amdx wrote:

"Ian White GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Jim Barber wrote:
Now that has potential:

By pure coincidence, I already have a Sony HDR-SR1 high-def (1080i)
camcorder and a 21" 16:9 LCD display with HDMI input in the lab.

Putting those two devices together and adding an appropriate macro lens
would seem to be a natural thing for this kind of work.

Great idea, Ian!

Not my own idea, but a friend's. He particularly likes having the camera a
long way above the work, so the area in front of him is completely clear.

Come to think, my dentist has very a similar system as part of his fancy
new workstation, which is styled like the bridge of the Starship
Enterprise.

Speaking of the dentist, I visited the dentist yesterday and quizzed the
hygienist
about her glasses with the special lenses mounted out front. She said the
had a
magnification of 2.5 and focus length around 18". Always thought I wanted a
pair of those but 2.5 magnification doesn't seem like enough and she
reported
the cost as $800.00. The dentist had a flip down style that mounted to his
regular
glasses. They cost less but still expensive.

I should have said that the TV camera was mostly for the education and
amusement(?) of the patients, and to allow images to be captured for the
records. For his own use, my dentist has exactly the same kinds of
flip-up compound lenses that give a reasonably magnified view from a
long focal distance. This allows him to sit more upright and avoid back
strain.

Such lenses would be fine for SMD work too, because they would give us
an unobstructed work area, and would reduce back and neck strain for us
too. But as you say, they are low on magnification for our needs, and
very expensive.

People's eyes and preferences vary, so there's no one 'best'
magnification. Personally I find x10 is plenty for SMD, and might even
trade down to x5 for a system that gave me more clear space to wave the
soldering iron... and of course if the price was right.



--
73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek