gaming witha FRESNEL LENS..

[benreeper 0]

?? How is it off-topic?

--Ben

[Rg 0]

I really think this thread has gone offtopic...I mean it's not even about Armed Assault anymore but hawking some giant magnifying lens.

This thread has 7 pages dealing with fresnel lens' and now you "think" it's "gone offtopic".

You can see reflections in the pics of both obviuosly, but it really is less visible on the Icetek one when the lights are dimmed and you are gaming.

You say "dimmed", does this also apply to lights completely off?

[GAU-8 0]

lol!

not completely off topic. its a HARDWARE issue for ARMA/OFP to perfom better in the graphics dept.

btw kite.. no, i havent had a chance to try the other lenses yet

the ole significant "other" keeps needing my time and financial resorces...

still using mine everyday. it rarely ever comes off. cept for the occasional cleaning. i built a foamcore box for it, so i can swap out lenses when needed (if ever ordered.)

[crashdome 3]

You can see reflections in the pics of both obviuosly, but it really is less visible on the Icetek one when the lights are dimmed and you are gaming.

You say "dimmed", does this also apply to lights completely off?

Yes...

I guess this is what I really mean to say:

Both lenses have two types of reflections (that I notice). The first is reflections of what is on the player's side of the lens... lights, your own face, etc...

These are pretty much the same for both lenses in that a bright light behind you will have a reflection just like most CRTs or TVs do. It is simply the glossy surface of the flat side of the lens and perhaps the Icetek does have less reflection but I do not notice the difference. If you dim lights, obviously these reflections start to go away and completely off is even better... BUT less light on the player's side leads to more visible reflections on the monitor's side (see next paragraph). This is because if there is any sort of light on the player's side it tends to mask some of the reflection on the monitor's side.

The other type of reflection is that which you see from the monitor's side. For example, a completely black screen with the words "Receiving Data" will have a sort of white halo-like fuzz around it and there will be white cone-like reflections that start in the center and expand outward. When in-game with all the different colors and shapes it becomes far less noticable on both lenses and is not even a concern. However, I have noticed that the 3DLens has far more of this type of behavior during the "Receiving Data" screen than the icetek one did.

I'm not saying it wasn't there on the Icetek one, but it was just far more prevelant on the 3DLens one. In either case, it was annoying so it's really a choice between "annoying" and "more annoying".

[EDIT] spelling corrections... "I before E EXCEPT after C".. yes I know...

[hoak 0]

Hi, I just wanted to renew this interesting thread and learn how many that bought Fresnel lenses to play OFP and other FPS games still use them?

If you're still use your Fresnel Collimated setup for FPS gaming; do you still play without it as well? And if you play both ways which way do you play more and why?

If I ever get round to doing this; as I really enjoy fabricating things and would probably make a nice precision focus stage and format camera style bellows...

[benreeper 0]

I've had several computers and several monitors since 1996 and I've always had a fresnel lense permanently attached (as seen in my pic). It adds immensly to the "experience" and you can never go back. I guess it's like OFP compared to other FPS's: people may not understand why you like it and you can't understand why they don't and the two side may never meet.

--Ben

[Journeyman 0]

Hi, I just wanted to renew this interesting thread and learn how many that bought Fresnel lenses to play OFP and other FPS games still use them?

If you're still use your Fresnel Collimated setup for FPS gaming; do you still play without it as well?  And if you play both ways which way do you play more and why?

If I ever get round to doing this; as I really enjoy fabricating things and would probably make a nice precision focus stage and format camera style bellows...

I'm interested in that bellows idea although (depending on materials used) it could add a lot of weight to the whole setup and considering how light the lenses are in comparison could put quite a strain on  your average TFT monitor. My F550 is usually about 18" away from the screen in order to give me that cinematic view!

The setup is far from perfect although a lot could be solved with better quality lenses. Blurring at my distances and of course the reflections problem are the main issue. I'm tempted to try Simkits very big lenses on their own support frames but at those prices I'm not so sure! I do of course have my own setup as you have probably seen, but because of the way I sit at the computer I usually raise the lens for most non gaming activities and only bring it down when I want full immersion. If there are lights on behind me though I have to raise it up again due to the annoyance of reflections.

