3 ms·

I have 2 vision engineering Mantis and I have yet to see a video system that can rival it to work under it, no lag, “real” 3D vision (you can move your head to

I have 2 vision engineering Mantis and I have yet to see a video system that can rival it to work under it, no lag, “real” 3D vision (you can move your head to see behind magnified objects). The only things I miss sometimes is more magnification and a camera port to take pictures/ videos. As per soldering iron I could write a book, I had Hakko, Pace, Metcal, Weller, Ersa and to me the best experience is with JBC although the tips might not last if you’re not careful.

bsder 2y ago
As much as I'd love to try your suggestions, they're very expensive even in that space. From what I can see, the Mantis microscopes are in the $3500+ range and the JBC stuff is similarly expensive. Most hobbyists would cringe at the price of buying a Thermaltronics soldering iron and that's like 5x cheaper. However, I can at least conclusively demonstrate the vast difference between something like that and a Hakko right in front of a person. This stuff is like the difference between a $100 guitar, a $500 guitar, and a $2000 guitar. The difference between the $100 and the $500 one is obvious to almost everybody. The differences between the $500 and $2000 one won't be obviously noticeable until you get a lot of experience.
- neuralRiot 2y ago
  Absolutely, don’t get me wrong, all the other brands are fine tools, and nowadays even aliexpress soldering stations work wonders even for professional use, years ago only metcal and JBC had the “instant heat” technology, same for the microscope 4k 120fps cameras are trivial now but not so long ago they where unaffordable for the common person and optical stereo inspection micoscopes were a bit more affordable but the working distance and as commented here they are uncomfortable for longer use, the mantis was a revolution in that too.

3 ms·

I have 2 vision engineering Mantis and I have yet to see a video system that can rival it to work under it, no lag, “real” 3D vision (you can move your head to

by neuralRiot 2y ago

bsder 2y ago
As much as I'd love to try your suggestions, they're very expensive even in that space. From what I can see, the Mantis microscopes are in the $3500+ range and the JBC stuff is similarly expensive. Most hobbyists would cringe at the price of buying a Thermaltronics soldering iron and that's like 5x cheaper. However, I can at least conclusively demonstrate the vast difference between something like that and a Hakko right in front of a person. This stuff is like the difference between a $100 guitar, a $500 guitar, and a $2000 guitar. The difference between the $100 and the $500 one is obvious to almost everybody. The differences between the $500 and $2000 one won't be obviously noticeable until you get a lot of experience.
- neuralRiot 2y ago
  Absolutely, don’t get me wrong, all the other brands are fine tools, and nowadays even aliexpress soldering stations work wonders even for professional use, years ago only metcal and JBC had the “instant heat” technology, same for the microscope 4k 120fps cameras are trivial now but not so long ago they where unaffordable for the common person and optical stereo inspection micoscopes were a bit more affordable but the working distance and as commented here they are uncomfortable for longer use, the mantis was a revolution in that too.