Binocular loupes

hi Neil,
thanks for the link

one thing, these do not flip up…

julie

hi again Vera,

so with the scope and your CO bifocals…you are looking thru the single vision reading portion of the lens, yes?

i am going to test my SV and MD glasses again, now that I have figured out the scope!

julie

Hi Julie,

…these do not flip up…

No, they don’t, but their price is relatively low for someone who might want that style. Just sharing what I’ve found.

I’ve searched for loupes a number of times previously and gotten nowhwere. Sheervision has the greatest selection of any source I’ve seen.

I have an eye exam in late October. Do I get flip-ups that can have lenses added then? Or do I get clip-ons for my present glasses now? I’m old enough to remember this old song:

“First you say you do
And then you don’t
And then you say you will
And then you won’t
You’re undecided now
So what are you gonna do?”

Right now I’m…Undecided. :confused:

2 Likes

hi Neil,
I must correct myself!
i dived in deeper and saw that they do indeed also offer flip up,?snd! clip on!

and yes, they offer a bigger range of magnification!

on their banner there is a pair with circles…looks like for interchanging loupes…?…:thinking: very interesting!



thank you again!

julie

2 Likes

here is an article linked on the sheer vision website discussing coaxial misalignment…interesting…good to know…

julie

1 Like

hi,

sorry to post again, but i also wanted to mention that nose pads and how close or far the actual glasses lens is from your face can affect how you see…

as well as the height and size of the lens itself…

ie: when i got my latest progressives (that i now love!)
i actually got two pairs…#1 was in an existing frame, # 2 was in a new bigger frame with nosepads added…

i got #1 and was esctatic! they worked perfectly

i got # 2 a week later and they seemed “off”…
i thought “oh no, here we go again…”
i went back a few times…fiddled with the glasses…and i realized that when i lifted them up a bit and pushed them closer to my face, eureka! they were now perfect as well…

i just wanted to mention this…
i struggle…

julie

2 Likes

hi again

(omg! i am now obsessed)

so…what i find interesting about the sheer vision binocular loupes, versus the optivisors…is that they have much longer WD working distances…i am trying to wrap my brain around that concept…

ie:
my #10 optivisors (3.5 times magnification)
have a WD of 4”, which can be a bit too close st times…

the sheer vision and CO loupes allow for more WD…

interesting…

to compare:
my leica scope head is about 10” high, and then the WD is about 6” between the bottom of the scope to the work piece…about 16” total…my ball shelf can be at my waist or almost down on my lap…depending…


Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I am astonished by the prices you all are quoting for these magnfiers. I would buy a boomstand stereo microscope for these prices and get magnification of about 3.5X up to 20X with 5X eyepieces. I have used the Harbor Freight knock off optivisor that goes from 1.5X to 3.5X and even milked a little more out of it by setting two of the lenses one behind the other in the frame. The strongest Optivisor lens is the #10, which is 3.5X and you can add another 2.5X to one eye with the swing away monocle. Also, Chinese knock-offs of the magnifiers you are illustrating are available for about $80-$150 last time I looked on ebay. You just have to find the right search words. There are lots up to 4X and some longer versions go to 6X…they have a telephoto design. You do have to watch for the working distance, which I think is about 14 inches for the 6X, which might involve backing off a little and finding the limited field of view. Anyway, if you have the cash to spend on the premium optics, they MIGHT be better…I think it is probably jeweler snobbery and possibly vision insurance driving the prices of these, but that’s just my speculation. I hope you all find what you are looking for…not being able to see to do our work is annoying! -royjohn

1 Like

Hi Royjohn,

I would buy a boomstand stereo microscope for these prices and get magnification of about 3.5X up to 20X

I have one. First, getting the scope and the piece aligned, and realigned when I move the work, and relaigned again and again and again is a pain. And to change tools it is on with the eyeglasses to find the tool and then off with them and back to the scope… It really gets in the way of getting things done. Maybe people who can wear glasses with a scope, or who don’t wear glasses can adjust to a scope better. For me it is a last resort.

On the other hand, with strong loupes, I can turn the piece, or move my head a bit, and everything moves along. Its like having good, young eyes!

The strongest Optivisor lens is the #10, which is 3.5X

Have one. Working distance is 4 inches. Try that for a while. Your eyes go cross-eyed, literally, at that distance. Headaches? For sure.

Chinese knock-offs of the magnifiers you are illustrating are available for about $80-$150 last time I looked on ebay.

I bought a Chinese ring light, which I liked a LOT and commented on at the time here. After a few hours use they died. There was a time (1950’s) when Made in Japan meant junk. They got serious about quality and now Made in Japan, if you can get it, means quality. China is in the earlier stage. I don’t see wasting $150 as being a smart move.

I think it is probably jeweler snobbery and possibly vision insurance driving the prices of these

I have 15-16 years invested in trying to improve my skills and a lot of $$ invested in tools, and fading eyes are putting all that in jeopardy. I don’t spend $1000 a year on cable TV, zero on tobacco, zero on lattes (which people do spend $6 a day on, or more) so I can handle the price of good optics. It isn’t snobbery. More like desperation?

…not being able to see to do our work is annoying!

Debilitating, actually.

Regards,
Neil

Here I’ll add another thought: My Leica microscope (maybe all microscopes?) have a protocol for adjusting to your eyes. You can adjust to your naked eyes or adjust to your bespectacled eyes. I want to be able to leave my CraftOptics on all the time…no taking them off to use the scope. So I ran the initial adjustment protocol with my CO lenses on.

