Loupes Again, What Works for You

[Tin Can]

I need something and i never did before eye surgery.

Very near sighted from birth, I could only see well at GG distance.

Now I need 10 to 20X loupe.

How to Choose a Magnifier (https://www.edmundoptics.com/resources/application-notes/microscopy/how-to-choose-a-magnifier/)

What do you use that is still available new?

[Corran]

I wish I knew what my main loupe is in case I ever lose it. It has no markings. A guy I was buying two lenses from sold it to me, as I didn't have one at the time. It's a 10x, and it's tiny. I really like it.

Some of my friends use 3x to 7x loupes and they are massive by comparison.

I'll take some pics later.

[John Kasaian]

The highest magnification I've used was 9x---the ubiquitous Agfa---yeah, I know it's not perfect but it worked well enough for me until I could afford a 6x Silvestri, but that would be even weaker than the Agfas.
You can find linen testers that are 30x
Wisner, IIRC, preferred linen testers over conventional loupes for focusing.

[esearing]

Loupes seem attracted to Georgia's raging rivers. So I buy cheaper Peak 5x loupes when on sale. I also bought a reflex viewer so I am using loupes for less time, and now tend to put them back in the bag when done.

[Bob Salomon]

The highest magnification I've used was 9x---the ubiquitous Agfa---yeah, I know it's not perfect but it worked well enough for me until I could afford a 6x Silvestri, but that would be even weaker than the Agfas.
You can find linen testers that are 30x
Wisner, IIRC, preferred linen testers over conventional loupes for focusing.

8x, not 9x. The same loupes today are made by APS in Spain and are, or were, sold under the Gepe Pro and Kaiser names. A copy was also made in China and was no where near as well made. You can easily tell them apart by running your finger around the base. The European made ones have a very smooth rounded bottom edge, the others have a less rounded edge and are not smooth.

[Bob Salomon]

Loupes seem attracted to Georgia's raging rivers. So I buy cheaper Peak 5x loupes when on sale. I also bought a reflex viewer so I am using loupes for less time, and now tend to put them back in the bag when done.
Better loupes usually come with a neck cord to save themselves from raging rivers or mountain heights or clumsy users,

[Drew Wiley]

I learned to use a fully closing little carabiner on my tripod to secure loupe cords, meter straps, and camera backs when attaching a Graflok roll-film holder, all this due to the wisdom attained in the school of hard knocks exactly as Bob just phrased it. "Raging rivers, mountain heights, and clumsiness" all apply to me.

[Corran]

I was wrong, there is a marking. My favorite loupe is apparently made by Edmunds Scientific and also says "Made in USA." 10x, very sharp and small. Next to it, a 7x that just says "Japan" which is a little better for 8x10 or 8x20 as I don't need such a high mag. The 10x for 4x5 and smaller.

I keep my loupe in my left pocket usually. Spot meter in my right lower pocket.

http://www.garrisaudiovisual.com/photosharing/loupes.jpg

[Drew Wiley]

The 7X on the left is the Peak model which is my favorite too, although it's most frequently found under Horseman private label, but sometimes under Nikon or Wista label as well. I use these for all my view camera formats.

[Corran]

Cool. I can't remember where I got it. I think someone gave it to me or it was thrown in with something else I bought.

[Tin Can]

Just ordered this https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/9x-opaque-base-magnifier/1844/

Thanks Bryan!

I will drill a hole in it for a shoelace.:)

[HMG]

Just ordered this https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/9x-opaque-base-magnifier/1844/

Thanks Bryan!

I will drill a hole in it for a shoelace.:)


Anxiously await the review!

[Corran]

Nice! Now I know I can replace it. I never looked around that hard for a similar model.

More expensive than I thought it would be. And I guess it's 9x, surprise! I just like the size. I like the little case shown that comes with it. I don't have that.

[Tin Can]

Remind me!

It's coming in a week...


Anxiously await the review!

[Jeff T]

I am using Schneider and Mamiya (aka Cabin) Loupes, probably not in production but there are plentifully at the auction site. Beyond 8x, try a jewelers loupe, some are available with apochromatic glass.

[Drew Wiley]

I use a big Edmund 7X unit for lightbox use in the lab. It has a large cutout which accommodates a retouching pen. They have quite a selection of magnifiers. The emergency reserve magnifier in my backpack is a tiny 10X Emo. It comes with an adapter to turn it into a tiny telescope.

[Daniel Stone]

I use a linen tester. Square corners so I can poke it all the way up into the corner of the frame. However with making 8x10 contact prints, shooting in bright daylight conditions I find myself not needing a loupe all that often anyhow. But then again, my eyes are only 31 years old :rolleyes:

[Bob Salomon]

I use a big Edmund 7X unit for lightbox use in the lab. It has a large cutout which accommodates a retouching pen. They have quite a selection of magnifiers. The emergency reserve magnifier in my backpack is a tiny 10X Emo. It comes with an adapter to turn it into a tiny telescope.

