Best loup for ground glass focusing?

[Ralph Upchurch]

What is the best type of loup to use for focusing on ground glass? Opaque base? Clear base? What power is best?

Thanks,

Ralph

[Louie Powell]

Ralph -

get the plaid one.

Seriously, different people make different choices, and the right answer for you is what works best for you.

I've heard it said that a 4x loupe is ideal - I use a 10x. Some people use an old camera lens (reversed) - a lens from an old super-8 movie camera is supposed to work well. Other people use drug store reading glasses. An opaque base might seem to make the most sense since you are viewing a subject by transmitted light, but if you are using a dark cloth, you won't have any light coming in from the sides that would make a clear base problematical.

[Walter Calahan]

Ralph

As Louie says, get the plaid one.

Eveyone is different. What works for me, you might not like.

If you have a good camera shop near by, I recommend asking them if you can set up your system in their store so to try out a number of loupes. Boston should have one or two good camera stores with a wide selection.

Personally I find opaque best 'cause I usually don't get a very tight seal between my 8x10 camera and the darkcloth. I use a higher power loupe for my 4x5 (10x) than my 8x10 (4x).

Your results may very.

Good luck and happy shooting.

[naturephoto1]

Hi Ralph,

I have used a number of loupes over many years. For a long time I have used the Wista 7X Hood Lupe and it is probably now going to be replaced by my 4X Horizon Lupe with the black skirt in most instances.

I ran a non scientific test of a series of loupes: 3 4X, 1 5X, 1 3X, 1 7X, and 1 8X loupe that I have in a thread at APUG. You may wish to read through the following thread:

http://www.apug.org/forums/showthrea...=focusing+lupe

Rich

[Frank Petronio]

I like the Wista 9x hood loupe these days, it is 5 inches long so your nose isn't greasing up the ground glass.

But a 4X is plenty strong enough for most work. I like the stronger mags for people because I can see their eyelashes. The opaque sleeves are best.

[Bob Salomon]

Wista makes a loupe that attaches directly to the Wista back. The loupe portion comes with both clear (for viewing prints) and opaque (for viewing groundgalles and slides on light boxes. The loupe is supported by wires that allow the loupe to move anywhere over the 4x5 ground glass and stay there without having to hold it in your hand all the time. Once it is moved to the position that you need it both hands are free. It is 5x magnification and has an adjustable eyepiece. It will go up in price at the end of Jaanuary.

[Bob Salomon]

I like the Wista 9x hood loupe these days, it is 5 inches long so your nose isn't greasing up the ground glass.

But a 4X is plenty strong enough for most work. I like the stronger mags for people because I can see their eyelashes. The opaque sleeves are best.

Frank. You mean 7x. Wista does not make a 9x.

[photographs42]

A couple of things not mentioned here.
1. The type of ground glass and whether or not you use a fresnel lens affects your ability to use stronger loupes. At some point you see the grain in the GG or the lines in the Fresnel rather than the detail in the image.
2. Another consideration is whether you need diopter adjustment or not.

Jerome

[Brian Ellis]

I greatly prefer the loupes with a square rather than a round base. The square base is much easier to use along the edges and in the corners (if they're not cut out) than the round loupes and it's the corners and edges that you'll often want to examine most closely. There aren't too many square-based loupes made, I've collected three over the years, all of which are Peak loupes. One is 8x and the other two are 4x. I prefer the 4x. I also own a Toyo loupe which stays home because it has a round base but otherwise it's an excellent loupe. I think it's something like 6x but I'm not sure, it's been a long time since I've used it.

[David A. Goldfarb]

You probably want an opaque base. The opaque base is for groundglass viewing and for transparencies on a light table. A clear or translucent base is for prints and contact sheets.

If you have a fresnel screen, usually something around 4x is best. If you have a plain screen with a fine surface you might want something more powerful. The modern Schneider and Rodenstock aspheric loupes have very low barrel/pincushion distortion, making them comfortable to use for long periods of time.

If you are using a folding viewing hood, you'll probably want a longer loupe like the Toyo 3.6x or the longer Wista or Horseman loupes. With a darkcloth, the length isn't so important.

Silvestri makes a tilting loupe for getting into the corners of the groundglass with a wide lens.

Another important thing when focusing is to be sure to spend enough time under the darkcloth in low light conditions or when using a slower lens to allow your eyes to adjust to the brightness of the groundglass.