Customer Reviews

Donegan DA-10 OptiVisor Headband Magnifier 3.5X

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great product. I use it all the time. I don't know what I did before I got it. I can do fine work with both hands free. It's perfect for any fine, close-up work. I've used it for electronics, removing slivers, and seam ripping. The grandkids love it for looking at bugs and leaves and other stuff they find in the backyard. We have great fun one day watching sugar and salt dissolve in water.

It is well made and well designed (one exception, see below). It fits perfectly and is easy to adjust. Once adjusted, it stays adjusted. There's a knob at the back of the headband that adjust the fit around the head. There are two knobs on the sides that adjust the tension of the lens frame to keep it in place, either directly in front of the eyes or up and out of the way. This works perfectly. It will stay put any place from all the way down to completely overhead. I have mine set fairly loose so it swings easily.

It's very light. Mine weighs just under 5 oz. It's very comfortable to wear. It has a removable leatherette head band in the front with a felt liner.
I don't wear mine where it will get dirty or sweaty, but it looks to be washable.

I like that it fits over my glasses. I can work with it up or down without having to remove my glasses. Nice design.

Each unit comes with one lens. Other interchangeable lenses are available. In this table, Pwr = magnification power and FL = focal length.

. No . . Power. . FL
. .2 . . 1.50 . . 20"
. .3 . . 1.75 . . 14"
. .4 . . 2.00 . . 10"
. .5 . . 2.50 . . .8"
. .7 . . 2.75 . . .6"
. 10 . . 3.50 . . .4"

I have the 3, 5, & 7. I use the 3 for most work.

This brings me to my only complaint - the way the lenses are attached. They do not snap in. The one that came with my unit had 2 little plastic bolts and 2 little plastic nuts. These are a pain to remove and I'm absolutely going to lose at least one of them at some point. They are jet black, so if you drop them, good luck finding them. I also bought 2 additional lenses. They each came with two little plastic "push bolts" that snap into place using the same holes as the bolts. These are even worse. They snap in easily enough, but require something hard to push them back out.

Also, there is nothing to prevent me from mounting the lenses backwards. It's not even all that obvious which is forward and which is backwards. It's way too easy to do it backwards.

The lenses should snap into place with no little parts that can be lost and no way to mount them backwards. I am deducting 1 star for this design flaw. I really hate to do that, because I love this gizmo, but a bad design is a bad design. also, these things have been out there for a long time. They could have fixed this problem.

I have owned an OptiVisor for several years. Originally purchased for work, I bought a second pair for home and have used them for (to name a few) pulling splinters out of the kids fingers, assessment of a problem with my dog's paw, detailed gluing of small project work, removing and assessing a tick, replacing a watch battery and for making small, detailed measurements. My eyes aren't what they used to be--but with these... they're temporarily much, much better!
Others have reviewed the limited depth of field. This is true--you'll need to be close to the subject for it to be in focus. Please understand that this is not a fault of the manufacturer but is the way optics perform when designed to work in this fashion. In my opinion, this limitation makes these an unsuitable solution for reading unless you need extreme help and are willing to hold the material very close. I've tried. It's clumsy.
Two notes from my years of using this product. 1) There are "thumbturn" tighteners (small knobs visible in the picture) that keep the visor in position once you've adjusted it on your head. We tend to only tighten the one on the right because we are right handed. The left one became loose, fell off, and was lost for quite some time before we located it under the couch. Keep both of these finger-tight or you may lose one of them. 2) The optics can scratch if you store the visor improperly. We like the visor so much that we put a hook on the wall near the office desk--just an arm's reach away. Easy access. Safe storage.
These are ruggedly built, well-designed and have helped me to solve many problems. Therefore, they get my 5-star approval and recommendation.

I been using this product for years and years, 1 have 2 broken ones where the plastic hood part cracks and is impossible to glue back together.
but is light weight and I can wear them all day working on electronic circuit boards.
There are many magifications of this product but this one a #5 is just right gives you about 7-8 inches away from work area

I bought this headband magnifier to be able to work hands-free on electronic circuitry and small surface mount components. I thought I'd be able to use a small soldering iron while wearing the visor, but at the point of good focus there's only about 3 to 4 inches of clearance between the lenses and the work. It can still be done, but you have to be careful as you bring the iron in and out of the working view so you don't burn the visor or the lenses.

