Eyeware For Close Work On Very Small Objects?

[(PeteCresswell)]

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?
--
Pete Cresswell

 

[William Sommerwerck]

I have one of these. It's quite good, with little distortion and no chromatic
aberration.

http://www.harborfreight.com/magnifier-head-strap-with-lights-38896.html

 

[Rich Webb]

On Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:25:59 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid>
wrote:

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?

Get an Optivisor. <http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor>
You might luck out with one of the inexpensive look-alikes that use
cast acrylic lenses and find one that doesn't have noticeable
distortion, and they're certainly worth checking out. But spend a
little more and get real optical glass. Your missing headache will
thank you. I like the 5 diopter (2.5x) for enough magnification and a
decent working distance.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:25:59 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid>
wrote:

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Search ebay for "binocular loupes -lamp -light". They come in all
shapes, sizes, and magnifications. I find that 2.5x is about right
for me, but if you need more power, 3.5x is common.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?

Well, $40 is about typical for a binocular 2.5x x 420mm that clip onto
existing safety glasses. Here's an example:
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/171093333822>
Add about $20 for the LED illuminator.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[gregz]

Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> wrote:

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?
I've used the opti-visor type things for a while, and they work
for quick tasks that aren't real difficult. But, I do a lot of
microsurgery on electronic gear, soldering and inspecting stuff
down to 0.4mm lead pitch. The opti-visor just won't do for that
kind of stuff. I got a used Olympus stereo zoom microscope from
a guy who repairs and sells microscopes that I got hooked up with
by asking questions on eBay auctions. He sold me one that was
missing the mounting base. I made a simple base, then made a much
better one later from a scrapped lathe chuck and an arm made from
a MacPherson strut rod. I made a ring light from a bit of PC board
and 8 white LEDs. I use this every day, sometimes for hours, and
it is just great. (I've even done some actual surgery picking
splinters out of my own and family member's fingers.)

At work we have a $500 Chinese stereo zoom microscope with stand
and ring light. The fluorescent ring light ate up too much of
the valuable working distance, so I made another LED ring light.
I was real skeptical of this unit on eBay, but was surprised by
the quality. Both the general mechanical stuff as well as the
optics work VERY well.

So, if you need to do a lot of this inspection and rework stuff,
I strongly recommend a stereo zoom microscope. There are constantly
units on eBay to choose from.

Jon

I definitely needed that stereo microscope at times when I worked on some
things. I don't have access to one now. I was soldering caps I could barely
see with the eye. Couple mm long. I used a dual fiberoptic light source
which I could move around to get the right view.

Greg

 

[gregz]

"(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid> wrote:

Per Rich Webb:
Get an Optivisor. <http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor

But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.

??

I often used regular cheap reading glasses along with the visor. I had to
remove any glasses when using the microscope.

Greg

 

[Jon Elson]

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?

I've used the opti-visor type things for a while, and they work
for quick tasks that aren't real difficult. But, I do a lot of
microsurgery on electronic gear, soldering and inspecting stuff
down to 0.4mm lead pitch. The opti-visor just won't do for that
kind of stuff. I got a used Olympus stereo zoom microscope from
a guy who repairs and sells microscopes that I got hooked up with
by asking questions on eBay auctions. He sold me one that was
missing the mounting base. I made a simple base, then made a much
better one later from a scrapped lathe chuck and an arm made from
a MacPherson strut rod. I made a ring light from a bit of PC board
and 8 white LEDs. I use this every day, sometimes for hours, and
it is just great. (I've even done some actual surgery picking
splinters out of my own and family member's fingers.)

At work we have a $500 Chinese stereo zoom microscope with stand
and ring light. The fluorescent ring light ate up too much of
the valuable working distance, so I made another LED ring light.
I was real skeptical of this unit on eBay, but was surprised by
the quality. Both the general mechanical stuff as well as the
optics work VERY well.

So, if you need to do a lot of this inspection and rework stuff,
I strongly recommend a stereo zoom microscope. There are constantly
units on eBay to choose from.

Jon

 

[Rich Webb]

On Tue, 19 Nov 2013 14:15:47 -0600, Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu>
wrote:

So, if you need to do a lot of this inspection and rework stuff,
I strongly recommend a stereo zoom microscope. There are constantly
units on eBay to choose from.

Yes, especially for things like hand-soldered 0.5mm pitch TQFPs and
similar.

