“Distance” devices can either be hand held, clip-on, or mounted in a frame to be hands free. They can be used for brief tasks such as reading a sign, menu board, or the white board in school. They can also be used for longer viewing periods, such as watching TV, seeing a movie or ball game, viewing a play or program, and enjoying scenery.
Hand Held Telescopes
A hand held telescope is called a telescopic “monocular,” because it is used with one eye and has a single eyepiece. It is generally used for short viewing periods, such as reading a street sign, house number, menu board in the restaurant, aisle number in the grocery store, or white board in school. Some people may also use it for tasks fairly close, such as reading the bathroom scale, or a price on a shelf in the grocery store.
Some advantages of hand held telescopes are:
- They can be very helpful for viewing a wide range of items at distance, and even some things fairly close up
- They are fairly inexpensive and are portable
- They can be kept on a cord around your neck, in a pocket, or purse, for use when desired for “spot” viewing, such as reading street signs outdoors or aisle numbers in a store
- They are available in a range of magnification powers
Some disadvantages of hand held telescopes are:
- They may provide a limited field of view, which can be frustrating
- They may be fairly dark, and many persons with low vision need good illumination
- They require motor control in order to focus the lens, and to be steady to keep it in focus
- Depth perception is distorted and balance may be affected if you walk or move about while looking through a monocular, so it is not recommended
Note: Monocular telescopes also come in clip-on versions that attach to eyeglass frames and leave both hands free. This hybrid telescope can be used with one eye for longer periods of time, such as copying items off the white board, viewing a PowerPoint presentation, or seeing TV.
Spectacle-Mounted Telescopes
Spectacle-mounted telescopes are permanently attached to the lens of your eyeglasses.
Some advantages of spectacle-mounted telescopes are:
- They leave both hands free, as opposed a monocular
- Thus, they can be used for longer viewing periods, like viewing TV, a program, ballgame, or movie, as opposed to a monocular, which can be tiring to hold and difficult to hold steady
- They appear to bring things closer and magnify things nicely
- They can be binocular (for both eyes) or monocular (for one eye)
- They are available in a range of magnification powers
Some disadvantages of spectacle-mounted telescopes are:
- They provide a smaller field of view than if viewing items without telescopic glasses
- Some persons with severe arthritis, poor motor control, or tremors may have difficulty focusing the lenses
- Depth perception is distorted and balance is affected when walking or moving about while looking through telescopic glasses, so is not recommended
If you need help with Low Vision devices for distance tasks, such as seeing TV, faces, and items at distance, contact us to set an appointment.