grain focussing!!!

Does anyone on the net have a strong opinion on which grain focussing devices wo rk the best? I know it is a small piece of the puzzle toward producing the best the best print possible, but all the pieces work together and a weak link can be a nightmare. What are your opinions about brands, magnification, and anything e lse that you think may apply? Or do you think it is not important?

There was a whole series of discussions on grain focussers at the link below.

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002sxb

Dave, There is only one make of grain magnifier that I would consider and that is the PEAK finder 1 or the cheaper finder 2(which I use). The finder 1 will focus righ t into the corners.They use oversized mirrors which are surfaced coated so the i mage is very bright making focusing very positive.I feel grain focusing is reall y the best way to insure your projected images are in focus. Hope this is of some help, Regards, Trevor.

I was bashed for saying this before but I'll say it again anyway.

I don't use a focusing loupe. What I do use is a fresnel and a good dark cloth.

I have worked in three different studios and when I did I saw photogrphers who didn't use loupes, who used older lenses in broken shutters, who used repro/copy lenses, who used Schneider and Peak loupes. I never heard anyone complain or denigrate the sharpness of any of the images coming out of those studios, or single out one photogrpher has having measurably better or worse results than the others. I also saw an interesting variety of metering techniques, but that's another story.

Michael A. Smith doesn't use a loupe, although Paula Chamlee does. I don't believe Weston did, although he did have a pince-nez. If you already wear glasses, I would consider buying a pair of those 4X reading magnifiers that clip on to your frames so you have both hands free.