I've been using this one for several years now for inspection (rarely
for actual soldering; the Optivisor is for that):
<http://www.microscope.com/omano-om24l-stereo-microscope.html?category=210>
It's 24/40 rather than a zoom but that's sufficient for what I do.

It ain't fancy. The case is handy. The LED illumination works okay
with rechargeables (it comes with a "dumb" charger but I use an
offline La Crosse charger). Optics are good enough and I can snap a
digital picture for documentation by holding a point'n'click camera up
to an eyepiece. More room between the post and the stage would be
nice. Might put together a boom stand, one of these days.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Rich Webb:
>Get an Optivisor. <http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor>

But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.

??
--
Pete Cresswell

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per (PeteCresswell):

But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.

I'm thinking about buying these: http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Quality is not such a big issue with me because they would only be for
occasional use - and not for that long a time each use.
--
Pete Cresswell

 

[Rich Webb]

On Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:17:24 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid>
wrote:

Per Rich Webb:
Get an Optivisor. <http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor

But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.

??

Not really, since by changing the distance to the object you can
adjust the total focus (lens + eye), just as well as you can using a
single magnifying lens. However, if the focal length of your eyes are
significantly different from each other then I'd guess it might be
hard to get a good, clear image on both simultaneously.

 

[mike]

On 11/19/2013 12:15 PM, Jon Elson wrote:

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?
I've used the opti-visor type things for a while, and they work
for quick tasks that aren't real difficult. But, I do a lot of
microsurgery on electronic gear, soldering and inspecting stuff
down to 0.4mm lead pitch. The opti-visor just won't do for that
kind of stuff. I got a used Olympus stereo zoom microscope from
a guy who repairs and sells microscopes that I got hooked up with
by asking questions on eBay auctions. He sold me one that was
missing the mounting base. I made a simple base, then made a much
better one later from a scrapped lathe chuck and an arm made from
a MacPherson strut rod. I made a ring light from a bit of PC board
and 8 white LEDs. I use this every day, sometimes for hours, and
it is just great. (I've even done some actual surgery picking
splinters out of my own and family member's fingers.)

At work we have a $500 Chinese stereo zoom microscope with stand
and ring light. The fluorescent ring light ate up too much of
the valuable working distance, so I made another LED ring light.
I was real skeptical of this unit on eBay, but was surprised by
the quality. Both the general mechanical stuff as well as the
optics work VERY well.

So, if you need to do a lot of this inspection and rework stuff,
I strongly recommend a stereo zoom microscope. There are constantly
units on eBay to choose from.

Jon

I have several of the plastic headband ones.
One thing to watch out for...
Put it on your head and check the clearance
between the headband and the hood with the lenses.
They're designed to just swing up and out of the way.
Problem with some is that there's interference
between the headband and the hood that swings up.
Takes two hands to move it out of the way.
And you can't tell in the package, cause the band
deforms when you tighten it on your head.

I also have an optical stereo zoom microscope.
Very handy for inspection, but it's very hard to work under.
It's just too close. And mine has an accessory lens that extends
that distance somewhat. Still hard to get tools under it.
And I worry about the smoke from soldering messing up the lens.

Second issue is lighting. Your hands are always in the way.
I solved that problem with a fiber-optic light that surrounds
the lens.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 19 Nov 2013 20:06:51 -0600, amdx <nojunk@knology.net> wrote:


>> I'm thinking about buying these: http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Those are binoculars suitable for distance viewing. You can get a
clue as to their effectiveness by comparing their size to that of a
real pair of 7x35 binoculars.

Quality is not such a big issue with me because they would only be for
occasional use - and not for that long a time each use.

Cheap and simple optics usually result in some form of aberration.
Chromatic (color) distortion, poor depth of field, wrong viewing
distance, dim image, etc. You can't really tell the difference
between quality and junk until you've made a side by side comparison.

The advertising verbiage is confusing, it says "Eye Jeweler Watch
Repair" and "Required by fishing enthusiasts" and "to ensure a distance
of 400-500 meters" I don't believe this item can focus at 16" and 300Ft/

That makes sense if you realize that they're wearable distance
binoculars, no close up magnifiers.

I'm hoping Jeff Lieberman sees this and gives his input. I don't
know optics.

Hay, spel my nayme correctlee.

