Hi Guys,

I just bought a new microscope and really struggling about choosing the right lighting Ring for it.
My options is to go with either a 8W Fluorescent light ring or
to go with a LED light ring with dimmer(64, 80 or 144 leds options).

I need it for soldering, desoldering for HDD, Flash etc.
and i would like to use it on my clean room for heads and platters inspection.

I would love to hear your experiences and opinions - which light of the 2 is the better one for my purposes.

Thanks

If you have such problems you don't have the RIGHT MICROSCOPE for the application. What's good for PCB is awful for platters, maybe?
Try a Mantis with the suitable options or try finding a used Nikon or so for mechanical stuff. Usual low budget Usb stuff have almost all the same lighting problems when inspecting reflective items.
P.s. On high end optical microscopes you can almost always add a camera adapter to fit standard CCD cameras, it gives wonderful results connected to CRT pro video surveillance monitor (PLENTY of them used at budget price !).

Contact Member here: Eric

i got many of those but finally the last one was very powerful and useful
you may search for my older posts where i attached some sample images of it and also the lighting effects.

good luck

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BLACKST - The microscope is a descent quality one, not a cheap one and not a USB one, it is a one i just bought and considering if i should add to the delivery a LED Light Ring or a Fluorescent Light Ring - at this stage i understand the lighting is very important that is why i want to choose right. I already bought the dedicated USB camera for these microscopes few months back so i'm good there.

Einstein - do you have maybe a link to these posts of yours?

Thanks

There's something I miss : every laboratory microscope has integrated light source, so I don't understand why the need for external source.
Also , there is always the possibility for fitting diffuser or polarizer.
The diffuser gives uniform lighting to the object under observation.
At least on the stuff I work with....

We use a Mantis elite for all of our Electrical work. Different magnification attachments as well.

It is not great for Platter inspection unless you are looking at the top surface.

For platter inspection for in between platters you would need something like a colonoscopy camera

This one is quite modular and they charge for every part and you can choose from few options.
So i bought the TRINOCULAR STEREO BOOM MICROSCOPE which comes with an add-on of a 8W Fluorescent light ring to illuminate the object. I am probably too fussy about it as it is not that critical but i was thinking to upgrade this ring to a 144 LED ring with a dimmer - but don't know if it will provide a better result as i understand that Fluorescent light is quite good with optics.

Oh ! Cleanroom uses a Mantis too

Honestly I have never seen on hi-end or professional equipment ring light sources like fluorescent circline tube, sorry.

At this point the unique thing to do is experimenting.

Hi,
A lot of the vendors I deal with will give a trial period, or even will give you a product to test for a period of time. Especially on products like this where it is critical to get yourself setup with the gear you want to be your final setup.

ask them and convey your questions. BTW advice: don't let them convince you based on their opinion, no matter what they tell you, they don't USE the stuff so can not give you a real evaluation.

I can speak for PROFESSIONAL stuff : NEVER had a trial execpt in some case where I was a well known and old customer of them so they borrowed me some equipment to TEST it and report them (it was some kind of beta testing, in my opinion) , otherwise you can always have a DEMO. They come there with a working piece of the equipment AND you test it with them , you can ask specifications and questions and usually at the end of the demo you can "contract" the price and terms. All this for everything above 1500-2000 EUR.

We do .. and i love it. need to get some more magnification attachments. wish they were not 400-500 a pop. but it is a great device

I've seen that the Mantis which is a great device uses cold LED lighting so i'll go with that.
Will experiment and see how it goes.
I buy it for the US and I'm in Australia so can't ask for a demo unfortunately.
I'll take my chances

I am jealous. Sucks being on a low budget iPhone and a desklamp for me, haha.

Well mate, step by step, i started 3 years ago same as you with very low budget and i am progressing step by step slowly
You'll get there buddy