Whether you've got geeky kids in your life, or you're just a geeky kid at heart, Carson's zPix Digital Microscope is the perfect product to bring some science fun to your PC. The 26x-130x microscope connects via USB, comes complete with a built-in light, a base, slides, tweezers and a small eyedropper for liquids.

Setup is a breeze and operation is simple. Within minutes of opening the package you'll find yourself fascinated by the view Carson's ePix opens into your local microverse. Everything from aging electronics to the dead bug in your bathtub is fascinating when seen at high magnification. Learning is rarely this much fun.

After deciding what to put on your slide and placing the microscope into the included stage/stand, operation is a simple matter of twisting one part of the device for focus, and another to adjust zoom. The one button on the top snaps the pics for you, and saving is a simple matter of point-and-click.

The intuitive design is a real pleasure; after a few minutes, operation becomes second-nature, and you're free to pay attention to the real fun, examining the structure and beauty of all the tiny things the microscope can bring into focus.

That isn't to say that there isn't room for improvement. The 640-by-480 resolution leaves a lot to be desired in a world of cheap multi-megapixel camera phones. And colors through the camera seemed washed out. Sure, you can enhance them with a little photo software, but that kind of runs against the grain of the empirical nature of that whole science thing.

And while the software works well, it's actually nothing more than good old AMCap, a freeware app that's been around since the early days of webcams. Some real software with extra features would be a welcome addition. Still, AMCap does a decent job, and keeps operation as simple as can be.

Bottom line, there certainly are more powerful and professional computer-capable microscopes out there. But for under $100, Carson's zPix is a solid consumer-level solution that makes learning about the world fun and easy. It's equally suited for use in the home or a science classroom. And it'd make a great gift for a curious kid, or for that matter, any adult still interested in getting a closer look at the tiny details of the natural and manufactured world around them.

The Carson zPix Digital Microscope is available now; you can find a retailer at Carson Optical, for or $99.99 or even as low as $79 if you shop around.

Post by Matt Safford