Powerful Mini Microscope – Conveniently sized to comfortably fit in a pocket or attach to a keychain, the MicroMini offers an impressive 20x magnification with UV lighting and built-in flashlight.
Great Educational Field Microscope – Perfect for students and educators, this microscope can bring lessons to life by conveniently allowing detailed examination of various specimens.
Advanced Lighting – The MicroMini features both UV lighting and a built-in LED flashlight. UV light is particularly useful in detecting flourescence when inspecting currency or biological specimens
Portable and Easy To Use – Clarity can be easily adjusted with the focus wheel and the keychain feature makes the MicroMini incredibly portable, so you’re always prepared for impromptu inspections.
Available in Orange, Blue and Green Color Options (Current Selection: Blue)
Product Dimensions
1.5 x 0.9 x 1.7 inches
Item Weight
0.8 ounces
Item model number
MM-280B
Batteries
3 LR44 batteries required. (included)
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
No
Date First Available
June 7, 2017
Department
Binoculars
Manufacturer
Carson Optical, Inc
Country of Origin
China
3219 reviews for Carson MicroMini 20x LED Lighted Pocket Microscope with Built-In UV and LED Flashlight -(MM-280B) Blue
Rated 5 out of 5
Lalo –
Great little gadget to carry in my pocket. I take it along for walks in the woods. Its interesting to get a close up view of items you’d normally not even be aware of. Good for the price.
Rated 5 out of 5
Rafa K. –
Realmente funciona el microscopio y tiene luz integrada para verlo en cualquier ambiente, tiene otras cosas interesantes como lámpara y luz UV, el único problema que le veo a futuro es que lo tengo con mis llaves del auto y a futuro se puede romper la argolla donde se agarra ya que es de plástico y no se ve muy resistente
Rated 5 out of 5
Tiffany H. –
You could say I am a microscopy enthusiast. I wanted a scope to use when I’m out with my kids. I wanted something that my 5 year old could use, but powerful enough that we could all enjoy it. I suspect a lot of buyers might be thinking the same thing, so here’s my thoughts on using this with young kids.
I purchased the following portable microscopes/magnifiers and tried them all out:
* Carson MicroMini 20x LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-280B) ** THIS ITEM ** * Carson MicroBrite Plus 60x-120x Power LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-300) * Carson 60X-75X MicroMax LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-200) * Carson 10x LumiLoupe (LL10)
I included a picture for size comparison.
For our intended use, I expect to get the most use from the MM-280B. The magnification is good enough to suprise you with what you see, revealing details that are still small enough to be unexpected and exciting. Yet it is still easy enough to use that my 5 year old can use it with some help.
It’s super easy to focus and very small, smaller than expected. It’s the smallest of the scopes I tried by a large margin. The LED is bright enough to use it even in the dark and still get a good image. Batteries were included.
I found that with the other, higher magnification, scopes it was too hard to focus and share with my kids — even extremely tiny movements in my hand would consistently cause the image to shift or knocked out of focus. It was too hard to get an image and share it with my kids on those scopes, even at their lowest magnification. The MM-300 in particular was AMAZING in terms of image, but it isn’t great for sharing. I will keep that one to myself. 🙂
On this scope, the 20x magnification was good enough to see plenty of detail and still be able to share it with each other without losing focus. The LL10 was obviously super easy to share since no focusing is required and the field-of-view on that one is HUGE. Unfortunately, the loupes only go up to 10x and that does not seem to be quite enough magnification to impress the kids (let alone adult myself). If there was a Carson 20x pre-focused loupe, I’d try that out, but the off-brand options I could find looked pretty low-quality.
I wasn’t too big on having UV, but as it turned out this is somewhat useful already. A number of the minerals we have found already are UV reactive.
The only drawback is that this thing won’t actually survive on my keychain. It does seem very durable, but I am confident it would eventually be scratched or rendered inoperable if it were to become part of my “everyday carry” and endure frequent nicks and bumps. I need to look into some sort of small case or something. A lens cap/cover to protect the optics from my keys would make this ideal.
The other scopes were great for other purposes but I think that if you are planning to let your kids use this, this one is a good choice. If you want something that a 5-year old (or younger) can use without any help at all, then the LL10 is a good choice but they probably won’t be amazed by the details they discover, it will be more of a “mildly interesting” reaction with the LL10. The others have more impressive magnification, but will be hard for kids to use. This one was a great middle ground.
Rated 5 out of 5
Lily –
I would’ve never imagined, even when I researched it, that this mini micro would be so powerful!
This is how I found out how powerful it is. I randomly found a tiny bump on the back of my head. I tried to remove it from my hair, by picking it up with my nails. But, it felt like a tiny stone imbedded in my scalp. Upon removing it, I realized it wasn’t in my nails. Then, I couldn’t find the spot I had pulled it from. Because I thought it would look as big as it felt, I combed my hair believing it would drop in the (white) sink.
I shed a lot of hair & my hair is very long. Upon picking up the tangled hair from the sink, I noticed two black specks on one of the hairs. Those specks were about the size of an 1/8th of a pinhead, or even smaller!