I've actually ordered a new lens recently as I think I might have a lot of fine dust in the grooves of my current one and I'm not that good at cleaning the things! benreeper has probably got a better setup as his lenses are enclosed from the rear so dust cannot get into the grooves.

If I have the time I will try and do something different with the new lens so to keep it cleaner. I just wish some company would come up with a decent universal frame/cabinet for a bigger lens. Icetecks lenses are just too small otherwise I might consider their VR Cabinet. The F550 from 3D Lens is only just big enough IMO and TBO I could do with it a bit bigger!

benreeper, you seem like an old hand with this! What lenses are you using (focal length etc) and what distance do you have yours from the screen?  

[Sosna 0]

Hi, I just wanted to renew this interesting thread and learn how many that bought Fresnel lenses to play OFP and other FPS games still use them?

If you're still use your Fresnel Collimated setup for FPS gaming; do you still play without it as well?  And if you play both ways which way do you play more and why?

If I ever get round to doing this; as I really enjoy fabricating things and would probably make a nice precision focus stage and format camera style bellows...

I still use my F550. In fact I got a new LCD monitor and the lens still enhances it greatly.

I don't bother taking the lens off, I use it with everything. I even made a nice new mount (inspired by Red Kite's) which makes it easy to take on and off.

old monitor, old mount: http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7738/p61800089or.jpg

new monitor, new mount: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8294/p9220109po3.jpg

The only time I take off the lens is when more than one person needs to see the screen at the same time. The lens makes it hard to view things from an angle.

[benreeper 0]

I actually bought my lenses from a store for the visually impaired 10 years ago, after an internet search, and I have been going there ever since. I might try one the companies mentioned in this thread, if the price is right.

I sit anywhere from 1' to 3' from the lense depending on what I'm doing and the quality is the same.

Funny, I built several cases for people six years ago and was going to do alot more.

--Ben

[hoak 0]

Hi guys! Thank you all so much for your replies!  Red kite a camera bellows need not add any weight at all to your display, it doesn't even require a direct mount on the display itself and could just be pushed up against -- if you employ a stage.

Here are a couple images of home fabricated bellows and focus stages to give you an idea of how it can be done with a Fresnel lense and bellows:

So the thing would just sit on your desktop resting up against your display...

There are lots of articles on fabricating camera bellows, and you can even purchase custom made bellows to exact specification, though that can be costly depending on what you need as far as dimensions and the material you want them made from.

The bellows itself doesn't weigh much at all, and light weight materials are a requirement for really large bellows so they don't sag.  There's lots of articles guides on fabricating your own that a Google search will turn up; tapered bellows are a lot more challenging to fold then a straight bellows -- but I think it would be a fun project with a handsome result, that could also keep dust off the inside of the lense, especially if the stage were also made to be a folding cover like the second setup pictured...

[GAU-8 0]

mine is on 24/7 . some times the text might aggrivate me, so i'll take it off. but thats only if i am tired. the second i start gaming, it goes right back on.

[hoak 0]

Thank You GAU-8! But what is it about text/reading text that makes you take it off?

Looks like I'm gonna have to spend some money and get one!

[Journeyman 0]

GAU-8 uses a F330 lens I think which has a short focal length and creates more distortion than a F550 or a 600 lens, which has a longer focal length. Blurring is the other problem with these lenses as you move them further from the screen to give you more magnification. Otherwise I used a F550 on my old 17" CRT for several weeks while my TFT was in for repair and I never removed it for anything!  

Yeah the bellows idea I assumed was to act as a support for the lens as well as a dust/light screen between monitor and lens. .... Hmmm I might look into it!  

