Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Celestron Digital Microscope. |
Not long ago I mentioned how much I use my Celestron handheld microscope. Low power microscopes like that are very useful for inspecting coins, but not only coins. I also use it a lot for looking at jewelry and other types of metal detector finds, such as artifacts.
One web site that rates microscopes that are useful for inspecting coins, rates the Celestron 5 MP Digital Microscope Pro as being the best among those listed.
Here is the link.
Best Microscopes for Coins [ Top 11 Model Reviewed ] - Microscope Crew
And here is a list of the major pros and cons, which is instructive.
• High shutter speed
• It can be connected to a desktop for viewing and saving images
• Easy focus
• Provides measurement feature
• Knobs are either too tight or too loose.
A good general coin microscope would not be extremely high power. Something like ten to thirty power would probably be good.
There are a lot of trade-offs. The Celestron is inexpensive yet works well for most detectorist needs.
One thing I don't like about it is the lighting, which is fine for inspecting coins most of the time, but I occasionally resort to additional lighting and sometimes turn off the lights on the microscope. I've mentioned a few times before how changing the angle of the light source can help bring out details. Sometimes direct overhead lighting isn't the best choice.
You can attach the Celestron and many other microscopes directly to your computer via the USB port. That is something I like. You can view the image on a large computer display screen and store the photo images on your computer.
Sometimes a smartphone camera will do the job.
I seldom need higher magnification, but there are times when I would like to have it.
One of the things I don't like about it, is when you want to photograph a larger object, you need to get the microscope farther from the object than the included rod will allow. There are a couple ways to get around that.
For me, the two biggest problems include the lighting, which is accomplished by LEDs arranged around the aperture and therefore directly over the object. And the other is the short rod that holds the camera, which prevents getting the microscope farther from the object when you want to photograph a larger object.
For the first problem, you can use additional lights (perhaps a small flashlight or two), and for the second problem, there are a variety of other solutions.
As I said, the microscope is not only useful for viewing and photographing coins but also for other things such as finding small marks on jewelry such as the karat mark and/or trademark.
If you are looking at diamonds or even marbles or other reflective items, the built-in lighting is especially problematic. The LED lights will be reflected on your image and appear in any photographs. Some of the microscopes listed in the web site mentioned above, also provide additional lights that can be adjusted to illuminate the item from other angles. There is a nice solution for marbles and similarly reflective items, but I won't get into that now.
I prefer looking at images on a large computer display rather than through a eyepiece or a smaller display.
As I said before, I find my coin microscope very useful and would hate to look through a large number of coins for errors and varieties or jewelry items for small marks without being able to use a system providing a large display screen with good resolution.
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| Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Inlet Area from SurfGuru.com. |
OK. This looks promising. The surf is supposed to increase - particularly Wednesday, reaching a peak Thursday and Friday.
On top of that, the AM low tide is the first negative tide I've seen for some time. And the morning high tide was over three feet. Not bad.
The wind and surf were both coming from the north. It is time to start watching developments.
Wednesday might see some improved beach conditions in some spots.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net