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Best magnifying glasses/eye-loops for detail work - anysuggestions welcome

DomCee

DomCee

Joined
Sep 23, 2021
Messages
375
Points
238

I have been looking for some good quality, (preferably) illuminating magnifying glasses/eye loops which would be more practical for when I am working on the rigging. If anyone has any recommendations based on your experience, I would be very pleased to know about what you think about the optical quality, comfort of fit and if they are effective at lighting the object that you are working on.

One of the essential things is that they are easy on the eye and do not cause too much eye strain/headaches when using them for any length of time.

I have tried three types, however, I only use the head band type which is good for when I am making small pieces and fittings, but it is not very practical when it comes to rigging.

Head band magnifier: this is the one I regularly use and I have attached a head torch for illuminating the work piece. It came with four lenses but I just use the x3. It is perfect for working on small detail pieces and fittings, has a reasonable focal length and doesn't suffer from too much distortion. The problem with this type of magnifier is that it protrudes quite far forward and it is very easy to catch the rigging or yards when working close in (which can be quite disastrous!).

IMG_6852.JPG


I have tried a couple of other e-bay offerings but they, essentially, have only been fit for the recycle bin!

Twin eye loop type: these are absolutely useless! The lenses have very short focal lengths which means that you have to be a few centimetres away to focus. AAA battery lights are adjustable but weak. There are multiple lenses and magnification options, but the eye pieces can only be moved up and down with no side-to-side swivel movement, so it is almost impossible to achieve proper stereo vision and the resulting offset is a very quick way to generate a headache! Total rubbish!

IMG_6853.JPG


Spectacle type: came with multiple lenses and rechargeable battery light. They are very loose fitting on the head and the lights are very weak. I fitted a lanyard to the arms which helped to stop them slipping off but they are not very comfortable to wear for any length of time. The biggest problem is the very poor optics. The lenses are just made of thick acrylic and the focus is not very sharp. The lenses also suffer from quite a lot of achromatic distortion and have short focal lengths. Because they fit much closer to the head, they are "just" about useable for rigging work, but really cannot be used comfortably for any length of time. The distortion will definitely give you a headache after only a few minutes of use!


IMG_6854.JPG


Whilst the ones discussed above were not very expensive, paying more for some decent optical glass or plastic ones (within reason) is worth the money if they have good clarity with minimal distortion. My preference for magnification is x3, anything more is over-kill, and lower magnifications aren't as helpful when dealing with smaller scales. The focal length also needs to be reasonable otherwise you end up working with your nose a few centimetres from the work piece!

Any suggestions for something better most welcome!
 
I notice you got no response to this post. I think this is because you are already an expert in the subject. Looks like you tried everything possible but not! Some people report that they just use cheap +2.5 or +3.0 regular glasses from a dollar store. This may be a solution for rigging work. I myself use exclusively the overhead OptiVisor type you have as number one on your essay. I do not like glasses because I constantly change my vision to with and without magnification. With glasses I must lower my head down. This make my neck tired, I do not like this. With OptiVisor I rase my head up. I like this much better. Good luck finding something perfect.
 
I have to agree with YT. I would try the magnifying "reader" glasses. As for additional illumination with those you may want to consider headband lights like those used for camping.


Rob
 
Y.T. said:
I notice you got no response to this post. I think this is because you are already an expert in the subject. Looks like you tried everything possible but not! Some people report that they just use cheap +2.5 or +3.0 regular glasses from a dollar store. This may be a solution for rigging work. I myself use exclusively the overhead OptiVisor type you have as number one on your essay. I do not like glasses because I constantly change my vision to with and without magnification. With glasses I must lower my head down. This make my neck tired, I do not like this. With OptiVisor I rase my head up. I like this much better. Good luck finding something perfect.
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Generally, the low cost options use very poor quality optical plastics in the lenses that have high birefringence and are uncoated. Well, you get what you pay for. They are "useable" but are just not very good for using over any length of time before eye strain and headaches kick in. With the extended visor you can easily lose the depth perspective due to the magnification and an inadvertent head movement will snag a rope or yard causing damage. I'll keep looking around and if I find something that works well, I'll post a reply.
 
DomCee said:
Generally, the low cost options use very poor quality optical plastics in the lenses that have high birefringence and are uncoated. Well, you get what you pay for. They are "useable" but are just not very good for using over any length of time before eye strain and headaches kick in. With the extended visor you can easily lose the depth perspective due to the magnification and an inadvertent head movement will snag a rope or yard causing damage. I'll keep looking around and if I find something that works well, I'll post a reply.
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You didn't mention a budget. Binocular lenses like those your dentist probably uses are dramatically better than any of these, but they tend to be quite pricy.
Search for Dental Loupe
Something like https://orascoptic.com/en-us/dentists
 
I've tried most of these, at least similar ones, putting out a fair amount of money. I've found that inexpensive "reading" glasses, but in higher powers, work well for me. I have 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 diopter gives me a great range from super close-up to "normal" close-up. They're really light, fit low on my nose so I can see over them, and just feel natural. I agree they aren't the greatest of lenses, but so far that hasn't bothered me. But if they do, for not much more you can get quality glass versions online.
 
