Square Peg wrote in
:
Any recommendations for magnifying lenses for very fine work?
I've used those lighted magnifying desk lamps with some success, but
they are only good for desk work. I am wondering if some sort of loupe
like jewelers or dentists use might be worth buying.
My dentist told me that dental loupes cost $1,000 or more. That's a
bit more than I was planning on spending.
How much magnification is needed or useful? According to Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loupe, jewelers use 10X magnification to
inspect diamonds for blemishes, but dentists only use 2X-5X, so
something in that range ought to be good enough for removing slivers
and soldering. ;-)
This article says that good jeweler's loupes are triplets -- three
lenses combined so as to correct (or minimize) distortion. I am
guessing that this is not important for general use.
http://jewelry.about.com/od/jewelrya...l/ss/loupe.htm
This article has a lot of detailed information about optical
magnifiers in general.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-c...agnifiers.html
Here are some products I found online. Any recommendations or
suggestions?
This company offers mini-loupes in 4X, 6X, and 8X powers for just
$3.50 each and a headband to hold them for just $5:
I couldn't find the 4X loupe.
http://www.seeitbigger.com/Carson_Lo...d_p/c-ml30.htm
http://www.seeitbigger.com/Carson_Ma...p/cdl-ml66.htm
http://www.seeitbigger.com/Carson_Ma...p/cdl-ml88.htm
This $40 headband magnifier had 4 lenses (1.2X, 1.8X, 2.5X, and 3.5X
and a small headlight. I can't tell if the lenses flip up.
Is 3.5X enough magnification?
http://www.nationaljewelerssupplies..../PROD/ETELP550
The same company offers this headband magnifier for $60. These lenses
(2X, 2.5X, 3X) do flip up, but it is not lighted.
http://www.nationaljewelerssupplies....NJS/PROD/AMmg3
Amazon is selling this set of 5 watchmaker's loupes for $13. Based on
the reviews, it's not clear if these are 2X, 3X, 5X, 7X and 10X or 1X,
2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X.
These are loose loupes (no headband), which I presume you wedge into
your eye. I've seen jewelers use them that way, so it must work, but
I'm thinking some sort of headband like the first entry would be
easier to use, especially for work taking more than a few minutes.
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmakers-Ey...E4Z3YU/ref=pd_
sbs_op_5
This $45 product from Bausch & Lomb claims to have top quality optics.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/bausch-l...gna-visor.html
on Ebay,you can find binocular clip-on magnifiers that have magnification
ranges of 1.75X to 3X,for around $10. they are easy to use,if you don't
wear glasses,they come with a frame with no lenses for you to clip on the
magnifier.the magnifier flips up out of the way when you don't need it,and
you can look around it,too.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net