Best magnifying/lighting method for bad eyesight?

[Xantippos]

My father has recently had AMD (macular degeneration) diagnosed in his eyes, which makes it now impossible to model, because of distortion and bluryness. With a small magnifying glass he can read, do crosswods, etc, so with a good magnification and lighting, he should be able to model again.

 

I have bought him fresnel lens, but these are plastic and flimsy, and really don't do the job. One of them is 3x and rigid, but is not enough, and besides, the plastic is not really suitable, as is not very clear.

 

I have looked at the Tamiya working station, but besides being around 150 GBP, the magnifying glass seems very small.

 

What would you recommend? I was thinking of getting some glass magnifier, something mounted on a stand or similar, and probably better if coupled with a strong light, but have browsed pages on end on Amazon and eBay, and it seems either too small lens, or dubious general quality.

 

Thanks for reading .

[Pete F]

Have you considered something like an Optivisor. It's the only way I can do the small stuff these days. Unlike a stand mounted magnifier it is just like wearing powerful glasses and once you get used to it you will wonder how you managed without it.

 

There is a Britmodeller thread here about the alternatives. I suspect many more are present on this site (search using Google is best).

 

 

[Stef N.]

What Pete F suggests are a great idea @Xantippos. I couldn't work without them either and they don't cost a fortune.👍

[Xantippos]

Many thanks . At first I thought this as cumbersome and expensive, but maybe I will buy them and see how they go.

[Bandsaw Steve]

What about making a visit to your dad’s Optometrist and seeing if they can prescribe something appropriate.

 

I am lucky that I have good eyesight for my age, but during a routine prescription check for reading glasses I mentioned to the Optometrist that I build models and do a lot of close-up work. He suggested getting a special close-focus set, to my prescription, and I’ve used them ever since. I’ve hardly used an optivisor  since.

 

Obviously your dad has more eyesight issues than I did, but maybe something customised for modelling that matches his specific prescription might be helpful. 
 

 

 

[Xantippos]

The problem is that due to his current condition, it is not recommended to get new glasses until it is more stable, as the bluriness and distortion goes varying from time to time. When he indeeds gets a new glasses, I will mention it. But in the short term, I think I will get one of those optivisors.

[Markh-75]

I got these from Scamazon.

 

 

Absolute RUBBISH. Sent it back.

The  pack of lenses were missing, the lenses in the glasses were not properly fitted and the flap down set kept falling back down, would not stay up out of the way.

 

Clue; four letter word starting with C*** meaning duff, trash, no use;  C _ _ _.

 

My readers are no longer suitable for modelling, I can't see properly in them for modelling. There is an absence of sellers of good optics suitable for modelling, so I dont know where to go to buy them. I dont know what to do now and I can't build if I can't see. I'm not spending any more money on trash and have cancelled my membership with Scamazon; purveyors of POOP.

[Mike]

24 minutes ago, Markh-75 said:

Absolute RUBBISH. Sent it back.

You can't beat the original and best - the Optivisor by Donegan.  Choose your lens power for the visor, or buy the lot if you're feeling flush, and enjoy being able to see again.  I'm currently using lens set #5, which I think is about 2.5x magnification.  They aren't cheap, but they are damn good.  I'm still rocking my original one that I got when I came back to the hobby before I set up the forum

[dnl42]

Optivisors are also repairable! Seriously, just get a set. I also primarily use a #5 lens plate and find its magnification and depth of field good; higher magnifications are available.

[Markh-75]

I can't afford them. The only ones I've seen are in fleabay and they are in the £60 to £80 range and about £40 P & P. Nobody in UK seems to sell them either.🙄

[Mike]

4 minutes ago, dnl42 said:

Optivisors are also repairable!

Spare parts are readily available.  F'rinstance, one of my plastic clasps on the lens plate had gone soft, and I had to put a piece of styrene to spread the prongs sufficiently to hold it in place.  I was looking at the lenses and spotted you can get alternative short bolts to replace them.  A couple of quid later and I was happy again.  I know I could have got some generic bolts, but these were as cheap as generic and guaranteed to fit.

 

Beware of the screw-in loupe though, as I dropped my visor with it attached, and the shock travelled down the attachment rod, breaking the plastic surround of the glass lens.  I took the opportunity to increase magnification, and consigned the loupe to the cupboard, as I have a hard floor in the workshop.  That's another thing - the genuine lenses are ground from glass, so have a much higher optical fidelity, and aren't affected if you splash harsh chemicals on them.  Neither are the plastics... ask me how I know

[Markh-75]

14 minutes ago, Mike said:

You can't beat the original and best - the Optivisor by Donegan.  Choose your lens power for the visor, or buy the lot if you're feeling flush, and enjoy being able to see again.  I'm currently using lens set #5, which I think is about 2.5x magnification.  They aren't cheap, but they are damn good.  I'm still rocking my original one that I got when I came back to the hobby before I set up the forum

2.5 X magnification, at what range? I'd like to be able to see what I'm painting on the table or in my hand.

[Mike]

2 minutes ago, Markh-75 said:

I can't afford them. The only ones I've seen are in fleabay and they are in the £60 to £80 range and about £40 P & P. Nobody in UK seems to sell them either.🙄

It's curious that no-one sells them here.  I was lucky to buy mine when the USD was 2:1 with the GBP, and a big box of stuff from MicroMark whistled through customs without even a raised eyebrow

[Mr Bowcat]

Sorry to hear about your dad, my dad also has macular degeneration so I know a bit about it. My dad is now at the stage where he only has peripheral vision.

 

As you are no doubt aware it's the central portion of the vision that is affected, AMD is often referred to as tunnel vision. I mention this because you may want to get him to try some optivisors before you buy them, I'm not sure they will be a massive help as they tend to magnify whats directly in front of the eye, and obviously that's the part that's failing.

[Mike]

11 minutes ago, Markh-75 said:

2.5 X magnification, at what range? I'd like to be able to see what I'm painting on the table or in my hand.

It's about 18cm from my nose that it starts to lose focus.  I don't like holding things too far away anyway, as it's harder to see what you're doing, and your arms are extended too.  Works for me

[Markh-75]

We put together and bought my Options-visor, ordered this morning.

 

I ordered them with the No.  #4 lens, giving me up to 10" (Oh-er!) viewing coz I'm a big bloke wiv big arms; if it turns out through time that if I need another set of lenses I can always buy them. These come with exacting standards, such as lenses made from precision ground glass lenses (none of this plastic stuff). PEL who I ordered from have a Royal crest, and are actually based in a little town called Diss, which is very close to the 100th Bomb Group Museum at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk; I could have gone and collected them on my holidays but that's not for another 4 weeks; I have a very nice model to crack on with, so when they come I can get a bit closer to completion of that before I go. P&P is only £3.95 so I tho't wot the 'eck, and ordered them. It says delivery could be up to 28 days!!!!! but I think they'll come quicker than that.

Now I'm happy (even though I had a bad night last night!)

 

 

[Markh-75]

ITS ARRIVED!!! Its arrived!

My Opti-visor came this morning and though they looked rather like the cheap ones I previously bought (and sent back immediately) the difference is in the lens! Both are GLASS lenses! I bought the visor with the DA4 lens giving me unto around 10" of focal length at 2X magnification  (so that I can be comfortable with small models and the larger ones; ever tried to hold a large model closer? and nearly get poked in the eye with the wing that was so close that you didnt see it?😂).

If I need to I can always buy another lens set for them, I just make sure its for the Opti-visor.

Thanks to Mike and everyone for keeping going with the recommendation of these, eventually I saw the light, and I wont regret it!👍