I only know enough about optics to get myself in trouble. Please
double check whatever I claim.

I do know my optivisor is good at 8", but it's hard to work
at 8".

This video gives some good advice on the Optivisor:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwnLeL3jGco>
You have the wrong magnification and need to pick the distance at
which you plan to work first, which sets the magnification.

Time for you drag yourself down to the drug store reading glasses
display. Bring a tape measure and some reading material. What you
want to do is pick a specific power of lens and measure the distances
where the image remains in focus (depth of field). High power glasses
will focus over a short distance and will need to have the reading
material fairly close to your eyes. Low power works over a larger
range of distances and farther away from your eyes. Make a chart and
nail it to the wall. Don't bother trying to find a "typical" chart on
the internet as the depth of field varies with your eyes. If you have
astigmatism, like me, it can be rather atypical. There are also
different definitions of diopters as well as "conventional" and
"maximum" magnification.

# stolen from some long forgotten web pile:

Diopter is a measurement of a lens’ ability to bend the light of a
viewed object and thereby increase its apparent size. Each diopter
represents a 25% increase in the size an object is magnified. A four
diopter lens (referred to as a 4d lens) would increase the size of an
object by 100%. Viewing a 2 inch wide object under a 3 diopter (75%
increase) magnifier, would increase the size of the object by 1.5
inches and cause the object to appear to the 3.5 inches wide. The
diopter of a lens can be calculated by dividing the number 40 by the
focal length (in inches) of a lens. Once the diopter number is known,
other parameters such as magnification power and total power can be
calculated.

Magnification power is a measure of how much larger an object is after
magnification. A magnification power of 1x means the object’s size has
been increased by 100%. Our 2 inch object seen through a lens with a
magnification power of 1.5x would appear to have added 150% on to its
original size. So the 2 inch object will appear through the lens to
have increased in size 3 . Its new size would be 5 inches (2 inch
original size + 3 inch increase in size). Since the magnification
power represents 4 times the diopter number, divide diopter by 3 to
calculate it.

# end stolen material:

The price is "to good to be true" $29.99.
http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Caveat Emptor.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[mike]

On 11/19/2013 6:06 PM, amdx wrote:

On 11/19/2013 3:32 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per (PeteCresswell):
But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.


I'm thinking about buying these: http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Quality is not such a big issue with me because they would only be for
occasional use - and not for that long a time each use.


The advertising verbiage is confusing, it says "Eye Jeweler Watch
Repair" and "Required by fishing enthusiasts" and "to ensure a distance
of 400-500 meters" I don't believe this item can focus at 16" and 300Ft/
Looking at the pictures, maybe there is enough adjustment on the lens
to do that, but I'm a skeptic without enough knowledge to make up my
mind. I'm hoping Jeff Lieberman sees this and gives his input. I don't
know optics. I do know my optivisor is good at 8", but it's hard to work
at 8".

The price is "to good to be true" $29.99.

http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Mikek

I'd recommend against that type.
I have a similar pair.
They work like binoculars. You have to adjust the width
to exactly the distance between your eyes. Close-up
vision requires that they be angled so they converge
at the same place they focus.

IFF you can get this done, the slightest movement in your
head shifts the relationships, even if it doesn't move
on your head...which it will.

In actual use, I found them roughly equivalent to closing
my eyes.

I'd start with the visor type with the big single lenses.

 

[amdx]

On 11/19/2013 3:32 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

Per (PeteCresswell):
But it does not focus, right?

i.e. your vision needs to be already corrected to 20-20 before you use
it.


I'm thinking about buying these: http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Quality is not such a big issue with me because they would only be for
occasional use - and not for that long a time each use.

The advertising verbiage is confusing, it says "Eye Jeweler Watch
Repair" and "Required by fishing enthusiasts" and "to ensure a distance
of 400-500 meters" I don't believe this item can focus at 16" and 300Ft/
Looking at the pictures, maybe there is enough adjustment on the lens
to do that, but I'm a skeptic without enough knowledge to make up my
mind. I'm hoping Jeff Lieberman sees this and gives his input. I don't
know optics. I do know my optivisor is good at 8", but it's hard to work
at 8".

The price is "to good to be true" $29.99.

http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx

Mikek

 

[William Sommerwerck]

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
newsfgo89t6rsrspbdhj181ul49641p4qmcjc@4ax.com...

