Wireless Digital Microscope, SKYBASIC 50X-1000X Magnification WiFi USB HD Portable Handheld Pocket Microscopes Camera with 8 Adjustable LED Compatible with iPhone iPad Android Windows Mac Computer

Holy cow! I'm an amateur photographer. I also have a biochemistry degree, and working in a lab, I know quite a bit about optics and microscopes. I've tested the optics by taking a series of photos. The scope will be used primarily for gemstone identification and inclusions.First I'll caution everyone. This scope will never EVER, deliver 1000x magnification. I'm also an astronomer; I've seen the same claims with telescopes. I have a microscope that uses oil immersion optics and My strongest lens is hard pressed to deliver 1000x, with German Zeiss optics, which are apochromatic compound plano lenses. This scope ain't quite that great! But, it's truly impressive for its design.The app:I have a Note 10+ 5g phone, running Android 12.The Max-view app operates flawlessly. You must disconnect your wifi, if connected, and connect to the wifi network named Max-view. My phone connected easily.Open the Max-view app and you'll see it say "connected". Click on the arrow and you'll see through the scope. The rest of the icons are self explanatory.I used it hand held (which I don't recommend, because of its magnification). I used a 7" holder with a rack and pinion height adjustment and 2 gooseneck mini led lamps. You need a way to hold the tube, especially when you increase magnification.Opals are one of the hardest gemstones to photograph. Their fire is caused from organized silicate spheres that diffract light entering the opal. The more the spheres are organized, the brighter the colors; the color you see depends on their organizational pattern. The light scatters, and changes direction depending on the orientation of the stone, which is why opal changes color as it moves.As a hobby, I used to buy opal rough from a couple of Australian miners, then cut the rough into cabochons. The opal which I photographed is one of many I cabbed. The vast majority of you will have never seen what a real gem opal looks like, because you're used to seeing the trash that's for sale in 99% of jewelry stores.This is a black opal. The black is the body tone, which most of you won't really see. It's bright fire is around 3.5 out of 5 (5 being the most intense). Yes, there are brighter opals than this one.I have done nothing but photograph the opal at minimal magnification through maximum magnification. I've not even cropped the images. These photos are what showed up in my gallery on the phone. I've not enhanced the colors. Yes, this opal is THAT bright.This opal has a rare flagstone, or harlequin, pattern, the holy grail of opal patterns. I'm privileged to have cabbed 5 harlequin opals. One small one graces a 1880 ring and is brighter than this opal.I used the 2 small lamps, aimed at an angle, to photograph the opal. The colors would show better if it was in the Sun. Led's are opal killers, but it was too dark in the house, and too chilly to sit outside, so I used the lamps.The first 2 photos show the opal at 2 angles, so you can see how it affects the fire color. The rest were taken from the same angle, just at higher magnification, until I couldn't get any closer to the opal. I adjusted the focus at each step. The microscope required minimal refocusing as I increased magnification. The detail is incredible.Photo #3 and #4 are at 2x magnification. The last is at optical maximum, with the scope as physically close as possible, and set at 2x. You can see the structure of the opal, which grew in different directions, causing the harlequin flagstone pattern.These photos are clear and impressive enough to print and frame. I may make a collage of them and do just that.I will be photographing some diamonds and sapphires and I'll add to the gallery. You'd be hard pressed to buy a higher quality scope of this type. It's a great buy.UPDATE:I photographed my Edwardian diamond ring. The ring is cir.1900. The stone is an old European cut, .63ct diamond, which is considered internally flawless, D-E color. You can clearly see the larger facets and cutlet, which is the circle in the center. It almost looks flower-like.

**Update** - I've discovered a potential workaround for the Max-View app issue many Android users have reported. Instead of using my phone, I accessed the app's page on the Google Play Store via my PC's Chrome browser. To my surprise, there was an option to install it on my Galaxy Fold 5. After selecting "install," I received a confirmation on my phone within 30 seconds that the app had been successfully installed. Upon testing, the app runs seamlessly. I'm unsure if this method will be effective for everyone or if I just got lucky. However, I'm hesitant to uninstall and retry, just in case. Given this potential fix, I've decided to increase my rating to 5 stars.**Pros:**1. **Superior Image Quality:** The microscope truly shines when it comes to the video and image output. The visuals it produces are crisp, clear, and well beyond my initial expectations.2. **Portable and User-Friendly:** The design is sleek, compact, and designed for practicality. Its easy portability, especially with the included bracelet, makes it perfect for outdoor ventures or educational purposes.3. **Versatile Features:** The ability to not only zoom but also capture photos and videos seamlessly is impressive. Documenting and reviewing observations has never been easier.**Cons:**1. **Major App Compatibility Concern:** The Achilles heel of this otherwise fantastic product is the "MAX-VIEW" app. Its incompatibility with the latest Android versions severely restricted my usage. If not for my iPad, the microscope would have been rendered almost useless.2. **Alternative App Shortcomings:** A search for alternative apps that might work with the microscope was fruitless. They seem to operate on similar protocols but have specific WIFI requirements, making them non-interchangeable with "MAX-VIEW".**Final Thoughts:**The SKYBASIC Wireless Digital Microscope is a mixed bag. While the hardware is exceptional, the software support is lacking. The limited app compatibility is a significant drawback and is the primary reason for my 3-star rating. Potential buyers should ensure they have a compatible device or await an app update before purchasing.

The Microscope is great for my purposes. It connects to your mobile phone through WiFi. It creates it’s own WiFi and you connect to it by choosing it’s WiFi network, which means you can’t use the internet while connected. This is not a problem for me since I can continue to use the cellular connection. The Microscope periodically loses connection with my phone and I have to reconnect this is the one problem I have had with it, but other than that annoyance, it works great. The LED lighting is bright. It would be nice if they could resolve the instability with the WiFi connection. I am always within a few feet, so the connection should be stable. I mostly see the connectivity issues when I am moving the microscope and there is a lot of movement in the microscopes view. Once I am to the location I want to look at, it’s connection stays in place. This is only a minor annoyance for me. Focuses well. The software is good, with the exception of the connectivity issue.