Loupes vs. OptiVISOR

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
5,703
I have a set of OptiVISOR and they work just fine but I will eventually need better magnification. I was wondering if the glasses with flip up loupes, like Stefan Albert uses in his latest thread about steel carving, would be a step up until I can buy a microscope or are they roughly the same?

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Thanks.
 
I am not sure but you should be able to find the magnification distance comparison for them and compare that to the ones you have now. I got one of those optivisors I think it is but seldom use it now (well seldom try my hand at engraving). I ended up getting some cheapo reading glasses at the local store, the ones with the highest magnification. I can look over them or thru them without moving them and they work as good as my optivisor. Plus they were like 5 for $10 or something like that.

Ofcourse I am only doing hammer and chisel stuff, if you have a engraver doing really fine detail work I can imagine they would not work as well.
 
Actually looks like the loupes have a longer focal point then the optis so you wont have to get your face as close to the work. That would be nice.
 
As magnification goes up, the working distance goes down.

Optivisers have different strengths, maybe a different one will help
 
Optivisors are better because they have a much wider field of vision. I use optivisors in different lenses numbers to do most work. I highly recommend them for any detail work. The lens number is a magnification index. The larger the number, the more the magnification. What that does is bring the work closer to you without your eyes having to try and focus close. This is great for close work and inspection. The numbers go from #2 to #10 - #2 is 1.5X and has a 20" focal length, #10 is 3.5X and has a 4" focal length. The most useful for many people is the #4 or #5 with 2X and 2.5X magnification, and 10" and 8" focal lengths.

Optivisors just bring the image closer........ If you need better vision at normal working distance, you need bi-focals or prescription close work glasses. You can have the optometrist set the focus distance to match what distance you normally work at. I have forging glasses that have a 30" focal length. That is way too far away for the normal working distance of 14-16", but works perfect for clearly seeing every detail of the blade when forging.

Surgical loupes are much more precise, and have more magnification. I have a pair of Zeiss loupes that have prescription lenses for my vision for very close detail work like engraving and carving. These are quite expensive, and not worth the expense to most people. There are flip up loupes that clip to your glasses, but they generally have pretty poor optics. I would go with an optivisor unless you really needed the extra magnification and clarity.
 
Ok, from what I can gather, cheapies you can buy on eBay or Amazon are 3.5X at most. I already use 2.5X on my optivisor so that would not be a big enough improvement. The only plus side would be the greater focal distance but that's not what I am after.

So for better magnification 6X or 8X, you have to buy good quality loupes and those are more like 500-600$ and up so I guess I will need to wait to get a microscope. :(
 
My parents bought me one for my birthday so I have no idea about the price or quality (I can say it is way better than the cheap, stainless steel ones that everyone sells for $10). It is rated at 20x and is a Triplex and the image quality is very clear. You have to get really closets the object though so I don't use it much. The loupe focuses at about 2.5 inches away and I find that my head usually blocks most of the light, making the object impossible to see. For engraving, I feel like a loupe may be a little inconvenient.
 
I have a chap optiviser but I found the focus point to close. I just made a rubber block I have inbetween my forehead and optivisor and it moved the focus point forewards.
 
Krabbykakes,
The loupes we are talking about are a type of glasses worn by surgeons, not jewelers loupes held in the hand .
Here is a pair at $583:
http://www.stuller.com/products/29-4600/3162870/?groupId=109876
If you wear glasses, you can get these with your prescription lenses behind the loupes. That is a couple hundred more, but really makes them super accurate and clear. This is especially important if you have astigmatism.

FWIW, for inspecting things up close with a hand loupe, they now come with built in LED lights.
http://www.stuller.com/products/29-6060/2545907/?groupId=91468
I find 10X the best for close inspection. More power than 10X causes angular distortion, and makes it much harder to see fine details over 1mm in size. To use a hand loupe, bring the loupe up to the eye, and then bring the object toward the loupe until it is in focus. The loupe must remain very close to the eye and be held steady to avoid distortion.

For engraving, the standard is a stereo microscope on an articulated arm or boom stand. You have to have enough focal distance to work under the lens, so 3-7X is about the range that works best. A 1-7X zoom is really a plus here. It takes a little practice to get used to working with a scope, but once the brain gets the need to actually look toward the object out of the way, it is relaxing and simple.
http://www.stuller.com/products/26-4080/77782/?groupId=15924
 
I have worn Opti-visors for the last 35 years, almost daily. Started out with a #2 lens and, as age and eye degradation happened, I now wear a #7 and sometimes a #10 lens. One accessory available is an additional round lens that increases the magnification for inspection purposes. It gives you 2 different magnifications, one for working and one for inspection. It is called a Donegan Optiloupe and is available from Rio Grande (#113-211). It gives a 2.5 magnification increase. ...Teddy
 
I use a graphic designer comparator as a loupe to study bevels.

Take a look at Magnabrite light gathering magnifier too.

As for scopes, I've been looking at a Veho for a long time.
 
I appreciate the help guys. I think that I will concentrate on a microscope. I'll pic your brains about that as soon as I have funds available. I can't afford a Zeiss??? or similar at 10K and up of course, but there is still a lot of choice ranging from 500$ to around 2000$.
 
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