Optivisor Binocular Magnifier question.

I find mine very useful. Before i took a break from the hobby i didn't use one and managed just fine. When i came back into it after 5 years, i found my eyes hurting when trying to do detailed stuff. So i bought one and now its never off my head. The one i got wasn't brilliant and i have just ordered a new one. But i would suggest one with different magnifications.

I don't wear glasses so not sure about thet, but i think there is enough space between your eyes and the lense to wear them if need be. I would deffo recomend one and see how it goes.

I would first try a much cheaper route.  Since you are already nearsight, maybe you just need a little magnification.  Get a pair of those generic reading glasses that sell for under $20 off the rack at any drugstore.  You can also usually find them at "Dollar Stores" for just a few bucks,  Try various magnifications by looking at fine print and you may find one that does the trick for you.

I have tried the reading glasses and it does not work for me.

Right now without my glasses by focal point is about 6 inches away, that is where it's in foces, anycloser and it's too close for me.

IThis is why I don't know if it will be better with the  optivisor and my glasses or just keep on going without anything but my nearsight eyes.

If the  optivisor is better then I guess I'll order me one.

The optivisors have a very short focal point and you're almost touching the lens to the workpiece, and the field of vision is very small.  It's like looking through a tunnel.  So I rarely use mine, although mine is an off brand, I don't know if the Optivisor brand is better.  Maybe you could find a LHS that would let you try one out in the shop.  

I bought two different sets of Donegan Optivisors ,  2x  & 3.5x...they are a quality product  make sure you get the glass lens version, don't trust cheapo imitations as they have plastic lenses that may  have subtle distortion and quickly induce headaches.

However as all single plane magnifying lenses, the focal distance is very short, in the higher magnification levels the object you want to see is to be held almost against your nose, which is somewhat hard on your back because we tend to have the object on the workbench and lean over to get it close enough for it to be in focus and x-acto knife and paintbrush handles actually become issues as they often conflict with the visor at such close distances.

I got fed up real quick and got me some affordable dental / surgical loupes, they are dual plane, Gallilean type headband mounted magnifiers with a 13 in focal distance, enough to work with a straight back...

... and I wouldn't trade them for anything now that I have them. I swear by them  !... money well spent.

These are the one I got:  (see link below)

www.microscopenet.com/headband-binocular-loupes-340mm-dental-surgical-p-440.html

Happy modelling !

Side note: I need eyeglasses to see far also but with the loupes I don't need any, I just adjust the distance slightly so I see well and that's it :-)

My dentist uses a special illuminated magnifying pair of eyeglasses- I asked him about them, thinking they would be ideal for the hobby.  He said they are are made to prescription order, and cost $3 to $4,000!  I'm sure they would be perfect, but not for that kind of price.

I don't use optivisor.  I buy "reading glasses" at discount stores.  You can get them in some pretty high powers and at some stores they are quite cheap.  I find them comfortable compared fancy headgear-type magnifiers. I tried an optivisor many years ago and didn't like it.  By the time you get to 2.25 to 2.5 diopters, you are getting a lot of magnification.

One problem with too much magnification is that the higher the power the smaller the depth of field, and it is hard to keep what you are working in in that working depth space.

So what I do when I want new glasses is I take a piece of paper with some very small type to stores that have those reading glasses and try ones for comfort till I find a pair I like. I sometimes find them for as cheap as a buck a pair in dollar stores.

I love my Optivisor. Couldn't work without it and I don't even need glasses to read. Other than when I am painting I use it 100% of the time. I feel naked without it.

I'm going to agree with Viper regarding the Optivisor. I have a cheaper version, but find the viewing distance to be too short (6 inches or so). I'm always bending over so I tend not too use it as often. I really want to try out the loupes, found some on Ebay from china for $70.

www.ebay.com/.../i.html

Their viewing distance is 16 inches! just about perfect for me to sit up straight with no back strain. We'll see whether they are well made enough.

waikong

I'm going to agree with Viper regarding the Optivisor. I have a cheaper version, but find the viewing distance to be too short (6 inches or so). I'm always bending over so I tend not too use it as often. I really want to try out the loupes, found some on Ebay from china for $70.

www.ebay.com/.../i.html

Their viewing distance is 16 inches! just about perfect for me to sit up straight with no back strain. We'll see whether they are well made enough.

Please let us know how they work out.

Can those things be put on my regular eyeglasses? Or do you have to put them over your regular eyeglasses?

Kentucky Colonel

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Please let us know how they work out.

Can those things be put on my regular eyeglasses? Or do you have to put them over your regular eyeglasses?

You can buy dental loupes that clip-on your normal eye glasses. SeeTHESE] for example. I tried a pair and didn't like them - field of view was too small,  I couldn't adjust to the longer working distance (accustomed  to my OptiVisor probably) and, I found them heavy to be comfortable. The headband style might solve some of these issues.

For a cheap fix you could try these. However, definitely not something you could use for an extended time.

$3.00-$5.00 at Harbour Freight. Depending if they are on sale or use a 20% coupon.

I got a pair of Optiglasses off of Amazon for under $20 and love 'em...they have flip down lenses and a monacle, so I can get  2x, 4x, or 10x.

2x has a nice focal length, but at higher powers you have to get pretty close.

I can use them with or without eyeglasses. The only problem I sometimes have is I hit my eyeglasses when I flip down the 4x magnifier.

You can try here also.

www.seeitbigger.com/.../31.htm