Hello all,
We had a visit from reps from these companies today and I thought I would share my thoughts and see if anyone else has further insights regarding these two products. I was looking for a 2.5x loupe and want a headlight (open to fiberoptic or battery powered). Here was what I came away with:
Resolution: Comparing the 2.5x between the two, I felt they were about the same in image quality, with DFV maybe being slightly better. There was definitely a difference in magnification...I felt DFV were stronger in mag, but had a narrower field of view than Surgitel. I also definitely noticed that along the periphery of the DFV loupes the image blurred. This is mentioned on the Surgitel website when they compared their loupes to others (they have a nice slide demonstrating this). The entire image in the Surgitel loupe was completely sharp.
Depth of field: For certain Surgitel had a deeper field. My hands were perfectly in focus over a large distance (12+ inches), whereas DFV was only sharp over about half of that. Even the rep admitted this but said it was due to DFV having higher magnification.
Weight: Surgitel (especially the micro version) seemed way lighter. The telescopes on the Nike frames from DFV seemed very front heavy. The DFV with the Buddy Holly frame was light a weight on my eyes after wearing the others.
Frames: This will be personal preference. I personally liked the look of the DFV Nike loupes the best. They also had spring frame arms which is good for people like me with enormous heads. However I felt the Oakley loupes were more comfortable and balanced. Maybe this was due to the DFV telescopes being heavier. Again the Buddy Holly ones seemed way too heavy, but were certainly the sturdiest. There was a wider selection of frames from Surgitel with a variety of sizes. Also Oakely and Nike are made by children in China, which is unfortunate, but they tie in this regard.
Warranty: The DFV one seems better with the lifetime for some frames. Both the Nike (DFV) and Oakley (Surgitel) come with one year. I forgot to ask about the coverage for the actual telescopes from Surgitel, but DFV doesn't cover anything except condensation getting in. Basically I think with either company if you run your loupes over with you car after 45 days you are on the hook for big $.
Headlight: This was a no brainer, Surgitel's lights were by far the superior product. The headlight from DFV seemed very ditzel, the field of light produced this weird square with a faint halo in the periphery. The surgitel light was a bright and uniform circle. Surgitel's is brighter (7500 fcd vs 5200). The battery is of the same duration (9hrs on full blast). The DFV does come with an additional battery pack which is really nice though, but they cost more to replace ($120 vs $90 for Surgitel). Both estimate battery life between 3-6 yrs depending on use. Initially I wanted to avoid the battery completely and go with the fiberoptic light, as this light is brighter and feels more natural in hue, but got talked out of it when I learned there is no coverage on the fiberoptic light cable itself, which costs $200+ to replace. It is also way heavier than the battery one, and obviously you are tethered, and cannot use it in the ED etc due to the need for a light source.
Price: DFV is cheaper by $100 for the loupes, way cheaper for the light ($595 vs $895). The quoted price I got for the combos from each company was $995+$895 for Surgitel 2.5x micro with Oakely frames and a fiberoptic light ($995 + 795 for the batter light), and $895 + $595 for the 2.5x DFV on Nike frames with the battery light (they don't make a fiberoptic light). This was a resident price and was like $500 less than the "retail."
Rep: DFV was way cuter.
In the end I am going with Surgitel 2.5x micro on the half jacket with the battery connected light. I have 45 days to change my mind if I don't like the product...we'll see.
We had a visit from reps from these companies today and I thought I would share my thoughts and see if anyone else has further insights regarding these two products. I was looking for a 2.5x loupe and want a headlight (open to fiberoptic or battery powered). Here was what I came away with:
Resolution: Comparing the 2.5x between the two, I felt they were about the same in image quality, with DFV maybe being slightly better. There was definitely a difference in magnification...I felt DFV were stronger in mag, but had a narrower field of view than Surgitel. I also definitely noticed that along the periphery of the DFV loupes the image blurred. This is mentioned on the Surgitel website when they compared their loupes to others (they have a nice slide demonstrating this). The entire image in the Surgitel loupe was completely sharp.
Depth of field: For certain Surgitel had a deeper field. My hands were perfectly in focus over a large distance (12+ inches), whereas DFV was only sharp over about half of that. Even the rep admitted this but said it was due to DFV having higher magnification.
Weight: Surgitel (especially the micro version) seemed way lighter. The telescopes on the Nike frames from DFV seemed very front heavy. The DFV with the Buddy Holly frame was light a weight on my eyes after wearing the others.
Frames: This will be personal preference. I personally liked the look of the DFV Nike loupes the best. They also had spring frame arms which is good for people like me with enormous heads. However I felt the Oakley loupes were more comfortable and balanced. Maybe this was due to the DFV telescopes being heavier. Again the Buddy Holly ones seemed way too heavy, but were certainly the sturdiest. There was a wider selection of frames from Surgitel with a variety of sizes. Also Oakely and Nike are made by children in China, which is unfortunate, but they tie in this regard.
Warranty: The DFV one seems better with the lifetime for some frames. Both the Nike (DFV) and Oakley (Surgitel) come with one year. I forgot to ask about the coverage for the actual telescopes from Surgitel, but DFV doesn't cover anything except condensation getting in. Basically I think with either company if you run your loupes over with you car after 45 days you are on the hook for big $.
Headlight: This was a no brainer, Surgitel's lights were by far the superior product. The headlight from DFV seemed very ditzel, the field of light produced this weird square with a faint halo in the periphery. The surgitel light was a bright and uniform circle. Surgitel's is brighter (7500 fcd vs 5200). The battery is of the same duration (9hrs on full blast). The DFV does come with an additional battery pack which is really nice though, but they cost more to replace ($120 vs $90 for Surgitel). Both estimate battery life between 3-6 yrs depending on use. Initially I wanted to avoid the battery completely and go with the fiberoptic light, as this light is brighter and feels more natural in hue, but got talked out of it when I learned there is no coverage on the fiberoptic light cable itself, which costs $200+ to replace. It is also way heavier than the battery one, and obviously you are tethered, and cannot use it in the ED etc due to the need for a light source.
Price: DFV is cheaper by $100 for the loupes, way cheaper for the light ($595 vs $895). The quoted price I got for the combos from each company was $995+$895 for Surgitel 2.5x micro with Oakely frames and a fiberoptic light ($995 + 795 for the batter light), and $895 + $595 for the 2.5x DFV on Nike frames with the battery light (they don't make a fiberoptic light). This was a resident price and was like $500 less than the "retail."
Rep: DFV was way cuter.
In the end I am going with Surgitel 2.5x micro on the half jacket with the battery connected light. I have 45 days to change my mind if I don't like the product...we'll see.
