Is OptiVisor still the top choice?

dazz · Apr 18, 2021

Hi
I need an Optivisor type magnifier. I need something in the range of 3 to 5 dioptre.

In past years this forum advice leans toward Optivisor.
Are there now cheaper/better options?

The prices vary here by a factor of 10x.

Dazz

mnl · Apr 18, 2021

The lenses on the Optivisor are glass and high quality. At least they used to be, mine is years old. The “better” question depends on your requirements. The ultimate would be binocular loupes, these can be professionally fit to account for the differences between eyes. They may be worth it if you always work at the same distance, otherwise the Optivisor with a set of lenses is a reasonable solution. High quality loupes are probably 10x cost of Optivisor.

rons · Apr 18, 2021

I was just considering making a change to mine. Last project I was flipping it up and using a loupe.
I was using a #4 lense.

I'm going to make a replacement plate out of clear plastic and screw it to the lens mount. I removed
the two black plastic buttons and replaced them 4-40's.The idea is to bore a hole into the plastic
and insert the loupe. Will have to check the prices of the Optivisor lens.

Cheap was my originally opinion of these Optivisor's, was something cheap and I didn't need. That was wrong.

PeteM · Apr 18, 2021

As mnl sugtests, the best alternatives are the lens systems you might have seen your dentist using. Excellent optics and long working distances. Good ones seem to run in the $1K and up range.

I once tried a cheap clone that looked much the same and cost maybe $150 new. It didn't adjust for diopter differences between the eyes and was no better than an Optivisor. I sent it back.

If you can do your work at a bench, you might get better and brighter images and a wider field of view by working under a decent stereo microscope.

mnl · Apr 18, 2021

I too bought a less expensive set of loupes, more to try them and see if I wanted to spend big bucks. Mine were adjustable for each eye, but I rapidly discovered that I didn’t work at a consistent enough distance to make them worth the while. I had a full Optivisor kit, so a just bought a second headband. Having two working distances is more than twice as good as having just one. If all else fails I can resort to the stereo microscope.

richard newman · Apr 18, 2021

I've been using optivisors for many years, couldn't do without them. I have the led lighting system which is also a must. But ya gotta remember to shut it off, or it drains the 9v battery.

As others have mentioned, the downside is short focal length. I occasionally use mine for engraving, and it's tough on the body hunching over, not to mention feeling like I'm about to shove the graver up my nose! But I can't justify the expense for a quality stereo microscope or binocular loupes. The microscope is the preferred solution for engraving, as the work stays in the same place.

edit- I wrote "optivisors" plural, as I lost mine, and then of course it turned up right after I replaced it! Gotta be a name for that phenomenon...

HuFlungDung · Apr 18, 2021

I have a couple of Optivisor and they are just ok.

I also have a couple of the Grobet headband magnifiers (available from Travers Tool) which I prefer. The latter comes with a set of different lenses that you can plug into the headpiece in two different locations to help get the focal distance better. You can also tilt the lens forward and back to improve focus. The headband also has a real nice two way adjustable cinch band so you can get the thing to sit properly on your head. The LED light is also useful in certain situations. It is quite a bit heavier though, but I don't wear it for hours at a time.

I also have a binocular headband I got on Ebay. It is fairly expensive, but it is nice for those situations where you cannot get your head in close enough. For example, trying to see the first touch of a tool in a bore in a running lathe, or trying to set the thread tool to chase an existing internal thread. First set I got, I misjudged the operating distance. When they say measure the distance from the part being examined, they mean the distance from the objective, not from your eye. So the first one I tried, I wasn't tall enough to get things in focus at the lathe.

To round things out, I have a toolmaker's stereo microscope that I got from Shars. I probably use it the most, as it is very comfortable to use. In this biz, if you can't see what you are doing, then you're NOT doing, so you gotta spend what you gotta spend to see.

CarbideBob · Apr 18, 2021

HuFlungDung said:
..,..

I also have a binocular headband I got on Ebay. .

Yes for a real different experience try surgical or dental loupes. You can get decent in the plus $100 range.
Long standoff and a bit weird at first.
Working a .010 endmill in your B-port and these help so much.
Optivisor and the ilk are so much more natural to use but you have to get your head in, way in.
I have both.
Bob

jim rozen · Apr 18, 2021

Best part of the optivisor is the Doctor Science thing that goes on when you wear it. "Yes Billy, this is how we take apart a nuclear bomb....."

Erich · Apr 18, 2021

When you can't find your optivisor, check your forehead! DAMHIKT.

