(Part 2) Best magnifiers according to redditors

magnifying headgear + light and high quality tweezers.

More challenging: finding a soldering tip that is small enough and having hands that don't shake. I can't express how frustrating it is to melt the solder and have my hand shake right before it hardens back up.

My head lamp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DW6FJ6S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My tweezers: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Precision-Tweezers-Set/IF145-060-3

Dental picks are also useful

Don't let that stop you. Most minis don't look good close up. And with my crappy vision I can't even paint anymore unless I use one of these, but don't let that stop you either.

Victorinox makes something you might find useful:
https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Compass-Ruler-Magnifying-Thermometer/dp/B000MLY7JW

this might work :P

https://www.amazon.com/light-Coasters-Flash-coasterglow-Coaster/dp/B018UKKACE

There are reading glasses that have temples and one lens which flips over to allow people to put on makeup. Now most of them are of standard over the counter powers which isn't what you need, but if you call around to optical you might be able to find a frame that is optical quality that would be able to carry your power. The better option though is to talk to your eye doc to get your allergies under better control so that you can comfortably wear contacts with allergies.

Here's a link to the readers https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-Magnifying-Flip-Makeup-Glasses/dp/B003F1R7RK&ved=0ahUKEwicxN-qjsTNAhXMrB4KHTh8BxoQFggmMAA&usg=AFQjCNHYYTiAZnDbONLvmvDqQK_Pfy212Q&sig2=dQZH497x_BnkAzI2uzYrDg

Here's my list of tools. I and not any sort of expert and by no means claim it's the best, but I've been able to do mods successfully with it!

• basic tool kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PVN1DC0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
  
• I got rid of most of the stuff from this and use the case for the things I actually use!
  
• Crystal press https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DN8QHSD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
  
• Hand presser tools
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PVPJ44Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
  
• Loupe goggles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PT8FRBS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
  
• Rodico
  
• Watch grease
  
• TOOTHPICKS
  
• rubber or vinyl gloves
  
• Bergeon dial protectors
  
• Movement holder from Crystaltimes https://crystaltimes.net/movement-holder
  
  I think that's most of it...
  
  If I had to do it over again I think I would buy this kit
  
  https://www.esslinger.com/watch-repair-deluxe-watch-tool-set/
  
  It has basically all the useful stuff short of a cheap amazon crystal press!

I did a quick search and was unable to find any large format character sheets but what about a page magnifyer?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P0B26OC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_3VntDb5E1Y1GS

They have a bunch of different types that are fairly inexpensive on Amazon. She would be able to utilize the full layout of the standard sheet and be able to see it as well as everyone else at the table.

I use an opti-visor, and while they make you look like a mad scientist and will kill your chances of romance if you wear one outside, they’re invaluable for doing detail work if your eyes are going.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnifier-Professional-Magnifying-Replaceable-Magnification/dp/B07HRM9GW9/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=optivisor&pd_rd_r=606679c9-287c-42b9-8f29-adfd37c1dfa2&pd_rd_w=IanzK&pd_rd_wg=eqdqT&pf_rd_p=801e52f8-2f92-4121-a10a-a677634e995d&pf_rd_r=CRCNQXT5P9KYS0VNKNSS&qid=1566217274&s=gateway&sr=8-16

I use something like this. Had mine for a long time, but this appears to be the updated version. Love them!

https://www.amazon.com/Headband-Magnifier-Charging-Magnifying-Replaceable/dp/B07RNCQJG3/ref=mp_s_a_1_28?adgrpid=55059392054&gclid=Cj0KCQiAno_uBRC1ARIsAB496IVT8CCN5ENeC60QmV1WZxpMow5D_Pa7otUcc8kosncjfQSrOgJ6oTgaAoi3EALw_wcB&hvadid=274706809142&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9033389&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16110174449018758139&hvtargid=kwd-322046951999&hydadcr=6716_9590983&keywords=magnifying+glasses+for+crafts&qid=1573190928&sr=8-28

Lol yeah thats presbyopia... https://www.amazon.com/Magnifying-Reading-Magnifier-Jewelry-Soldering/dp/B078GMCLG9/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=stand+magnifier&qid=1562713604&s=gateway&sprefix=stand+magni&sr=8-3

Not sure how well these work, but they sold very well when I worked retail...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HWCAOCW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_K.MVAb18V8YXP

They're basically magnifying glasses (like readers) where the lenses flip down one at a time so you can apply make up to one while seeing out of the other.