This magnifier is good overall. The fit is nice and snug and pretty comfortable to wear for extended time. The lenses are good quality, although if I had to buy another I'd get a lower magnification than this 3-1/2X. It's very hard to work with items because the focal length is under 4 inches. The 2.5X or 2.75X are probably better for getting more working distance. The knob-adjust headband is a nice feature for quickly adjusting to a snug fit, and the side knobs let you adjust the up/down swing very easily.

I also ordered the OptiLoupe 2.5X addon, but that thing is pretty useless. It's very hard to use and it has a narrow zone of vision.

Overall, the construction and quality of this headband visor is very good and it does what it claims.
It costs a bit more than most others, but it seems to be of very good construction.

This is a great product. I use it all the time. I don't know what I did before I got it. I can do fine work with both hands free. It's perfect for any fine, close-up work. I've used it for electronics, removing slivers, and seam ripping. The grandkids love it for looking at bugs and leaves and other stuff they find in the backyard. We have great fun one day watching sugar and salt dissolve in water.

It is well made and well designed (one exception, see below). It fits perfectly and is easy to adjust. Once adjusted, it stays adjusted. There's a knob at the back of the headband that adjust the fit around the head. There are two knobs on the sides that adjust the tension of the lens frame to keep it in place, either directly in front of the eyes or up and out of the way. This works perfectly. It will stay put any place from all the way down to completely overhead. I have mine set fairly loose so it swings easily.

It's very light. Mine weighs just under 5 oz. It's very comfortable to wear. It has a removable leatherette head band in the front with a felt liner.
I don't wear mine where it will get dirty or sweaty, but it looks to be washable.

I like that it fits over my glasses. I can work with it up or down without having to remove my glasses. Nice design.

Each unit comes with one lens. Other interchangeable lenses are available. In this table, Pwr = magnification power and FL = focal length.

. No . . Power. . FL
. .2 . . 1.50 . . 20"
. .3 . . 1.75 . . 14"
. .4 . . 2.00 . . 10"
. .5 . . 2.50 . . .8"
. .7 . . 2.75 . . .6"
. 10 . . 3.50 . . .4"

These lenses are glass, not plastic. They appear to be good quality. I have the 3, 5, & 7. I use the 3 for most work.

This brings me to my only complaint - the way the lenses are attached. They do not snap in. The one that came with my unit had 2 little plastic bolts and 2 little plastic nuts. These are a pain to remove and I'm absolutely going to lose at least one of them at some point. They are jet black, so if you drop them, good luck finding them. I also bought 2 additional lenses. They each came with two little plastic "push bolts" that snap into place using the same holes as the bolts. These are even worse. They snap in easily enough, but require something hard to push them back out.

Also, there is nothing to prevent me from mounting the lenses backwards. It's not even all that obvious which is forward and which is backwards. It's way too easy to do it backwards.

The lenses should snap into place with no little parts that can be lost and no way to mount them backwards. I am deducting 1 star for this design flaw. I really hate to do that, because I love this gizmo, but a bad design is a bad design. also, these things have been out there for a long time. They could have fixed this problem.

This is a great product. I use it all the time. I don't know what I did before I got it. I can do fine work with both hands free. It's perfect for any fine, close-up work. I've used it for electronics, removing slivers, and seam ripping. The grandkids love it for looking at bugs and leaves and other stuff they find in the backyard. We have great fun one day watching sugar and salt dissolve in water.

It is well made and well designed (one exception, see below). It fits perfectly and is easy to adjust. Once adjusted, it stays adjusted. There's a knob at the back of the headband that adjust the fit around the head. There are two knobs on the sides that adjust the tension of the lens frame to keep it in place, either directly in front of the eyes or up and out of the way. This works perfectly. It will stay put any place from all the way down to completely overhead. I have mine set fairly loose so it swings easily.

It's very light. Mine weighs just under 5 oz. It's very comfortable to wear. It has a removable leatherette head band in the front with a felt liner.
I don't wear mine where it will get dirty or sweaty, but it looks to be washable.

I like that it fits over my glasses. I can work with it up or down without having to remove my glasses. Nice design.

Each unit comes with one lens. Other interchangeable lenses are available. In this table, Pwr = magnification power and FL = focal length.

. No . . Power. . FL
. .2 . . 1.50 . . 20"
. .3 . . 1.75 . . 14"
. .4 . . 2.00 . . 10"
. .5 . . 2.50 . . .8"
. .7 . . 2.75 . . .6"
. 10 . . 3.50 . . .4"

These lenses are glass, not plastic. They appear to be good quality. I have the 3, 5, & 7. I use the 3 for most work.

