Lembeh macro & eyesight question

[cageybob]

I am almost ready to book my trip to Lembeh, Bunaken, and Bali for June. Knowing that Lembeh is a macro heaven, any divers been there that are at that age where reading glasses come in handy? And, if so, was that an issue or did you have "magnifiers" in your mask? The dive travel agent suggested bringing a magnifying glass to be able to see some of the really tiny guys. However, I plan on taking a lot of pictures so my hands will be partially occupied. I'll leave the magnifying glass duties to my daughter/dive buddy. My up-close vision isn't too bad, reading is only slightly blurry, but the glasses really help. If anyone has been there and used those lenses in your mask, any advice would be great!

 

[Zippsy]

Before lasiks and without contacts, I had perfect eyesight with a depth of vision of 1-2 inches. As a result, I only wore one contact (daily disposable) when diving and saw the big stuff with one eye and the tiniest critters with the other. Skeleton shrimp are awesome creatures to watch when they are so close. Now, I carry a magnifying glass (non-metal handle) and it works fine even when carrying my small camera / strobe.

If you don't normally wear contacts or have a free hand, I suggest you post this in the general forum because it really isn't specific to Indonesia. You will get more responses.

Have a great trip! You'll love it.

 

[xariatay]

My friend is using a mask with pieces of magnifying "material/plastic" stuck onto the lens, he is very happy with the mask. I recently gave him a magnifying glass, haven't ask for if he likes it, told him he could hand it the guide. ;-)
Oh ya, u will love Lembeh & Bali.

 

[AlanWald]

I always bring an inexpensive small magnifying glass (they have them at Frys for $4 to $5) that has a hole in the plastic handle and I put a bit of nylon cord through it and loop it around my wrist and tuck into the sleeve of my exposure suit so it is handy. And bring a good light for use in daytime. I give the magnifying to my guide at the end of the trip.

Do as many night dives as you can at Lembeh, its great fun. We saw a five foot octopus out for a walk and a crab that was spawning.

The locals in North Sulawesi love T-shirts, especially anything with English written on it, so they make great gifts for the guides and staff.

 

[IceIce]

My friend use the magnifying sticker on the mask, but it doesn't work well because he likes to 'wash' his mask underwater.

I gave him magnifying glass, he was happy with that.

Taking picture wise, I'm not really sure about it though.

Agree, Bali and Lembeh are very good choices.

 

[kathydee]

My eyes are normal & I still needed a magnifying glass ;-)!

 

[IceIce]

Hahahha, kathydee, tell me about that too...
I used it for pigmy seahorse and carried it around back then

 

[Darnold9999]

I need reading glasses, I also wear contacts. Went to my Dr. and got a contact for one eye that was set at reading distance the other normal. Works very well. I use the normal one for the camera, the reading one to look at and find small stuff.

However some of the really small stuff I still could not see perfectly - had to wait for the picture and hope it was in focus. Pygmy seahorses are just too small for me to see - need a camera with a macro lens.

 

[reubencahn]

Magnifiers are really a separate issue from Rx lenses or gauge readers. I have my reading prescription bonded into my mask. This company did it for me: Welcome to Prescription Dive Masks 1-800-538-2878 I've been happy with the results. Even with corrected close up vision, a magnifying glass is a good idea for Lembeh. I would do both.