hey all -
old thread, but the newer generations are always poking around. Thought I'd add my $0.02 on the debate.
I was recently accepted to med school, and visited my father for an eye exam (he's an optometrist) and a crash course on fundoscopy. He has all the gadgets you'd expect somebody to have who's been doing lots of fundoscopy for 30 years. He's also blind in one eye, allowing me to dilate the blind eye without annoying him too much. I could then compare his two eyes to see how a dilated vs. undilated exam differ. I played with the PanOptic, a standard direct opthalmoscope, and some crazy, 30 year old opthalmoscope that's no longer made (basically, it had a long barrel and gave greater maganification than the other scopes, but the field of view was pretty narrow). I found the standard direct opthalmoscope was pretty difficult for me to use in the undilated eye, and nearly impossible to use in the undilated eye. I'm sure learning is just a matter of practice. The PanOptic was usable for me in the undilated eye nearly immediatly, and easier still in the undilated eye. The wacky old direct opthalmoscope was actually easier to use than the standard one as the focus adjustment is continuous as opposed to the standard's discrete focus knob, and I thought the long barrel made it a bit easier to aim. The mag was great, but the field of view was horrible. My dad loves it, but he's been using it forever. If i had to choose one to use, hands down I'd go with the Panoptic. It was by far the eaiest for me to use. We'll see how much I appreciate it's extra bulk in a few years when I start hitting the wards.