Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bottom line: This is the same exact camera sold by dozens of sellers on Amazon. I did a fair amount of research on quite a few of them (way more than the $20 purchase was worth), and I personally felt better about this seller than others because of the fact that they at least made their own app for the camera. The other sellers appear to be just warehouses and don't really have an interest in their products. If you have a 3D printer (so you can make your own stand) or can find this camera with a more stable/sturdy stand (one that was designed and engineered intentionally and specifically for this purpose), it's a great purchase. If not, pay more money for a unit with a better stand, because that seemingly unimportant detail makes or breaks this product. Why 4 stars: The microscope itself is more than I would would expect for $20. The image is clear, it can take pictures of a resolution that is appropriate for a camera in this price range (very low resolution compared to digital cameras, but it's $20!), and it is simple to operate. There really isn't much to it or much that can go wrong. I don't use Windows, so I can't comment on the "SNAP" or "ZOOM" button functionality, which the manufacturer makes clear is only available in Windows, but I have had this microscope taking pictures and video from macOS, Linux and Android. It works as advertised on all of those platforms. However, the stand makes it unusable as-is. The stand is too light, too flimsy, and cannot properly hold the camera in place while doing things like adjusting the focus. It's just a bad design. And when you need to focus on something that is fractions of a millimeter in size, having a stand that is not stable makes a camera entirely useless. I made my unit usable by 3D printing a stand and a better focusing mechanism, which were available at Thingiverse. If I did not have a 3D printer, I would either be very frustrated by this unit or I would be returning it to get something with a better stand (at a higher price, I'm sure). Since I do, I was able to make it work perfectly for my needs, and I'm happy about the purchase. Added note: Some of the negative reviews reveal a common confusion about this device. The apparent "zoom" knob is really a "focus" knob and the the magnification level is a product of the camera's distance from the subject. On a standard digital camera, "zoom" causes the lens to move while the device remains stationary. That is not the case with this "zoom" feature - you "zoom" by moving the camera closer to the subject and then use the knob that's labeled "40X - 1000X" to focus. It's confusing that the knob is labeled "40X - 1000X" because that's the focus control!