Improved Lighting & Magnification Options?

[Guest]

Have you tried a pair of bi focals Bill? I thought I needed an opti visor too. But, I bought a pair of bi focals instead. They work great for me. You can look through them or over them.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I just use a cheap ($30.00) table type lighted magnifier from Hobby Lobby. I started using it about 3 years ago. My eyes are still pretty good, but I wouldn't even attempt to build anymore without one. Can't believe I ever managed without it. Steve

[Ramfins59]

My Optivisor works great for me for extremely tiny, close-up work. I found though, that since I had the cataract surgery on my left eye, and the new lens transplanted, I don't need to use the Optivisor as much. Things will probably get even better for me when I have the procedure done on my right eye too.

[gtx6970]

Have you tried a pair of bi focals Bill? I thought I needed an opti visor too. But, I bought a pair of bi focals instead. They work great for me. You can look through them or over them.

I tried Bi-focals once,,hated them and i'm not going back there .

I do wear glasses mainly to drive and such,,but usually take them off when doing closeup work or reading or at the model bench .

. But lately even reading fine print on paint cans is getting tough

Going out this afternnoon and may stop by hobby lobby and/or Micheals to see whats avail

Edited February 19, 2015 by gtx6970

[Pete J.]

Optivisor is definitely the gold standard for vision aids. I have been using mine for over 20 years. They are not all that expensive. One of the critical issues for me is that the lenses are glass and therefore impervious to all the glues and solvents that we use. I bought mine with 4 lenses but as I have gotten older, I only use three, the 5,7,10 diopter. I also have bifocals and believe it or not, I use them together. It gives me a much broader range of magnifications without having to change lenses.

[Drake69]

I picked up a set of these in 3.0x at Northern Tool & Equipment for $9.99 closeout. They have built-in LEDs on each side of the earpieces to shine light on whatever surface you're looking at, and with 3x mag they make it much easier to see small details. PLUS, they don't strap to your head like other portable light/mag systems do, so they don't feel unwieldy when you move or tilt your head.

[niteowl7710]

I'm going against the OptiVisor advice and suggest instead the Carson Optical Magnivisor.

http://www.amazon.com/Carson-MagniVisor-Head-Worn-Magnifier-CP-60/dp/B007CDJKM2

You have to be careful to get the REAL thing, not the Spanish - Made in China knockoff copy. The lenses are Optical grade, the light is bright and directionally manipulatable. It also detaches and can be used separately.

After experiments with OptiVisors I wasn't happy with the total lack of peripheral vision.

[Pete J.]

Let us know how it works out! Always open to see what other products might be useful.

[slusher]

Saw this one and been thinking of picking one up...

 

http://www.amazon.com/HOUSWEETY-Professional-Jewelers-Lighted-Magnifier/dp/B005VIG6TA/ref=wl_mb_wl_huc_mrai_2_dp

[Yenkocamaro]

I picked up a set of these in 3.0x at Northern Tool & Equipment for $9.99 closeout. They have built-in LEDs on each side of the earpieces to shine light on whatever surface you're looking at, and with 3x mag they make it much easier to see small details. PLUS, they don't strap to your head like other portable light/mag systems do, so they don't feel unwieldy when you move or tilt your head.

 

I have two of the headband type, and find them to be very helpful. Also, because of the different light settings, and because the light face is adjustable, it can be directed right onto the object you are working on. This works especially well for those of us who wear prescription glasses.

 

Cheers,

Lance

Edited February 21, 2016 by Yenkocamaro

[Yenkocamaro]

You may be able to tell by my pics, but I forgot to mention that each light face is magnified, so the light is focused, and not spread all over.

 

Cheers,

Lance

[redneckrigger]

Those headband lights are VERY good. I use them for building, walking into the woods before sunup when hunting, and working on my car. Sure beats holding a flashlight in one hand!

[Ace-Garageguy]

I just replaced the compact fluorescent bulbs on the bench lights with 100 watt-equivalent LED bulbs.

I ran CF bulbs for several years, and they were a huge improvement over incandescent units. The 100-watt incandescent bulbs made a lot of light, but they would melt the switches in the swing-arm lamps, and produced a lot of waste heat.

The CF bulbs I just replaced are about 5 years old, and tend to go a little dim over time. The price of LEDs is down considerably from what it was, so I figured I'd spring for a pair (I have 4 swing-arm lamps) to see what kind of difference, if any, there was in usable light.

All I can say is holy moley. I can see again.        (this just shows the swing-arm setup, prior to the change)

Edited October 27, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Harry P.]

You're a bit late to the LED party, but welcome aboard, Bill!

[Ace-Garageguy]

You're a bit late to the LED party, but welcome aboard, Bill!

I know you recommended them a few years back, but at the time, I had stocked up on CF bulbs and had enough to last quite a while. LEDs were not widely available and were pretty expensive then, too.