I got curious, and not only wanted to see in the micro mini what that black specks were, but TEST the mini for the first time! (I was NOT thinking at all about the embedded thing I had just removed.)
Upon placing the specks on a piece of white paper, I secured them with a piece of clear tape. Then proceeded to look at them under the mini microscope.
OMG it looks like a SPIDER split in two!!! But, to me, it has too many legs. All spiders have 8legs & I counted 12. To me, it’s mind blowing HOW BIG THEY LOOK!!! (Assuming it’s two spiders & not one.) Now, I wonder & will research how much smaller could some baby spiders be?
Later on, I remembered that the previous day I had sat at my favorite spot; on a bench under a tree.
I highly recommend this Micro Mini! It is much, much more than what I expected it to be. And having other features it’s totally worth the price.
Go find the tiniest insect you can find & surprise yourself as you enjoy the magic of this mini microscope!
Rated 4 out of 5
Susan Z. Douglas –
I bought this for my fiance for Christmas and he loves it! It’s nice and small and he can store it easy in his pocket. The lights work well and he’s able to view rocks and all sorts of things with it .
Rated 3 out of 5
Rosa –
This little 20-power magnifier isn’t like the other, more powerful Carson mini-microscopes. The other ones, which are more powerful, use a very tiny objective lens together with a bright LED to provide the light needed to make up for the small objective lens. In those other pocket microscopes, the small objective lens makes focusing vastly easier. This little 20x keychain magnifier uses a more conventional lens arrangement, most likely two, one the objective and the other the eyepiece. The objective lens is probably about 13 mm in diameter, which together with the 20x power means that in daylight you could do without the LED. But with the LED, you get a nice bright image regardless. The focusing isn’t terribly difficult, owing to the magnification not being especially strong. All in all it is a good solution for a 20 x magnifier that you can easily carry on a keychain, if you want. The most noteworthy drawback is that the sliding switch on the side is very cheap and difficult to use. It doesn’t want to move, and when it does, it wants to go all the way from one end to the other. The ‘off’ position is in the center; the two end positions are for the LED you use when using the magnifier, and the auxiliary LED that serves as a flashlight and gives you a reason to carry it on your keychain. It also has a little UV light, which I suppose is for when you look at rocks that glow under UV light. Or maybe for getting a close-up look at scorpions. To make the switch behave, you have to press down on it firmly and move it in a controlled manner. I’m just not sure how long it is going to last when used this way. But it doesn’t cost much so if it eventually stops working it isn’t a big deal, and even without the light it is a useful magnifying lens. Recommended with only the weakest of reservation.
Rated 5 out of 5
Laila A. –
Un producto muy entretenido y divertido, puede ser un buen regalito para un niño aventurero.
Rated 5 out of 5
Tiffany H. –
Bought for my 6-year old granddaughter. Easy to use. Lots of fun.
Rated 5 out of 5
Lalo –
Tiene un buen aumento, ideal para principiantes y aficionados.
Muestra buenos detalles de la piel, hojas y texturas.
Rated 5 out of 5
Moni –
Vive na minha bolsa.
Rated 5 out of 5
Kaiser Soze –
My nephew really loves this! Super easy to use. Love that it comes with a battery. Works as it should.
Lalo –
Great little gadget to carry in my pocket. I take it along for walks in the woods. Its interesting to get a close up view of items you’d normally not even be aware of. Good for the price.
Rafa K. –
Realmente funciona el microscopio y tiene luz integrada para verlo en cualquier ambiente, tiene otras cosas interesantes como lámpara y luz UV, el único problema que le veo a futuro es que lo tengo con mis llaves del auto y a futuro se puede romper la argolla donde se agarra ya que es de plástico y no se ve muy resistente
Tiffany H. –
You could say I am a microscopy enthusiast. I wanted a scope to use when I’m out with my kids. I wanted something that my 5 year old could use, but powerful enough that we could all enjoy it. I suspect a lot of buyers might be thinking the same thing, so here’s my thoughts on using this with young kids.
I purchased the following portable microscopes/magnifiers and tried them all out:
* Carson MicroMini 20x LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-280B) ** THIS ITEM **
* Carson MicroBrite Plus 60x-120x Power LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-300)
* Carson 60X-75X MicroMax LED Lighted Pocket Microscope (MM-200)
* Carson 10x LumiLoupe (LL10)
I included a picture for size comparison.
For our intended use, I expect to get the most use from the MM-280B. The magnification is good enough to suprise you with what you see, revealing details that are still small enough to be unexpected and exciting. Yet it is still easy enough to use that my 5 year old can use it with some help.
It’s super easy to focus and very small, smaller than expected. It’s the smallest of the scopes I tried by a large margin. The LED is bright enough to use it even in the dark and still get a good image. Batteries were included.
I found that with the other, higher magnification, scopes it was too hard to focus and share with my kids — even extremely tiny movements in my hand would consistently cause the image to shift or knocked out of focus. It was too hard to get an image and share it with my kids on those scopes, even at their lowest magnification. The MM-300 in particular was AMAZING in terms of image, but it isn’t great for sharing. I will keep that one to myself. 🙂
On this scope, the 20x magnification was good enough to see plenty of detail and still be able to share it with each other without losing focus. The LL10 was obviously super easy to share since no focusing is required and the field-of-view on that one is HUGE. Unfortunately, the loupes only go up to 10x and that does not seem to be quite enough magnification to impress the kids (let alone adult myself). If there was a Carson 20x pre-focused loupe, I’d try that out, but the off-brand options I could find looked pretty low-quality.
I wasn’t too big on having UV, but as it turned out this is somewhat useful already. A number of the minerals we have found already are UV reactive.
The only drawback is that this thing won’t actually survive on my keychain. It does seem very durable, but I am confident it would eventually be scratched or rendered inoperable if it were to become part of my “everyday carry” and endure frequent nicks and bumps. I need to look into some sort of small case or something. A lens cap/cover to protect the optics from my keys would make this ideal.
The other scopes were great for other purposes but I think that if you are planning to let your kids use this, this one is a good choice. If you want something that a 5-year old (or younger) can use without any help at all, then the LL10 is a good choice but they probably won’t be amazed by the details they discover, it will be more of a “mildly interesting” reaction with the LL10. The others have more impressive magnification, but will be hard for kids to use. This one was a great middle ground.
Lily –
I would’ve never imagined, even when I researched it, that this mini micro would be so powerful!
This is how I found out how powerful it is. I randomly found a tiny bump on the back of my head. I tried to remove it from my hair, by picking it up with my nails. But, it felt like a tiny stone imbedded in my scalp.
Upon removing it, I realized it wasn’t in my nails. Then, I couldn’t find the spot I had pulled it from. Because I thought it would look as big as it felt, I combed my hair believing it would drop in the (white) sink.
I shed a lot of hair & my hair is very long. Upon picking up the tangled hair from the sink, I noticed two black specks on one of the hairs. Those specks were about the size of an 1/8th of a pinhead, or even smaller!
I got curious, and not only wanted to see in the micro mini what that black specks were, but TEST the mini for the first time! (I was NOT thinking at all about the embedded thing I had just removed.)
Upon placing the specks on a piece of white paper, I secured them with a piece of clear tape. Then proceeded to look at them under the mini microscope.
OMG it looks like a SPIDER split in two!!! But, to me, it has too many legs. All spiders have 8legs & I counted 12. To me, it’s mind blowing HOW BIG THEY LOOK!!! (Assuming it’s two spiders & not one.) Now, I wonder & will research how much smaller could some baby spiders be?
Later on, I remembered that the previous day I had sat at my favorite spot; on a bench under a tree.
I highly recommend this Micro Mini! It is much, much more than what I expected it to be. And having other features it’s totally worth the price.
Go find the tiniest insect you can find & surprise yourself as you enjoy the magic of this mini microscope!
Susan Z. Douglas –
I bought this for my fiance for Christmas and he loves it! It’s nice and small and he can store it easy in his pocket. The lights work well and he’s able to view rocks and all sorts of things with it .
Rosa –
This little 20-power magnifier isn’t like the other, more powerful Carson mini-microscopes. The other ones, which are more powerful, use a very tiny objective lens together with a bright LED to provide the light needed to make up for the small objective lens. In those other pocket microscopes, the small objective lens makes focusing vastly easier. This little 20x keychain magnifier uses a more conventional lens arrangement, most likely two, one the objective and the other the eyepiece. The objective lens is probably about 13 mm in diameter, which together with the 20x power means that in daylight you could do without the LED. But with the LED, you get a nice bright image regardless. The focusing isn’t terribly difficult, owing to the magnification not being especially strong. All in all it is a good solution for a 20 x magnifier that you can easily carry on a keychain, if you want. The most noteworthy drawback is that the sliding switch on the side is very cheap and difficult to use. It doesn’t want to move, and when it does, it wants to go all the way from one end to the other. The ‘off’ position is in the center; the two end positions are for the LED you use when using the magnifier, and the auxiliary LED that serves as a flashlight and gives you a reason to carry it on your keychain. It also has a little UV light, which I suppose is for when you look at rocks that glow under UV light. Or maybe for getting a close-up look at scorpions. To make the switch behave, you have to press down on it firmly and move it in a controlled manner. I’m just not sure how long it is going to last when used this way. But it doesn’t cost much so if it eventually stops working it isn’t a big deal, and even without the light it is a useful magnifying lens. Recommended with only the weakest of reservation.
Laila A. –
Un producto muy entretenido y divertido, puede ser un buen regalito para un niño aventurero.
Tiffany H. –
Bought for my 6-year old granddaughter. Easy to use. Lots of fun.
Lalo –
Tiene un buen aumento, ideal para principiantes y aficionados.
Muestra buenos detalles de la piel, hojas y texturas.
Moni –
Vive na minha bolsa.
Kaiser Soze –
My nephew really loves this! Super easy to use. Love that it comes with a battery. Works as it should.