Cool (inexpensive) USB microscope for checking trichomes

I have a hell of a time checking the trichs to determine when to do the final flush (and later harvest) using my jeweler's loupe. And it's a decent loupe.
 
I came across this Carson 53x usb microscope for $40 at Amazon - which is cheaper than ebay at the moment by $15.
 
It plugs into your laptop so you can see what the fuck is actually going on without all the loupe jitter and trying to hold it the right distance from eye and plant and all that. Has its own USB powered LED light source, too.
 
Pretty awesome for knowing when trichs are starting to get about half milky - a great time to do that pre-harvest flush. The 50% milky point leaves about 10 days to two weeks until most are completely milky which seems to be the optimal time to harvest if you're after max THC. Depends on strain but its a decent average.
 
Or you can let em go toward amber if anti-anxiety (plus couch lock) is what you're after as THC is giving way to more CBN, etc. Main thing is, YOU CAN SEE!
 
Also good for checking for mites and mold and all the tiny nasty shit, too. And for $40? Fuck yeah! 
 
 

 

Here's a couple from this morning - Easy Rider 75 day auto fem - day 63.
 
first two pics show the software's zoom control, looking at my jeans. I use something stable like my pants leg to set the focus. Ya drive yourself crazy trying to fuck with focus while looking at a bud or cola since most everything is at varying distances. You have to bring the camera into the bud and move it around until have some representative trichs that show up fairly clearly. Then ya snap the photo. You can just browse about while watching the laptop screen but capturing images allows for comparisons like maybe a week later.
 
The software has a bunch of typical setting that take effect as you are browsing - like zoom, brightness, contrast, the usual color adjustments, and shit like that. You can also take an avi movie of the inspection process, then step through the frames looking for best images in VLC media player (or whatever). There's a batch of video capture controls in their software.
 
The negatives - it's still a little difficult to get decent views. I'm not entirely sure if I'm seeing milky colored trichs from THC or light reflecting about through clear ones. Same issues as with jewelers loupes. The other negative is the max screen resolution is 640x480 so if you go full screen you lose resolution. 

 

Yeah - it's a good price and has some great features but I have to stop short of recommending it since I'm still unsure if I'll be able to tell milky from clear. Probably show the changes to amber when THC is converted into CBN. That moght be a good way to tell optimal harves time. But as far as when most are half milky vs clear??? Don't know yet. 

 

Got any pics of trichs taken through the lense? Looks like pretty nice. Maybe even better or more convenient than plugging into a laptop. 

 

This zOrb software has the ability to capture an avi movie. That's definitely the way to go! You just set the focus on your leg or something beforehand. And also set the frame rate and any other video controls you want (brightness, contrast, other shit), then start the capture. It remembers your setting so you don't have to any of that each time.
 
You just move into and around the buds/colas without worrying about having to snap a pic st the right time. When finished just play the avi in VLC and when something interesting appeared stop and go back and single step it frame by frame. You can take snapshots of whatever frames you want in VLC. It's very fast and easy.
 
Here's a sample of a couple snapshots from a very small portion of inspecting a cola.