I usually don’t delve into the USB microscope world, but lately as technology has been improving, they’re starting to come into their own category entirely. I actually added a new category under microscopes specifically because of this Celestron digital handheld microscope, as I was thoroughly impressed by its build quality and image quality. And that’s hard to do for less than $100 since I’m used to medium to high quality equipment.
Digital handheld microscope units are pretty much a simple USB device that has a sensor in it, and a series of lights (usually LED lights), and a stand to hold it (when you’re not using it as a handheld device). It’s flexible in terms of positioning and focusing, and so light that it can be carried just about anywhere. It’s also USB powered, so you don’t have to carry around an extra power supply or set of batteries–just your laptop and the microscope is all you need.
Celestron Digital Handheld Microscope Review – Model “44308“
The great part of a digital handheld microscope is that its applications are quite universal–you aren’t as limited with sample choices with it. You can quite literally grab this Celestron digital handheld microscope, and put your finger under it to see your fingerprint. Or if you wanted to check a circuit board you’re working on to see if the solder set right, slide the board under the microscope and you can do that with extreme ease of use.
You can even look at a slide with this Celestron digital handheld microscope, but keep in mind that these are generally lower magnification and lower optical resolution (not digital resolution as in pixel size, but as in ability to see fine details smaller than the human eye can see), so you won’t get the same high quality detail that you would from a traditional compound microscope.
Onto this specific Celestron digital handheld microscope, the 44038 really, REALLY caught my eye. At a low price point, I didn’t expect to get much satisfaction. Especially from a company whose model number system I cannot STAND. What does 44038 say about the product? Nothing!
But I digress. The unit itself is made of plastic, as expected at this price point. I didn’t have any problems with the plastic being rigid enough to hold form and position though. Both the camera and stand held up to just about everything between careful use and mild abuse (I did drop it once–bit of a butterfingers moment).
The lights themselves on the 44803 are bright LED lights. A dimmer was not present on the unit I got, which I’ve seen on some other digital handheld microscopes. Perhaps the next redesign or revision of this Celestron digital handheld microscope will have that feature included, as being able to adjust light intensity is fairly important in microscopy. At least you can adjust exposure and gain options in the software, so all is not lost on that factor.
The major plus of this Celestron digital handheld microscope unit is the image quality. I didn’t take too many images from it since I actually had a surprising lack of interesting sample material on me today, but here are some images you can see the amazing detail in. Without this level of detail, I wouldn’t have thought more than a few seconds about this Celestron digital handheld microscope, but the 44308 really proved me wrong.
The 44803 is a 5MP resolution USB camera, so you can expect high quality images perfect for any home use (students for projects or hobbyist use). It does get some really great quality images for industrial applications as well, so if you need a very quick inspection station for identical manufactured parts, this very well is powerful enough to get that done as well. For example:
Overall, if you can’t tell, I’m really impressed with my 44308. This Celestron digital handheld microscope pulls its weight and more, and really should be in just about every home. I haven’t tried it for this personally yet, but I bet it would be an AMAZING tool for removing those hard to see splinters or glass shards (for kitchen or home repair emergencies). So really, no matter what walk of life you’re from, just about everyone can get use out of the 44308. I highly recommend it for anything and anyone–bug collectors, pest exterminators, concerned stay at home mothers or fathers, construction workers, industrial manufacturers, quality control agents, geolgists, etc. The list goes on just about forever.
For more reviews, images, and buying information on this Celestron digital handheld microscope, the model 44803, feel free to head on through here to its listing on Amazon: Celeston Digital Handheld Microscope 5MP Model 44308
As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! I respond quickly and am happy to get help you in any way I can.