An optical inspection machine for the quality control of parts, in particular gaskets, comprising: - a rotary table on which the parts to be inspected are placed; - at least one inspection station comprising, above said rotary table: i) at least one viewing group, for inspecting one or more outer and/or inner surfaces of a part, comprising: - a digital video camera that can be controlled to take a series of shots of a framed part, with each shot being defined by a preset exposure time; - a group control unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and programmed to generate a series of control pulses for the digital video camera; - an illuminator comprising a plurality of illumination sources arranged to illuminate various portions of the part or to illuminate the part from different angles; - an illumination control unit having several output channels, one for each individual illumination source and/or for each group of illumination sources, the unit being programmed to activate one or a combination of said output channels in response to an input signal synchronized to the control pulses of the digital video camera so as to generate a series of flashes of individual illumination sources and/or individual groups of illumination sources according to a preset lighting program; ii) a processing unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and suitable for acquiring the images of the part taken by the video camera under various lighting conditions set by the lighting program; and iii) a user interface comprising a monitor on which the processing unit displays said images of the part. - a rotary table on which the parts to be inspected are placed; - at least one inspection station comprising, above said rotary table: i) at least one viewing group, for inspecting one or more outer and/or inner surfaces of a part, comprising: - a digital video camera that can be controlled to take a series of shots of a framed part, with each shot being defined by a preset exposure time; - a group control unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and programmed to generate a series of control pulses for the digital video camera; - an illuminator comprising a plurality of illumination sources arranged to illuminate various portions of the part or to illuminate the part from different angles; - an illumination control unit having several output channels, one for each individual illumination source and/or for each group of illumination sources, the unit being programmed to activate one or a combination of said output channels in response to an input signal synchronized to the control pulses of the digital video camera so as to generate a series of flashes of individual illumination sources and/or individual groups of illumination sources according to a preset lighting program; ii) a processing unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and suitable for acquiring the images of the part taken by the video camera under various lighting conditions set by the lighting program; and iii) a user interface comprising a monitor on which the processing unit displays said images of the part. i) at least one viewing group, for inspecting one or more outer and/or inner surfaces of a part, comprising: - a digital video camera that can be controlled to take a series of shots of a framed part, with each shot being defined by a preset exposure time; - a group control unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and programmed to generate a series of control pulses for the digital video camera; - an illuminator comprising a plurality of illumination sources arranged to illuminate various portions of the part or to illuminate the part from different angles; - an illumination control unit having several output channels, one for each individual illumination source and/or for each group of illumination sources, the unit being programmed to activate one or a combination of said output channels in response to an input signal synchronized to the control pulses of the digital video camera so as to generate a series of flashes of individual illumination sources and/or individual groups of illumination sources according to a preset lighting program; - a digital video camera that can be controlled to take a series of shots of a framed part, with each shot being defined by a preset exposure time; - a group control unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and programmed to generate a series of control pulses for the digital video camera; - an illuminator comprising a plurality of illumination sources arranged to illuminate various portions of the part or to illuminate the part from different angles; - an illumination control unit having several output channels, one for each individual illumination source and/or for each group of illumination sources, the unit being programmed to activate one or a combination of said output channels in response to an input signal synchronized to the control pulses of the digital video camera so as to generate a series of flashes of individual illumination sources and/or individual groups of illumination sources according to a preset lighting program; ii) a processing unit operationally connected to the digital video camera and suitable for acquiring the images of the part taken by the video camera under various lighting conditions set by the lighting program; and iii) a user interface comprising a monitor on which the processing unit displays said images of the part.