Veho Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope 400x (VMS-004D)

The latest USB Microscope from Veho. Now with more powerful 400X mag 2 Mega Pixel Cmos lens and alloy flexi-stand. ----Features:----- 20-400x Magnification--- 2 Mega Pixel Cmos--- Video Capture: Up to 1280x960--- Still Capture: Upto 1600x1200 (2 Mega Pixel Cmos interpolated)--- Video file formats: AVI--- Flicker Control: 50MHz/60Hz--- Alloy flexi-stand--- Compatible with: Windows 98 2000 XP Vista Mac OS X 10.5 and above

Discovery World - Microscope Lab (48 pieces)

The Microscope Lab from Discovery World is a quality educational toy for children of over eight years old, under adult supervision. It is strong and well made, containing a wealth of useful items for discovering the wonders of the microscopic world. The microscope itself is robust, with a light to help the young scientist to see the objects investigated clearly, and may also be used as a projection device. It is designed to survive minor bumps and should provide years of happy use. The specimen stage is well designed and has sturdy clips that will hold a slide firmly without slipping; revolving colour filters will enhance the visibility of more elusive specimens. The array of useful equipment that accompanies the microscope includes a micro-hatchery, a microdata bank, 12 blank slides, a petri dish and collecting vials. Two AA batteries are required (not included). The instructions are clear but rather on the limited side, restricting themselves mainly to safety information with brief operational "How to's" but without including creative activity ideas.

It's a good all-round kit and a child keen on science could well be inspired by it. If it seems too pricey you could look at the Discovery World Microscope Telescope Set; if you really want to splash out, the superbly designed Science Museum Microscope Set is something of a Rolls-Royce alternative. (Age 8 and up) --Rebecca Pickering

veho vms-004 discovery series 400x usb microscope

In the legendary series of educational films from the 1970s, designers Charles and Ray Eames zoom out from a man resting in a park in downtown Chicago, transporting us in minutes to intergalactic space. At the point at which we reach the bounds of human knowledge, they stop... and zoom back in. Only this time, their camera doesn't stop... surveying deeper and deeper inside his skin, ultimately to the level of sub-atomic particles. Now, we're not suggesting for a second that this handy desktop 400 x magnification USB microscope will take you anywhere near sub-atomic resolution from the comfort of your own PC, but it will give you a darned good look at your skin, should you wish. Here at gadgetshop HQ we're huge admirers of Universal Serial Bus technology, as the legion of USB-compliant devices in these pages will attest. And this high-tech microscope, which offers resolution up to full 1.6M, is among the most inventive USB tool we have yet seen. With a host of pro-quality features, including variable magnification, widescreen imaging and a range of image capture options, all illuminated by 4 bright onboard LEDs, the sky (or rather, the world right in front of you) is the limit. Enabling awe-inspiring close-ups, and both still image 'snapshot' and full motion video capture, could there be a better way of passing a chill winter's evening than blowing up one's own hair follicle to the size of the Titanic? We thought not.

 

Veho VMS-004 Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with x400 Magnification & Flexi Alloy Stand

The latest USB Microscope from Veho. Now with more powerful 400x magnification; 2 Mega Pixel Cmos lens (interpolated) and alloy flexi-stand and measurement software.

This handy USB desktop microscope - 400x; 2 Mega Pixels magnification - has a multitude of home and office uses: science education; laboratory research; computer parts examination; printing inspection; presentation tool; medical analysis; reading aid and collectables magnification to name a few. Online chat can also be achieved with the microscopes built in webcam and record features. 20x or 400x digital USB microscope with snapshot and video capture software

Veho VMS-004 Discovery Series 400x USB Microscope

In the legendary series of educational films from the 1970s, designers Charles and Ray Eames zoom out from a man resting in a park in downtown Chicago, transporting us in minutes to intergalactic space. At the point at which we reach the bounds of human knowledge, they stop... and zoom back in. Only this time, their camera doesn't stop... surveying deeper and deeper inside his skin, ultimately to the level of sub-atomic particles. Now, we're not suggesting for a second that this handy desktop 400 x magnification USB microscope will take you anywhere near sub-atomic resolution from the comfort of your own PC, but it will give you a darned good look at your skin, should you wish. Here at gadgetshop HQ we're huge admirers of Universal Serial Bus technology, as the legion of USB-compliant devices in these pages will attest. And this high-tech microscope, which offers resolution up to full 1.6M, is among the most inventive USB tool we have yet seen. With a host of pro-quality features, including variable magnification, widescreen imaging and a range of image capture options, all illuminated by 4 bright onboard LEDs, the sky (or rather, the world right in front of you) is the limit. Enabling awe-inspiring close-ups, and both still image 'snapshot' and full motion video capture, could there be a better way of passing a chill winter's evening than blowing up one's own hair follicle to the size of the Titanic? We thought not.

