Optivisor

[Zombie Master]

I bought very cheap optivisor 15 or so years ago as a trial!

Any thoughts on a good replacement? No need to spend a fortune  and any comments welcome

Thanks

A

[ithoriel]

I have Rolson's equivalent, bought from Amazon over a decade ago and it still serves me well. They are £11.60 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-60390-Loupe-Magnifier-Visor/dp/B001MJ0JW2

[zemjw]

My Optivisor is still going strong after what must be at least 20 years. If/when it needs replaced, I'll stick with the same brand.

When you say "cheap optivisor", so you mean an actual Optivisor, or a different brand of magnifier? If a different brand, treat yourself to the real thing. Your eyes will thank you

[syrinx0]

I really like my optivisor.  It wasn't cheap when I bought but its a solid quality product.

[Luigi]

I'm also in the market for more light and thought about something worn over my head.
Do you guys use it mainly for the light or do you actually use the magnifier lense?

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

I never use the light function, i find it washes out the shadows and colour  on the fig where i am working and flattens how it looks to my eye.  much harder to paint a fig than with good magnification and light from an adjustable overhead directional desk lamp.  I use a 10 or 7 most of the time. sometimes a five if just painting primer or flocking.

[carlos marighela]

My wife bought me one years ago. Hardly used, I couldn't get used to wearing the damn thing and never used the light. Instead I went to the chemists and bought a pair of cheap reading glasses with a higher magnification than the pair  I normally use for reading. Works perfectly well and cost a fraction of any optivisor.

Of course having various pairs of reading glasses I did need to wrap some masking tape around one arm and wrote 'paint' on it.

[ithoriel]

Like Aethelflaeda was framed I never use the light preferring a pair of anglepoise desk lamps. Which I can reposition as required.

I tried higher magnification reading glasses but I could never get the right balance, either too strong or not quite strong enough.

[Luigi]

uh uh, good to know.
 I definitely thought that the light would have been its main function and use.
The more you know

[Kikuchiyo]

I've been wondering about these too, I've mainly been using a desk lens and pair of reading glasses

[Norm]

I use an optivisor ‘type’ head band.

I wear it with my glasses on. My eye prescription is roughly 3.5 but a little different in each eye.

My optivisor has 4 lenses, I use the x1.8 lens which allows me to hold the model at around 8 - 10” from my eyes. A stronger lens means that the figure has to be much closer to my eye to get the sharpness and that just becomes uncomfortable to paint.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

I wear mine in conjunction with readers. Sometimes I use both lenses at the same time for greater magnification but mostly I use the like trifocals: Sometimes only through the visor, sometimes only through my readers, sometimes throughboth depending on the task.   I like the different focal lengths I can achieve that way.   I have had a gumption to add a third arm holding another hand magnifier into the mix. My number 10 visor used to have a monocle that swiveled into position for increasing the magnification but it broke. I have some 30x gem monocular loupes but the focal length is way to too small to paint with but occasionally it is nice to preview a spot with full magnification if just to know what you will be working on.

[Cosmotiger]

Late to the thread, but I still thought I'd put in my two cents- I have an optivisor, and never really liked it. Too bulky and heavy.  Most of the time I just used readers, but I bought one of these a few weeks ago, and I like it a lot:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK1J9TS7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

They're comfortable, have swappable lenses for different levels of magnification, and the light comes in handy for spotting mold lines, etc. I much prefer them to the optivisor.

[Storm Wolf]

Cosmotiger, nice 

I have found a uk amazon source for something similar this side of the pond

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MVS7NX5/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A2O1HUCSXQBSFD&psc=1

I may well get a pair

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I have an Optivisor but do not like it.

 Good lighting and reading glasses works well.