Optivisor advice

[Mat Lambert]

Hi Pf,
I've been looking into getting an optivisor and see they come at different magnification levels. Can anyone recommend which is the best to get for figure work in a range of scales?

I sometimes use a magnifying lamp but find this gets in the way when using tools so thought a visor may help.

I have worn glasses since getting back into the hobby and hate that I now have to look through two layers of glass to see what i am doing but am finally resigned to this now!!

Cheers
Mat

 

[IIICorps]

FWIW: I have an Optivisor. Tried it for a while, but it seemed to always be in the way. I have not used it in years.

 

[brian]

I couldn't be without my optivisor.I wear reading glasses and use a magnification of 2.50 optivisor lens.I got the kosher optivisor as they're glass lenses and won't scratch.
Brian

 

[Gary D]

Mat, I bought something very simular to the link below. It comes with 4 different lens's so you can take change the magnification as you please. The advantage to this type is you can still see to the sides and below the lens when necessary, and also the lens flips up out of the way. The standard type of Optivisor I find seems to almost encompass your entire vision and you are constantly flipping it up and down to load your brush, pick up and put down your fig, etc.
The light is useless, but other than that I find it very handy.


http://www.ebay.ca/itm/JEWELERS-LIG...133?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414ebec805

best of luck.

Gary Daugherty

 

[megroot]

I bought my optivisor at a Opticien. It has glass len's cannot scrath and is color corrected. After Windsor and Newton brushes this is the best buy for the hobby.
Cos't around $ 50,-..
Cannot paint without it. Oh and the magnifien is 4.

marc

 

[bigtodd]

Mat,

The higher the magnification number the closer you will have to hold it to your face. So think about how comfortable you are when you paint and gauage it that way.

just my two pence
Todd

 

[Portal]

I agree with Megroot, second best buy I made. Mine is 2.5 mag.

 

[Mat Lambert]

Thanks everyone for your quick help.

Todd - useful tip, I thought that must be what the magnification details meant but its good to have confirmation.

Marc - if you're using 4x how close do you have to work? Really close??

I just spent several minutes holding a ruler to my nose to check how far away I actually do work! Ha! Think 2.5x would probably be the best for me.

Cheers
Mat

 

[theBaron]

I bought a cheap Chinese knock-off for $10 a couple of years ago at Historicon, and I wish I had bought it earlier. I've lost the ability to focus at a comfortable distance to be able to hold a piece and work on it.

I don't know which magnifcation I use, off the top of my head, it's the set of lenses built into the visor, not the second set that flips down. I also usually leave the loupe deployed. I find that it doesn't interfere with looking at things on the bench, because the visor is in the right position for me to see the work up close, and then I can look under it easily enough, to see things at arm's length or further away.

If I had to do it over, I would get one with an attached light, though. I do find it would be useful to have a light focused where my sight is focused, when I'm looking through the lenses, even with the bench illumination that I have.

Prost!
Brad

 

[megroot]

Thanks everyone for your quick help.


Marc - if you're using 4x how close do you have to work? Really close??

I just spent several minutes holding a ruler to my nose to check how far away I actually do work! Ha! Think 2.5x would probably be the best for me.

Cheers
Mat

Mat, I was at work when i wrote this. When i got home i looked again. It is 2x and have a extra of 4. I work with the 2x, with four you get to close.
I hold my figure on a distance of a range where you have normally a book to read.


Marc

 

[Mat Lambert]

Thanks for checking Marc - it's useful info as it confirms that the most popular magnification so far seems to be 2x or 2.5x.

Brad - thanks for your input and point about the light. I had wrongly assumed they come with illumination as standard, but no.

Has anyone used a set with a light? Are they worth it?

Cheers
Mat

 

[chippy]

Matt I suggest you find the nearest branch of Hobby Craft in your area , they have a product called Head Loop . It cost about £15. has 4 different sizes of interchangable magnifcation lenses so you can find which suites you best before spending out huge amounts of money on one set size of better quality . I've had mine for years and have found they don't scratch up as much as some say they do .
chippy

 

[redhorse]

I bought a cheap Chinese knock-off for $10 a couple of years ago at Historicon, and I wish I had bought it earlier. I've lost the ability to focus at a comfortable distance to be able to hold a piece and work on it.

I don't know which magnifcation I use, off the top of my head, it's the set of lenses built into the visor, not the second set that flips down. I also usually leave the loupe deployed. I find that it doesn't interfere with looking at things on the bench, because the visor is in the right position for me to see the work up close, and then I can look under it easily enough, to see things at arm's length or further away.

If I had to do it over, I would get one with an attached light, though. I do find it would be useful to have a light focused where my sight is focused, when I'm looking through the lenses, even with the bench illumination that I have.

Prost!
Brad

That sounds like the same one I use and the same way I use it. Cheap and efficient, couldn't work without it!

 

[socko47]

Optivisors are very popular but I don't like it as it is worn like a hat and that bothers me after a short time. As a suggestion stop into one or two fly-fishing stores and see what they offer. I recently saw 2.5x with little lights on either side, and not too expensive. I found magnifiers that sit flush on my glasses via a clip. They even flip up. I have found these in two shapes; one small, almost like an added bifocal lens, and the other one full size. I have seen them in 2.5x . They never had a manufacturers name. At the fly shop you should be able to try them and see what works for you. It is true as the x goes up the closer you must bring the work to be in focus. Don't mix-up 2.5x with diopters. There are clip-on magnifiers that extend from your glasses about 4 cms. For me they slowly cause my glasses to slip off my face due to the extended weight. The solution to any clip-ons is to consider a head strap to prevent your glasses slipping off right into your work.
Go to Google or even Amazon and put in clip-on magnifiers. Most are plastic but inexpensive. Here is one style http://www.amazon.com/2-5X-POWER-CL...0S/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1317437347&sr=8-11

http://www.maxiaids.com/products/6301/Clip-On-Spectacle-Magnifier---Set-of-Four.html
Happy choosing :thumb down:

 

[TDFreak]

As others have noted. Behind quality airbrushes, my best purchase. Have multible lenses. Will never regret shelling out the Sheckles for them.

 

[Don]

Use my Optivisor all the time and find it a great help. Have a friend who posts on here who doesnt like them at all and uses magnigfying glasses that fit over normal glasses. He gets them in a set of I think four different sizes and they are not expensive.

I think an optivisor with a lighting set would be rather heavy, better to use a good light, like an Actulite to spread its light.


Don

 

[skeeterbuck]

Mat,
I use the 3.75x lenses in my Optivisor. I have to be less that 6 inches away to be in focus, but I find to do faces on 54mm figures I need this much magnification. I adjust the Optivisor so I can look under it to dip my brush etc. and then I look up to see through the Optivisor to actually place the paint on the figure. I find that if it looks good under that much magnification it will look great just using my normal reading glasses.

Hope this helps.

Chuck

 

[Anders Heintz]

I would say it depends on your budget. I've tried to use opti visors before and I just can't use them. But last year I was introduced to some real loupes that are used for surgeries and dentists usually wear them. They are as clear as your normal vision and you can have them costum fitted to your vision. They are small loupes fitted into a normal eye glass frame (or oakley style if you prefer) and they can come with a light. I've got both the glasses and light, but find the light to not be of much use. Now they are pretty expensive but well worth it considering the hours and hours you will spend using them.

 

[Mat Lambert]

Anders - Im not sure that 'clear as your normal vision' is that great a recommendation for me! I'd never heard of loupes before and just googled them - v interesting. Good to hear from you back on pF.

Thanks to everyone else for posting their advice - all very useful as always.

Cheers
Mat