Besides a special production Rodenstock 4x and the production 4x and a Schneider 4x I also have a very unusual Emo Octoscop with 4 swiveling lenses. Individually they are 2x, 4x, 10x and 18x. But they rotate and be used in combinations to make up to 28x. Whole thing is about 2” long! A bit over 1/2” wide and ½” thick. Available magnifications when swiveled are 6x , 14x, 20x and 28x. Has a neckcord and slip in leather case.

http://www.submin.com/binocular/collection/seibert/octoskop%20.htm

[Bob Salomon]

I use a big Edmund 7X unit for lightbox use in the lab. It has a large cutout which accommodates a retouching pen. They have quite a selection of magnifiers. The emergency reserve magnifier in my backpack is a tiny 10X Emo. It comes with an adapter to turn it into a tiny telescope.

That was the Eoskop. I believe it could also be used as a microscope, neat unit, wish I could find where mine went!

[Arne Croell]

192799
Since my early days as a mineralogy student, 40+ years ago, I always carry a geologist‘s/jeweler’s loupe with me, so that is what I use. I am so used to it that a regular ground glass loupe doesn’t feel right to me in the field. I use the latter on the light table.

[Mark Sampson]

I use a low-magnification focusing magnifier made by Ednalite (another extinct Rochester optical company). The eyepiece is almost an inch across, which makes seeing the image on the groundglass easy. It may only be 4x (?) but I've used it since my days as a portrait photographer, so 40 years; I must be used to it.
(I'm surprised that I haven't lost it somewhere in all that time, like I did the really good Schneider loupe that I used on the lightbox.)
Don't know what I'd replace it with, if I should lose it, but I'd find something

[Kiwi7475]

I use this one for 4x5:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/40696-REG/Peak_1301983S_10x_Scale_Loupe.html?kw=PE1983&ap=y&smp=y&BI=6879&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwrmJsa6G4wIVEr3sCh1hfA8AEAQYASABEgJglvD_BwE

It’s 10X, achromatic and pretty compact. It’s expen$ive but works very well.

[andrewch59]

Edmunds scientific for me too, 9x it was a lot cheaper than purpose made loupes on feebay. I think it is called a stand magnifier.

[EdSawyer]

a 50mm lens for a 35mm SLR can be very cheap and well built, and is about an 8-10x loupe, that's what I use.

[invisibleflash]

I got a bunch of cheap, old Agfa 8x loups from the 1970's and a $$ Peak 15X. There are lots of nice loups out there. And some real crappers.

[invisibleflash]

I use this one for 4x5:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/40696-REG/Peak_1301983S_10x_Scale_Loupe.html?kw=PE1983&ap=y&smp=y&BI=6879&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwrmJsa6G4wIVEr3sCh1hfA8AEAQYASABEgJglvD_BwE

It’s 10X, achromatic and pretty compact. It’s expen$ive but works very well.

Hard to go wrong with Peak, very nice Q loups for the most part.

[Doremus Scudder]

It would appear that just about anything that magnifies 5-8 or 10x can work and gets used for focusing on the ground glass. It's really just a matter of learning to use the tool you have. I use Peak and Nikon 8x and 10x loupes, but carry 5x aspheric collapsible magnifiers in the field for the most part. They don't rest on the ground glass, which makes me have to find focus every time, but they have the advantage of being able to be used at varying angles to the ground glass so I can see into the corners of the image, or find the bright spot when using extreme movements.

My current favorite is the one seen on the TV series "Sherlock." https://www.amazon.com/Folding-Pocket-Magnifier-magnification-Biconvex/dp/B004KNS2BW

Best,

Doremus

[Leszek Vogt]

I've settled for Shneider 8X.

[Drew Wiley]

I have a plain folding low-power General pocket magnifier in leather sleeve in every one of my camera kits. It's not much good for ground glass viewing, but great for reading numbers on meters or shutter markings or maps, when I don't want to pull out a set of reading glasses. And you don't have to worry about it getting roughed up like an expensive magnifier.

[Peter De Smidt]

For me, I don't use high magnification loupes. My favorite is the 5.5x Pentax Lupe with an opaque skirt, but if I'm using my Sinar, then the 2x magnification in the binocular reflex viewer is plenty. A lot will depend on your vision, of course, along with the granularity of the ground glass. On my Intrepid, the screen is course enough that 4x is a bit too much.

[Jac@stafford.net]

If one thinks he needs a 10x or 20x loupe, then IMO something beyond magnification is required. In the last couple of years my focusing eye went cloudy and dark. I had surgery, and enough cloudiness remains regardless of object type (ground glass). The prognosis is poor. Pretty much blind. I dearly sympathize with Not Art Randy.

Time to sit back, free our opinions from our sighted ability to be creative to address Randy's special case.

IOW, this is not a thread to expound upon your fair eye-sight loupe preferences! Who cares about you? It about Randy!

[Mark Sampson]

Your choice will depend, in part, on how coarse your GG screen is ground and whether or not you have a Fresnel lens installed. Personally I think 6x is plenty, with a largish aperture so you can see enough of the screen.

