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Got to break out the 'readers' when it comes to painting. These eyes ain't what they used to be!

I don't use one, but I kinda wish I did….

oh god, yes.

It depends what scale. For 40k no, but for my 1:1200 HMS victory and HMS Alexander yes definitely.

I'm starting to think i need to, especially for the eyes for minis. I struggle there.

Just the good ol issued Mk. I Eyeball

No, but it's next on my purchase list.

I've recently decided to try painting properly and I've discovered that after about half an hour of doing so my eyes get tired and need a break.

It's not an issue when you just drybrush the [Expletive Deleted] out of everything.

Well, I have a daylight lamp with a magnifying glass as well as a magnifying glass on a clamp. I tried them out years ago but I find resting my elbows on table and bringing the mini really close to my eyes for detail gives much stabler result than using a magnifying glass. My hands appear to shake like I've got hypothermia!

Might re-visit as I haven't really thought about it in a while nor used it enough to get used to it...

I use a magnifier lamp combined with a regular 6500K lamp. And still the amount of light is nowhere enough for my old eye. Getting a more powerful lamp is just a matter of time. Old geezers like me need insane brightness for working on a small scale like 28mm minis, I just read surgery rooms use insane lighting, and it makes a lot of sense really.

I hadn't thought of the depth perception loss earlier.. explains why it takes getting used to the magnifier part

So far no, but who knows what the future would bring?

Getting a magnifier is like making a deal with Tzeentch. You will gain knowledge, and there will be a price.

Seeing the flaws and mistakes in my painting that I would not have noticed brought to mind that Marine chapter that fell to Chaos because Tzeentch gave them the ability to discern all the lies they were told.

Generally, no. Though I did buy a magnifying device (with illumination), I found it unhelpful for painting. On rare occasion, I find it useful for modeling.

The results of this poll surprise me.

Starting to paint miniatures again has simply shown me how bad my eyes are even with glasses. Not even sure if its the mini I have painted and not my finger instead.

So yes I do need a little extra help with seeing close up.

Hopefully I will obtain a new pair of glasses soon.

Old age is finally affecting me, I have to use these sexy 2.5X reading glasses that look reminiscent of the glasses McCoy gave Kirk in Wrath of Khan.

I didn't use any magnification up until I hit about 35 years of age. I now have a 2.5 or 3x (I forget) magnifier glasses that I use for many infantry models that require detail work. I wouldn't say I needed them, but it is a lot more comfortable and I can feel that my eyes don't have to work as hard. Feels like a good policy to not put undue strain on my eyes.

No but i actually told my wife yesterday i need one cause I cant make out some detail on the faces.

I was gifted a magnifying lamp for Christmas and it's an absolute game-changer.

The other way round. I take off my glasses when painting details.

After some experiments with various magnifying solutions, I'm coming to the conclusion that the combo of using reading glasses (+3.0 in my case) and a jeweller's loupe for exteme closeup inspections, is a better fit for me than anything else. The loss of depth perception is too great with a larger magnifying glass IME, reading glasses dont enlarge as much but depth perception is way better