groundglass loupe

[Jonathan Brewer]

I'm considering getting a Toyo 3.6 groundglass loupe, I've heard good things abo ut this loupe. Has anyone had experience w/the Emo Focuscup 6x groundglass loup e?

Also I cannot find the distributer for Emo(Wetzlar if that where it's made) and I assume it's still made by Macromax or is it?

[Nathaniel Paust]

I have the toyo loupe and I think it's great. I haven't used/heard of the other loupe, but I wonder if a 6x loupe might be a little bit much. The ground glass on my Canham DLC is pretty course and I wonder if a higher power loupe would be usefull or if it would be limited by the texture of the GG.

Of course, you may have a finer ground glass in which case more magnification may be usefull.

[Jonathan Brewer]

Nathaniel.....So the Toyo is cost effective and it would be pretty much overkill to look around for something else?

[tedkaufman]

I have the Toyo loupe and I'm very happy with it. Toyo makes two loupes--a short barrel and a long barrel. I have the longer version and I wish I had known there was shorter version when I bought it; it's just longer than it needs to be and a little clunky to hang around your neck. Optically, though, I think the Toyo is an excellent value, and it's very nicely made, so I don't hesitate recommending it.

[Dave Anton]

Hi Jonathan, I am using a 7x after losing my other one. It is difficult to focus with it. I wouldn't recommend a 6x.

Dave.

[Georges Pelpel]

I have the Toyo 3.6x loupe (long barrel) and like it a lot. I used to have a 8x loupe, it was too strong to my taste. I like the long barrel so I don't have to stick my nose to the GG. I also like the rubber bottom preventing GG scratching.

[Glenn Kroeger]

I actually bought the Emo 6x Focuscope to replace a Toyo loupe. I found the Emo too large and heavy, and the 6x unecessary, and sent it back and got another Toyo.

[John Sarsgard]

I've used the Toyo 3.6 for years, and have absolutely no reason to want anything else. It does the job perfectly well, and is very reasonably priced. It's also nicely made, and I too appreciate the rubber ring to prevent scratching the GG. Just a suggestion...much of the time, when I have plenty of light, I use extra strong reading glasses instead of a loupe. (Stronger than I need...only use them briefly) I use the cord that allows them to hang around my neck. With those, I have both hands free.

[Sal Santamaura]

Another satisfied Toyo user. Note that it has rubber rings on *both* ends, a particularly valuable feature if you wear AR coated eyeglasses, and wish to avoid scratching their coatings.

[N Dhananjay]

Another satisfied Toyo user - its cheap and very well designed. The long barrel, I suspect, is to allow you to use the loupe without removing a GG shade (if you use a Speed Graphic etc). Strictly speaking, the power of the loupe you use should be related to how much you will enlarge the image, since that allows you to see if the DOF will hold up when the picture is enlarged etc. However, beyong 4X can get problematic if you have a coarse GG. Having a fine GG creates another bunch of problems - a 'hot spot'. If you're shotting 4x5, a 16x20 is about a 4X enlargement and a 4X loupe is pretty much ideal. If you sometimes print 20x24, stop down a little more than the image through the loupe indicates. Good luck, DJ.