Mitutoyo 500-196-30 Advanced Onsite Sensor (AOS) Absolute Scale Digital Caliper, 0 to 6/0 to 150mm Measuring Range, 0.0005/0.01mm Resolution, LCD

I have been using a dial caliper for hand loading for years. I recently decided get a digital caliper to make it easier to read measurements directly when using attachments on the jaws of the caliper. The first digital caliper I got was an inexpensive (~$25) instrument from a different manufacturer. That was a mistake. The inexpensive caliper was essentially useless for my purposes. Its consistency in reading was terrible. Frustrated, I decided to just spend the $ and get a good instrument (buy once cry once). I decided on a Mitutoyo 500-196-30 - I was not disappointed. What a caliper! Very accurate. Very consistent. Very easy to use. Very easy to read. Very good battery life AND uses a commonly available inexpensive battery. I cant find anything that I dont like about this caliper! I dont usually write reviews unless the product or customer service is extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad... This caliper is that good - worth my time and my $ (and yours too!) Buy with confidence!

Im a mechanical engineering student. Im using this for various projects and in the machine shop. Despite it costing more than competitors, I think it was worth it. The absolute feature is nice, not having to keep zeroing it every time you turn it on. I think the battery lasts longer in these than the competition; everybody elses calipers are always fritzing out because of low battery, but not mine. Oh, and these were authentic; I did a fair bit of research on how to differentiate from knock-offs. I made sure to buy from Amazon as the seller. I feel like these are the last calipers Ill ever have to buy -- a lifetime tool.

Dont really know how accurate these are but they did read the same on the same piece measured, so usable for what I need them for.

I ordered this to measure shims while doing a valve adjustment. The first order got lost but I had to wait another week for Amazon to make sure it really was lost before I could reorder and then another week plus for it to arrive. Did the job with my brothers digital caliper that cost a third what this one does and it did work fine once I figured out it was always .02mm over. Is this one worth three times the cost? I appreciate the craftsmanship, precision, fit and finish of the Mitutoyo and the pleasure using of a premium tool so for me it is worth it.

I just purchased this thru Amazon, this is an excellent high-quality digital caliper. For those searching on eBay and elsewhere, this is the real Mitutoyo product in the original case, with the OEM 1-year warranty, and an official calibration certificate whose serial number matches the instrument. This is NOT a cheap imitation, its the original Mitutoyo product and the seller (listed as MSI-Viking Gauge) is an authorized Mitutoyo reseller. I did a lot of research on the Internet to be sure I was buying the real thing, and this is it! The differences between this caliper and the imitations are: The action is very smooth, the readings are stable and repeatable (tested with gauge blocks), the readout is four decimals for inches, two decimals for millimeters, and the construction is very solid, no wobble or shake. Plus, this caliper has an absolute scale, it always remembers the zero-point and you only have to reset it when you change the battery. The cheaper scales drift and need frequent resetting. You can make relative measurements easily (yellow button), but when you turn that feature off, it returns to the original zero without resetting. I highly recommend these calipers, the only caveat is that these are NOT auto-off, you must remember to turn them off after use. However, based on my experience with other Mitutoyo gauges and micrometers, the battery lasts a LONG time so I dont see this as a problem.

Its a delicate lab instrument and not a wrench that you just throw on the bench while measuring bullets or whatever. I received mine with a battery that is only a few months old. PROS - - Accuracy is high and consistent - I like the fact someone put their name on the QA/QC data sheet CONS - Mechanics of the jaws have a bit of slop, if you take a measurement inside the jaws measurement is consistent. If you take the same measurement towards the outer edge of the jaw the reading will be the same IF you do not drive the thumb wheel too hard. If you press the thumb wheel hard the measurement will be reduced a few thousands. I find its easier and more consistently accurate if you just close the jaws (press at the base rather than the tips) manually and do not use the thumb wheel.

I have never used one of these tools before, but I was able to figure it out pretty quickly and easily. It helped that I watched some videos while I was waiting for it to arrive of course. It also comes with directions in a whole bunch of different languages Japanese being the first and English being the second and so on, and I am lucky enough to have my husband give me a few pointers as he is more familiar with these tools. The tool seems to read accurately and Ive had fun playing with it by measuring random things around the house. Oh and one important thing to note, if you are a newbie like me, be careful how much you push on the wheel when measuring as this can cause a lot of fluctuation and false numbers in your readings. Dont forget to shut if off when not in use as I guess it does not turn off automatically (forgot to get one with that feature as Im forgetful, oops). The battery comes with it, but you have to install it yourself, which is easy to do. I did not see or read the caution on one of the smaller white papers (they are all white papers) before I opened the tool, maybe they should make that page a caution yellow or red color to grab your attention better, anyways it said to be careful handling the brown paper that is in the bag with the tool as it is a special paper called Ferobrite used to protect the tool from corrosion. I didnt realize that and touched it anyways, nothing bad happened but I did go wash my hands after I finally saw the warning paper. I got this tool to use with 3D printing primarily and I cant wait to start crafting my own versions of stuff. My husband will also be using it for his own various projects. He is the one who recommended this brand stating that it is a great brand for some really accurate measurements at a fair price (he does mechanic work as a hobby and as we need for our vehicles along with other technical stuff that these tools are generally used for, he has a lot of neat hobbies) Overall it seems like a good purchase and Ill update if that changes.

I own multiple brands of calipers and in my opinion the Mitutoyo is the best I have ever purchased !!

I bought this for my silver jewelry making. This one is so much nicer than my old one the only thing missing from this one is the fraction function that I have on my old one has but that’s minor in comparison. I will never use any other caliper, I also payed the extra money for the piece of mind and got the calipers with the certificate of calibration.

I have to trust measurements and after working with these for a while now I do. It hurt a bit to pay the price but no regrets!