Also, if you want to keep your glasses on during bench work and scope work, it would be necessary to have the flip-up capability.

And in respect to working distance, if your bench is set up for you to work at the height of your xiphoid process (the bony lump at the base of your sternum) your working distance will probably be around 14 inches.

Julie, yes I am looking through the single vision closeup area at the bottom of the bifocals when I’m using the scope with CO.

And I notice that the SheerVision flip up with bifocal costs over twice as much as the CO. The SheerVision lets you choose a higher magnification than CO, and that may in fact be needed if doing tiny detail or tiny stones and not using a scope. Interesting set of choices…

2 Likes

Hey Neil and all…
Neil, I didn’t see where you actually specified what you want, so IDK what would work for you. You’d have to specify your working distance and the magnification. As far as lighting, I have several lamps on swing arms I can move about and don’t yet have a ringlight on the scope. Maybe later. Headlamps can go with the glasses or be added on another band rather easily.

As far as scopes go, there is a boomstand type scope that has a scissors arrangement like a swingarm lamp…they are not very expensive and allow you to swivel several feet and to in and out a couple of feet, too. This might work for you for some stuff. More flexible than a typical “T” type boom. I don’t use my glasses with the scope, but I may try to learn how, as I am always loosing my glasses on the bench. Maybe I can get a flip up pair to use with the scope.

I understand about the #10 optivisor…I had trouble with the #7 being a too close working distance. That’s what the compound lenses with the adjustable interpupillary distance are supposed to help with. Any of them should deal with your eyestrain issues. I see them available on ebay with 3.5X to 6X magnification and working distances of about 12-14 inches and depth of field of about 60-80mm, with a field of view of about 65mm. They are priced at $35 go $150, with the stronger ones costing more. If I were worried about wasting money, I would get a pair without the lights, which are the part which could go bad and use other lighting.

Now you mentioned that your ringlight went bad. Well, a ringlight is not a piece of glass. I suppose the glasses could fall apart, but it is less likely…you are comparing apples and oranges there. I am not telling anybody to spend $50 instead of $750. If you have the money and want to spend it on a premium magnifier, knock yourself out. I personally wonder if this magnifier isn’t made in China, too. This happens a lot. Maybe they are gussied up more or have better marketing or maybe a better guarantee, but are they actually a different, better optic? I wonder. I’ll call them tomorrow, but I bet they won’t tell me where they are made.

Good luck with your purchase, whatever you decide! If I buy some glasses, I’ll go with a cheaper pair and save the extra $500 towards a new rolling mill. -royjohn

Neil,
Did you ever find a Binocular Loupe that you liked and if so, which one? My eyesight is starting to fade more rapidly and my #4 Optivisor just isn’t helping me as much as it did before, so I’m looking for something to change that. I don’t wear prescription glasses, so that may be where I should look first, but I thought that I would ask to see if you had ever found something that you liked. I was looking at the Craft Optics Glasses, but at 2X, I’m not sure if that would be much better than my Optivisor. Any thoughts or advice? Thank You!
Jonathan

Hi Neil,
did i ever mention, regarding working under the scope, that the below new benchmate QCX has a bracket that stays centered…?

i have the original benchmate and GRS sold me the newn bracket components, which fits the original ringholder…big improvement.

julie

It may be a bit off topic but I broke down and got a set of bifocal glasses for when I am at the bench. The upper lens for far distance is set to focus well at about 3 feet so I can see everything on my bench clearly.
The lower bifocal part is set at about 1.5 feet which is just about where my bench pin is. It also magnifies a slight bit.
Man do I LOVE them!
It makes everything much easier to see and I do not have to worry about getting everything right perfectly in my field of the magnifiers like I used to. I can when needed just use my optivisor when I need it and that is better because the focus is already set to where I need to work.

1 Like

Hi Jonathan,

It is a long story. Short answer, I never got binocular loupes.

I like the ophthalmologist I see. His lab is another matter. They ‘lost’ my new glasses and when they were replaced (this took many weeks) they were no good - again - 3rd time in a row.

I do not understand why they have such expensive and high tech diagnostic equipment, and when it comes to making the glasses, they have someone sit across a desk from me and put a dot on each lens supposedly where my pupils are - by eye , not measurement - from 3 feet away. I don’t want to get into a rant but the person who does it keeps missing. I wear progressive focus glasses so ocular distance is critical. Third time and she’s out.

I paid to do it all over again with a different office at which time I was out serious $$. The glasses they made work well though.

I also got single focus glasses for a flip-down loupe (from both places) and neither focused at ‘benchwork’ distances. So I’m kind of burned out (or burnt) by the whole eyeglass thing.

Neil A

1 Like

Neil,
I am so sorry, that is truly frustrating, I have had similar issues over the years with some medical conditions that several Doctors couldn’t figure out or even compounded and made them worse, so much so, I quit going altogether (I haven’t been to a Doctor for anything in over 10 years and I’ve felt all the better for it!)… Unfortunately for the both of us, our eyes are one of our most important tools, if not the most important, but as always, we endeavour on and make do with what we have… Thankfully, all of our years of hard work doing this over and over and over again, makes coping a little bit easier, at least I hope that it does… (shaking my head)

I still remember the “good old days”, when I could look at a .005 Diamond and count the facets on it with my naked eye, now I look at a .005 Diamond with my Optivisor or a Loupe and I think, well, it’s a little sparkly, so I guess it’s probably a Diamond… :wink:

Hang in there…
Jonathan