Preferred focusing loupe?

[neil poulsen]

I had used a cheap loupe for many years and then purchased a Schneider 4x intended for the purpose. It was a revelation, so much better than the loupe I had been using.

Now that I've been using a 6x9 camera, I purchased a Nikon 7x loupe and prefer it for both 6x9 and 4x5.

[seabee1999]

I don't use a loupe. Instead, I use a combo of either 3.75 reading glasses with/without a large magnifying glass or a 5-10x theodolite magnifier for using with surveying equipment. Both methods have worked quite well for me over the years.

R/
Dave

[Richard Wasserman]

Speaking of revelations, I came across a Rodenstock 6x aspherical loupe at a very good price. It is amazingly wonderful.

[Randy]

I use a Chimney finder off of a Mamiya RB-67. It is large, the base is about 4X4" give or take, so it is great for my 8X10 but I have used it on 4X5. The eye piece focus and has a rubber cup to keep out light. I probably paid $35 on ebay.

[Drew Wiley]

Looks like I haven't posted on this ancient thread yet. I prefer the 7X Peak loupes, which were private-labeled by Horseman and even Nikon at one time. A nice
compromise between size and brightness. On long backpacks I carry a tiny EMO 10X loupe as an emergency spare. My chimney finder stays on one of my 6x7's
for very long lens use. But that concept does sound interesting if it wasn't so bulky.

[Doremus Scudder]

Drew's inspired me to chime in here too

I prefer a fairly high magnification - 7x - 10x for fine focusing. I normally use Peak loupes (or one of their many incarnations) that were originally intended for slide viewing, i.e., a short skirt. Rough focusing is done with 4 diopter glasses (I've got a flip-down 4-diopter that fits on my eyeglasses; very convenient) and the final focus with the loupe.

Long ago I quit using my loupes with the skirt resting on the ground glass. I either remove the skirt or hold the loupe backward. This means I have to find the right distance from the ground glass by moving back-and-forth a bit under the darkcloth, but has the advantage that I can easily see into corners and around hot spots by tilting the loupe away from parallel with the ground glass and into alignment with the angle projected by the lens.

Some years ago I arrived in Venice without my reading glasses and loupe. I went to an optician there and got a nifty pair of (very stylish) 3.5-diopter readers and a small 8x magnifier. This latter is housed in a small case that slides open to reveal an aspheric molded polycarbonate lens; no skirt, not anything but the lens. I found using this really easy to use, small and convenient. It has become my focusing magnifier of choice in Europe. When I find another, I'll buy it for a back up.

Best,

Doremus

[schafphoto]

Thanks for the input. I'm going to check out the Peak 7x. I also ordered a Pentax from EBay and though it is large. I'm thinking of cutting a notch out of the base on one edge so that I can move it closer to the edge/corner of the GG. I'll let you know how it works next week when it arrives.