Magnifying glass - specific kind?

[hopefulist]

I've heard mentioned it's great to carry a magnifying glass on a string to get more enjoyment out of the little creatures. Can anyone (Roatan man?) give me more specifics or should I just pick up something in the reading glasses section at a pharmacy or department store?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Happy trails....

 

[Doc]

I've heard mentioned it's great to carry a magnifying glass on a string to get more enjoyment out of the little creatures. Can anyone (Roatan man?) give me more specifics or should I just pick up something in the reading glasses section at a pharmacy or department store?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Happy trails....

Good for you! Going slow means that you'll see more, and you can't go much slower than carrying a magnifying glass. Many divers are disappointed in Roatan (and other places) as they haven't yet perfected their skills of buoyancy and observation to observe the macro critters. There's a lot more out there than Tiger Tails, Lobsters, and Sea Cucumbers.

If you're going to CoCoView, they sell them at Dockside Dive Center. They have wrist coily cords.

Find a flea market, gun show or craft makers show. They should be about $1-3 or so, but you'll have to add some bits or drill the frame to install a lanyard.

Pick one that has such a high magnification that it's all but unusable on land. A real 10x power is ideal, (single lens element!) about 1.5" diameter is quite adequate.

Many are marked 10x, but few are. Look for a very strong one because they seem to lose a lot of power u/w (no rocket scientist am I to explain this).

The beauty is in the small stuff. We found several species crustaceans underneath the various anemone, each having its own following, all in micro!

There's a who hidden world out there living under the easy-to-see stuff.

 

[Charlie99]

To work underwater, you either have to enclose the lens in air, or have a high index of refraction glass.

Cheap plastic lenses won't work because their index of refraction is too close to that of water.

 

[Doc]

To work underwater, you either have to enclose the lens in air, or have a high index of refraction glass.

Cheap plastic lenses won't work because their index of refraction is too close to that of water.

Yeah, well said. They are indeed made of glass!

 

[Snowbear]

Uncle Pug has made several versions. The latest...

And:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1022588#post1022588
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=798670#post798670

 

[redacted]

I've been playing with a device I found in the NOAA diving manual called a macro snooper. It is three lenses assembled in series. No attempt is made to capture air instead of water. In fact, you drill holes in the side to let water surround the lenses. No fogging problems and, with large enough holes, you can clean them with a Q-tip. Version 1 was made with some cheap lenses but works OK. Depth of field is very small. One side of the lenses is held up against the mask and the other side must be within an inch or 2 of the subject. I've got some better lenses for version 2 but have not started yet.

Link to previous thread with picture: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=92300