Which magnifier is right for you?

Is there a one size fits all optical magnifier? Unfortunately no, it really depends on the task you are doing which magnifier is best for you. One of the main reasons for this comes from the physics of magnification - the bigger the lens of your magnifier, the lower the power. A magnifier like the Daylight Omega 5 has a wonderful large lens and is very easy to use, however because of the large lens, it isn’t very powerful. The upside of using a big magnifier like this is that it has a great working distance. Working distance is the distance you need to hold the magnifier from your eye. This will be longer for a lower powered magnifier and shorter for a higher powered magnifier. This means using a big, low powered magnifier is nice and comfortable and you can use both of your eyes to look through the lens.

If you want to see an object in a little more detail you can look through a higher powered lens like the Mobilux LED. This magnifier lens is smaller but you will see much more detail in your object. You will have to bring the magnifier a little closer to your eye, but the working distance is still very comfortable and you can use both eyes to see your object.

But what if you want to see even more detail? You can absolutely do that! But you need a much smaller, higher powered lens! A magnifier like a stone magnifier has a much smaller lens and so we need to use just one eye to look through it. You will have a short working distance with this magnifier, so you need to hold it very close to your eye. The detail is amazing and magnifiers like these are often used for jewellery or watch making. However, they probably aren’t practical for threading a sewing needle or reading the newspaper.

So more powerful isn’t always better, magnifiers come in lots of powers and sizes and one of them will be right for your task. Please get in touch with us if you need any help finding the right magnifier for yourself or a loved one. We are always happy to help!