cowsharks Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 (edited) I'm curious to know if anyone has one of those desk/floor lamps with the built-in magnifier, and if so, how well does it work? My eyes are getting worse, and even with my reading glasses, I'm having a lot of trouble searching through my micro material looking for tiny <5mm shark teeth etc. I'm working on getting some new glasses that have a shorter focal length so I can bring my face/eyes closer to the material, but in the meantime, I thought maybe one of those lamps that has the built-in magnification lens might be good to use as well. They only seem to be about $25 to $35, so I'm willing to give it a try. If anyone has a good one or can recommend a particular type let me know. edit: I found one with good reviews on amazon for about $150: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003R9UBD2/?tag=m44f-20 still searching ... thanks, Daryl. Edited October 4, 2014 by cowsharks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I'm curious to know if anyone has one of those desk/floor lamps with the built-in magnifier, and if so, how well does it work? My eyes are getting worse, and even with my reading glasses, I'm having a lot of trouble searching through my micro material looking for tiny <5mm shark teeth etc. I'm working on getting some new glasses that have a shorter focal length so I can bring my face/eyes closer to the material, but in the meantime, I thought maybe one of those lamps that has the built-in magnification lens might be good to use as well. They only seem to be about $25 to $35, so I'm willing to give it a try. If anyone has a good one or can recommend a particular type let me know. edit: I found one with good reviews on amazon for about $150: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003R9UBD2/?tag=m44f-20 still searching ... thanks, Daryl. I was just at Office Max today, and was looking at them in the $30-$50 range. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I started out with one of those many years ago, but once I bought my first Opti-Visor there was no going back. I have a #2 and #5 opti visors now and they work great. They cost about 30$. Good luck RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Thanks folks. I'll check those out. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I guess it is all going to depend on what strength optic lens you will require. A lot of those office store magnifiers are in the 2-3x range...too weak for my eyes. I would need a minimum of 10x or higher. Search EBay also. Good luck with the hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I would go with the opti-visor as well as I find it is much easier to scan the material as they are basicly glasses. I use mine for prepping as well the only issue is getting used to the focal length witch is fairly easy. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Daryl Most desk top lamp magnifiers are 2.5X like Doren stated above. That can allow you to see specimens that are at least a couple of millimeters. That would allow you to see most specimens that were caught in window screen. However the magnification isn't strong enough to see specimens at 1mm and below. A lot of the matrix I search can have shark/ray/fish specimens as small as .4mm (I use .4mm sieves for most of my matrix processing) so I needed more magnification as it is much faster to use a desk top lamp magnifier than a microscope to search matrix. I bought a Luxo magnifying lamp because I wanted a good optical lens and the ability to add a lens to increase the magnification to around 6X so I could see the .4mm specimens. However the Luxo model that I have is very expensive but for me it was worth the money because I search matrix every day, some days 8 hours or more. That being said, if you can, whatever you buy, you need to try it out first if you can i.e. look at it in a store first versus buying on-line without trying it out. Mel can not use my Luxo at all. He has trouble getting it to focus for him and then gets a headache very quickly using it. Different paleontologists who visited my house to look at specimens in my collection had a lot of trouble using it for the small specimens as they were used to using stereo microscopes. I can't use stereo microscopes because I can't get my eyes to focus with them. So if you plan on spending a good amount, find some way to test it first or it could wind up as a dust catcher. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I use the opti-visor, a desk mounted light/lens, and stereo microscope for my magnification needs. All work well for different purposes. Desk magnifier- large scale preparation on larger specimens Opti-visor - medium magnification for preparation on smaller specimens Microscope - high magnification (20x) preparation on very small specimens or picking small teeth from loose matrix. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) You will get what you pay for. Cheap magnifier-lamps will not last long. Springs break or wear out, spring posts snap off and they stop being adjustable because the the tightening screw is crappo-plastic. And we ain't even gotten to the magnifier or the lamp yet. I'm an old-school trained draftsman and there are no brands better than Luxo. Even a used Luxo will be 10x better than any discount model. just another two cents... Edited October 11, 2014 by erose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts