MagEyes Hands-Free Magnifier First-Look

By Michael Benolkin

First-Look

MagEyes

I ran into an interesting hobbyist's vision enhancement tool at the 2004 Chicago Hobby Show called MagEyes. This device is a lightweight competitor to other optical devices such as the Donegan Optical OptiSIGHT.

This hands-free visor comes with two lenses, the number 2 and number 4 as detailed in the table below. If you need higher power, lenses 5 and 7 are available separately. The visor is made from a flexible plastic that can be adjusted to the contours of your head. There is no provision in the headband for any sort of sizing mechanism, relying solely on the tension in the plastic band to stay put on your head. This is the lightest of the optical visors we've reviewed, weighing a mere 1.6 ounces or half of the OptiSIGHT's 3.2 ounce weight, so the tension of the band should be more than adequate for the job.

The difference in lenses are:

Lens	Power	Working Distance
2	1.6x	12-14"
4	2.0x	10-12"
5	2.25x	7-10"
7	2.75x	4-7"

I found the optics of the MagEyes to provide crystal clear vision enhancement and comfortable to wear, though on my head (hat size 7 1/2) it had a tendency to shift around when I moved. Nevertheless, it is feather light and comfortable to wear.

If weight is an issue of comfort for an optical enhancement tool, then you'll want to look at the MagEyes, since it is the lightest visor we've seen to date. With two lenses included in the package, you can compare its value and comfort against the OptiSIGHT which is about $10.00 USD cheaper, twice as heavy, but includes three lenses. Try them out and see which is the best for your workspace.

You can find the MagEyes at your favorite hobby shop and if not, they can special order them for you. In the meantime, you can read more about these and the other cool products from Donegan Optical by visiting their website at http://www.mageyes.com/

My sincere thanks to MagEyes for this review sample!