I've tried all of the above options, as well as a gooseneck desk lamp with light/magnifier head. I wear glasses (trifocals), so what worked for me is the VisionAid magnifier. I can wear it over my glasses, and it recharges like a phone so I don't have to deal with batteries. I got the magnifier in early 2021, so the attached Amazon info is a better deal than what I got about six years ago.

Screenshot 2026-09-12 125934.jpg
 
zippy99 said:
You didn't mention a budget. Binocular lenses like those your dentist probably uses are dramatically better than any of these, but they tend to be quite pricy.
Search for Dental Loupe
Something like https://orascoptic.com/en-us/dentists
Click to expand...
Thanks, I hadn't considered those types. Looking around, there are some low priced versions which I suspect will not have much better optics, but there are some moderately priced ones which may be an option, I'll certainly look into those. The high end professional ones stretch into the high hundreds and into the thousands for the high index, fully coated lenses, a bit too pricey for the hobby!


Dom
 
I find that an issue is just the lighting. There are lots of led options now, including daylight versions. Setting up a well lit workspace with led g10 daylight bulbs at each corner made everything much clearer, then, as mentioned, a magnifying lamp with a ring light makes it easy to place a small thing under it, or position it, on its flexi stalk, to work on a part of a model.

Keep looking - the answer is out there.

Jewellers loupes are for a very specific case, and ship models don’t really fit, as you have found. Years back, jewellers just had to bring the work very, very close to use their own eyes as a magnifying glass. Wrecked their eyesight of course.

J
 
Y.T. said:
They are custom fit so pricing only thru quotes. $4000 is not a limit. Good luck.
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Yikes! No wonder my dentist visits are so expensive!

A few years back, I purchased the OptiVisors, but discovered that my head was too big for the "one size fits all" head strap. Had to send back. I wear 7-7/8 (62.5cm) fitted baseball caps. And, fortunately, I've since just gotten by (so far) with using my regular prescription glasses for my closeup work.
 
Here is my custom made helper... I got magnifier set and separate, the head ed lamp. Then I inserted the one piece of headlamp (after slight adjustments)..

05.jpg

... and glued the lamp, it can be clearly seen two different parts glued together... now the lamp can be moved front and back..

The charging unit is glue on the side...

04.jpg

01.jpg

02.jpg

06.jpg

It works very nice, just during summer time, that black part (with some sort of sponge in it) gets very wet since I sweat a lot.

Happy modelling..
 
Steef66 said:
Just go cheap, LINK to my opinion the best there is. No headache or desoriented after

View attachment 635379

And believe me, I use it a lot to see the carvings I make.
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They may do the trick, and at the price you can buy them from Aliexpress I will certainly try a few magnifications. I do have a problem with one of my eyes which means I struggle badly if the balance is too far out (instant headache), so if these work with my existing prescription, that may compensate. It would have been nice to have a small spot light on the glasses but it is not essential, I installed plenty of adjustable lights over my bench, and have have some very powerful spots, so that I can light up the model like a surgical theatre if I want. I do have a clamp light/magnifier but since my current build is now over 48" long, it just gets in the way and I prefer my visor for most close-up work anyway. The problem with the visor is that it is a complete liability when it comes to working on rigging, and I have caught lines with it too many times (with lots of coins in the jar), which prompted this discussion.

Thanks to all for the suggestions, very useful!
 
DomCee said:
They may do the trick, and at the price you can buy them from Aliexpress I will certainly try a few magnifications. I do have a problem with one of my eyes which means I struggle badly if the balance is too far out (instant headache), so if these work with my existing prescription, that may compensate. It would have been nice to have a small spot light on the glasses but it is not essential, I installed plenty of adjustable lights over my bench, and have have some very powerful spots, so that I can light up the model like a surgical theatre if I want. I do have a clamp light/magnifier but since my current build is now over 48" long, it just gets in the way and I prefer my visor for most close-up work anyway. The problem with the visor is that it is a complete liability when it comes to working on rigging, and I have caught lines with it too many times (with lots of coins in the jar), which prompted this discussion.

Thanks to all for the suggestions, very useful!
Click to expand...
I have a Luxor magnifying glass with an LED on an articulated arm; I also have one of those headsets with an LED and various magnifying lenses, as well as one that fits over your glasses. The Luxor provides a very clear view, but if you accidentally touch it, it wobbles like crazy. Then you can’t see a thing. It’s also hard to judge depth. The headset is fine in itself, but it’s way too bulky and big. You’re sick of it after 10 minutes. Plus, you keep bumping into everything with that thing. The one that attaches to your glasses with extra lenses and a light is too heavy for the frames and falls off your nose.
No, these little clip-on glasses are ideal to use. Those other three are gathering dust somewhere in a corner here, while I always have this cheap little thing on my glasses. I even ordered four more from China yesterday, because my old ones have a few scratches. Just in case.
 
Optiviaor, and no knock offs. Real glass lens and good lighting will get you where you want. I have the 2x and its wide field of vision allows you to work on small things without eye strain. It also gave me, with my eye glasses a nice 10” or so focal length. A lighted magnifier only focuses on 1 sharp point and as soon as you move the piece you’re working on it’s out of focus along with you can’t see anything outside that narrow focus point. Those are good for pulling splinters. That’s my 2 cents. If you’re looking for an investment, get optical ground glass. Otherwise you’ll regret it. And those plastic “cheaters”, those will be better then the magnifier lamp.
 
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