My Favourite Loupe

[Panoman617]

I've got a 4X that I got from Fujifilm a long time ago. Had to send in a bunch of UPC codes off the box of film. Any off you use them??

[Ari]

I ditched my loupes years ago and went to an Opti Visor. It adjust to fit over your head and it has a flip down viewed for both eyes. You can put in any magnification you want and keep your hands free. The best part is that you can watch the entire ground glass from a reasonable distance and this works particularly well with 8x10 and larger.

Michael, you're a braver man than I; that's almost up there with using a snorkel to avoid fog on the GG on cold days, or using a baby stroller for your gear.
Kudos!

[VanDyke]

Leitz wetzlar EMO- love it!

[Frank Petronio]

I'm sure Michael looks very chick wearing those. And he gets things focused quicker and surer.

For the most part -- I'm just assuming and making a gross generalization here -- but don't most of us simply not give a flying xxxx what we look like or doing whatever it takes to (safely) make the best shot possible?

I know I look a sight, bent over, butt sticking out of the darkcloth. Does it get any dorkier than that?

[ljsegil]

yeah, seeing that picture inverted and reversed, trying to figure out how you get the darkcloth to rise when it's on backwards and wondering what kind of animal stands on the ceiling with an upside down camera but no battery, all while balancing a tripod on the pointy end.
LJ

[Michael Kadillak]

I'm sure Michael looks very chick wearing those. And he gets things focused quicker and surer.

For the most part -- I'm just assuming and making a gross generalization here -- but don't most of us simply not give a flying xxxx what we look like or doing whatever it takes to (safely) make the best shot possible?

I know I look a sight, bent over, butt sticking out of the darkcloth. Does it get any dorkier than that?

Actually, I saw an image of John Wemberly making a photograph wearing the Opti Visors and a week later I was at the dermatologist at my checkup and he was wearing a pair so I asked him to let me check them out. Shortly thereafter, I found them at a local store and they have been a regular part of my photography routine since. If I was shooting 4x5 I would likely be using a standard loup. But 5x7 and larger they are the boss. I could not shoot ULF without them simply because of the expanse of ground glass that you have to take responsibility for. Covering 240 square inches of ground glass (12x20) +/- a square inch at a time is problematic for me. But when you can backup and look at it all at the same time it is much easier to compose at the same time you are optimizing the focus.

[Frank Petronio]

Yeah I think they're a good idea. Why wouldn't you want to use them with a smaller 4x5?

[Ed Kelsey]

Toyo 3.6x

[Michael Kadillak]

You surely could use them with 4x5, but the ground glass is so much smaller that I find it a bit more difficult to see the subtle changes in focus that are so visually obvious with larger formats and larger ground glass. In this instance a 4 or 6x loup to me anyway, is more effective.

[Peter Spangenberg]

Hi Michael-
What magnification do you use for the 8x10 in the OptiVisor?
Thanks-Peter