Carson MicroFlip 100x-250x, LED UV Pocket Microscope with Smartphone Clip, STEM Education (MP-250)

Unbelievable! After only 10 minutes of use I saw everything I needed to know about this product and was so impressed immediate wrote this review. Objects are extremely clear, extremely close-up giving a scientific view of things at a professional quality and price. Lightweight, quality build, with LED and UV option. Highly recommend this as a meaningful gift to inspire others apart from the learning experience you receive. This products value is well worth it and I get the feeling this was intentional meaning their products are most likely being made by down-to-earth people with morals and ethics. I did not fit the phone yet (pixel 8 pro) so I cannot comment on that yet, but am certain that once I do, it's more to appreciate. Also, as of 02JUL2025, I did not compare any other similar product to this one, but honestly think it would not yield much better results. Highly recommend this exact product and not a similar-looking versions. Thanks to the professional YouTube video review for guidance. Be mindful of the magnification, lower magnifications may be what you're looking for. Images are large and close so if you're looking for close but not too close, chose the next lower magnification. It has a "slide" feature I have not tested yet, but I'm certain it will be perfect for what you pay. Requires 1x AA battery (not included).

This little thing has brought me so much joy, worth every penny! I enjoy using it with or without the phone clip. I was able to take photos with an iPhone Pro Max without any issues. I like the size of it, so lightweight, with a nice built-in light and easy to adjust magnification and focus. I would love to see these in more colors, but even if only grey/black, I would buy more to give as gifts :-)Black fibers - leggings with pet hair (cat and dog, lol).Purple and pink - mouse pad.Black granular - stainless steel case.Light grey - lens cleaning cloth.Turquoise - silicone exterior on speaker.

As someone that did microscopy at various times in both education and in volunteering for a local museum, I have to say I'm impressed at how well this scope performs. For a handheld (and some tabletop ones I've used), this actually is a really good and clear scope! The UV part only activates as you hold its button down, and the regular light is on point for being able to look at slides and other things like paper and carpet fibers and hairs. I highly suggest if you're the type of person that takes walks in their neighborhood that includes curiosity of your surroundings, this would be a valuable tool to look at leaves and such up close. A worthwhile investment.The slides suck. Sure, you can see stuff because the scope is good, but there are so many bubbles in the production of these slides even I don't always know what I'm looking at without a label. Too cheaply made, especially for a layman that doesn't do microscopy a lot and won't necessarily know a bubble from an actual structure that's the subject of the slide. I'd just buy the scope.

Ok, but not so easy to use... best used in doors in a controlled environment... need to supply external light to see anything @ 200X... for either 100X or 200X device needs to rest on a solid, stable, flat surface ... I feel it is best used with well prepared slides with covers...

Picked this up to inspect some tiny holes on jet engine parts. Needed an “analog” device and this one fit the bill and included the phone clip. I was using it by simply setting it on parts and we got amazing images of features on the order of 0.010” in size. Way outside the intended use but it worked great.

This is a really good microscope, but to be honest, I have no idea how to effectively use it.I was looking for a simple magnifying glass to see tiny things close up, for example to look at tiny print or perhaps an insect. My instincts told me that if 10 or 20X power was pretty good, 250X must be amazing! Unfortunately, I never realized just how strong 100 - 250X would be.When magnification is that strong, you have a hard time aiming it at whatever you want to see, and when you find it, your view is so powerful that you can't figure out what it is you're seeing. Text on a smartphone is just a bunch of giant pixels. Printed words are out of the question... you're looking at the individual dots that form a single letter. In a word, overkill... for me.Lesson learned. If you're just looking for a magnifying glass, stick to something 30x or lower. Once you get to 100 or 250x, you are now looking at something only a trained eye (or student) can actually understand.In the end, I still use my 20x -30x magnifying glasses on a regular basis, but from time to time I get a kick out of looking at something through this microscope, so I'm not sending it back.It has a feature to let you use your smartphone to take pictures, but it's not easy to use because first you need to figure out where to aim it, then you need to find a way to hold your cell phone, the microscope and your subject steady as you aim it.