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 am a hobby machinist constantly overhauling flat head engines. Having a repeatable accurate vernier caliper is a must. This is a quality tool at a reasonable price.

This was a gift for my daughter for her Graduation from Engineering School, and Im sure shell be using it her entire life, like Im using still my grandfathers vernier Mitutoyo that he brought home from WW2.

What can I say, I LOVE THESE CALIPERS!!! Ive had around 12 sets from various makers over the past few years and every set has had a week point whether it be jumpy, inaccurate, constant need to rezero, rough sliding mechanism, extremely sensitive to pressure, you name it. Not with these! I primarily use them in my reloading and occasionally to get a rough measurement on parts I make on my lathe. If you are thinking about getting them just go ahead and do it, and save yourself some time and aggitation. If I had bought these to begin with I wouldve even saved a few bucks overall.

The only negative about these I am noticing right now is the surface finish and burrs on a few of the non-critical surfaces. They measure fine, but I was slightly disappointed in the fit and finish of those few areas. The other Mitutoyo calipers Ive used havent been like this. Its not a big deal, but it is there.

Unsolicited feedback: With all of the fraudulent copy/knock-offs being sold online these days... I wanted to share with any potential customers that these Mitutoyo calipers are indeed genuine. These were purchased through the Amazon Mitutoyo Store and fulfilled by MSI Viking. Thank you!

There is no suggestion of non-Japanese manufacture in my caliper. The box stripes, the least significant digit readout, shipping papers, all indicate Japan origin. Its a beautiful caliper. Smooth as heck. Readout not jumpy. No need to constantly re-zero. Button layout is logical and intuitive. I could never understand why some calipers have a separate on and off button. Im quite satisfied with mine. It seems genuine. Id buy it again.

Product functions as intended. Has been very solid for the few things Ive measured so far. I plan on putting this to use for better fitment in future projects!

Before my review on the operation and accuracy of the Mitutoyo caliper, I wanted to share some key things to look for to verify you have purchased an authentic Mitutoyo Caliper and not a fake one. If youve done some research on the these calipers you probably found some reviews on eBay and Amazon about fake Mitutoyo calipers from China. So first thing, if you find Mitutoyo 500-196-30 calipers listed between $30-$60 they are fake (a good price will usually be between $100-$125). Now that said the one I purchased on Amazon was listed at $95.02 (this was best price I found on the internet, and per the info on the internet and to the best of my knowledge they are legit). So here are the top things I found on the internet to help ensure authenticity: - Mitutoyo is a Japanese company so stay away from sellers from China, and the case should say made in Japan not China - The serial number on the back of the caliper should match the Certificate of Inspection - Mitutoyo calipers are shipped in a sealed plastic packet and are wrapped in an anti-corrosive paper - Mitutoyo calipers include a stainless steel battery (SR44) in a separate package, and it should not be installed - Mitutoyo calipers should include a yellow (3) step set up procedure attached to the lock screw at the top of the caliper - Mitutoyo calipers will always have the same size numerical digits and the inch symbol will be to the right of the digits Now for my review...simply awesome! I recently got into reloading match grade ammo for my precision rifle, and +/- .005 can make a huge difference on your group size and hitting a target at 1000+ yards out. When I first started reloading I was using my old $20 Harbor Freight calipers, which is ok for basic reloading. However I wasnt getting consistent measurements and the Harbor Frieght calipers would always lose the zero position, so Id need to recalibrate after every measurement. In some cases on (3) separate measurements of the same bullet it would vary .005 - .015 and thats not going to cut it for reloading precision ammo, in the pictures below I was able to consistently get the same measurement on all (5) bullets I loaded at (3) different lengths. The Absolute zero function works flawlessly and is a must for me since I use a special adapter to measure the bullet length. So end result very pleased with these calipers and highly recommend.

I purchased this for my own home use. The caliper appears to be genuine. There is a small bit of marring on the back of the bar. The fixed jaw has some minor finishing issues as well. The sliding motion is not entirely smooth with noticeable oscillatory variations in resistance when moved at more than a snails pace. The overall quality and attention to detail of this model does not live up to that of my ~60 year old Mitutoyo dial caliper, or the ~20 year old Mitutoyo digital caliper i use at work. Mitutoyo is still really the only brand to consider for high-end, buy once, use forever type calipers. Compared to the older models this caliper is something of a disappointment. Given the market Mitutoyo calipers appeal to it is a shame that the quality/QC has been seemingly compromised to lower the cost or increase profit. Even if getting a new caliper that lived up to the older models cost twice as much as this one did it would be more than worth it.

Its already a given that Mitutoyo is of the highest quality right alongside Starrett. So much so that the USA is getting flooded with overseas knock offs of the Mitutoyo Calipers. Amazon and a few other reputable Mitutoyo sellers are your safest place to buy them. But steer clear of eBay! There is about a dozen YouTube videos as of this writing, that can help you to verify if yours is genuine I was happy to determine that the one I purchased here on Amazon is indeed Authentic. Be careful out there, otherwise you could end up paying well over $100 dollars for a $10 dollar knock off.