 USD to get the software. USB 1.1 and not USB 2.0. The port is on the side and not out the back. Reviewed with an iMac G5 and Mac OS X 10.4.5 Tiger. |
|
To use MiScope with a Mac, the $15 USD miXscope from EhH Software, LLC is required at http://www.edhsw.com/mixscope/. The Video Toolbox Software comes with the unit and is included in the cost.
This digital microscope uses a 1/3” CMOS chip and USB port LEDs with magnification fro 40 times to 140 times with 4 micron resolution at 640x480 pixels and it fits in the palm of a human hand. It uses a slider to adjust both the magnification and focus. The field of view is 7.5 mm x 10 mm at 40X and 1.8 mm x 2.5 mm at 140X.
But like most USB-based digital devices, the hardware is only half of the story. miXscope is designed with the Mac in mind and can capture snapshots or do time-lapse video, add timestamps and text comments, do image overlays make measurements and draw on the images.
There are a few effects associated with the miXscope such as Emboss color or gray, Find Edges white or black, Flip horizontal or vertical, showing as a negative and color balance. There is also live drawing over the photo. Preferences can be set for snapshots, iMovie or the Web as well.
One plus that I like with the miXscope software is that the hardware can go up to 140X, but the software has a slider to zoom in even further and that is how I was able to capture this hair, showing the root. The black spots in the background? Would you believe it is from the white paper I have the hair laying on? That is probably why Zorbeco also offers the white backlit table.
Apparently the only way to turn off this particular miScope, is by disconnecting the USB cable. There is no Off switch with the basic unit. And the USB technology used is USB 1.1 and not 2.0. The price for the product ranges from $275 USD for the base unit, up to $480 USD depending on the configuration. For $300 USD, the video version is available. For $350 the one with the On/Off switch for the LEDs is available, as well as permitting external lighting, infrared or ultaviolet. A hard case can be had for another $50 USD. A battery-powered light table costs another $80 USD. You want GPS with that? It only works with the Video Toolbox software as a USB port attachment for $300 USD. A laptop screenshade costs another $150 USD. Or get everything (except the GPS and laptop screenshade) for $480 USD.
The USB cable has an upside and a downside that plugs into the side opposite the slider. Apparently folks have tried to install it incorrectly and damaged the MiScope unit, so there is a 3-pic color page showing top, bottom and where to plug it in on the ‘scope. Why is the port located coming from the side instead of from the back?
Instead of an On/Off switch, there is a Capture button on the same side as the USB port. It is supposed to work with an iMac G5 using Mac OS X 10.4.5 Tiger. Dave Zweig wrote the following:
The capture button is supported with the miXscope software and should work properly. Here is what should happen when you press the capture button:
the image should momentarily freeze on the screen and then return to live. The images are typically captured into your Users/<Your User Name>/Pictures
folder. If you select the Preferences menu and press the Snapshot button you will be able to configure where the images are saved and how they are named.
What’s missing for the Mac is the Video Toolbox Pro and GPS functionality. Is there a Mac solution? iMovie or iPhoto apparently handles the first part. Once again; Dave Zweig answered:
The miXscope software provides almost all of the features of our Video ToolBox software for Mac users including tools for annotation and
measurement. The miXscope software also adds transparent overlays which is not available in the standard version of the Video ToolBox progam. The
Video ToolBox Pro software adds the overlay feature as well as more measurement tools and options for automatic measurement reports.The miXscope software does not currently support the plugin tools for our Video ToolBox software, including such tools as our GPS option, Video
Averager and our Particle Analyzer plugin for particle counting and sizing. We hope to be able to add these tools in the future.
I didn’t get the GPS unit, so I can’t examine it to see why it can’t work with a Mac. After all, USB is supposedly “universal”, right?
If you want to examine cell structure or something down at the micron level, this ‘scope isn’t really going to do the job. But for getting up close and personal within the normal visual spectrum for humans such as for the study of insects, plants, skin, electronic boards or other objects of interest, this is cool technology!
