What Mantis Magnifications Good for SMD Electronics

I have the "compact" Mantis (led illum, no fan, no lens turret) with

ftp://jjlarkin.lmi.net/DSC01371.JPG

You can take nice pics through it with a regular digital camera, although the led illum is rather blue.

ftp://jjlarkin.lmi.net/LostTheirMinds.JPG

John

I'm also interested in such a beast, but I'm going nuts with 0402 parts as well as larger. Problem is, you need the lens to be a ways away from the board's work area and, at the other end, have a decent pupil size for your eye (4-5mm is good for telescope work and I suspect also good for a microscope - but for different reasons because your pupils will probably be smaller with the brighter light but you want an exit pupil larger than your eye's pupil, anyway, for a microscope to give some movement relief, which gets you back to about the same size again) as well as eye relief distance from the eye piece. I wear glasses, so that eye relief issue is even more important if I decide to wear them at the same time. Rifle scopes have a lot of eye relief to protect you from getting your eye slammed when you shoot, for example.

Those Mantis binocs are __expensive__. I'll need to find one being auctioned off, perhaps, from some university. $3k is a bit much.

This is cheaper:

Jon

The eye relief and working distance of the Mantis are huge; there's plenty of room for your glasses on top and a soldering iron below. The "pupil" size is measured in inches, not mm. You can move your head around and change the perspective. The image is amazingly clear and bright and very stereoscopic.

The "compact" version is about $2K new. 0402s are fine with the 6x lens.

John

You won't regret it! Greating thing since sliced bread bread.

I have a x8 and x4 (you just rotate them around) x4 is good for general soldering and inspection work with it's wider field of view, suitable for 0805's and 0603's generally. x8 minimum is needed for 0402 and

I agree (although I don't wear glasses) I've worked all day straight soldering under the Mantis and didn't come away any the worse for wear.

I'd opt for the x8 personally for 0402 work. It's a useful improvement over the x6, but the x6 is certainly very usable.

Dave.

I can believe it, at that price.

I'm a hobbyist, for gosh sake. I built a two story, balloon framed house for my son for $2k. And that includes the cement, rebar, rebar clamps, wood, nails and screws, drain pipe, gravel, and shingles and tar paper.

I'm more of a $100-$200 binoc person, myself.

Jon

Spacy.. I wonder if your workbench frightens non-technical people :)

D from BC myrealaddress(at)comic(dot)com BC, Canada Posted to usenet sci.electronics.design

But the Mantis looks so cool :P Some people have get muscle cars or muscle bikes, I'm getting a muscle microscope... Oh no..I've gone total nerd.. :P

D from BC myrealaddress(at)comic(dot)com BC, Canada Posted to usenet sci.electronics.design

I suspect used Manti hold their value too.

D from BC myrealaddress(at)comic(dot)com BC, Canada Posted to usenet sci.electronics.design

Naaaah, you'd have to go for the oblique viewing model for that to be true...

I use one of these which are considerably cheaper:

It comes with 10X eyepieces and 2X objective making 20X; but I found that too much, so I bought a 1X replacement objective lens making 10X overall.

I use X4 on the compact - Thought I might get the X6 but really found the need for it - I think this would have too restricted field of view - even with X4 I find that not _quite_ being able to get a full side of a QFP144 in the FOV a bit annoying when soldering & have got into the habit of nudging the viewer along with my head while working...! Not really a problem for inspection though as you have hands free to move things about.

I do wonder though if you could get at least as good a solution for less money with a decent camera/lens/monitor arrangement.

Whenever I use my Mantis Compact on-site, people who've not seen one before all gather round to see what this bizarre thing is....

all gather round to see

Then they look at the Mantis. ;-)

If it is to be a Mantis, I think I'll have to find an auction somewhere. Should be plenty of those going on in this economy. I already found one coming up later in September, so that's a possible.

I did find them for about $2k enw, as you said though.

Jon

There are several for sale on Ebay.

Well, motorcycles and sailboats and weeks in Las Vegas and girlfriends are hobbies, too.

John

for it - I think this

being able to get a

the habit of nudging

things about.

with a decent

We have some pretty serious camera inspection stuff, but the Mantis is far better for working under.

John