Veho VMS-004 Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with x400 Magnification & Flexi Alloy Stand

The latest USB Microscope from Veho. Now with more powerful 400x magnification; 2 Mega Pixel Cmos lens (interpolated) and alloy flexi-stand and measurement software.

This handy USB desktop microscope - 400x; 2 Mega Pixels magnification - has a multitude of home and office uses: science education; laboratory research; computer parts examination; printing inspection; presentation tool; medical analysis; reading aid and collectables magnification to name a few. Online chat can also be achieved with the microscopes built in webcam and record features. 20x or 400x digital USB microscope with snapshot and video capture software

Veho Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with 400x Magnification (VMS-004D)

Buy Cheap Veho Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with 400x Magnification (VMS-004D)

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The latest USB Microscope from Veho. Now with more powerful 400X mag 2 Mega Pixel Cmos lens and alloy flexi-stand. ----Features:----- 20-400x Magnification--- 2 Mega Pixel Cmos--- Video Capture: Up to 1280x960--- Still Capture: Upto 1600x1200 (2 Mega Pixel Cmos interpolated)--- Video file formats: AVI--- Flicker Control: 50MHz/60Hz--- Alloy flexi-stand--- Compatible with: Windows 98 2000 XP Vista Mac OS X 10.5 and above
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Technical Details

- 20-400x Magnification;2 Mega Pixel Cmos
- Video Capture: Up to 1280x960;Video file formats: AVI
- Still Capture: Upto 1600x1200 (2 Mega Pixel Cmos interpolated)
- Flicker Control: 50MHz/60Hz;Alloy flexi-stand
- Compatible with: Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS X 10.5 and above
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 "Very Happy with it!" 2010-03-12
By David B. Pearson
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1QSS7JF4XGK73 This isn't a how to use video but just a collection of shots that were made using the VMS-004D Microscope and a MacBook Air.



Our 4 year old was helping and massively impressed, when we discovered the second higher resolution by continuing to focus in he was simply blown away!



It is very good! why not 5 stars, the stand is a little flimsy and the focus has already shifted so the numbers do not line up but as the little guy cant count to 400 it doesn't matter here!



As for install, remove from box, plug in turn on photo booth, and done! Sadly isn't picked up by either image capture or more fun would be ichat! I may investigate USB camera drivers to try and get that working though..

 "Veho VMS-004 Does not Work with Vista 64bit" 2010-03-07
By Mr. N. Walayat
The Veho VMS-004 does not work with Vista 64 bit. There are no 64 bit drivers only 32bit.



Support does not respond to emails.



If you have vista 64bit do not waste your time and money.

 "FABULOUS" 2010-02-08
By Pnwoods (BERKSHIRE GB)
FOR SOMETHING THAT SMALL I WAS JUST AMAZED HOW MUCH DETAIL IT CAPTURED I WAS JUST AMAZED YOURS PAM WOODS

 "How to get 400x zoom out of it" 2009-12-30
By Jack Robinson
Setup is fairly straight forward, manuals are pretty pants though. The hardest thing is understanding how to use it. First off, forget the Zoom option from the menu, it doesn't do anything or work at most resolutions and the function itself only zooms in like your regular paint package so you may as well take the photos and then use adobe or psp to zoom further. I would use the back of a bank statement with the small terms and conditions text at the back to get started.



The adjuster on the shaft with the numbers rotate and this allows you to focus and zoom at the same time. You basically have two levels of zoom, 20x and 400x, rotate the grooved barrel fully anti-clockwise (zooming out if you like) and then slowly rotate clockwise to focus in. Note that the LED torch brightness also needs to be adjusted or you may flood the image with light. Usually you need less light at lower magnifications. Working in nice bright daylight would probably remove this need but its winter and my energy saving light bulbs dont light the room enough! Ok, you should be able to get the image focused at the lower 20x level fairly easily.



