Best pocket microscopes under $2

Top pick: the Mini Portable 30X Jewelry Magnifier. It's the simplest thing that works — a single 30X lens with a 21mm viewing area, no batteries, nothing to focus-fiddle with. Good for coins, stamps, fabric weave, plant veins and print.

Who the others suit:

• Portable Folding 30X/50X Dual Lens — if you want a second, stronger magnification in the same pocket-sized body; the folding cover doubles as a stand.
• Carson MicroBrite Plus — the one to stretch for if you want a lit, true microscope with real magnification and a 5-star rating; it's the only pick here built for serious close-up work.
• BEBANG 100X-250X — for slides and prepared specimens rather than quick field checks; it comes with prepared slides and is the most powerful of the bunch.
• Carson MicroFlip — best if you want to photograph what you see, since it clips onto a phone.

At this end of the market, expect plastic bodies and a small, slightly dim view — fine for curiosity and quick checks, not lab work.