INTEL QX3 Microscope (PC Hardware Review)

I always loved microscopes. During my teenager years, I bought 3 of them, but only the latest was capable enough to deserve the "micro" prefix, as it could zoom 200 times (200x), with obvious quality. My earlier microscopes didn't magnify that much, and their lighting simply could not lit interesting subjects. Even my latest "conventional" optical microscope is quite modest and can't do his job very well, on amplifications higher than 200x, despite having lens for 400x and 800x.

There was a time when I was insect fearless, and insects were my favorite subjects. I collected ants, flies, spiders, bees, and other don't-know-their-names things that look(ed) quite impressive, when magnified a few hundred times, showing disgusting hairy shapes...

As I grew older and learned about many life forms, like insects, I started to feel repulse about them. In some cases, like with grasshoppers, I even developed some fear, after reading how their back legs can carry infectious diseases... arghh...

I am now back to microscopes, thanks to the nearly 2 years old INTEL QX3, which is manufactured by Matel. The QX3 is nothing more than a very special USB camera, whose lens can magnify 10x, 60x and 200x, featuring built-in lighting, from above and from below.

This microscope arrives at Portugal 720 days after its USA release, at a price (~ 140 USD = 30000 PTE) that nearly doubles the best deals you can get, the other side of the Atlantic. Is it worth it?

As with any device, the QX3 is worth the money, if you find it interesting, as I do. But there are many things against it, starting at INTEL's lousy software. The QX3 only works on MS Windows 98; there aren't drivers for Windows 2000, and even Windows 95 can go wrong with it, depending on your version. Chances are that the QX3 will **ONLY** work on Windows 98, for the rest of its days, as it now is an "old" product, forgotten by its own INTEL mother.

A deep Internet search might feed you some hopes of finding some compatible USB camera driver, as STV's OEM drivers for many webcams (such as Creative's), but I tried everything on Windows 2000, without luck. To be honest, this microscope is the sole reason I keep Windows Millennium (WME) installed on my PC, as for everything else, I run "NT 5". Ahmm... yes, WME handles the QX3 fine, but the product isn't supported on that OS.

The QX3 is, basically, two things: a plastic body support with the shape of a regular microscope; and a cylindrical tube, than fits in, with the lens and the USB electronics that allow you to use your computer's display, to observe whatever you placed on the samples' platform. The QX3's body requires you to manually focus the lens, by rising / lowering the cylinder. Contrary to the good "regular" microscopes, samples are directly and freely placed on the platform and you must adjust them with no aids, other than your own accuracy - it gets very tricky at 200x...

The 10x magnification is handy for big samples, but doesn't revolutionize your view of them. Images are clear and easy to obtain. You might thank some extra lighting from above, if the sample is too opaque and uniform.

The 60x magnification is QX3 at its best. It isn't that easy to focus the samples, nor to perfectly lit them... and it might be hell placing small parts on the lens' range, but it isn't that hard either. In other words, with a bit of practice, you'll be doing it with confidence enough to obtain some clear snapshots in a few minutes time, tops.

The 200x magnification is tricky, but usable. Most reviews will tell you the other way, but that is because they didn't try other samples, than the provided ones, which are pressed in transparent plastic. My hints are: #1) don't try the provided samples - get your own! I tried a small insect with NO extra lighting, and the results were way better than those with the plastic defaults; #2) if you aren't as lazy as I am, then help yourself with extra lighting, and I am sure you'll improve further.

You can detach the main cylinder from the QX3's body and use it as a portable magnifier, but because there won't be a stable platform for focusing, it will be impossible to do anything interesting, above 10x. If you detaching it, you'll see that this "QX3 mode" is just for fun, as for sampling your eyes, your tongue, your hair, text, and so on...

The provided software couldn't be more "for kids only". It allows regular snapshots, movies and time-lapsed pictures, from a very simple and limited interface. It isn't written anywhere in the manual, but you can use some video grabbing software and do the snaps from there, probably achieving more quality, if you can set a higher resolution, than the single one allowed, from INTEL's own tools.

For short, this isn't a great microscope, compared to "regular" microscopes, but it is the only one I know, you can "just" plug and play on your PC. This product's major flaw is the lack of drivers, for most OS. Personally, I would really appreciate Windows 2000 support, even if only at (precisely) driver level.

Coming soon to the Videos / Pictures section, some pictures, taken with the QX3.