To get the 400x, rotate the barrel fully clockwise. I would also physically move the microscope so the end is actually touching what you are zooming in on. The image will probably go dark so turn up the led light brightness - not too much but just enough so you start to see things blurry and lots of greys and whites. Now slowly turn the barrel anti-clockwise until the image comes into focus. It shouldnt need turning too much and play with the light as this also helps.



I managed to do a human hair at both levels 20x and 400x (lots of playing around to get it in the viewing area at 400x!) and its totally awesome!

 "Excellent, but spend some time reading Turney's comments" 2009-12-25
By T. D. Donnelly (Coventry United Kingdom)
Superb. Endless fascination for (er.. ahem) kids.



Read R Turney's instructions but for a summary on how to get 400x:



1. Set resolution to 640x480

2. Take the lens cover off and place the scope upright on (for example) some paper with losts of dense writing and focus at low magnification

3. Turn the ring completely to the other end of the focus range and gradually (provided you still have writing under the lens) the 400x will come into focus



At 400x you need to have the scope very close to the subject.


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Buy Veho Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with 400x Magnification (VMS-004D) Now

Veho VMS-004 Discovery Series 400x USB Microscope

Buy Cheap Veho VMS-004 Discovery Series 400x USB Microscope

Buy Low Price From Here Now
In the legendary series of educational films from the 1970s, designers Charles and Ray Eames zoom out from a man resting in a park in downtown Chicago, transporting us in minutes to intergalactic space. At the point at which we reach the bounds of human knowledge, they stop... and zoom back in. Only this time, their camera doesn't stop... surveying deeper and deeper inside his skin, ultimately to the level of sub-atomic particles. Now, we're not suggesting for a second that this handy desktop 400 x magnification USB microscope will take you anywhere near sub-atomic resolution from the comfort of your own PC, but it will give you a darned good look at your skin, should you wish. Here at gadgetshop HQ we're huge admirers of Universal Serial Bus technology, as the legion of USB-compliant devices in these pages will attest. And this high-tech microscope, which offers resolution up to full 1.6M, is among the most inventive USB tool we have yet seen. With a host of pro-quality features, including variable magnification, widescreen imaging and a range of image capture options, all illuminated by 4 bright onboard LEDs, the sky (or rather, the world right in front of you) is the limit. Enabling awe-inspiring close-ups, and both still image 'snapshot' and full motion video capture, could there be a better way of passing a chill winter's evening than blowing up one's own hair follicle to the size of the Titanic? We thought not.
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Technical Details

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 "spiders up close and personal" 2009-12-27
By Wendy Elf (London)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RMQ6EEKX7UW0U The Veho is GREAT FUN, first and foremost. Using it, I made movies of a spider

and also a woodlouse. This video only uses the 200x magnification. Search for 'Elfheartrising' on youtube to see the videos using both 400x and 200x in combination.

I didn't buy the Veho with the stand - BIG MISTAKE (hard to keep still). Instruction booklet fairly rubbish. You MUST keep turning the silver focus band RIGHT ROUND to go from 200 to 400 magnification. Moving insects tend to get a little hot running around under the microscope lights too... I think I inadvertantly killed the woodlouse - eek!



This sample video is only using the magnification to 200x, in the full videos I made (on youtube) you can see how I used the 400x magnification still shots combined with moving 200x footage.



And don't bother trying to contact the company who makes the Veho, as they don't seem to reply. (I was trying to see if I could buy a stand separatly)! AMMENDED EDIT - since I wrote this, Veho HAS contacted me, a lovely email from their sales manager, who is going to look into trying to get me a stand (when their office reopens on the 4th Jan), I take back what I said about them previously!



Yes... the sales manager at Veho got back to me, and sent me a stand for my microscope! She was VERY helpful, and we swopped some great emails. If you do have any problems with your Veho, I would suggest you try and talk to them. She explained they are only a small company, but she went out of her way to help me.



I look forward to making a new video of some head lice that I have sitting in an envelope waiting to be filmed!

 "VEHO VMS Miscroscope - Total Garbage" 2009-08-25
By Mr. N. Walayat
I bought the miscroscope 6 months ago on the understanding that it works with vista 64. IT DOES NOT!



I have waited patiently for a 64 but driver, NONE has materialised.



The support is useless, after a barrage of 20 emails, I got a reply to download the 32 BIT DRIVER !!!



Which I had alrady tried several times but for obvious reasons will not install on a vista 64.



As far as i am concerned VMS support and product is total garbage.



