AmScopeSE400-Z Professional Binocular Stereo Microscope, WF10x and WF20x Eyepieces, 10X and 20X Magnification, 1X Objective, LED Lighting, Boom-Arm Stand, 110V-120V

This microscope is very solid and well-built. I knew what the other reviewers had said, but even so, I was surprised at just how heavy the box was when it was delivered. It's very solid -- no "toy" feel whatsoever. No worries about it tipping over or anything.However, I almost dinged them a star on their goofy instruction manual download procedure. Instead of having a printed manual included, they had a pamphlet with instructions to go to their website and enter a password printed on a sticker that's on the outside of the shipping box. And then when you do all of that, you find that the manual doesn't say anything that you couldn't already figure out anyway.I can maybe see not including a printed manual with it, as so many people never bother with reading them anyway so why print it when people can just download it? Plus, you can more easily provide updates and additional data. But why the goofy password? It's not like anything in the manual is secret or proprietary or would be a benefit to anyone who didn't own the microscope. They should just post them all online available for free download with no passwords.I bought this scope to do electronics work -- specifically for tiny surface mount parts. However, if you plan to do electronics, you'll want to get the WF5X eyepieces too -- perhaps you should look at the version of this microscope with the 5X and 10X eyepieces to begin with. The one I bought came with 10X and 20X eyepieces and so I had to buy the 5X eyepieces separate. For moderate size parts, the 5X eyepieces are perfect and for tiny (0201 scale) parts the 10X are perfect. I don't know if I'll ever really use the 20X eyepieces.When I bought my WF5X eyepieces, however, I found a strange discrepancy in the reviews and AmScope product specs for the AmScope WF5X eyepieces. Their spec listed the 5X as having only a 11mm field-of-view, which is ridiculous seeing the 10X has a 20mm field-of-view, though another source listed it as being 18mm. The comments from reviewers were mixed -- some seemed to indicate the AmScope 5X and 10X eyepieces were both about the same field-of-view and another reviewer described a much smaller field-of-view, consistent with a 20mm to 11mm reduction.So with all of the mix of data, I opted instead to purchase OMAX WF5X eyepieces (part CS-X2AEX205C) which are spec'd as having a 20mm field-of-view. They work just fine on this scope (as both are standard 30.5mm diameter eyepieces) and I can confirm the OMAX WF5X eyepieces (that I received) have the indicated 20mm field-of-view.The working range for this scope is great -- no worries of crashing your soldering iron or tools into the scope. And the lighting with the single gooseneck LED light is good. However, I opted to also get their 6W LED dual gooseneck adjustable brightness light to use with it and be able to light things from both directions (to eliminate shadows). I do wish that the base of that dual gooseneck light was about 1/2" (~13mm) shorter than it is. If it were, it could be placed lengthwise on the base of this microscope as the perfect "add-on" without consuming more tabletop space. At least it will fit sideways on the scope's base without falling off.The only change I would really make to the scope is in the arm adjustment. Due to the height of my table and chair, using the scope as it was designed puts it a bit too high for me. So, I flipped the adjustment arm upside down so that I could adjust it at a slight downward angle and make it more comfortable. But if you do that, you have to be careful of not accidentally releasing the lever and crashing the head of the scope into your work.It would have been better if they had designed the arm adjustment slightly differently to where the lock position would already be at a slight downward angle (perhaps 20 degrees from parallel instead of the near 0 degrees that it is?). That would extend the control range significantly and still not risk crashing the scope's head. Maybe I should ding it one star for that? Though once you have it configured to your liking, it doesn't matter much.Prior to this scope, I was using a lighted magnifier in conjunction with reading glasses. But this is such a huge improvement. For the price, it was well worth it to upgrade. I have no regrets over this purchase.UPDATE 14 Aug 2023 : I've done some recent upgrades to my microscope setup and thought I'd share. While the WF5X eyepieces have done well over the years, they do have more of a "tunnel vision" effect with a smaller apparent field of view than the 10x eyepieces. The difference is in the diameter of the lens itself.I happened to come across a couple of blogs discussing this and found mention of an alternate 0.5x objective lens. Strangely, AmScope doesn't sell it and neither does Amazon nor any of the Chinese suppliers. However, this microscope is essentially a rebranded Euromex BE-50 (see euromex[dot]com), and they have both a 0.5x and 2.0x objective lens that fits this microscope perfectly (exact fit).So, I ordered the 0.5x objective lens and have found that it in conjunction with the 10x eyepieces (which is still the same 5x overall magnification) gives a much larger apparent field of view with less "tunnel vision" than the WF5X eyepieces with the original 1.0x objective lens. It also has a slightly larger working distance, at 250mm instead of 230mm.The only suppliers I could find that sold the Euromex objective lens were in the UK and Germany. I got mine from optics-pro in Munich.I also found a better solution for the AmScope 6W gooseneck light. On Aliexpress, you can find essentially the same 6W gooseneck light (in fact, the LED goosenecks are interchangeable) that bolts onto the upright post of the back of the microscope and gets it completely out of the way. I have switched to it and like how it has freed up the area on the base of the scope for placing things while working. Unfortunately, though, Amazon doesn't carry it either.The same Aliexpress sellers that have the other 6W gooseneck light also have WF10/22 eyepieces (and maybe even WF10/23) with the same 30.5mm attachment diameter that can improve the field of view even more. And they have a variety of cameras with the same 30.5mm attachment that fits the eyepiece socket of this microscope. I got the 55MP version. While it's not useful for soldering, it does facilitate circuit reverse engineering, as it's easier to glance between a monitor and your paper where you are taking notes than looking through the scope. Though it's too bad this isn't a trinocular scope to where you can leave the camera attached all the time.And one other find was that the "large dollar" (like Morgan and Eisenhower silver dollars) round plastic coin storage tubes with screw tops that hold 25 coins are perfect for storing the eyepieces of this microscope. Those storage tubes are 38.5mm diameter by 59.4mm deep, which is deep enough for the longer WF5X eyepieces that are about 56mm long.

