xanthoman
Avid Member
this is going to be a sort of review of the recently acquired celestron pentaview 44348 photomicroscopy microscope. which i had hoped to make the eye of xantho. i wont be doing a full blown review because,, and it kills me to admit this, the celestron 44348 pentaview is not all its cracked up to be
.
but first, a little history. several years back i owned a celestron 44340 for a while. thats the original celestron ldm (liquid display module) microscope and the littlest brother out of the 3 celestron ldm's (44340,44345,44348 pentaview)
at $170 the smaller 44340 had some issues, but was imo, an ok deal considering it was reasonably priced for a suitable cham photomicroscopy scope for the $. it was viable, but it did have some quality of build issues. i only had mine for less than a year because i was less than satisfied with the quality of build. i really liked the ldm concept and the idea of built in photomicroscopy, but i was looking for something that produced stunning professional images.
i told myself at the time if they ever came out with a better version that i would have to get it. with its way nicer (touch) screen and 5 mp camera i was hoping the pentaview would fit that bill. i researched it fairly thoroughly and it had decent specs, but since they have only been out a short while and are in fairly short supply there arent that many reviews yet.
before i purchased, i called up optics planet to discuss the quality of build issue. the op rep assured me that they had stepped up the quality of build, to be commensurate with its nearly $400 price tag.
however the short of it is, after a short inspection, i was sadly disappointed to find the same celestron issues of mediocrity. i could have lived with them and it certainly did take decent pics but at $400, i felt that it should have had a better quality of build. a short inspection of the included slides revealed the following issues;
1. loose screw in back of stage, i could have tightened it. but i might have scratched it and had already decided to return it
2. lever for the stage vice was directly adjacent to the stage axis knob, imo unacceptable in microscopy terms.
3. the lighting was imo, insufficient for most 400x, let alone 600x.
lighting flickered while being adjusted imo, also unacceptable at that price.
4.the diaphram wheel which controls lighting vignetted the screen in an unsymetrical fashion vignets are common with small diameter openings but imo, should be symmetrical.
conclusion; none of the things mentioned are ultra serious issues that greatly affect the final microscopy product. if the thing had been $170, i would have just accepted them and been perfectly happy.
but, i have enough microscopy experience to know that at $400 there are better scopes to be had. i had had some limited exp with the amscope 480a and was very impressed, but was looking for something slightly better, but still under $500. i was hoping the pentaview would fit that bill, but now im sort of glad it didnt. i had a hunch it might come to this when i ordered, and in my heart i already knew that amscope was a better choice, but in typical xantho fashion i had find out for myself. now i know.
i have decided to end my microscope battles once and for all, so i will be getting an amscope t580a and worrying about the imaging, a little down the road. it doesnt have built in photo microscopy, but it is does have the simulfocus trinocular c-mount/23mm photoport so it is set up for microscopy with additional equip. its built to iso 9001 stds and has a 5 year warranty and infinitely better optics, not to mention, great support and an endless line of accesories and options.
i did like the overall concept of the pentaview, but at $400, i cant recommend it due to its quality of build issues.
it should be made clear that its easy to spends thousands or even tens of thousands on a microscope, so deciding on a high quality unit for a reasonable price can be a challenge.
something tells me i am going to be happy with this one.
this will be the new eye of xantho
http://store.amscope.com/t580a.html
http://www.amscope.com/Picture-T580-1
it may be a short while before i am able to actually post any pics using the unit,, but i will certainly do a review /unboxing when it arrives. cant wait.
.but first, a little history. several years back i owned a celestron 44340 for a while. thats the original celestron ldm (liquid display module) microscope and the littlest brother out of the 3 celestron ldm's (44340,44345,44348 pentaview)
at $170 the smaller 44340 had some issues, but was imo, an ok deal considering it was reasonably priced for a suitable cham photomicroscopy scope for the $. it was viable, but it did have some quality of build issues. i only had mine for less than a year because i was less than satisfied with the quality of build. i really liked the ldm concept and the idea of built in photomicroscopy, but i was looking for something that produced stunning professional images.
i told myself at the time if they ever came out with a better version that i would have to get it. with its way nicer (touch) screen and 5 mp camera i was hoping the pentaview would fit that bill. i researched it fairly thoroughly and it had decent specs, but since they have only been out a short while and are in fairly short supply there arent that many reviews yet.
before i purchased, i called up optics planet to discuss the quality of build issue. the op rep assured me that they had stepped up the quality of build, to be commensurate with its nearly $400 price tag.
however the short of it is, after a short inspection, i was sadly disappointed to find the same celestron issues of mediocrity. i could have lived with them and it certainly did take decent pics but at $400, i felt that it should have had a better quality of build. a short inspection of the included slides revealed the following issues;
1. loose screw in back of stage, i could have tightened it. but i might have scratched it and had already decided to return it
2. lever for the stage vice was directly adjacent to the stage axis knob, imo unacceptable in microscopy terms.
3. the lighting was imo, insufficient for most 400x, let alone 600x.
lighting flickered while being adjusted imo, also unacceptable at that price.
4.the diaphram wheel which controls lighting vignetted the screen in an unsymetrical fashion vignets are common with small diameter openings but imo, should be symmetrical.
conclusion; none of the things mentioned are ultra serious issues that greatly affect the final microscopy product. if the thing had been $170, i would have just accepted them and been perfectly happy.
but, i have enough microscopy experience to know that at $400 there are better scopes to be had. i had had some limited exp with the amscope 480a and was very impressed, but was looking for something slightly better, but still under $500. i was hoping the pentaview would fit that bill, but now im sort of glad it didnt. i had a hunch it might come to this when i ordered, and in my heart i already knew that amscope was a better choice, but in typical xantho fashion i had find out for myself. now i know.
i have decided to end my microscope battles once and for all, so i will be getting an amscope t580a and worrying about the imaging, a little down the road. it doesnt have built in photo microscopy, but it is does have the simulfocus trinocular c-mount/23mm photoport so it is set up for microscopy with additional equip. its built to iso 9001 stds and has a 5 year warranty and infinitely better optics, not to mention, great support and an endless line of accesories and options.
i did like the overall concept of the pentaview, but at $400, i cant recommend it due to its quality of build issues.
it should be made clear that its easy to spends thousands or even tens of thousands on a microscope, so deciding on a high quality unit for a reasonable price can be a challenge.
something tells me i am going to be happy with this one.
this will be the new eye of xantho
http://store.amscope.com/t580a.html
http://www.amscope.com/Picture-T580-1
it may be a short while before i am able to actually post any pics using the unit,, but i will certainly do a review /unboxing when it arrives. cant wait.