I have now given up and looking to buy an alternative microscope and dumped this piece of garbage into the cupboard to collect dust.



Buyer beware !

 "love it....." 2009-08-21
By Ian Cook (north east uk)
getting on in years now i needed something better than my eyes/glasses to check out electrical components etc....i also thought it would be 'fun'.

well, my grandson did not want to put it down so there is a good point if you want to keep pre-school kids amused (as well as yourself)

gives an exceptional view of components and soldering on PCB's so is going to be an invaluable aid to me, add to this the close ups of your skin/eyes/teeth/ears etc and there really is no end to the uses.

 "Great tool" 2009-08-20
By B. Godfrey (Notts.)
Regarding the comments on the claimed 400x magnification, I think PJ has it right when he suggests it is the displayed size. I used the following unscientific method to satisfy myself. I focussed on a standard desk ruler and determined that 13mm filled the capture window horizontally and 10mm vertically (130sq.mm). Then I physically measured the capture window 257x193mm (49601sq. Mm). To clarify, an image measuring 130sq.mm was displayed at 49601sq.mm. 49601 divided by 130 = 381 which is not far off 400! But is this not real magnification?

The installation went like a dream on my windows vista 64 bit OS. I do have one problem... the physical capture button on the microscope dosn't work but I can use the on screen button. Can anyone offer any ideas on this.

 "Veho Microscope" 2009-07-23
By D. G. Powner (Staffs, UK)
I had previously purchased the VMS-001 with a magnification of x200, so when the VMS-004 became available, I had to have that too.



At first, I phoned and complained that the magnification was no better (or even worse) than that of the earlier model. They suggested I tried adjusting the focus at the other end of the scale. That worked! Apparently, it has two focussing points.



I am totally pleased with this product, and highly recommend it for anyone who requires low-cost but serious microscoppy.


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Buy Veho VMS-004 Discovery Series 400x USB Microscope Now

Veho VMS-004 Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with x400 Magnification & Flexi Alloy Stand

Buy Cheap Veho VMS-004 Discovery Deluxe USB Microscope with x400 Magnification & Flexi Alloy Stand

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 "Doesn't focus well, poor depth of field" 2010-05-06
By D. hickson (Carlisle, Cumbria United Kingdom)
I bought this item to look at mosses and to be honest it is virtually useless for this purpose. It is much better to use a 20X hand lens or the natural history museum pocket microscope which is superb. At 20x the detail is very poor and the image dark and at 400x the image is barely in focus and the depth of field is almost none existent. A problem is that the focussing wheel is impossible to use without causing the microscope to move and making the object to be viewed impossible to keep located under the microscope. I cannot see how people can rate this highly and I cannot think of any uses that this microscope could be put to. Perhaps you could look at a fly's wing or newsprint, but the lack of depth of field means that it is impossible to view anything 3 dimensional especially at the higher magnification. There is no magnification between 20x and 400x. I plan to try to return the item. It cannot be used to view an object mounted on a slide because of the excessive movement caused when focussing which pushes down on the slide and moves the cover slip

 "great fun" 2010-02-22
By Mr. P. A. Barwick (uk)
Had it christmas have an old microscope which i compared it to its a shame the images couldnt be better than one megapixel i could use it for work then but its brilliant in that you can look at live obects without having to disect them i.e spiders flies noses and earholes the kids were amased at what was possible so for the money great and you can prettey much see as much detail as you would with a traditional microscope you also have a zoom facility giving you an overall picture and a zoomed in picture but the best feature in my opinion is you can view live objects without having to kill anything !!!!!

 "Misleading blurb, poor quality, poor instructions" 2010-02-20
By S. G. Morley
I bought this item on the strength of some of the reviews above, and the fact that it was nearly half the listed price, it seemed like a bargain. Unfortunately I agree with all the negatives listed, and few of the positives. This is not a 400x microscope, maximum magnification is about to 20x and I get better photos from my three megapixel digital camera. There is no zoom, you zoom by "moving the microscope closer to the object", it only has a focus wheel. I never found the two focus areas one of the reviewers mentioned. The depth of field is really shallow which means that it is difficult to get items in focus, and the LED glare means that colours are bleached. The instructions are very poor, and I really didn't have the patience to try and work out the scale. The lighting is adjustable, but adjusting wheel broke almost immediately and now it is full on...or full on, which is too bright for shiny objects. The stand does not lock properly so it cannot hold focus, and slowly falls over. The video quality is not bad but the file size is very large and the format is not supported by any of my video editing software progs, so I cannot post the videos to you YouTube which was the whole point initially. I sent it back.

