Fresnel Lenses

Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim community. Any good sources in the UK? Cheers Doug

Doug Ellison wrote:

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> Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? > > I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim community. > > Any good sources in the UK? > > Cheers > > Doug >

I tried a cheap one on my old 15" monitor a few years ago and it worked well enough for me to consider buying a better one. But since I got a 19" monitor I haven't really bothered. They do magnify and give greater depth and they're not too expensive, but there doesn't seem to be much clear info on the web about what to buy for PC use as no one actually designs one for such use, so deciding on what to buy is a bit baffling. You might want to have a look at Edmund Optics fresnel page: http://www.edmundoptics.com/IOD/DisplayProduct.cfm?productid=2040 I'd be interested to hear what others have to say on this. Glenn

I use one once in a while for both IL-2, Falcon 4.0, GTR2002, and NR2003. It works great, though it does tire your eyes out after 4 or 5 hours. I guess that I shouldn't be playing for 5 hours straight anyway, but.... :P http://www.rickleephoto.com/rlcoll.htm Steve Mach42 Careful Hack wrote:

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> Doug Ellison wrote: > >> Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? >> >> I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim >> community. >> >> Any good sources in the UK? >> >> Cheers >> >> Doug >> > > I tried a cheap one on my old 15" monitor a few years ago and it worked > well enough for me to consider buying a better one. But since I got a > 19" monitor I haven't really bothered. > > They do magnify and give greater depth and they're not too expensive, > but there doesn't seem to be much clear info on the web about what to > buy for PC use as no one actually designs one for such use, so deciding > on what to buy is a bit baffling. > > You might want to have a look at Edmund Optics fresnel page: > http://www.edmundoptics.com/IOD/DisplayProduct.cfm?productid=2040 > > I'd be interested to hear what others have to say on this. > > Glenn >

Careful Hack <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<x8Ila.12362$[email hidden]>...

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> > You might want to have a look at Edmund Optics fresnel page: > http://www.edmundoptics.com/IOD/DisplayProduct.cfm?productid=2040 > > I'd be interested to hear what others have to say on this. > > Glenn

A friend of mine tried these and found them less than satisfactory. I once used one marketed specifically as an anti-glare/privacy screen for PC monitors and it was pretty cool. About a 25% screen size increase, but I didn't think it was worth the approx. $200 that they sold for. Gerald

"Doug Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<b76mg8$bijqq$[email hidden]>... > Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? Yes. I have very good results using a fresnel. I have a 20" CRT and have used two different fresnels. The first one I tried was a cheap one ($40.00 or so) sold as a television magnifier. It was "OK" but blurry on the edges and had a bluish tint to it. Made my eyes hurt after a while. Then I purchased a large high quality fresnel from Edmunds Optics, and it is great. The fresnel was rather expensive ($200.00) and is large (my lazy guesstimate is about 20 x 23). Buying a large and high quality lens, IMHO has several benefits. For me, there is now no distortion at all, even at the edges of the screen. The depth and sense of immersion is so good, that I would never use any racing sim again without a fresnel. The Edmunds Fresnel has no tint to it, and is very clear, very high quality (you get what you pay for). I experience absolutely no eyestrain, none. I am now thinking about getting two more and two more monitors (there is a video on the frex site of a setup like this) for a triple monitor arrangement. (IMHO only) Using a large monitor and a large fresnel together is the most similar experince to looking thorough a car's windshield that I have seen. I think you would not be disappointed, as to me, it adds depth and immersion that allows me to see corners better, track imperfections/elevation changes better, and to better judge the position of other cars. The flight simmers are right on with this one.

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> > I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim community. > > Any good sources in the UK? > > Cheers > > Doug

"Bruce Millar" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > "Doug Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:<b76mg8$bijqq$[email hidden]>...

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> > Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? > > Yes. I have very good results using a fresnel. I have a 20" CRT and > have used two different fresnels. The first one I tried was a cheap > one ($40.00 or so) sold as a television magnifier. It was "OK" but > blurry on the edges and had a bluish tint to it. Made my eyes hurt > after a while. Then I purchased a large high quality fresnel from > Edmunds Optics, and it is great.