I elected to wait until the performance of the CF bulbs in the bench lights began to degrade before replacing them. I'll save the ones that were on the bench to use around the house and shop for general illumination.

The improvement from CF to LED in light output for energy consumed isn't as dramatic as the switch from incandescent to CF, but it's still certainly worthwhile.

The only gripe I have is that it's a little hard to find 100 watt-equivalent LED bulbs in my market. 

Shouldn't matter though. The ones I bought recently will probably outlive me.  

 

[peteski]

What is the color temperature of your LED bulb and the CRI (Color Rendering Index)?  I usually only see the higher wattage LED bulbs in high color temperatures (over 4000K) and that is too blue and too harsh for my eyes.  I prefer the 2700-3000K warm white color.  Then if the CRI is low, it will not truly show your paint colors.

[Ace-Garageguy]

What is the color temperature of your LED bulb and the CRI (Color Rendering Index)?  I usually only see the higher wattage LED bulbs in high color temperatures (over 4000K) and that is too blue and too harsh for my eyes.  I prefer the 2700-3000K warm white color.  Then if the CRI is low, it will not truly show your paint colors.

I'm not getting really intense about color temperatures, but I'm running LED bulbs labeled as "daylight" which, if I remember correctly from my photography days, is around 5500-6000K. I agree, initially it did seem a little harsh, but it's great to work under, and I still have two warm-white bulbs mounted as fill lighting.

Like most people, I find warmer lower color-temp lighting preferable for general illumination, but for close-up work areas, the bright blue-white works better for my tired old eyes.

[misterNNL]

At 75 my eyesight Is not what it once was and I mentioned that to a fellow modeler who recommended the Ott lamp. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon and have been using it successfully for several years.

[The Keeper]

As Snake indicated, once presbyopia sets in, your lens starts drying out and your microvision needs help. I started out with a jeweler's loupe and transitioned to different strengths of reading glasses from local discount stores. Optivisors are great but out of my budget range. Wound up getting a few of the cheap Chinese knock-offs like this:

My dentist and docs have a really cool set of glasses with mini scopes on them and they dial in their magnification and focal length to suit their needs. Sadly, they run around $600! So I again got the cheap Chinese knock-off:

You get four sets of lenses (up to 25X) and the lights are nice but it's technically just two jeweler's loupes and you've got no panoramic vision and you have to hold your subject real close; only good for high detail work. I've also got the Carson style visor but swapping out the lenses means you've got to keep your lens box close at hand so that one stays on the bench. I've got models of the Visor with the flip down lens and swing in loupe on every floor, comes in handy working around the house.

When we get together for our monthly group builds I've noticed the consistent contest winners are all myopic; they take their glasses off to work on a model! The rest of us are hyperopic so we've all bought Visors of one style or another.

I just today bought an LED bulb LI battery Ott Lite on sale for Mother's Day from their site.

HTH

Keeper

[Ace-Garageguy]

Years ago, somebody gave me a couple of OptiVISORs. I can still see quite well unassisted, so I never bothered with them.

A couple of my period dragster builds have been hanging fire 'cause I've put off drilling the 8 little .013" holes in the correct patterns in a Spalding Flamethrower dual-coil distributor and a couple of Vertex magnetos. I could see well enough to place the pinpricks for starting the drill bit, but it wasn't easy. And the holes need to be very close together, I only have a couple each of the Flamethrowers and mags, and buggering one is to be avoided.

I saw one of the O'visors hanging on the rollaround, all dusty, and decided to clean it off and give it a shot.

Ho boy. These things are GREAT. I wish I'd tried one a long time ago. For doing really tiny stuff, it just can't be beat.  

 

[BDSchindler]

Here's another option...Mighty Sight.  My brother picked up 2 pairs and gave me one.  Much nicer than the Optimizer. 2 for $19.95 and they work great even if you wear glasses (I wear graduated Bifocals).  Rechargeable via USB with 2 very bright LED's.

https://www.buymightysight.com/

[Miatatom]

It's got to be like Broadway for me. 75 year old eyes don't work as well as they should. I've replaced all my fluorescent lights with the LEDs from Harbor Freight. It's helped a lot. They're usually on sale for 19.99 each.

[ratherbefishin]

I bought one of the $15 ish magnifying glasses with a light.  Ok for a while but they are heavy on my nose, can’t wear readers underneath them and the mag lense kept falling off.  Got a pair of Optivisors, no pressure on my nose, light, fits on my head not my ears so I wear readers underneath them, never missed the light on them.  Just tilt them up when I don’t need them and don’t have to find a place to set them down.  About $40 bucks and worth every penny.

[bluestringer]

I picked up one of the cheap deals at Harbor Freight today. I think it will help me a lot, at least until I can get something better. It's just some magnifying lenses in a headband with a light on each side, which should help a lot. 

[GoForItPainting]

This is my technique for hiding magnets in models. With this simple tool, the poles will always be of the same polarity.