Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron 44300 HandHeld Digital Microscope

This Celestron 44300 is an easy to use fun gadget. It is simple to set up and start taking pictures and video. I guess everyone's first view is their bluejeans, and seeing the patterns in the weave, from there it is the whole outdoors to examine. I doubt it will be the answer to world hunger but it is a lot of fun.

First of all, I must disclose I have no experience with microscopes and no scientific background. The pictures I've attached above illustrate this. However, I have to say I really like this little microscope. At 5" long, it's easy to take with me on the road and it's easy to use. It has a dial that adjusts to either 20X or 400X power. I have it hooked up to my Mac laptop webcam program. When you plug it into the USB port, the internal light comes on automatically and you're good to go. When I see something I want to capture, I just click the button at the top of the barrel and a picture is loaded onto my laptop. I usually end up going for the 400X power but at that magnification it can take a little patience to locate the exact spot I'm after.

I went back on Amazon to see if I could find something like this with even greater magnification but I couldn't even find any at 400X anymore. Plus, I think this model may be discontinued so I'd recommend snapping up the few remaining here. Maybe if I had experience with regular microscopes, I'd be more aggravated by the lack of fine focussing precision. The focussing dial is a little crude. But if you just want a better look at things you run across out in the field, it's a lot of fun.

This is the most amazing thing, all I can say is we NEVER had stuff like this when I was a kid! What a great age we live in. My daughter loves looking at everything from flower petals to hair follicles, etc., all with crystal clarity and easy use.

The software loaded flawlessly and the scope comes right up on the screen. She's 6 and she can use it by herself. I have to admit, I feel kind of like a kid again when I use it and explore stuff. Freeze frames are fun to print out, and easy to figure out too. This scope produces very sharp images and has a fantastic magnification range for what it is.

I could not recommend this item any more highly. It is GREAT. You will love it. Buy one, you won't be sorry.

The digital microscope performed as I had expected, somewhat better than a previous model from another vendor with the same specs and software driver. The only negative I can find is that the fluted adjustment knob is difficult to manage, but in my case usable since I mounted the camera to a stand with an adjustable height mechanism. That said, I am very pleased with the camera. The images are very clear throughout the range of magnification.

This isn't really a serious microscope. It is difficult to use at the highest magnification, but very easy to use at the lower and moderate magnifications. I would call it a pretty good value for the price. It makes a great hobby microscope for a student.