Thanks for the tip - I'll see if I can track them down ! I'm also thinking "hmm - Sony Widescreen 24" - hmm - ebay" - used them at a former job - theyr'e STUNNING monitors - and with a fresnel - even better. Cheers Doug

OK, the one you got from Edmunds are different from the one my friend tried, which were plastic deals like the $40 variety you mention. When it comes to optical instruments, you do usually get what you pay for. Do you notice much ringing/moire effect? That was the only complaint I had with the "privacy" lens I used. It was minor, but noticeable. Everything else is as you describe. [email hidden] (Bruce Millar) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

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> "Doug Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<b76mg8$bijqq$[email hidden]>... > > Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? > > Yes. I have very good results using a fresnel. I have a 20" CRT and > have used two different fresnels. The first one I tried was a cheap > one ($40.00 or so) sold as a television magnifier. It was "OK" but > blurry on the edges and had a bluish tint to it. Made my eyes hurt > after a while. Then I purchased a large high quality fresnel from > Edmunds Optics, and it is great. The fresnel was rather expensive > ($200.00) and is large (my lazy guesstimate is about 20 x 23). Buying > a large and high quality lens, IMHO has several benefits. For me, > there is now no distortion at all, even at the edges of the screen. > The depth and sense of immersion is so good, that I would never use > any racing sim again without a fresnel. The Edmunds Fresnel has no > tint to it, and is very clear, very high quality (you get what you pay > for). I experience absolutely no eyestrain, none. I am now thinking > about getting two more and two more monitors (there is a video on the > frex site of a setup like this) for a triple monitor arrangement. > (IMHO only) Using a large monitor and a large fresnel together is the > most similar experince to looking thorough a car's windshield that I > have seen. I think you would not be disappointed, as to me, it adds > depth and immersion that allows me to see corners better, track > imperfections/elevation changes better, and to better judge the > position of other cars. The flight simmers are right on with this > one. > > > > > > I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim community. > > > > Any good sources in the UK? > > > > Cheers > > > > Doug

I notice little ringing/moire effect, particularly, I see none while playing games...ehm, "sim racing". Also, the Edmunds Fresnel also has no distortion near the edges, unlike the "cheap" Fresnel lens, which was fuzzy and distorted near the edges. (I also played around with an 8 by 10 inch plastic lens purchased at an office supply store for 5 dollars and had lots of distortion). I am now using a Fresnel lens that is 2-3 inches larger than the CRT screen all the way around and I think this helps to cut down on distortion near the edges of the fresnel, because I am not really "using" the outside edges of the lens. There seems to be less distortion closer to the center of most of the fresnels that I have seen.

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> > Do you notice much ringing/moire effect? That was the only complaint > I had with the "privacy" lens I used. It was minor, but noticeable. > Everything else is as you describe. > > > [email hidden] (Bruce Millar) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>... > > "Doug Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<b76mg8$bijqq$[email hidden]>... > > > Anyone tried using a fresnel lense for sim racing? > > > > Yes. I have very good results using a fresnel. I have a 20" CRT and > > have used two different fresnels. The first one I tried was a cheap > > one ($40.00 or so) sold as a television magnifier. It was "OK" but > > blurry on the edges and had a bluish tint to it. Made my eyes hurt > > after a while. Then I purchased a large high quality fresnel from > > Edmunds Optics, and it is great. The fresnel was rather expensive > > ($200.00) and is large (my lazy guesstimate is about 20 x 23). Buying > > a large and high quality lens, IMHO has several benefits. For me, > > there is now no distortion at all, even at the edges of the screen. > > The depth and sense of immersion is so good, that I would never use > > any racing sim again without a fresnel. The Edmunds Fresnel has no > > tint to it, and is very clear, very high quality (you get what you pay > > for). I experience absolutely no eyestrain, none. I am now thinking > > about getting two more and two more monitors (there is a video on the > > frex site of a setup like this) for a triple monitor arrangement. > > (IMHO only) Using a large monitor and a large fresnel together is the > > most similar experince to looking thorough a car's windshield that I > > have seen. I think you would not be disappointed, as to me, it adds > > depth and immersion that allows me to see corners better, track > > imperfections/elevation changes better, and to better judge the > > position of other cars. The flight simmers are right on with this > > one. > > > > > > > > > > I have a 19" CRT and they seem to work great for the flight-sim community. > > > > > > Any good sources in the UK? > > > > > > Cheers > > > > > > Doug