The 8 Best Dermatoscopes
This wiki has been updated 22 times since it was first published in November of 2018. If you're a professional dermatologist — or just someone who's suspicious that the mole on your shoulder might be cancerous — a high-quality dermatoscope is an essential tool. These devices are often handheld or attachable to your phone, and with their powerful magnification, bright LEDs, and variety of polarization options, they'll allow you to see your blemishes in a whole new light. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. DermLite DL4
2. DermLite Lumio
3. DermLite DL1
Editor's Notes
February 15, 2021:
Fortunately, most modern dermatoscopes, or dermoscopes, will offer a toggle between polarized and non-polarized light modes, which means that you don’t have to invest in two models. It isn’t surprising that this list is dominated by DermLite models from 3Gen, and this is even more the case after this update, as I have eliminated all but one model from other brands, and added another from 3Gen.
In their defense, the company does supply the highest-quality and most versatile options available on traditional and online markets, with other brands either making more dated and janky dermatoscopes, both in terms of style and function. This isn’t surprising seeing as the company does have some history in the game, having launched the World’s first polarized pocket model in the DermLite DL100 back in 2001. Beside 3Gen, there are some great dermoscope makers out there, like Heine and Canfield, though it may be harder to find some of their models on larger product markets, and you’d have to go either to a niche medical market, or to their company websites.
November 29, 2018:
Picture quality, magnification power, and brightness of lights were the primary factors in our rankings, with ease of use factoring in heavily as well. DermLite dominated the rankings, as they have a wider variety of options than competing manufacturers.
Special Honors
Canfield Dermatoscopes A global leader in medical research and imaging systems, Canfield has a narrow yet impressive range of both optical and digital dermatoscopes. In terms of the latter, the Veos models offer photo dermoscopy, with the DS3 attaching to your smartphone and the SLR coming with an integrated Canon SLR camera, while the fairly interesting Visiomed D200evo is a standalone digital model with superior capabilities, including a magnification of up to 200x. canfieldsci.com
Heine Dermatoscopes While Heine tends to makes optical dermatoscopes with a more classic look and feel to them, they are every bit as sophisticated and up-to-date as their more modern-looking counterparts. For instance, while the Heine Delta 20T has that substantial base and cylindrical bar handle that traditionalists in the profession may appreciate, it does also have an articulating head and a lens that offers crystal-clear, high-resolution images, in addition to providing a toggle function for switching between polarized and non-polarized modes. heine.com
4. DermLite DL100
5. DermLite Carbon Microscope
6. DermLite DL200 Hybrid
7. DermLite III DL3N
8. Firefly DE350
Kaivaan grew up in a little town called York in the north of England, though he was whisked off to sunny Jamaica at the age of 14, where he attended high school. After graduating, he returned to the UK to study electronic engineering at the University of Warwick, where he became the chief editor for the engineering society’s flagship magazine. A couple of uninspiring internships in engineering later however, and after some time spent soul-searching and traveling across Asia and East Africa, he he now lives and works in in Dubai.