can I use cheap readers as magnifiers?

[vavet]

I'm 43. I got my first pair of prescription glasses about 18 months ago. I'm farsighted. My Rx is for readers with a very mild long-distance. They're progressive bifocals. Before that, I used readers for a couple years from the drug store and dollar tree. I had my eyes checked about 4 months ago - no change in the prescription.

I recently started doing more detailed work - working on electronics with smal components - not microscope level, but one of the relays I have on my desk is 0.79" by 0.40". I can't hope to ready the model number without a magnifier.

I was thinking of getting a stronger reader from the drug store to use just for these times when I'm sitting at my desk or bench doing a lot of detailed work instead of using a magnifier for everything. Is this legit? Will I screw up my eyes even more. Anyone else done it?

 

[The Cobbler]

it is a good idea, you wont ruin your eyes. I have a few pair of 4x for detail work

 

[Dentaltec]

Yes you will go blind OP its the curse of this digital age we live in. We are on these glowing boxes of light way too much and we strain the hell out of our eyes.

Seriously, I am not sure if there are studies that show that training your eyes to be dependent on magnification as you age is tied to accelerated deterioration. I do know for a fact as you age the 4 parts of you eye change. The most prevalent is the lens starts to cloud and becomes less pliable. The more your eyes have to work to bend this lens so you can focus changes as you use magnification. Make sense? In theory if you are not forcing your eye to be able to focus acutely then it is therefore deteriorating????

Who the hell really knows, it ***** to get old but sure as hell beats the alternative.

 

[hammlm]

I only have a few years on you, but I remember when my perfect, awesome eyes started to **** out on me due to middle age. My eyes are terrible now


I am still searching for the right answer, but if you haven't checked out an optivisor yet, get one. Get a cheap one until you figure out if it works for you. Hang it at your workbench.

A real game changer.

 

[HanShotFirst]

I actually prefer reading glasses to the optivisor.

 

[joe_padavano]

Those cheap readers are just magnifiers. I use them as such all the time. When I have to read something really tiny, I stack up two pair.

 

[larry_g]

http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor

I've had one of these for years and some days it is worn for hours as I work on small machining projects. Great for use on slivers. As I have corrective lenses for astigmatism I can't just change to a pair of magnifying glasses. I also have half a dozen other magnifiers in the shop but the visor is the goto one.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[rlitman]

The first thing I'd suggest is to talk with your optometrist. He or she will know if you'll be happy with cheap drug store reading glasses or not.

Some things to consider:

Drug store glasses ONLY accommodate magnification. Do you have any astigmatism?
If you have a lot (like me), stick with the prescription lenses, and you'll be happier (the Optivisor lets you keep your regular glasses on, so that's an alternative option).

Real prescription glasses will match what each eye needs. Do both your eyes have the same strength lens? If not, but if you just need magnification, you could buy two identical pairs and swap one lens to get what you need, and save a bunch of money.

Real prescription glasses take into account your interpupillary distance. Peoples eyes are set at different distances, and looking through lenses off-center adds distortion. Note here though that your ID will change between distance and reading, as your eyes will aim together at closer objects. This should be taken into account for your magnifying purposes (a GOOD optometrist should know this, but many will not).

 

[Old Man Roger]

When I used to wear progressive lenses, I would use a clip on monocle.
I've recently switched to a pair of walking around glasses and a pair of reading glasses. When I need more magnification than the reading glasses, I add my walking around glasses over my reading glasses.

I hated the progressive lens, they really distort any view, other than straight ahead.

 

[rlitman]

...I hated the progressive lens, they really distort any view, other than straight ahead.

All lenses distort the view to some extent or another. Progressive just do it in a weirder way than the rest. The brain tends to make up for this, but some people don't adapt as well as others.

 

[manwithtools]

Hey, be careful with the distorted view comments about progressives. That could construed as political

I have the progressives and love them except for two things - shooting and welding. Its so hard to get the glasses magnification to align with a scope or view a weld close up.

I'm considering getting a pair made with the max magnification in the center of the lens, even a bit towards the top maybe. It would save the neck strain and cut down on arc flash under the chin of the welding helmet as I'm tilting my head back to get higher magnification.

OP, you should be able to read some very small detail with your bifocals if your script is correct. If you can't, talk to your optometrist.

 

[rlitman]

LOL.

An optometrist may have decided that the best correction was for the typical distance of reading a book. That won't cut it for really close up work. They also can choose where to set the "line" in the progressive lenses, as well as the gradient.

For example, if you tell them that you work at a computer screen, they should adjust for that. My optometrist plays the trombone, and made himself glasses just to work at the distance of his sheet music holder. Pistol shooting with iron sights requires good focus on the front sight distance. Scoped shooting requires focus at infinity, but you need to look through the optical center of your lens. With a rifle, I find that I look through the upper left quadrant of my regular glasses (and at an angle too), which blurs the image badly. I fix this with special shooting glasses that have a lens that I can re-position. But this is getting off-topic.

 

[bwringer]

My vision is fine uncorrected, but I have several pairs of the strongest available (usually 3X or 3.25X) cheapo magnifying glasses scattered in several places around my usual environments for exactly this reason -- examining teensy things up close.

Glasses are just more convenient than a magnifying glass.

 

[jjkrjh]

How about a desk mounted magnifier?

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=i...lMKHUYZC60Q4lYIKygA&biw=1280&bih=616&dpr=1.25

 

[Old Man Roger]

All lenses distort the view to some extent or another. Progressive just do it in a weirder way than the rest. The brain tends to make up for this, but some people don't adapt as well as others.

I gave it the old college try, about 4 years..lol

Hey, be careful with the distorted view comments about progressives. That could construed as political

I have the progressives and love them except for two things - shooting and welding. Its so hard to get the glasses magnification to align with a scope or view a weld close up.

Progressives! I see what you did there.lol

As far as Welding, I agree. Or trying to see under a dash board, or anywhere you can't look through the lower part of the glasses, or any where you need to look to the side. I could go on and on..lol

Regular glasses allow you to look with your eyes, you don't have to aim your head where you want to see. With progressive, you have to aim your head then find the part of the glasses that focus properly.

 

[Snakebyt]

i have about 4 pair running around that i got at dollar store for a buck each, works great for that fine print