AmScopeSE400-Z Professional Binocular Stereo Microscope, WF10x and WF20x Eyepieces, 10X and 20X Magnification, 1X Objective, LED Lighting, Boom-Arm Stand, 110V-120V

For $200, this is a fantastic deal. I'm using it for hot air SMD board assembly; and post assembly inspection. The 10X is good enough to see a 402 discrete and 112 LQFP. I also soldered a 200 pin, 1/2 mm pitch header. The 20X is really too much for assembly, unless you are doing some very small parts (maybe a 201 package), but is good for very close up inspection work. I personally would have preferred the 5X loops over the 20X. A 5X would offer a wider field of view yet have enough magnification to do most SMD assembly (the higher the magnification, the less of the board you'll see in the eyepieces). With the 10X I can only see about 1/2 of the 112 LQFP package in the eyepieces. As noted, the base is not the most sturdy I've worked with, but it does appear to be adequate (just don't try to use the head at a right angle to the base or spin the base around backwards so that the length is pointing away from the head). You want the length of the base aligned with the arm where the microscope head mounts.The only real complaint I have about the microscope is the height of the stand. It is about 1" too short for me to place my PCB pre-heater under the head (an Aoyue model 853A) and still have adequate height to focus the image. I had to sit the microscope on a 1" board to get the extra height needed. The optics are good, the lighting is adequate, and the controls are easy enough to use. I've had no issue with the image bouncing around while soldering components. The manual is pretty minimal but, as noted by others, really isn't needed.As an engineer I've spent 25 years designing custom electronics. At my day job I have a higher end AmScope and, after 5 years of use, I have no complaints. My work scope has too short of a focus to use for assembly but is great for inspection. Given the price of my scope at work, I was beyond shocked at the $200 price tag on this one. For my home use I had purchased a digital microscope for inspection, not knowing that a better option was available. By the way, I don't advise the $100 digital microscopes for any PCB work. The focus is literally less than 1" from the end of the microscope, making it pretty much useless for assembly / inspection work. Prior to purchasing the this AmScope, I used a stationary magnifier and reading glasses for my assembly work (at home). You can get adequate magnification, but it will cause sever eye strain after about 30 minutes. As with any wearable magnifiers, when the distance between your head and the work shifts the image will loose focus. For small variations, your eyes can compensate, but it does make them very tired in short order. I know this because I have a pair of surgeon's glasses I use at work for PCB inspection and (limited) assembly. These $1500 glasses are specially fitted and typically have a 5X to 7X magnification. The magnification is good enough for most assembly but barely adequate for inspection. The problem is going with a higher magnification will amplify any head movements and make it much more difficult to maintain focus on an object. Even guys who do assembly for a living have told me 2 hrs with surgeon's glasses is about the best you can do before taking a break. Beyond magnifiers, surgeons glasses, and inspection microscopes, the only other tool I know of is the Mantis Elite. This is a very high dollar microscope ($3K) that has a viewing screen instead of eyepieces; but at $3K this is way beyond the price of most hobbyists. One final note, if you get a camera with this, don't attempt to use the camera image for assembly. You have no depth information from a 2D camera image and will most likely either not heat the part or crash the soldering iron into the part.For the money, this AmScope is one of the best investments I've made for PCB work. At some point in the near future I will most likely purchase the 5X loops to go with this setup.

Amscope SE400-Z: Received a day earlier than expected. It assembles in minutes. Instructions are basic but don't need much. The base is sturdy. It came with the 10X eye pieces installed. It works great for circuit boards with surface mounted parts and tiny silk screen text. The 20X were in bags. The single gooseneck light works fine, good white light. It came with a plastic cover to keep the head clean. Very nice and just what I needed. Lots of room to work -- a little less than 9 inches as I set it up for initial check-out.For circuit board rework the 10X makes things close -- nice for inspection. I read what Donna W. wrote -- very informative. It was suggested to buy a 0.5X objective to get 5X overall for rework but to not buy the eye piece lens as the objective will give a better view. I just ordered from GT Vision in the UK -- GXM-0.5X. Will see how that works. For now, the 10X will work. I don't know when I would use the 20X eye pieces.Update: ordered the 0.5x objective on 2023.12.14 and received it on2023.12.21 (GXM-0.5X slide-in objective for C2-D microscope). Fits perfectly and with a total 5X works better than the 1.0x objective/10X eyepiece. I can still see details on and between pads but see more parts making assembly easier. Cost: 40.50 Sterling, about 35 Sterling shipping.

I haven't had this long, but some initial impressions:--Easy to set up although the directions are pretty worthless. You also receive a little wrench that doesn't seem to be needed and doesn't fit anything.--Nice clear images and good depth of field. Not a terribly wide field compared to others I've used, but the others didn't allow the work to be so far from the objective lens so maybe that's the difference.--Changing from 10x to 20x is inconvenient, but I doubt I'll use anything but the 10x anyway. Zoom would be nice but can't be expected at this price.--The LED light is not bad. I like how it can be positioned where you want it. Seems to be bright enough the little I've used it.--A few inches more height on the post would have been nice, but I can put a board underneath if need be.--I'm pretty tall and the ergonomics of the thing are great for me. No slouching over needed and the eyepiece angle is just right. This may not be the case for a shorter person. When set to focus at the tabletop, the eyepiece is 17" above the tabletop. Of course, you have 9" of clearance under the objective so lots of room to work.--I suspect this is some kind of clone. Nowhere on the unit or the instructions does it list a manufacturer or model number. There is a serial number (?) on the bottom, but that's it. The pictures Amazon displays shows a label (Amscope) on the front of the unit but mine doesn't have that. It may be a refurbished unit. Given that the optics seem fine and there isn't a lot to go wrong, I'm going to keep it. However, this isn't the first thing I've gotten from Amazon that seems to be a clone. There is a surprisingly complex power supply for the LED, but I can fix that if it fails.....