Focus aid question

[ggbushaw]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'm going to go ahead and try the Toyo 3.6x. I've suspected that the magnification on my now defunct Nikon 8x was more than optimal. The reading glasses with flip down magnifiers sounds like a great approach, too--well worth a try.

Gordy

[Jim Jirka]

Alan,
That is a wonderful approach with the flip down magnifier. I will have to try that.

[Chris Strobel]

Toyo here too

[Brian Ellis]

Most expensive loupes are made for viewing slides on light boxes, where optical quality can be important (and expensive). You don't need that kind of quality (and cost) for viewing on a ground glass. I have the Toyo loupe that others have mentioned but I don't use it (in fact if you'd like to buy it let me know and we can come up with a price). I prefer the Peak 4x loupe with a square base. The square base is very helpful when viewing along the edges and in corners (if the corners aren't cut out of course). I think the Peak cost about $50 but I've had it a long time so I could be off on the cost.

[JPlomley]

Nice thing about the Toyo is that, due to its length, you do not risk fogging the GG.

[Jan Pietrzak]

Not to be-labor the point, but. Alan is on the right track. Flip-ups are so good. I have bi-focals and with the 3d or 4d flip-ups I can see the ground glass just fine. Also good in the darkroom for focusing the enlarger. And spoting prints, well what can I say. And a 10 bucks I have a few pairs around. I finally had to but my wife a few for her bead work.

Jan Pietrzak

[butterfly]

I've always wondered if I should focus this way - I wear vario focals and have a pair of strongish reading glasses for computer/reading work. I always use my lupe without any glasses to focus on the GG, but wonder if I should be wearing my glasses when I do this - seems a stupid question now I've typed it. Anyway, comments appreciated.

Steve

[Rakesh Malik]

I started with the long Toyo, but lately I've been using the Ebony. It's quite nice, and since it has no skirt it's really easy to look into the corners with it. I also like its relatively large field of view, as it makes scanning the ground glass easier.

[RDKirk]

I've always wondered if I should focus this way - I wear vario focals and have a pair of strongish reading glasses for computer/reading work. I always use my lupe without any glasses to focus on the GG, but wonder if I should be wearing my glasses when I do this - seems a stupid question now I've typed it. Anyway, comments appreciated.

Steve

Well, heck, is it sharp?

I have sever myopia. Without glasses, my range of sharp vision runs from 6 inches to 7 inches in front of my eyeball. I'm also old enough to suffer from presbyopia, so with through my bifocals, I see sharply from about 16 inches to infinity.

So I peer over the top of my glasses to see the groundglass for most focusing and use a Toyo loupe through the distance portion of my bifocals for acute focusing. Loupes generally position the virtual focus plane out farther than 16 inches, from "what I can see."

[Steve Barber]

Someone here pointed me to the best solution I have found and that is a good quality 50mm or 55mm enlarging lens. Put the back of it toward the ground glass and look through the front.

I have excellent distant vision, but presbyopia causes me problems big time up close. I use the strongest reading glasses I have to focus, with or without the loupe.

If you do use an enlarging lens, the image quality of which will blow away the high dollar loupes that I got for viewing slides and negatives, get a piece of PVC of the appropriate diameter and cut it to form a base that will hold the lens at the distance necessary for you to focus accurately. You can get along without it and it works better in the corners that way, but, overall, I prefer to have it at the exact distance with a base against the ground glass to hold it steady.

50mm enlarging lenses are a drag on the market and are far better and cheaper than any decent loupe that I have seen. I think I paid 20 or 25 dollars for a Nikon.

I have tried a jeweler's magnifiers, but they recommend you wear your reading glasses with them. They are OK alone, but they are overkill with a loupe and not as critical without it. Basically, I can do as well with the reading glasses and, for really fine focussing, the reading glasses and the reversed enlarging lens are the best combination.