Magnifying lamp

[steve6690]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place..
I need to buy a magnifying lamp for those small soldering jobs such as MC-E bare emitters. I have a choice of a 3-dioptre magnification lamp (£29) or a 5-dioptre (£52). Would it be worth paying the extra for the 5 dioptre version?

cheers

steve

 

[precisionworks]

As magnification increases, working distance decreases. You should try these out before purchase, or make sure they can be returned for exchange. An Optivisor is another good option, available with several different lens plates:

http://www.doneganoptical.com/optivisorlx.php

 

[steve6690]

Thanks for the Optivisor idea. It's not something I'd considered but it might actually suit my needs better. Being able to change the lenses is a useful feature too. I think I'll go with the 2.5X magnification initially as I think the 8" focal length should give me sufficient room to wield a soldering iron without melting my face..