Dino-Lite microscope for sharpening (are these ever discounted?)

[jalapeno]

I’m looking at the Dino-Lite line of USB microscopes, and they range in MSRP from about $100 to about $1400. While I’ve looked at other brands, no other brand seems to include anywhere near the amount of technical info about the microscope, lots of videos, apparently terrific software, and a wide range of accessories.

I tried doing an apples-to-apples comparison of a Dino-Lite model with others, in order to see whether they are vastly overpriced, or are they vastly superior. I gave up because most of the others have too little info to make a judgment.

I would say that—once you hit ~$250 range and up--there doesn’t seem to be anything comparable to the Dino-Lite line (whether the price premium is justifiable is a separate question, and mostly a personal value decision).

The Dino-lite models seem to be price-fixed at MSRP at every seller. Those of you who have (or had) a Dino-Lite, are these ever discounted (such as Black Friday sales) and if so, how much discount can you expect (not counting obsolete models)?

Essentially I'm just wondering if there's an advantage to waiting a couple weeks to buy one. If there are deals on them, Black Friday would seem to be the time the deals would crop up.

 

[ToddS]

At the price of these, I would very strongly recommend a stereo zoom microscope (dissection microscope) instead.

Compared to the cheap knock-offs, the Dino-Lite is clearly better made and the software is superior (I wouldn't call it terrific though). They are more stable, and they have some nice attachments available. That will make the Dino-Lite easier to use, but doesn't necessarily translate into significantly better images.