I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Kevin Gallimore

BQ340 wrote in news:4fb30fa8$0$7431$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:

On 5/15/2012 8:38 PM, axolotl wrote:

I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a
working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Kevin Gallimore

I like my Optivisor with the glass lens option. The working distance
depends on magnification factor, I have the 2-3/4X @ 6" distance. The
lens are pretty good, I barley notice any distortion at the very edge.

If you keep the box & receipt they have a lifetime warranty but I have
never needed to take them up on it so far.

Also I find very handy is my flip-up eye loupe that clips on my
glasses.
It has 2 lens that are 3.5X that can double to 7X. The 7X does have a
short working distance but is nice to have that available, the 3.5X WD
is about 6".

MikeB

Enco sells Optivisors, and frequently has them on sale. They can gt down
to about half of what a lot of places charge.

I have about 6 pairs scattered around the house & shop, and several more
at work.

Doug White

On 5/15/2012 10:55 PM, Doug White wrote:
wrote in news:4fb30fa8$0$7431$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:

On 5/15/2012 8:38 PM, axolotl wrote:

I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a
working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Kevin Gallimore

I like my Optivisor with the glass lens option. The working distance
depends on magnification factor, I have the 2-3/4X @ 6" distance. The
lens are pretty good, I barley notice any distortion at the very edge.

If you keep the box& receipt they have a lifetime warranty but I have
never needed to take them up on it so far.

Also I find very handy is my flip-up eye loupe that clips on my
glasses.
It has 2 lens that are 3.5X that can double to 7X. The 7X does have a
short working distance but is nice to have that available, the 3.5X WD
is about 6".

MikeB

Enco sells Optivisors, and frequently has them on sale. They can gt down
to about half of what a lot of places charge.

I have about 6 pairs scattered around the house& shop, and several more
at work.

Doug White

Dittos on the OptiVisors! I too have a bunch scattered where I need them.

"axolotl" wrote in message
...

I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Kevin Gallimore

For longer working distances with adequate magnification you really need
ones with two lenses like what dentists use. They have a positive lens in
the front and a negative lens in the back to make a small Galilean
telescope. To be compact and have a good field of view, the lenses have to
be steeply curved. If each were only a simple lens the image would have lots
of spherical and chromatic aberration. A high quality magnifier will have a
cemented doublet in the front and perhaps 3 lenses in the back which is why
they are so expensive. Even so, the field of view is limited.

I have seen things that look like this on ebay for $50 or less. Obviously
these are not great quality but can you even be sure they contain more than
one lens? Otherwise the cheapest I have seen from reputable dealers is $189.
I am an optical engineer, and I do not understand why someone could not make
something like this with plastic lenses for even less than $50. The field
of view might only be, say, 30 mm or so, but I think there might be an
application for that for machinists.

On Tue, 15 May 2012 20:38:28 -0400, axolotl
wrote:


I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Do you have to pay that much? I copped a cheap ($4) set for taking
splinters out of my finners a few years ago, and they're holding up
fine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/magnifi...hts-38896.html
Tape helps keep the battery covers on, and the lights do help.

Google "head magnifier" for more options/brands/prices.

--
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore,
all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-- George Bernard Shaw

On Tue, 15 May 2012 20:38:28 -0400, axolotl
wrote:


I presently use an old Edroy that works well but has too short a working
distance.
Are there any grades between the $35 B&L and the $350 Zeiss?

Kevin Gallimore

The Optivisors are much better than the B&L at about 1-1/2X the price.
The have excellent glass lenses and a better head band. The head band
could be better, but it works just fine. The B&L head band is a POS;
the lenses are acrylic and make me feel cross-eyed.

--
Ned Simmons

On Tue, 15 May 2012 20:35:45 -0700, "anorton"
wrote:


For longer working distances with adequate magnification you really need
ones with two lenses like what dentists use.

