This is almost as good as the red Tasco miscroscope kit I got from “Santa” in 3rd grade. Check out the Dino-Lite USB Digital Microscope, ready to jack into your computer and coax your curiosity for a cool $200.
“Yeah, but my camera has a MACRO setting, I can take super close-up photos if I need that sort of detail.” Sure you can, but humor me on this one — have your super megapixel camera take a macro shot of the lower left-hand corner on a twenty dollar bill. Now zoom in on the line between the “0” and Jackson’s lapel to see if you can read it this well. No? What about this? Those were 200x and 50x zoom (respectively) microscope captures — and that was just a silly banknote, think of all the other cool stuff you can get up close and personal with… a pet fish, the Tupperware container in the back of the fridge, your (friend’s) nostril, whatever!
The microscope comes with DinoCapture Software that promises plug-and-play functionality, letting you create standard and time-lapse movies, or magnify objects up to 200x for single photos. The microscope unclips from its molded gooseneck stand for more tricky angles, and built in LEDs throw light on objects that may need a little illumination. The drawback? The included software only captures zoomed images at 640x480px, a big disappointment if you’re looking to create your own desktop backgrounds. Head over to Amazon for more sample photos or to pick up your own microscope.
