Levenhuk DTX 500 LCD Digital Microscope

The DTX 500 LCD is the digital microscope to choose when the photos and measurements matter as much as the viewing. It has a 5-megapixel sensor behind a 3.5-inch colour screen, 20x to 500x magnification with 4x digital zoom, and software for Windows and Mac that measures lengths, areas, angles and radii from a calibrated image. That makes it a working tool for electronics repair, coin and stamp grading, watch and jewellery work, and recording plant and insect specimens.

The stand is the other reason to pick it over the DTX 350. The 95 by 98 mm stage moves 40 mm vertically and carries an 8 by 6 cm measuring scale, and the focus range is 0 to 150 mm, which leaves room for a soldering iron or a screwdriver under the lens. Eight white LEDs light the object from above with adjustable brightness, which you'll want turned down for polished metal.

It runs from the mains adapter in the box (100 to 240 V) or a rechargeable 1050 mAh battery good for about two hours, and saves photos and video to a microSD card of up to 32 GB (not included). Outputs are USB 2.0 to a computer and AV to a television or projector, which suits a classroom or club.

The magnification is digital rather than through an eyepiece, and the microscope lights from above, so it's for solid, opaque objects. Prepared slides and pond water need a compound microscope. The box includes the microscope, mains adapter, battery, USB and AV cables, a cleaning wipe, a calibration scale, software CD and manual.