The Canon RE-650 Video Visualizer is the core part that I wanted to use as it is a quality stand to hold an overhead camera as well as side lighting to avoid straight on reflections. A key point is that it also collapses to a much smaller size, though still pretty heavy.

This unit was intended to be used in a lecture hall so that a presenter can place a printed page, a book, or a sheet of paper to make notes on, and have it's image projected via a digital projection system. At it's core, it is a video camera mounted above the table pointing down, and a set of lights. This is an older model, but these products are still sold and used. While I picked this up from scrap, they are available from ebay and other sources for not too much. Here's a look at it from the start:

And folded up:

The arm adjusts to a higher and lower position which should give some flexibility for working distance depending on what lens system I end up with.(The above picture shows the lower position) The head adjusts appropriately for both of those positions, but also a "rear" position and the folded up position. The rear position I think is intended to point the camera towards the audience, which I don't think will be useful here.

This original system has two problem which make it not useful as a microscope. First is it's zoom, which at minimum covers the width of the base, and at is maximum is not very good for soldering. Second, is that it's camera only provides NTSC composite video output, much too low to use for these purposes. So I know that I need to replace the camera, and almost certainly the lens system. Ideally I'd like to keep the electric zoom and focus control for it's convenience.