This brings me to my only complaint - the way the lenses are attached. They do not snap in. The one that came with my unit had 2 little plastic bolts and 2 little plastic nuts. These are a pain to remove and I'm absolutely going to lose at least one of them at some point. They are jet black, so if you drop them, good luck finding them. I also bought 2 additional lenses. They each came with two little plastic "push bolts" that snap into place using the same holes as the bolts. These are even worse. They snap in easily enough, but require something hard to push them back out.

Also, there is nothing to prevent me from mounting the lenses backwards. It's not even all that obvious which is forward and which is backwards. It's way too easy to do it backwards.

The lenses should snap into place with no little parts that can be lost and no way to mount them backwards. I am deducting 1 star for this design flaw. I really hate to do that, because I love this gizmo, but a bad design is a bad design. also, these things have been out there for a long time. They could have fixed this problem.

These are everywhere and can be found at low prices if you look around, which you should because these are the most form-fitting, all-day wearable magnifiers of the bunch. Not fancy, not a lot of features, and not much weight, which is very important if you plan on actually using this type of head worn magnifier for extended periods. The lens material is very scratch resistant, easy to clean, and clear. The adjustable headband is simple and not fancy at all, but it conforms to your head, unlike the very uncomfortable B&Ls, which I also have.

I bought my last pair of these for less than I see here on Amazon, where I think they are priced a little high. Even so, these are the ones to get, because the design is superior.

This is a great product. I use it all the time. I don't know what I did before I got it. I can do fine work with both hands free. It's perfect for any fine, close-up work. I've used it for electronics, removing slivers, and seam ripping. The grandkids love it for looking at bugs and leaves and other stuff they find in the backyard. We have great fun one day watching sugar and salt dissolve in water.

It is well made and well designed (one exception, see below). It fits perfectly and is easy to adjust. Once adjusted, it stays adjusted. There's a knob at the back of the headband that adjust the fit around the head. There are two knobs on the sides that adjust the tension of the lens frame to keep it in place, either directly in front of the eyes or up and out of the way. This works perfectly. It will stay put any place from all the way down to completely overhead. I have mine set fairly loose so it swings easily.

It's very light. Mine weighs just under 5 oz. It's very comfortable to wear. It has a removable leatherette head band in the front with a felt liner.
I don't wear mine where it will get dirty or sweaty, but it looks to be washable.

I like that it fits over my glasses. I can work with it up or down without having to remove my glasses. Nice design.

Each unit comes with one lens. Other interchangeable lenses are available. In this table, Pwr = magnification power and FL = focal length.

. No . . Power. . FL
. .2 . . 1.50 . . 20"
. .3 . . 1.75 . . 14"
. .4 . . 2.00 . . 10"
. .5 . . 2.50 . . .8"
. .7 . . 2.75 . . .6"
. 10 . . 3.50 . . .4"

These lenses are glass, not plastic. They appear to be good quality. I have the 3, 5, & 7. I use the 3 for most work.

This brings me to my only complaint - the way the lenses are attached. They do not snap in. The one that came with my unit had 2 little plastic bolts and 2 little plastic nuts. These are a pain to remove and I'm absolutely going to lose at least one of them at some point. They are jet black, so if you drop them, good luck finding them. I also bought 2 additional lenses. They each came with two little plastic "push bolts" that snap into place using the same holes as the bolts. These are even worse. They snap in easily enough, but require something hard to push them back out.

Also, there is nothing to prevent me from mounting the lenses backwards. It's not even all that obvious which is forward and which is backwards. It's way too easy to do it backwards.

The lenses should snap into place with no little parts that can be lost and no way to mount them backwards. I am deducting 1 star for this design flaw. I really hate to do that, because I love this gizmo, but a bad design is a bad design. also, these things have been out there for a long time. They could have fixed this problem.

Donegan 3 1/2X OptiVisor Headband Magnifier I purchased this product to work with building my PC. Not knowing that '3 1/2X' this magnification would only occur at 4 inches from the object, it does not meet my need for image clarity. To help other customers with my same perception, the description for these product items should clearly state the focal distance which will take effect during use.

Comfortable adjustable headband, and a good magnification level for most tasks I run into. I've used it for small electronics work, pulling splinters, etc.