Second trick when it is misplaced. Loudly announce in the presence of others that you are a complete idiot and can not find your optivisor. Within moments the other person or you will locate said visor in a place that you just checked a moment ago. Never fails

woodchuckNJ · Apr 18, 2021

I went with 3.0 reading glasses. Don't laugh, they are great. Light weight, economical, for me they were much better than working under a lighted magnifier.

it's not for everyone, but for $20, it's cheap enough to see how you feel about it.

rons · Apr 18, 2021

jim rozen said:
Best part of the optivisor is the Doctor Science thing that goes on when you wear it. "Yes Billy, this is how we take apart a nuclear bomb....."

One thing I noticed is that when I move the visor up and down one of the clamp screws unscrews slightly. So maybe a left hand thread on one side.

rons · Apr 18, 2021

It would be cool to have stereo vision glasses that adjust for vision, brightness, contrast, magnification.
They would probably look like something Elton John would wear. I would find something like that useful.

Terminator style LCD display with measurement graphs and Machinery index.
You look at something and you get a computer generated measurement drawing.

dkmc · Apr 18, 2021

Here's a start
https://www.joom.com/en/products/5dc4dcac28fc7101015957f2

rons said:
It would be cool to have stereo vision glasses that adjust for vision, brightness, contrast, magnification.
They would probably look like something Elton John would wear. I would find something like that useful.

Terminator style LCD display with measurement graphs and Machinery index.
You look at something and you get a computer generated measurement drawing.

rons · Apr 18, 2021

For a start I got an idea for a swing away loupe or magnifier for the headband. See the loupe at the bottom of this page.
The page also gives you a magnification factor for each lens part number, #10 = 3.5X. i would get that one.

OptiVisor Headband Magnifier | Aven Tools

sfriedberg · Apr 18, 2021

Yeah, I have a couple of sets of Optivisors in different lens strengths, and the little swingaway auxiliary lens is pretty handy on the set I use for circuit board inspection.

dazz · Apr 18, 2021

Hi
I already have a range of magnification aids.

These include:
various loupes, mostly 5x, 10x but I sometimes use 15x,
cheap plastic reading glasses, 2 to 3 dioptres,
old Watson stereo microscope.

I don't tend to use these aids for long periods of time, so super high quality is not a requirement. Good plastic lens are adequate.
I know these are not safety glasses but with plastic lens there is little risk of shards if the lens get hit.

Everyone says good things about the Optivisor, but the design looks like something out of the 1960s Russian space programme. They should have updated the design years ago.

I am thinking I will buy a cheap Chinese updated Optivisor type device and try it out. From there I might consider forking out the $$$$ for a real Optivisor.

Dazz

woodchuckNJ · Apr 18, 2021

dazz said:
Hi
I already have a range of magnification aids.

These include:
various loupes, mostly 5x, 10x but I sometimes use 15x,
cheap plastic reading glasses, 2 to 3 dioptres,
old Watson stereo microscope.

I don't tend to use these aids for long periods of time, so super high quality is not a requirement. Good plastic lens are adequate.
I know these are not safety glasses but with plastic lens there is little risk of shards if the lens get hit.

Everyone says good things about the Optivisor, but the design looks like something out of the 1960s Russian space programme. They should have updated the design years ago.

I am thinking I will buy a cheap Chinese updated Optivisor type device and try it out. From there I might consider forking out the $$$$ for a real Optivisor.

Dazz

why ? is the looks important?

from what I know the visor is very light weight. I think that's why they don't do all this plastic injection molding that makes it heavier and brittle.

I'm not a fashionista like you... so maybe I don't know better :eek:

dgfoster · Apr 18, 2021

So, an optivisor with 3 lens sets cost 23 bucks on Amazon. Optivisor has not been surpassed in the 40+ years I’ve used em. Until someone shows me something better I’ll continue to use them. Since I get 20 years or more out of an Optivisor I figure that’s about a buck a year. I like mine a lot and use them often. I also have a rarely-used dissecting microscope that is occasionally essential, and a 4” ring light magnifier used fairly often. And, for honed cutting-edge inspection one of those 5 dollar 40-power tiny magnifiers does its unique job. Once a year or so I fire up my S-T optical comparator. But the Opti gets it done 90% of the time.

Denis

sfriedberg · Apr 19, 2021

The one thing I dislike about my particular Optivisors is the way the headband pulls open. More accurately, the band wants to be round, and if I tighten the knob to get a secure fit, the tension in the band overcomes the detent in the knob mechanism and loosens way up. Someday (not any time soon, for sure) I make take a Jackson 370 headgear (which I like and have fit to various welding helmets) and see if I can mount the front part of the Optivisor on the Jackson headgear.

Is OptiVisor still the top choice?

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