I’ve been doing ok so far whilst building 1:35 armor. However the Takom Hetzer full interior kit has me thinking about more help to see the tiny parts which challenge these 91 year old eyes… I currently use one of those magnifiers thats on a huge boom and can swivel… etc. It doesn’t give me room to work under it when I really really need it. Perhaps a set of magnifying eyeglasses. that focus at 12-14". That’ll let me see and still swing tools around.

This page with pennies at different magnifications might be helpful to get a visual idea of what you can see at different magnifications.

The chart below will tell you (approximately) what to expect when looking through a microscope with varying combinations of eyepieces and objective lenses. As an example (in green below), a dual power stereo microscope with 10x eyepiece lenses and 1x and 3x combinations of objective lenses, would have total powers of 10x and 30x and your field of view would be 20mm and 6.7mm respectively.

But I manage to get by with my 4x Opti Visor, two 1.7x ring-light magnifiers, a 5x hand loupe, a 10x jeweler’s loupe and a 17x geologist’s magnifier, and lots of light.

Get a metric ruler and place it on the stage of your microscope. Illuminate from above (if you are using a compound microscope, get a transparent ruler or illuminate it with a flashlight). See how many millimeters you can see from left to right. What would be the field of view of this image? (Answer located at bottom of page).

I never found myself using the smaller lens on the swivel, and it in fact eventually broke off from being rammed into my work light when leaning forward.

High power microscopes usually have 10x eyepieces lenses, so there is only one column above the 4x objective. If you wanted to look at an amoeba that is 150µm long (0.15mm) then you would use either the 40x or 100x objectives. There are 25mm in an inch and there are 1,000um (micrometers) in a single millimeter.

If you wear glasses, then ones like SableLiger recommended are great, as they fit down over your prescription glasses. If you don’t wear prescription glasses then look for “cheaters”, “readers”, whatever you want to call them. The higher the number, the more magnification. I use 1.5 for reading and computer work. I use 3.5 for model working. I think you can get them as high as 6.0, check Amazon.

Other considerations: The working distance is the distance from the bottom of the microscope (lens) to the part of the specimen that is in focus. As you increase the magnification, you decrease the working distance. If you need to work under the microscope, you will need a large working distance. Some special microscopes have extended working distances for these purposes. Zoom microscopes have a fixed working distance throughout the zoom range. When using a 100x objective lens (1000x total power) your working distance might only be 0.04mm (40µm). The lens will be extremely close to the specimen! The working distance and the amount of vertical motion of the microscope will also affect the maximum specimen height. Maximum specimen height is how tall an object you can put on the stage and still be able to focus on the top part of the specimen.

Having said all of the above, I do have a number of modeling friends who really like the inexpensive drug-store magnified “reading glasses.” These might be worth checking out (especially since you can just walk into the drug store and try them on).

This means that an object 20mm (2cm, or about 3/4 inch) wide would fill up the whole viewing area at 10x and an object about 6.7mm wide would fill up the whole area at 30x. As you can see, having the highest power may not be best for your particular application. When you move to greater magnifications, you sacrifice field of view.

@corsutton Hits the mark here. I have reader magnifier eyeglasses from +2 to +6 that I use for all my modeling. I keep them lined up at the back of my bench and just switch among them when I need more or less magnification. They are much lighter and less claustrophobic than a visor and you can easily look over them to locate tools / read instructions. They let in more light. They’re cheaper than an Optivisor, too. You can order a whole set online from any number of sources or find them at the dollar store.

I have one similar to SableLiger’s; I think mine is an Optivisor or a knock-off. It came with a set of different magnification inserts depending on your needs.

Once you get used to wearing them, you’ll never work without them again. First thing I do when I walk into my workroom is to put them on and taking them off is the last thing I do before turning out the lights.

Screenshot_20240223-0830011080×2460 137 KB Have the this pair. $15.95. + shipping. They have bright led lights that are rechargeable. Work great with my reading glasses . interchangeable. Lens.

YOCTOSUN Magnifying Glasses with 4 LED Lights, Head Mount Magnifier with Storage Case,5 Lenses, Headband, Hands Free Lighted Head Magnifying Visor for Hobby Crafts & Close Work https://a.co/d/i7WBz3g

Field of View or Field Diameter is very important in microscopy as it is a more meaningful number than "magnification". Field diameter is simply the number of millimeters or micrometers you will see in your whole field of view when looking into the eyepiece lens. It is just as if you put a ruler under the microscope and counted the number of lines.

I finally pulled the trigger on a pair of genuine Optivisors with a couple of different magnification power lenses. As @flatfour observes, the lenses are glass and so are nearly impervious to scratches and anything I’ve every splashed on them has wiped and cleaned away with no problems.

Use your experience with the magnification and working distance you get with the cheap ones to select and buy the appropriate ground-glass magnification power lens plate (or plates). You don’t need to buy the entire Optivisor boxed set with all of the available lens plates at once. You can buy them individually, as needed.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285276909074?chn=ps&var=587150910985&srsltid=AfmBOooycnBGAsuJKpNCtJNCXUVdpxdcV_OSvDsseOF74WH3R1xPqKajsL8

However, they’re cheap because their lenses are plastic. My problem with them was that I either wound up scratching them (always in a spot directly in front of my eyes!) or I splashed a drop or two of some solvent-based paint, glue, filler, etc. on them which etched permanent defects.