Customer Reviews

Bausch and Lomb Folding Pocket Magnifier

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The $20-$25 range, Bausch & Lomb 3 lens magnifier/loupe with a 21mm diameter viewing area works with clarity and performance of nice lenses. The cheap housing however is a major deterrent from this product and justifies the lower price compared to two other loupes which I mention at the end.

Pros:
Provided is 5x, 7x and 9x magnification by 3 individual lens. The lens work great individually and at 21mm diameter, it is nice to have a viewing area of that size. The lens also work very well in combination to increase the magnification 5x all the way to 20x.

Cons:
The housing is tough but made of plastic. The lens holders are also made of light plastic. The 9x lens housing on mine shows a poor mold and cut and had to touch it up myself, happily it looks and works fine now. Also, there is no lanyard loupe. This is a minor but nice feature to have.

Also considering it is Bausch & Lomb who makes the famous 10x Hastings Loupe, I expected a better housing and now must admit, although they may have smaller diameter lenses, there are others to consider before this one 3 lens magnifier/loupe

Conclusion:
For $25 shipped it's not bad at all and the 21mm lens size makes up for it, however if I were to choose again, I might consider one of the more well reviewed Belomo 10x loupe or B&L Hastings 10x loupe in the $30-$35 range:

**Belomo 10x(18mm) loupe w/ nice housing, dis-assembly for cleaning and a lanyard loop**

**Bausch & Lomb Hastings 10x(14mm) loupe w/ metal housing and lanyard loop.**

I got this for my husband who's legally blind and it makes his life much easier. There are many products out there for low vision people but not very many that you can carry around in your pocket. It's also somewhat difficult to find one that has such an increased magnification since most magnifiers only go to about 10X. I would reccommend this product.

I bought this to help me inspect my coin collection. The lenses are small, and the magnification is high. Because of that, it takes some getting used to. Like any important tool, you have to get used to using it. As far as coins go. This is not really a good tool for grading coins. You need a bigger lens, and low magnification for that. But this piece works quite well for checking attributes. The first day I had it, I noticed some minor doubling on a coin, which I had previously dismissed. The price is right, and it is decent quality, so I'm very happy with it.