D Yuniskis Inscribed thus:

On 1/14/2011 4:22 PM, Jack00 wrote:
Does anyone know a magnifying glass that can be used for surface
mounted components as they are too small to see with a standard
magnifying glass. And also which amplification ie 2x 5x 10x 20x

Depends on how fried your eyes are! :

I use:
- 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 diopter "illuminated reading glasses"
(depending on how close I need to work) for quick jobs
- a pair of prescription eyeglasses with a *pair* of
magnifying glasses that flip down on a ~3" arm for
a bit more involved work -- this has the advantage that
I can look up and read something in a book/monitor
without being forced to try to read *through* the
magnified image (but I have never encountered another
pair of these glasses so you'd have to resort to
something like a loupe that clips onto your existing
eyeglasses -- the problem is that most of those clip
on very *close* to your lenses)
- 0.7X to 30X (variable) stereoscope for more "involved"
work (e.g., inspecting *all* of the joints on a board)

I have found that adequate *light* is more important than
magnification (but that may just be the age of my eyes)

I can certainly empathise with that last paragraph. Good lighting is
very important. Particularly where identifying colors is required.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.