I usually use my phone zoomed in + flashlight in video recording, and an external macro lens. It probably isn't as good as a usb microscope, but it works really, really well.
Looking at videos of people using microscopes, the quality seems to be on-par or worse than my phone.
I have a USB microscope and I'd say my phone on 5x soft-zoom is a pretty similar experience. The main thing is having enough screen size you can see, and a stable platform.
Plus USB scope things are like $80 on AliExpress and work fine.
Looking at videos of people using microscopes, the quality seems to be on-par or worse than my phone.