 "Not What it Seems" 2010-02-18
By R. Thomas (UK)
The advertising for this product is misleading. It does not offer a magnification range of 20 to 400 times. It only offers 20 or 400 times and no other magnifications. I emailed the Veho support centre to find out why the software did not appear to let me zoom digitally and their response was that I either had faulty software or incompatible PC. I downloaded the latest version of software but it is still not fully compatible with my Windows Vista Premium Sony VAIO laptop. The microscope stand has broken and it keeps slipping out of focus. I am so dissatisfied with the product and Veho's dismissive attitude to the problems that I would have already demanded a refund, if I were not too busy.

 "Excellent (eventually)" 2010-02-12
By middlea
I have just taken delivery of the VMS-004 microscope. It works (eventually). As with many other reviews (including those on the VMS-001) I have to say that the instructions are less than helpful, both on the installation and the use of the scope. I suspect my problems have been similar to those mentioned in the other reviews, so apologies if I repeat some comments. And some of my problems have been the usual ones arising from not fully reading the documentation that did exist (although I had to read between the lines on quite a few points).



My first attempt at installation ... having read the reviews I skipped the instruction in the skimpy Quick Start Guide to plug in the scope before installing, so (using the supplied disk) the driver installation stopped and said it couldn't find the device, please plug it in! So I plugged it in and all went OK.



Starting the Microcapture software and up came a preview screen that looks terrible at first, but twiddling the knurled silver wheel brought things into focus. BUT the magnification looked nothing like the 400x promised - more like 12x. Turning the wheel did not zoom (as implied by the scale shown on the device), it is a Focus wheel (as it calls it in the manual) and the meaning of the scale was not immediately apparent. The use of the wheel is simply to focus on objects at different distances from the nose of the scope.



Changing the preview size (initially set at 640x480) to anything above 640x480 hung the software - which with hindsight could be a memory problem on my machine.



Thinking I may have had a software problem, I removed the Digital Microscope driver and Microcapture (via the Control Panel in XP) and downloaded the 'latest' software from the Veho site, unpacked the Zip, ran Microcapture.exe (i.e. the menu shown in AutoRun.inf) and reinstalled the driver and software. The NEW manual does say NOT to plug in the device before the installation. I did the installation OK then plugged in the scope, and XP seemed to find the device and driver OK. BUT Microcapture now said it couldn't find the scope, though XP could see the device. I tried a few things, but gave up, uninstalled and reinstalled using the CD (thinking it was better to have low magnification than no magnification!).



THEN I FOUND SOMETHING. Keep turning the knurled knob to the extreme 'other' end of its movement (ignoring the 'direction' of the scale) and there is a second focus point (as I then recalled reading in a review somewhere)! I reckon the magnification of a subject placed at the end of the plastic tube (having removed the clear cap) looked like about x250 on the preview window - not the advertised x400, but pretty good. When you think about it, it is obvious that the 'magnification' depends on how much you blow up the image.



THEN I READ THE MANUAL BETTER. When you do focus on an object near the end of the clear tube, the scale gives you a 'notional' magnification. If you then capture an image and open it in the Microcapture software (double click on the thumbnail), you enter that number on the preview screen and using the measurement ruler will give you a fairly accurate measure of the object seem in the image. The actual 'magnification depends on things like the resolution of your screen. I reckon the x400 would really be x400 if the image was printed at about A4 or a bit bigger.



The two focus points effectively give you something like x400 at one end and x20 at the other - i.e. the advertised x20-x400 doen't mean x20 TO x400 but x20 AND/OR x400.



So the 'old' installation using the supplied CD seems to works - the software still seems to hang with higher preview sizes, but hey, I have a working microscope. The 'updated' software doesn't seem to work at all (on my machine). And as a PS on the new downloaded software, the 'Install me(tm) software' option is never explained in the (new) manual - it seems that its a peer-to-peer client for the Diino online storage facility - something I wouldn't touch without knowing more about it and I can't think that it is in any way necessary for using the scope.



There's a moral in all this somewhere, but I'm not a philosopher!!



And as a Postscript - the driver for the scope is a Twain driver and works in File>Import in Abobe Photoshop (VMUVC Twain Driver) - and in that context the higher resolutions work OK if a bit slowly.




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