For $200, this is a fantastic deal. I'm using it for hot air SMD board assembly; and post assembly inspection. The 10X is good enough to see a 402 discrete and 112 LQFP. I also soldered a 200 pin, 1/2 mm pitch header. The 20X is really too much for assembly, unless you are doing some very small parts (maybe a 201 package), but is good for very close up inspection work. I personally would have preferred the 5X loops over the 20X. A 5X would offer a wider field of view yet have enough magnification to do most SMD assembly (the higher the magnification, the less of the board you'll see in the eyepieces). With the 10X I can only see about 1/2 of the 112 LQFP package in the eyepieces. As noted, the base is not the most sturdy I've worked with, but it does appear to be adequate (just don't try to use the head at a right angle to the base or spin the base around backwards so that the length is pointing away from the head). You want the length of the base aligned with the arm where the microscope head mounts.The only real complaint I have about the microscope is the height of the stand. It is about 1" too short for me to place my PCB pre-heater under the head (an Aoyue model 853A) and still have adequate height to focus the image. I had to sit the microscope on a 1" board to get the extra height needed. The optics are good, the lighting is adequate, and the controls are easy enough to use. I've had no issue with the image bouncing around while soldering components. The manual is pretty minimal but, as noted by others, really isn't needed.As an engineer I've spent 25 years designing custom electronics. At my day job I have a higher end AmScope and, after 5 years of use, I have no complaints. My work scope has too short of a focus to use for assembly but is great for inspection. Given the price of my scope at work, I was beyond shocked at the $200 price tag on this one. For my home use I had purchased a digital microscope for inspection, not knowing that a better option was available. By the way, I don't advise the $100 digital microscopes for any PCB work. The focus is literally less than 1" from the end of the microscope, making it pretty much useless for assembly / inspection work. Prior to purchasing the this AmScope, I used a stationary magnifier and reading glasses for my assembly work (at home). You can get adequate magnification, but it will cause sever eye strain after about 30 minutes. As with any wearable magnifiers, when the distance between your head and the work shifts the image will loose focus. For small variations, your eyes can compensate, but it does make them very tired in short order. I know this because I have a pair of surgeon's glasses I use at work for PCB inspection and (limited) assembly. These $1500 glasses are specially fitted and typically have a 5X to 7X magnification. The magnification is good enough for most assembly but barely adequate for inspection. The problem is going with a higher magnification will amplify any head movements and make it much more difficult to maintain focus on an object. Even guys who do assembly for a living have told me 2 hrs with surgeon's glasses is about the best you can do before taking a break. Beyond magnifiers, surgeons glasses, and inspection microscopes, the only other tool I know of is the Mantis Elite. This is a very high dollar microscope ($3K) that has a viewing screen instead of eyepieces; but at $3K this is way beyond the price of most hobbyists. One final note, if you get a camera with this, don't attempt to use the camera image for assembly. You have no depth information from a 2D camera image and will most likely either not heat the part or crash the soldering iron into the part.For the money, this AmScope is one of the best investments I've made for PCB work. At some point in the near future I will most likely purchase the 5X loops to go with this setup.

For the cost the SE400-Z is a great microscope in the 10x variant for close detail work and 20x for extreme close. Don’t bother with any 5x lenses as they give you the same field of view as the 10x just further away. You won’t see more.The scope even in its updated 2024 production is still expandable from the out of box model. By putting 3 holes in the primary lens shroud one can mount the 144 LED ring light. In my case I disassembled the LEDs voltage regulator 12v brick and installed its circuit board in the base next to the power supply for the gooseneck 3v LED light, running a new 2.5/5mm DC Jack out of the top where the base casting is very thin for another variant use of the base. (You would see it when you take the 8 screws off of the bottom). With some Velcro strap it’s tidy and now bright adjustable with the added existing gooseneck to aim as needed.And what is effectively a 10x camera can be fed to a USB input in a computer to record 4K still images and low frame rate video. So for the rare use case much cheaper than a trinocular variant.

I see no reason to want anything better for PCB assembly. Works awesome.