Which magnavisor is best?

coberg1 · Post by **coberg1** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:37 am

Experiencing a very frustrating phenomena. The twenty dollar optical visor i bought a ways back at the local hobbyshop has the effect of changing the way angles look through the lens. While carefully lining up a rail for a bend i look through the lens, looks great, carefully make the bend, still looking great, take off the visor and presto, out of square bend.
i don't have a lot of experience with these visors but am familiar with this effect. in the rifle shooting world we call this effect parralax.
My question is will a better quality visor cure this and if so can someone recommend a brand or type? the ol' eyes are getting older and do need some help these days. i like the magnifying aspect but don't like the shift in focus. with rifle optics throwing more money at the problem usually cures the problem if you choose wisely, so i'm asking for help choosing. what do you guys use? or is this something you just have to deal with?
(i'm sure a hold and fold or etch mate would help too but right now looking for advice about magnifyers)

les · Post by **les** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:18 pm

I've got the one marketed by Excel and am happy with it.

tony t · Post by **tony t** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:55 pm

Maybe scratchbuild a little protractor or some other device to check the angles of the rail while u have the visor on..

Post by **Timmy C** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:59 pm

Would using one eye work? Or maybe you can do something to the visor, where you have two points that must line up...like a rifle!

coberg1 · Post by **coberg1** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:00 pm

good suggestions guys, i think excel is the one i have, with the acrylic lenses. the problem may be my cleaning method, i wasn't all that careful and have a lot of real fine scratches in the lenses, for the twenty bucks i'll grab another of those for now and see if i still have the problem. sighting and aligning with a square are good ideas and i do some of that but when bending by hand on multi bent pieces with rounds already in place and such it gets tricky. i would like to find a visor with higher quality glass lenses that won't scratch so easy and give a truer image. picky i know but striving for perfection!

Ron Smith · Post by **Ron Smith** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 3:11 pm

coberg1 · Post by **coberg1** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 6:15 pm

Ron Smith wrote:
coberg1 wrote:such it gets tricky. i would like to find a visor with higher quality glass lenses that won't scratch so easy and give a truer image. picky i know but striving for perfection!
I that case get the Zeiss version............

Personally I hate all the hobby optical aids, they suck.

mmm, starting to hate the one i have, stupid hobby store is closed on sunday, still trying to figure that out, isn't that when most people are out making liesurely luxury purchases like hobby materials? i see a couple models with glass optics on line. don't see anything from zeiss though. and those folks do make some nice glass in everything else, i bet their opti visor is nice too. all for america in most things unless i can get german engineered products.

Ron Smith · Post by **Ron Smith** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:57 pm

Francisco P. de Nanclares · Mon Aug 01, 2005 3:34 am

coberg1 wrote:excel is the one i have, with the acrylic lenses. the problem may be my cleaning method, i wasn't all that careful and have a lot of real fine scratches in the lenses

Try rubbing the lenses with a dampened cloth and toothpaste. Do not be afraid on working it hard. Then clean it up with a dry clean cloth. Works great in taking out those fine scratches.

David Griffith · Post by **David Griffith** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 5:22 am

I'm short sighted, which means that if I take off my glasses I can see really close up, which is an advantage for small work. But it has the major disadvantage that when I look up, I can't see anything, especially where I'd put the bloody glasses.

I've got a couple of pairs of clip-on magnifiers that just fit over my ordinary spectacles. I've got 1.5 and 2 dioptre strength, and you just flip them up when you want to look at something at an ordinary distance. Light and comfortable to wear. No appreciable distortion. And they only cost about �10 a pair this side of the pond. I never work without them now.

If you don't wear glasses normally, I suppose you could get a pair with plain glass in the frames, just so you have something to clip the clip-ons to.

Another idea for people with normal eyesight might be to get a pair of reading glasses, to bring you near point closer, but it might be best to run this idea past a qualified optician first.

Regards,

David Griffith

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 5:28 am

I am slightly long-sighted. I tried what David suggested. Wearing them left me with a feeling of nausea, so I just could not get on with them. I only use a magnifying glass for studying photographs, other than that, I go with what I can see.

Rob