I bought this one. It’s nice because you can rotate it to get a good angle

I’ve actually found that my old iPhone 6 makes a surprisingly good low power microscope. Just hold it 6-8 inches above your PCB and use the digital zoom. Phone cameras tend to have several times the number of pixels of the screen, so you won’t even lose much quality. You also don’t really need that high resolution of an image anyway. You just need it to be bigger and well lit, so bring a lamp or flashlight.

I haven’t tried it as a soldering aid since I don’t do SMD yet. But I spent many years in biology labs manipulating sub-millimeter crystals under some really nice scopes, and I bet that a little rig to hold your phone up would work fine for hobby projects. And anyway, the price is right.

You can upgrade the rig and get some clip on lenses and a better phone arm

I use this magnifying lamp for a lot of work, but 2.25x isn’t enough for this. I think 5x would be good if they exist.

Headlamps are also an option, and this one does up to 13x.

I use this pretty much 7 to 8 hours a day for soldiering and electronic repair.

https://www.amazon.com/Beileshi-Magnifier-Professional-Interchangeable-Magnifying/dp/B00KAU5FSC/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?keywords=Magnifying+headset&qid=1567833767&s=gateway&sr=8-20-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySjdOUlFBWVQwUjZZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzg1MDEyM0daSkhDQzZQTlVSUiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTYzMTk4MTQwVkdGSDBDN0NBRSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

I like it okay, as it's very light and small, I like that I can adjust the focal length to suit my needs in the moment. I pretty much find myself going between the 2.5 and 3.5x lenses depending on what I'm doing. I also like that it's fairly low profile, so if someone needs to talk to me, or I need to glance at a schematic I can look around the lens with great ease.

The cons? I've had this for around 3 months, and I can tell the plastic clamp that holds the lens on is getting a bit worn, although no failure yet. Also, the light is useless. It works alright when the coin cells are brand new, but they quickly drop off. Even when they are new, it's not as if the leds are worth the trouble of constantly changing the coin cells.

If you want to solve those problems, I also have used this one extensively:

https://www.amazon.com/MagniPros-Illuminated-Headband-Magnifier-Detachable/dp/B071GWM9QN/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=Magnifying+headset&qid=1567833767&s=gateway&sr=8-19

I like it, but it's a bit bigger than the one I have now, thus it's a bit harder to look around without moving the lens. However, the light works a LOT better, as it runs on aaa cells. I don't find myself depending on the light in the headset very often anyway, so it may just not be that important to me.

For reference, I'm doing some mount soldering, and a lot of very small cable terminations, and I'd say my head is usually able to get my object in focus at a foot to a half a foot with either of these headsets. At this point, I cannot do my job without this tool effectively, so I've been shopping around, and I've yet to find a version of this that is worth sinking any money into.

Hope this helps!

Unfortunately I couldn't find it on bb&b, but searching "makeup magnifying glasses" on Amazon turned up results. Here's a link to one, it's just the first one I saw so that I could show you an idea of what it looks like.
https://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-Magnifying-Flip-Makeup-Glasses/dp/B003F1R7RK

When you managed to get it apart again make sure the ribbon cable is not overlapping and secured correctly. Also use a magnifying lens to make sure that there is no static discharge damage to the circuit board.

This is correct. You can actually use any analog watch as a compass, assuming you can see the sun, and the watch is on time. If you want an actual compass, they are dirt cheap. There are also quite a few cool Swiss army knives with compass.

I use one of these and a fiskars hand drill and it helps a TON.

I was about to criticize this as another Games Workshop money grab like their extremely overpriced sprue clippers. But I looked at the pictures and it is pretty slick. It has all the features I've been looking for in a toolbox.

Namely the lid is used as a mini table and the awesome paint pot tray.

To add to this I'd say two things I'd suggest adding is a basic desk lamp, put a 75w equivalent Daylight bulb in it. And also get a set of headband magnifying glasses. Like this. Donegan DA-2 OptiVISOR Headband Magnifier, 1.5X Magnification Glass Lens Plate, 20" Focal Length https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EM98KM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2YUPzbHKNRW9W

Not saying you need this exact set. But something like this.

Those two things will make any mobile workspace way more enjoyable.

