AmScope SM-4TP Professional Trinocular Stereo Zoom Microscope with Simultaneous Focus Control, WH10x Eyepieces, 7X-45X Magnification, 0.7X-4.5X Zoom Objective, Ambient Lighting, Double-Arm Boom Stand

Good Microscope, for my needs!

I received the scope earlier today and after a short assembly began using it. There are a number of comments that I would like to make to those who are thinking of purchasing this scope. The model that I received has a base that is 26 cm x 21 cm for the footprint. The boom arm itself is about 53 cm long in total with about 12 cm sticking behind the vertical bar in the form of a counterweight. With the scope head installed, measured from the center of the vertical bar to the end of the eyepieces the scope is about 67 cm. The base is extremely heavy which keeps it from tipping over. the rough sweet spot working distance was between 8 cm and 12 cm without a Barlow lens installed. The optics were very clear in my unit.

This stereo microscope is an excellent value for the money, assuming you are a serious hobbyist or plan to use the instrument only occasionally in a commercial environment. I did a through search online before I bought it and am satisfied I made the right decision for my situation. My only criticism, so far, is that the ball bearings in the boom mount tend to lightly score the surface of the upper arm as the arm slides back and forth with normal use. I use the instrument as a visual aid for me to inspect and repair electronic circuit boards and it works well for this purpose. I can expect the linear scoring will increase over time or heavier use. Technically, this scoring is due to a lower Brinell-Rockwell Hardness of the upper arm material; meaning the harder ball bearings leave their impression on the softer arms surface. For this reason, I gave the stereo microscope 4-stars instead of five. I read a review where the writer had a similar observation but decided to replace the arm with one he fabricated from harder material. If my scope degrades to that point, I will replace the upper arm as he did, but that may take a while.

Came packaged well, was exactly what I wanted and a fantastic addition to my soldering station. Coupled with a camera it’s pretty amazing!

Excellent microscope for the job. very flexible.

To say I love this scope would be an understatement. Visual quality, operation and repeatability after swinging the unit out of the way and back is just great. I did not realize just how much a scope like this could transform my abilities in constructing prototype SMD boards and repairs.It makes my job better every time I use it. I combined it with:

Very well designed product. Heavy and solid metal - feels right at home in any professional laboratory or technical workbench. Unfortunately, the manual that came with mine was written for AmScopes other smaller microscope models. Fortunately, anyone who can look at the product photo on Amazon can refer to it when assembling the components. This is how I put mine together and didnt have any issues. Thusly, I didnt feel that this product should lose a star, because an ape could put this thing together ;)