Cheap and simple optics usually result in some form of aberration.
Chromatic (color) distortion, poor depth of field, wrong viewing
distance, dim image, etc. You can't really tell the difference
between quality and junk until you've made a side by side comparison.

The Harbor Freight product is $4. I own it. I use it. It works. And it has
four magnifications, not just one.

The claim that glass lenses are inherently superior is not true for simple
one- or two-element optical systems. Plastic lenses can be aspheric, at low
cost. Whether the lenses in the Harbor Freight product /are/ aspheric, I don't
know.

 

[Bill Gill]

On 11/19/2013 3:32 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
> I'm thinking about buying these:http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx
Well, I'm not sure what they are. Apparently it was written in
Chinese and translated by a not very skillful translator. About
the same as a lot of instruction manuals I have seen with cheap
Chinese products.

Bill

 

[RobertMacy]

On Wed, 20 Nov 2013 07:23:45 -0700, Bill Gill <billnews2@cox.net> wrote:

On 11/19/2013 3:32 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
I'm thinking about buying these:http://tinyurl.com/npbcgdx
Well, I'm not sure what they are. Apparently it was written in
Chinese and translated by a not very skillful translator. About
the same as a lot of instruction manuals I have seen with cheap
Chinese products.

Bill

I sincerely don't mean this as an offensive statement, just an
observation. Sometimes it helps in translating the translation if one
thinks in terms of literal, backwards, and upsidedown. Go read the
sentences from back to front and see. I used to get a lot of poor
translations and the technique worked surprisingly well.

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 11/19/2013 12:25 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

Being nearsighted, I've been able to slide along on close work until
now.

Just replaced the USB receptacle on my smart phone and was reduced to
using this huge magnifier mounted on a light.

Better than nothing, but clumsy and lacking in depth perception.

My dentist has these binocular-looking things that hang over his regular
glasses.

Anybody have something that works in this respect and which does not
cost an arm and a leg?

Measure your interpupillary distance (hold a ruler up to your face and
look in the mirror; +- 1 mm is good enough). Then go to zenni.com and
order some glasses. I'm slightly farsighted, but my lab glasses are
regular bifocals: +0.75 diopter for reading and computing, and +2.75
diopters for close work. They cost about $30-$40 a pair for nice coated
ones. I usually buy three sets at a time, and it's still less than half
of what Lenscrafters wants.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

 

[Sergey Kubushyn]

Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> wrote:

mike wrote:



I also have an optical stereo zoom microscope.
Very handy for inspection, but it's very hard to work under.
It's just too close. And mine has an accessory lens that extends
that distance somewhat. Still hard to get tools under it.
And I worry about the smoke from soldering messing up the lens.

The good ones have a "working distance" of 4 to 6 inches,
or even more!
This is a spec that SHOULD be listed, just check that any
particular unit has enough.
Second issue is lighting. Your hands are always in the way.
I solved that problem with a fiber-optic light that surrounds
the lens.
I made a ring of PCB material, cut a groove so there is an inner
and an outer ring, and soldered 8 while LEDs to it, with series
resistors. Works great, hugs real close to the SIDE of the
microscope body, so you don't lose any of that precious working
distance. Runs off a wall-warp power supply. I've made two
of these now for different scopes, I really like them.

If you have some money to spend go buy Madell SZM7045TR Trinocular
Microscope with Double Bar Boom Stand. It is $590 right now and that is the
best tool for SMD work I ever invested in It is here:

http://www.madelltech.com/m4-3.html

My advice -- do NOT try to save $70 or so by purchasing a SINGLE bar boom
stand. You'll regret it. Double bar is WAY better.

And if you want to use your soldering iron or whatever (I do all the time)
get an optional 0.5x lens from them. IT serves 2 purposes. First, it
protects the precious objectives from solder fumes so if anything went wrong
you will only have to replace a cheap lens, not expensive objectives.
Second, may be even more important, while reducing magnification (that is
still pretty adequate for even tiniest SMD components) it EXTENDS working
distance so you'll have your microscope healthy 6..8" from the work that
gives you all the room you need for soldering and do other jobs right under
the microscope.

BTW, their fluorescent ring light that comes with the microscope is pretty
fine out of the box, no need for anything else. I don't remember is a spare
tube was included or I bought it separately just to have a spare--it was
long ago--but I still have it in a sealed box.

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