[GAU-8 0]

redkite is correct.

basically the further you pull the lens away from your subject the crisp details get softened, but increased depth perception. the closer you get, the initial image looks more crisp, but less depth.

my friends find it STRONG, but its not for everyone. my deal is that i dont sit at a desk when gaming. im in an AKERS-BARNES cockpit. this seating arangement, using TRACK-IR, and an encased fresnel lens creates a small issue,

i have to be far away enough so that my track-IR works properly, and is not hindered by the edges of my boxed fresnel lens, but i need to be close enough, so that i can see "inside" the entire window and not lose valuable screen image when "in combat". to make things work for my seating arrangement, i traded off clarity for depth, if its too close, i cant get a full window. any further than what i have now, and it starts distorting the image (bending) rather than just "soften", and gets in the way of track-IR. most times i have no problem looking at text on a website, but if i am tired, the softened text will get to me. so i'll take the lens off.

[Rg 0]

I know I said I was going to order one a while ago, but now is the time. I’ve pretty much decided to buy one from 3Dlens.

Like I said before, I sit pretty close to the monitor, so I am having trouble deciding which lens would be better for me (F330 or F550).

Generally I sit 20â€-25†away from the monitor for every game except racing sims, where I sit from ~28†(if I move my monitor up closer) to ~38†(if I leave the monitor where it is).

Icetec - “In general the distance from lens to monitor should be approximately 30 percent less than the lens stated focal lengthâ€.

Is this correct? If so, that means you should place the F330 ~9†away from the monitor and the F550 ~15†away? If that is the ideal setup, I guess it would make sense to go with the F330? because if the F550 was set up like this, my nose would be 5†inches away from the lens. Is there anything I might be missing or not taking into account?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Journeyman 0]

Judging by what you say about how far you normally sit at the monitor I would not recommend the F330. With this lens you need to be a real 'nose rubber' at the lens as this lens will not allow you to sit very far away from it and still allow you to see things properly.

Sounds to me like you need the F550 as this lens is much more forgiving in how you sit and play games.  

[Rg 0]

I thought 20" away would be considered close. "Most" of my gaming would probably be around that distance. I am not worried about sitting far away for my racing sims if I was to use the F550, but I am worried about the close position for the rest of my games.

Can the F550 give a decent magnification/depth this close? Can you test this for me real quick if it's not too much trouble? If you were to use the lens with your head 20" away from your 19" monitor like I would most of the time, what would be the ideal distance from the monitor to the lens? and is there a decent depth at this distance?

Thanks,

[Journeyman 0]

I have my F550 about 15" from my monitor and I can sit up to 20" from the lens or I can rub my nose on the lens it makes little difference. With the F330 everything would have to be much closer. I can't get on with the F330 I find it too strong and demanding on viewing position. Just my opinion though others seem to like it but you need to sit right up to it to see properly.

[Rg 0]

I think I'll get the F550. Thanks for the advice

The thing I need to figure out now is how to mount it. I really like your setup, but I won't worry about that until I actually get the lens. Do you remember how long it took to recieve yours? 1-2 weeks maybe?

[Rg 0]

Oops, delete please.

[Journeyman 0]

I think I'll get the F550. Thanks for the advice

The thing I need to figure out now is how to mount it. I really like your setup, but I won't worry about that until I actually get the lens. Do you remember how long it took to recieve yours? 1-2 weeks maybe?

Within a week for me to the UK depending on your postage options.  

[Rg 0]

Well I got my lens about 2 weeks ago, but it was sitting in the post office for about a week, so I have been using the lens close to a week now. I’m most impressed with the magnification. It makes my 19†feel at least ~24â€ish in size, then when I take the lens off, my monitor feels like a 15†. It also does give the picture a little depth. I would say it’s definitely worth $40. It's like a poor man's big screen .

My temporary setup right now is a frame of black foam board around the lens. Then that frame is suspended about 6 inches from my monitor.

So far the only negatives I see is the halo/glare effect it gives on darker images and the slight blurring around the edges of the picture.

One important question I have is how do you clean this sucker?

I think I read a post on RSC where a guy laminated his lens so that its easier to clean, since he said the groove side is pretty much impossible to clean. I think I am already seeing some dust on the groove side and it might be just me, but the lens seems like it may be getting a little bit “foggyâ€. Is there a good way to clean it? Would laminating work or maybe another method?

[Journeyman 0]

I've never tried laminating one! Sounds interesting though.

I just blast mine occasionally with my air duster, seems to keep it fairly clean anyhows!

[Rg 0]

Never knew of an air duster before, thanks.