Thinking of buying a Optivisor - Any suggestions?

[Hu Rhu]

As the title says I am thinking of investing in an Optivisor (or similar) to aid my painting.  I currently use a desk mounted magnification lens/light designed for those who paint ladies nails but I wanted to be able to take it to other locations and it is a bit big to be lugging around.

Any recommendations as to make/model, advice on using it or any pitfalls that I should know about before making a purchase?

Thanks.

[zemjw]

I bought my Optivisor probably coming up on 20 years ago now It's in use multiple times a week and I have no complaints (other than it magnifies both the figure and the brush, while I only really want it to magnify the figure ) I use it while wearing prescription glasses without any problems.

There are different magnifications and focal lengths, so check what you need first. Mine is a number 5, which apparently is 2.5x magnification with a focal length of 8".

It doesn't have any lights or anything, just the basic model.

[Dags]

Again a Donegan Optivisor  - no. 3 lens which came with it  - when I got it, 15? years ago, only used it for detail work now used for everything. Was about £40 then, which I thought at the time was s lot of money but now seems like a bargain.

[Pan Marek]

I've been thinking about getting one of these too.  How does one figure out what one needs?   Aside from trying them on.   I think I'd need to buy one on line.  Is there a correlation with eye exam results?  For example, I wear glasses.

[Captain Blood]

Gary, I bought one a couple of years back when my distance vision was restored to 20:20 following double cataract lens replacement, but my close vision - previously tip-top - was completely screwed 

I bought one of these...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B000BPWPRK?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Takes a little getting used to, but works a treat.

I think you can get different strength lenses to clip onto the front, but this level of magnification seems fine for me.

One does look like a complete tit when wearing it though, so never answer the door in it

[BZ]

Can You wear glasses while using it?

[Citizen Sade]

Yes, you can.

[BZ]

Thanks!

[fred]

I got one of these cheap magnifiers (£7) from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07H4ZZSCL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Very light, works great over glasses

[Hu Rhu]

Thanks for all the great advice.  Do any of you use one with built in light (do any come with that?) or do I have to have a separate light source?

[Citizen Sade]

Donegan have a clip on light as an optional extra for their Optivisor. I didn’t bother getting one and just use a desktop hobby lamp with a daylight bulb myself.

FWIW, I was advised to go for the number 3 and 5 lenses. I only ever use the 3.