+1 My dentist let me play with his in between patients and I was sold
on the concept. I paid about $75 for a fairly cheap clip on model
slightly used from Ebay. I don't use it that often partly because I
feel like I should take special care with it but sometimes it's just
the right tool. More often I use most this type from HF
http://www.harborfreight.com/head-st...ght-95890.html
It's mickey mouse for sure but the different magnification
combinations and the light and the disposable price make it a winner
for me. I also have a couple of the $3 HF models. They're fine for
what they are. But the upscale (arf) model with the two lights on the
side is a joke. The lights are lower quality than POS and they don't
point anywhere near the work. I modified the aim on mine but shortly
thereafter ripped the lights off and threw them in the trash. I may be
too much like Fred Sanford with magnifiers laying all over the place
but I have yet to hit $100 spending on the lot. Now binoculars that's
a different story. $450 a few years ago for these
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-12x36-St.../dp/B0001XH6G2
and it was one of the best investments I ever made. I am tempted to
buy a horse just so I can marvel at being able to use binoculars on
the fly.

"whoyakidding" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 May 2012 20:35:45 -0700, "anorton"
wrote:


For longer working distances with adequate magnification you really need
ones with two lenses like what dentists use.

+1 My dentist let me play with his in between patients and I was sold
on the concept. I paid about $75 for a fairly cheap clip on model
slightly used from Ebay. I don't use it that often partly because I
feel like I should take special care with it but sometimes it's just
the right tool. More often I use most this type from HF
http://www.harborfreight.com/head-st...ght-95890.html
It's mickey mouse for sure but the different magnification
combinations and the light and the disposable price make it a winner
for me. I also have a couple of the $3 HF models. They're fine for
what they are. But the upscale (arf) model with the two lights on the
side is a joke. The lights are lower quality than POS and they don't
point anywhere near the work. I modified the aim on mine but shortly
thereafter ripped the lights off and threw them in the trash. I may be
too much like Fred Sanford with magnifiers laying all over the place
but I have yet to hit $100 spending on the lot. Now binoculars that's
a different story. $450 a few years ago for these
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-12x36-St.../dp/B0001XH6G2
and it was one of the best investments I ever made. I am tempted to
buy a horse just so I can marvel at being able to use binoculars on
the fly.

So how does the $75 dollar ebay model compare to your dentist's? (working
distance, field of view, color correction, aberration?)

On Wed, 16 May 2012 08:33:15 -0700, "anorton"
wrote:


"whoyakidding" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 15 May 2012 20:35:45 -0700, "anorton"
wrote:


For longer working distances with adequate magnification you really need
ones with two lenses like what dentists use.

+1 My dentist let me play with his in between patients and I was sold
on the concept. I paid about $75 for a fairly cheap clip on model
slightly used from Ebay. I don't use it that often partly because I
feel like I should take special care with it but sometimes it's just
the right tool.

So how does the $75 dollar ebay model compare to your dentist's? (working
distance, field of view, color correction, aberration?)

I didn't have that long to experiment at the dentist and I didn't get
my own set until about 2 months later so I can't answer your question
very well. I'd say that field of view and focal distance were similar.
Mine is about 1.65" at about 16". Optical quality is surely worse and
I'm not qualified to state anything definitive but I haven't noticed
any detriment for my use. IIRC the dentist said he paid $1500. Even
allowing that he doesn't seem the type to shop around I paid at least
10X less. I safety wired mine onto a retired prescription frame which
wasn't designed for the extra weight. The bridge would get
uncomfortable quickly but I fixed that by wedging a cylinder shaped
foam earplug into the bridge.

Something I forgot to mention years ago I bought a $10 vet otoscope
that looks like this one
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1 2&subref=AA.
It got used exactly once on the dog and maybe 100 times since for a
quick well lit view of a solder joint etc.

On May 15, 10:23*pm, BQ340 wrote:

Also I find very handy is my flip-up eye loupe that clips on my glasses.
It has 2 lens that are 3.5X that can double to 7X. The 7X does have a
short working distance but is nice to have that available, the 3.5X WD
is about 6".


I also use a fip-up loupe that clips onto my glasses, but now I'm
preparing to order some magnifying glasses from Zenni. My
prescription, but focusing much closer than normal reading lenses. I
plan on placing the order in the next week or so. I'll report back
here.

Also, I had no idea that you could get the telescope-type magnifiers
so cheap. I always imagined them as a greater than $1K item. Now I'll
have to look for a pair.