I agree with /u/WATTSOFNOISE Its a good guide to get started. I would advise against going with a cheap soldering iron. I went with this Hakko one after going through two cheap ones. Instead of eye protection I would go with a headband magnifier. Even fancier get one with a light on it.

AI Synthesis modules are great to get started as well. I've built six of their kits and each one has great step by step instructions and works great as well.

Does anyone use magnifying glasses while building? I just started back into gunpla building (from a 15 year hiatus) and I found this item to be super useful:

Hands Free Headband Magnifying... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PZ6BB9Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I’m just posting the link for discussion, not promotion. There are many different types of this piece of equipment. Hopefully some of you would find devices like this useful!

lol here is a link i was sent to perform this miraculous task.. https://www.amazon.com/light-Coasters-Flash-coasterglow-Coaster/dp/B018UKKACE

Tiny brush and a magnifier work wonders!

I got one of these and prop it up so I can use it hands-free:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077W95VHB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm also curious about this. It would really help for some of the really small head pieces on HG/RG kits. I have to imagine you'd want something with light similar to what people use for small soldering work or jewelry, etc.

I could see myself getting this (having only done 30 seconds of research)

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Magnifier-Folding-Light-Jumbo/dp/B075MHXC66/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511905963&sr=8-4&keywords=hands+free+magnifying+glass

You can get magnifying makeup glasses: https://www.amazon.com/Women-Makeup-Magnifying-Glasses-Reading/dp/B01HWCAOCW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQw-G7_9GrE

Not sure how well they work though.

Thanks! My painting is nothing special :) Once I bought one of these lamps:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fluorescent-Daylight-Flexible-Magnifying-Position/dp/B000B8JNWM/ref=lp_3764804031_1_6?s=lighting&ie=UTF8&qid=1494854565&sr=1-6

Then it is just a case of using a small layer brush for everything. You'd be amazed what a difference it makes when you have no shadows on your model. Often I think it looks really shit when I am painting through the magnifying glass, but when its on the table it looks good.

My hands are shaky as fuck, only the lamp and the tiny brush redeems me!

I found the frame on thingverse (this one, although this looks even better). The Fresnel lenses were something like this. Cut the center out of both of them to size and tape around the edges with the smooth sides together.

Don't both with a magnifying glass. Unless her eyes are poor magnification doesn't provide much benefit - the brush increase in size right along with the miniature

I do have problems with my close in vision so I bought this to aid me. I think you can find the exact same thing cheaper on amazon if you look.

As for lighting, I prefer lights with lots of surface area to make sure shadows are soft. This is what I use.

Edit because I forgot to include my bonafides.

Buy a square magnifying glass and cut the plastic handle off. Use the new glass lens to replace the cheap plastic lens that comes with the V2s. It's a bit heavier but this will make a huge difference. Just hot glue it in, it's a perfect fit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZB8NW0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

You'll also want to mount the screen to the outside of the case. This will improve the clarity.

I'm going to buy a cheap pair of ski goggles and hot glue them to the front of the case for more cushion.

Cardboard will not work with any regular games, since it requires the display to be split into two separate images, and looking at a regular game in Cardboard is a good way to induce headache.

I don't know of any head mount like the one you are looking for, but it is pretty easy to build one yourself with an existing cardboard box. Just make sure you use one large lens with about 3X magnification and place it about 10cm/4 inches away from the screen.

By using one lens (e.g. a rectangular fresnel reading loupe, preferably the size of your screen) both eyes will easily see the full screen. This doesn't work well with two lenses like in Cardboard, even if you use lenses with much larger focal length/lower magnification, as you will get a lot more distortion when looking through the edges of the lenses, or your vision will be completely blocked. The primary function of the lens here is not to make the image larger like in VR, but to allow your eyes to focus on the screen at close distance, so you can actually place into some kind of headset.

I tried it with a handheld magnifier similar to this one because I wanted to walk around in the Epic Citadel tech demo with a bluetooth controller, and it worked just fine. Be aware that looking around with a controller is a great way to get motion sick.

Here's a thing. It would help with my watchmaking so I don't go blind.

I don't get a lof of daylight in my painting room so I use a Lightcraft Flexible Magnifier Lamp :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000B8JNWM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

Seems it's not being sold anymore, apparently this is the update but I can't ouch for that exact model :)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lightcraft-LC8076-SlimLine-Magnifier-Lamp/dp/B00D853G82/ref=dp_ob_title_hpc