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How does that look with your camera ?

I am also playing with two c270 in the moment. I like it that it is so flat. Maybe I even can avoid the hole in the table. Additional you can position the needle and the down looking cam as close as possible together to get more usable table space. Rainer

Do we have som conclusion for the best donwlooking camera?

Hello anyone ,

Would this Endoscope be OK for use as down looking camera:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-USB-Di ... 2515130046
Portable USB Digital 50-500X 2.0 MP Microscope Endoscope
Image CMOS Sensor
Controller: High Speed DSP
Lens: Micro-Scope Lens
Focus Range: Manual Focus from 3mm to 40mm
Snap Shot: Software and Hardware
Video Capture Resolution: 640x480
Still Image Capture Resolution: 1600x1200(2M Pixel),1280x960(1.3M Pixel),800x600, 640x480
Frame Rate: Max. 30f/s Under 600 Lux Brightness
Flicker Control: 50Hz / 60Hz Option
Video Format: AVI
Snap Shot Format: JEPG
Light Source: 8 White Light LED (with controller on USB cable)
Magnification Ratio:50X ~ 500X (Manual)
Power Supply: USB Port (5V DC)
Software : AMCAP(Driver)
System Requirement: Pentium Computer with 700MHz & Above, 20M HD Space CD ROM Driver,
128MB RAM, Direct X VGA Card
PC Interface: USB2.0 & USB1.1
Operation System: Windows 7 32 bit /Vista/XP
Dimension: 112 mm ( L ) X 33 mm ( R )
Accessories: A1-Alloy Stand, CD ROM (Driver), Cover, emandation rule.

I had a similar model for PCB inspection on my bench and that gave a crappy image.

Maybe I just had bad luck; but my device suffered from uneven lighting and distorted picture.

I ended up buying this one as a replacement (for the bench) and tossed the cheap model away:
https://www.conrad.de/de/usb-mikroskop- ... 04213234:s

The new microscope has a nice image but low frame rate. Not an issue when looking at solder joint quality (rather static) but not the best for PnP flying vision. Also, the resolution would be overkill.

Also, both models are rather bulky - so might not be easy to mount on PnP head.

If you don't like the Andonstar or C270, I recommend you take a look at ELP board cameras:
http://www.elpcctv.com/

Either ELP-USB500W02M or ELP-USB100W04H - second option is cheaper but has lower resolution. However, the 5MP are not really needed anyway...

You can buy these from Aliexpress or eBay. If you contact the seller, they can provide a 3m or 5m USB cable (so you can save yourself some soldering) and alternative lenses. Standard seems to be f=3.6mm - from my experience, the ELP-Lens with f=6mm works nice for a down cam.

Downside: You have to figure out a way to mount the cam and also change the lighting.

Oh, I forgot to mention:

Be careful with the advertised "2MP". Video resolution of 640x480 is only ~0,3MP.

If still resolution is that much higher, it often means it is interpolated - and thus useless for any measurement.

I found that most cheap endoscope / microscope cams which are advertised as "2 MP" only support crappy physical resolutions.