Magnifying Glass Recommendations

[bwhatch22]

can anybody recommend a good magnifying glass? I have tried 4 different ones from amazon all advertising 10x or better and they were all junk, best I got was almost 3x from one of them.

 

[fcat]

Following as well. I've got a buddy not on this site, who swears by a cheap little jeweller's magnifying glass. He said it was only a few dollars and he can sex way smaller than I would even attempt on my microscope...

 

[viper69]

I used digital usb microscopes - worked fine!

There are many loupes out there on Amazon- also heard good things about various ones

 

[fcat]

I used digital usb microscopes - worked fine!

There are many loupes out there on Amazon- also heard good things about various ones

I couldn't think of the word, thank you

 

[Brewser]

Many Optic Options - Magnyfing Glass, Jewelers Loupe, Microscope etc.
I would 'Opt' for a Nice Microscope if $$$ is no object.
Treat Yourself, and Happy New Year,

 

[bwhatch22]

a jeweler's loupe, never thought of that.
a usb digital microscope, didnt' even know that was a thing.
I will try them both, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[The Snark]

Our forensic doc had a couple of focus and color corrected illuminated medical ones on extendable arms. To the tune of $5000 or more. He ended up shelving them and permanently borrowed the $75 one I inherited in the bio med shop. It's whatever works for you. Shop around.

 

[bwhatch22]

Our forensic doc had a couple of focus and color corrected illuminated medical ones on extendable arms. To the tune of $5000 or more. He ended up shelving them and permanently borrowed the $75 one I inherited in the bio med shop. It's whatever works for you. Shop around.

I think what you meant to say was "no, I don't have any recommendations."

 

[Introvertebrate]

I bought this a few years ago. Adequate for my purposes.

Amazon.com

 

[The Snark]

I think what you meant to say was "no, I don't have any recommendations."

Ideally, you need to find one with the diopter that works best for you. The tech bench lamp the doc borrowed was x5. x7 up is for microelectronics and similar. Very hard to work with since the focal zone is so small.

 

[bwhatch22]

I bought this a few years ago. Adequate for my purposes.

Amazon.com

that looks pretty cool, if the other 2 don't pan out I will give it a try. thanks !

 

[bwhatch22]

Ideally, you need to find one with the diopter that works best for you. The tech bench lamp the doc borrowed was x5. x7 up is for microelectronics and similar. Very hard to work with since the focal zone is so small.

Ah yes, and must make sure to calibrate the blorpulator to the optimal wibblenozzle setting. I hear the quibbleschmirt at x9 is perfect for deciphering intergalactic snorfblasters.

 

[fcat]

I want to know what @NMTs uses....

 

[The Snark]

Magnification is a percentile of the increase of size of the object viewed. The diopter is the focal distance, bending of the light. The magnification multiplied by .25. So diopter determines if you want your nose squished against the glass or half way across the room. When using a camera through a magnifying lens the diopter becomes crucial. With macro lenses the diopter can be as small as a few microns between blurry and clearly defined. Always a good idea to find out the diopter when buying a macro lens.
The reason why that doc borrowed my magnifier, The medical ones had way too high a diopter.

 

[NMTs]

I want to know what @NMTs uses....

For a long time I used one of these $15 pocket microscopes - Pocket microscope
Here's an example of a pic I took through it with my phone (which was a pain in the neck, but worked):

0.1 Davus pentaloris - 2.75" DLS

• NMTs
• Aug 6, 2023
• davus davus pentaloris female spermathecae pentaloris

For reference, sub-adult female D. pentaloris spermathecae. I hadn't recovered a sexable molt...

Now I use a Walter QZFN-3 trinocular stereo microscope with stage lighting, LED-ring light, and Accu-Scope ACCU-CAM WiFi camera, with various objective and eyepiece lenses...


I've used this setup to produce these results recently:

0.1 Cyriocosmus elegans - 0.875" DLS

• NMTs
• Dec 30, 2024
• 4
• cyriocosmus cyriocosmus elegans elegans female spermatheca

For reference. If you knew my luck with growing up slings of any Cyriocosmus species, you would...

0.1 Psalmopoeus langenbucheri - 1.625" DLS

• NMTs
• Nov 28, 2024
• female spermathecae langenbucheri psalmopoeus psalmopoeus langenbucheri

For reference. If you look closely, you can see the translucent uterus externus laying over top...

I would suggest getting the nicest one you can reasonably afford. I didn't break the bank on my setup, but it wasn't cheap either. The camera is nice to have, but not really necessary unless you really want to document your findings.

@l4nsky provided valuable recommendations when I was deciding what get - thanks! I'm happy to do the same, so just message me if anyone needs help (although, I'm far from an expert on the subject, lol).

 

[bwhatch22]

Magnification is a percentile of the increase of the blah...blah....blah.....

 

[bwhatch22]

thanks (just about) everybody for the helpful replies and recommendations.

 

[The Snark]

So the dollar stores. the kids section at the big boxes and the magnifying glasses at convenience stores don't cut it. Maybe time to take the big plunge and head for amazon?
Or read up a bit: https://bestreviews.com/office/supplies/best-magnifying-glasses

 

[bwhatch22]

So the dollar stores. the kids section at the big boxes and the magnifying glasses at convenience stores don't cut it. Maybe time to take the big plunge and head for amazon?
Or read up a bit: https://bestreviews.com/office/supplies/best-magnifying-glasses

dude, if you dont have anything helpful to say just piss off. you're trying to look smart and you just look dumber and dumber every time you reply. I asked for recommendations, if you don't have any then just skip the thread. and if you were able to read and comprehend you would realize my post said I had already tried 4 off of amazon.

 

[The Snark]

ude, if you dont have anything helpful to say just piss off. you're trying to look smart and you just look dumber and dumber every time you reply. I asked for recommendations, if you don't have any then just skip

dude, if you dont have anything helpful to say just piss off. you're trying to look smart and you just look dumber and dumber every time you reply. I asked for recommendations,

Do you really think trolling is the way to go?
https://opticsmag.com/best-magnifying-glasses/ https://opticsmag.com/best-handheld-magnifying-glasses/