I haven’t really touched on any stereo microscopes in a while, let alone a digital stereo microscope, so I thought it would be a good idea to give some of my thoughts on this Omax digital stereo microscope (although it has an extremely long model number, and an even longer title).
Let me start by saying I do not personally own an Omax CS-W43C2-D3-L144L-C90 (what a mouthful that model number is!), as I have AmScope equipment for most of my stereo microscope needs (but not all), but I visited manufacturing plant local to me (which, for privacy purposes, I’ve been asked to not disclose) in which I’m great friends with the head of procurement and purchasing, and they had one of these behemoths laying around that I was able to play with for the better part of a few hours.
So I was able to really get my hands on both a digital stereo microscope that I don’t normally have access to, as well as view some really interesting samples (of circuit boards) that I can’t normally get my hands on without significant investment (just to tear that product apart!)
Omax Digital Stereo Microscope “CS-W43C2-D3-L144L-C90”
Okay, so let’s start off with what will be fairly obvious to my normal readers (or anyone who is shopping around for a digital stereo microscope):
Yes, the stand is exactly the same as AmScope’s model DAW double arm boom stand. Same color and design. I’m guessing it comes from the same factory (as I assumed for other products with identical designs as well). While odd, this is certainly a good thing, as that stand is one thing I can for certain say AmScope got right. It has a huge reach of 30″ (total length), so it can stay way out of your working area. It’s perfectly counterbalanced (as it should be at 60 lbs), so there isn’t wiggle or wobble when extended out. As a final point, the drop down bar that the focusing rack is attached to in front can be tilted to point at an angle, so it’s versatile.
Additionally, yes, the head shape is the same as AmScope’s SM series of stereo microscope as well. BUT, it’s not the same internally. It’s very, very close, but not quite. It has a larger set of objective lenses on it than the AmScope alternatives do, which leads to a slightly bigger field of view for all magnification powers.
The magnification range of the objective on this Omax digital stereo microscope head though is still 0.7x – 4.5x. This means that they will operate the same as far as working distance goes, with the exception of the included Barlow lenses. This package doesn’t include only a 0.5x, but has 0.3x Barlow lens as well. This is what gives the CS-W43C2-D3-L144L-C90 the larger magnification range of 2x – 90x, just like AmScope’s much more expensive ZM series of digital stereo microscopes, but at a much better bargain (about half the cost of a ZM series!). It achieves 90x at the high end by including 20x eyepieces also, which overall give you a much larger variety of magnification powers to work with.
The light source is a 144 LED ring light, which I have noticed is becoming fairly commonplace in the market lately. The high number of LED bulbs gives you a much higher degree of evenness of lighting your field, and typically they come with at least a dimmer control. Sometimes they also come with zone lighting
Now, I will say that I didn’t get much experience with this camera. They bought it, but ended up using a DSLR adapter they had for their Canon T3i on the trinocular port, so sadly, I can’t comment too much on the 9MP camera. But, I did get to check it out for a few minutes. The software about held up to AmScope’s ToupTek software in terms of features. I didn’t get information on compatibility with a variety of operating systems, but I did run it on Windows 7, so I know it’s at least compatible with that. Perhaps if I end up getting into one of these systems down the road, I’ll do some more research on that (and report back, of course).
If you wanted to see larger images of the device, or get more information on the specifics about this package (technical specifications and the like), you can do so at their listing (Omax MicroscopeNet on Amazon) here: CS-W43C2-D3-L144L-C90M
As always, please direct questions, comments, and concerns below or to our “Ask the Genius” page! Ta ta for now!