|
QX-5 Computer Microscope | 
 enlarge
| Brand: Digital Blue
Category: CE
List Price: £79.99
Buy New: £72.99
You Save: £7.00 (9%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 19712
Platforms: Windows Xp, Windows Me, Windows Nt, Windows 98, No Operating System
Media: Electronics
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 8 x 6.6
MPN: 900
Model: QX5
UPC: 851244000208
EAN: 0851244000208
ASIN: B0002HLKI2
Release Date: November 19, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Get closer to the real world with the Digital Blue QX5 Digital Microscope - connect to your PC via a USB connection.Discover an intense new view of the world with the Digital Blue QX5 Digital Microscope. Includes viewing and creative editing software, Parent Quick Start Guide, and lab supplies. Take the microscope out of its base for close-up viewing and taking snapshots of specimens. Magnify objects up to 200X and view them on your PC. Manipulate newfound images on the PC with cool effects and paint tools, then showcase your creations by making time-lapse movies, slideshows, posters and stickers. You can even e-mail your images to friends. Box ContentsDigital Blue QX5 Computer MicroscopeSoftware CD-Rom to view, capture and manipulate images (special effects enhanced for Intel Pentium Processor)Lab Supplies:2 Specimen JarsTweezers2 Containment dishesEye DropperSample SlideSlide Clip
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Excellent once we could get it to work January 5, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I think the other reviews just about sum this product up. Very impressive for what it is (and claims to be) - an educational toy. It is much more than a toy but not quite a professional microscope.
I admit to being a bit unhappy at the way the software changes the computer display resolution. Once it is working properly this should not matter as it restores it on exit but if you are having problems it can take some sorting out to get your computer back into a sensible state.
In our case we tried three computers before we got it working. I am fairly sure this was not the fault of the product but the fact that the older computers did not supply sufficient current on the USB port to enable it to work. Be warned - it is not tolerant of computers not up to spec!
 Great bit of kit.... if you can get it to work December 29, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
In a household with multiple computers, all of which exceed the specifications on the box, it worked easily on just the high-end Sony Vaio. After struggling and reinstalling multiple times it managed to work on one other and utterly failed to work on my daughter's PC - which is the one it is supposed to run on. I've spent hours trying various settings as recommended on the website and 'readme' but still the microscope won't power up via the USB ports. It can be seen by Windows but will not integrate with the software. Very fiddly and annoying which is a terrible shame because when it works it is a terrific bit of fun kit and though the image quality is relatively low, it is still plenty high enough to generate ooohs and ahhhhs when looking at fingernails and human hair etc. If this worked easily, I'd give it 4 stars but you have been warned...
Trouble to get started December 29, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
When I first plugged it in, the lights just flashed & went out. Next time it worked for about 5 minutes, then nothing. Contacted Digital Blue & they suggested a powered USB 2.1 Hub. I got one from Amazon HAMA USB 2.0 1;4 Cost inc. p.p. 16.12. Worked a treat. Maybe all older PCs need this boost.
Excellent for kids, not powerful enough for adults. April 20, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
A very robust bit of kit, easy to setup and use. The software is top notch, the kids will get to grips with it in seconds. I unleashed this on our four sprogs and sent them off finding stuff to examine. Tadpoles, spiders, all manner of bugs & critters, bogies, ear wax. You name it, they stick it under the microscope.
The time lapse was superb for keeping tabs on the frog spawn growing into a tadpole. All in all the perfect spring/summer project to keep the little ones entertained during the weekends and holidays.
It loses one star only because the x200 magnification is a bit useless. At that mag the picture is blurred and grainy. But for the other two mags it's perfect.
Don't expect too much and you wont be dissapointed November 16, 2005
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
This is a rather fun 80 toy microscope that has a built in CMOS detector so that images can only be viewed via a Windows PC. The all plastic construction (including lenses) limits the accuracy of focussing and the on-screen image resolution is adequate rather than good. This microscope was originally marketed by Intel and built by toy manufacturer Mattel as the QX-3. Now Digital Blue have taken it on after Intel discontinued production. The QX-5 is an upgrade having 640 x 480 pixel resolution rather than just 352 x 288 in the original QX-3. Have a look at micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/intelplay for very detailed scientific description of the original QX-3 and advice on what to use it for. Every school in the UK was given one in 2002. Scientifically inclined youth (and school teachers) should also be very interested in the book `700 science experiments for everyone', published by UNESCO and available from Amazon for about a tenner.
I installed the QX-5 software under Windows XP Pro on a 1.2MHz Athlon PC and the software worked fine. The only downside is that the software changes the CRT screen refresh rate to 60Hz and doesn't switch it back to the flicker free 85Hz. So a trip to `Start, Control Panel, Display, Settings, Advanced, Monitor' is required to set the graphics back to their correct setting (check these before you run the software). Otherwise the software and USB microscope run very well. It comes with a small prepared `slide' (a cardboard and plastic array of things like insect parts) plus a reasonable archive of digital images which you can add to.
Once on the PC the 640x480 images can be manipulated and pasted etc, and it does time-lapse for things like crystal growth, and there's a fair bit of control of the time-lapse intervals from 0.1 second to 1 hour intervals. I have a QX-5 at home for the kids, but like most kids with microscopes they can get bored with it after running out of things to view - so web and book searches for ideas is useful. Note that you can also get pretty good hi-res images of things like nuts and leaves from a cheap flatbed film scanner (not the Lide type), but this microscope is far more kid friendly and being very light it bounces well. The main microscope body can be detached from the stand to view things.
The QX-5 has not got the resolution of even a standard 'school' compound microscope though, largely because you see it all 'enlarged' on a large computer screen, it uses plastic lenses and has a low resolution detector (but you can share the view with friends). So you may find the QX-5 a real disappointment if you expect too much of it in terms of image quality. However it is rather fun to use and has transmission + reflection white LED light sources built in to view specimens. The software is also very kid friendly and the increased resolution over the QX-3 is very welcome. So overall, recommended for pre-teen budding scientists.
|
|
|
| |
