Mini Microscope with LED lights

I’m a biologist and I bought a couple of these to take outside and look at certain parts of plants. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something that I’d probably end up breaking or losing. So far I’m happy with my choice. The scope is TINY. Smaller than I was expecting, but in a good way. The magnification is nowhere near 45x, probably closer to 20x. That being said, it provides all the magnification I need and the LED light is extremely useful. Durability-wise, it feels a bit flimsy (made of plastic, not metal, made in China) but it’s held up to a couple weeks sharing a pocket with a camera and cellphone.

Overall, this is a small, cheap scope. It’s definitely worth the money, especially if you’re like me and tend to lose and break things.

Given the very low price of this ‘scope I must say I’m pleasantly surprised! The SE Mini is very, very compact yet clear and powerful. In a lot of ways this is easier to use and more effective than my 10X Belomo loupe that cost nearly ten times as much. Much of this has to do with the very powerful LED illuminators; what a great feature. Powerful light, focused on the precise spot you need it. Okay, this ‘scope isn’t perfect- for $5 how could it be? I would like to see a little better switch for the light. As it is it sometimes takes a bit of wiggling of the switch to get it to work. I would gladly pay $20 for an identically-designed but more robust version of the SE Mini. For the price it’s hard to fault. One final comment: I have no idea how close this comes to 45x magnification. My feeling is that it’s maybe half that, perhaps slightly less. It seems that the manufacturers of cheap ‘scopes and loupes simply pick a number out of the air. Again, not a big issue for the price.

As an FYI I bought this ‘scope to view the edge of a knife blade while sharpening. It works well for that purpose.

I made this purchase based on what all the other reviewers stated. It is true, this is a nice inexpensive little magnifier. It beats a magnifying glass hands down, as well as a magnifying loupe!!! Quite similar to looking into my stereo dissecting microscope at the lower power (20X). The little two bulb LED light that is attached to the side of the scope is a very useful feature and lights up whatever you’re looking at perfectly!! You could also use a bright table light and get good results. The unit is very small and takes up no space at all and fits easily in my toolbox.