Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My wife (who is a RN) and I bought this guy to save an occasional trip to the Dr's office. After trying it out for a couple of days, we find that it is an OK product. However, I feel compelled to write a review, because in our evaluation of this product before we bought it, we kept reading reviews on how this little guy is just the best thing since sliced bread and some people made claims that this unit is just as good as a $200 Welch Allyn otoscope. Hands down, this unit doesn't hold a candle to a Welch Allyn otoscope, and any nurse or doc who claims this unit can serve as a WA replacement unit with equal or greater performance, is out of their mind, IMHO. It's like comparing a black and decker entry level cordless drill to a top of the line Dewalt. For $25 dollars and occasional use, this unit is perfect, and that is how the product is marketed. If it can give you a little assurance and save you even one trip to the doc, it's paid for itself. And I imagine most purchasers of this unit will use it half a dozen times over the next 10 years. Why go drop $200 to do this if $25 will suffice? But a Welch Allyn it is not. The unit feels flimsy, I highly doubt it would survive any rough use or even a moderate drop. Image quality is adequate, but inferior to the WA image quality. My wife made this statement immediately after using the scope, and even after I used it, I could see the difference too (and I'm not even a trained professional). The light intensity is less than a WA, but I'm not sure if that is because this unit uses an LED instead of an incandescent bulb. Bottom line: As an occasional-use otoscope for the casual user, this unit should make you very happy. But this unit IS NOT a Welch Allyn replacement, and if you want the performance and quality of a WA, you should bite the bullet and go drop $200 to get one.