[Peter De Smidt]

The best viewing experience of all my cameras is a Sinar screen + Fresnel + Binocular reflex viewer. I hadn't used mine for awhile, and taking it out again was a revelation. It blocks all of the extraneous light, which is a huge help, and the front surface mirror can be tilted to light up edges, especially important with wide lenses. The better one can see the ground glass, the more likely one it to make a good picture. Ok, my Maxwell screen is better than the Sinar, but currently it's on my Toyo.

[Drew Wiley]

How does anyone focus critically with a fresnel in place, with all those distracting lines? Other than very wide angle applications in dimly lit interiors, my impression has been that fresnels are poor substitutes for a properly ground glass to begin with, relative to application. A bit coarser grind often makes more sense. When I received my Ebony 4x5, the first thing I did is remove the complementary fresnel screen; and then, when my Satin Snow glass arrived, replace the original gg with that. No need for a fancy viewing hood; that's what a darkcloth and loupe are for, although my opinion is weighted (or rather, unweighted) by the priority I put on field portability. Studio preferences might differ, but not for me.

[Tin Can]

Thanks Jac.

I am interested in how we all cope with GG viewing.

Only a year ago I did not need a loupe as I saw things very close up, clearly, since birth. But at age 7 somebody thought I was not an idiot and perhaps I needed glasses. I did get Coke bottles. I have every pair I ever bought, usually once a year. Soon they will be donated to the Lions Club, as they want them, for others.

But I had already scarred my eyes from not seeing tree branches.

Last year I had eye surgery, now I can drive without glasses, but never will view a GG without a strong loupe.

We all go through changes and challenges as we age.

I am very happy to survive thus far.

Onward, the end is near!



or not...


:cool:


If one thinks he needs a 10x or 20x loupe, then IMO something beyond magnification is required. In the last couple of years my focusing eye went cloudy and dark. I had surgery, and enough cloudiness remains regardless of object type (ground glass). The prognosis is poor. Pretty much blind. I dearly sympathize with Not Art Randy.

Time to sit back, free our opinions from our sighted ability to be creative to address Randy's special case.

IOW, this is not a thread to expound upon your fair eye-sight loupe preferences! Who cares about you? It about Randy!

[Peter De Smidt]

How does anyone focus critically with a fresnel in place, with all those distracting lines?

Without any problem at all.

[Tin Can]

I have a Horseman reflex viewer but it did not work with my old eyes.

I need to try it with my new ones!


The best viewing experience of all my cameras is a Sinar screen + Fresnel + Binocular reflex viewer. I hadn't used mine for awhile, and taking it out again was a revelation. It blocks all of the extraneous light, which is a huge help, and the front surface mirror can be tilted to light up edges, especially important with wide lenses. The better one can see the ground glass, the more likely one it to make a good picture. Ok, my Maxwell screen is better than the Sinar, but currently it's on my Toyo.

[Bernice Loui]

Fresnel "brightness-focus" aids are modestly OK when used with normal to longer focal length lenses. Once a significantly wide angle lens like a 150mm on 8x10 is used that fresnel lens becomes a very significant focus and image viewing obstacle.

-Simply cannot stand any ground glass viewing with a fresnel lens of any kind, be the fresnel lens be places in front of or behind the ground glass.

Tilting the ground glass magnifier can often help in focusing and evaluating the GG image when using wide angle lenses. This votes for a hand held non-focusable ground glass magnifier.


Bernice





How does anyone focus critically with a fresnel in place, with all those distracting lines?


Without any problem at all.

[Drew Wiley]

I wonder how many of us used our magnifying glasses for burning to death ants and spiders as little boys? I can't remember doing that, but I probably did. Maybe that explains some of our old-age karma.

[Vaughn]

How does anyone focus critically with a fresnel in place, with all those distracting lines? ...
Don't like them either -- took it off the Zone VI when it arrived.

[Bernice Loui]

192848


Bernice



I wonder how many of us used our magnifying glasses for burning to death ants and spiders as little boys? I can't remember doing that, but I probably did. Maybe that explains some of our old-age karma.

[Bernice Loui]

During the beginning of this view camera stuff in the early 1980's, tried all sorts of "viewing aids" from every ground glass fresnel lens available at that time, Sinar binocular viewers, bellows with magnifier, short loupe, long loupe, 2x loupes to 20x loupes (these were not good at all), hand held magnifiers and just about every GG magnifying gadget available. In the end, the most often used is a Horseman 7x loupe with a sting that can be hung on the camera and a hand held magnifier made using two +10 diopters 67mm (normally used as a close up attachment for camera lens, 67mm being a odd size lowering the cost of them) in a double"anastigmat" configuration.

Loupes for inspecting film post process is a very different requirement and a LOT more demanding than what is needed for a GG focusing aid.


Bernice

[Tin Can]

I don't have 2 +10 diopters close up lenses at hand.

As I recall they have glass thicker than the mount making 2 impossible to stack directly.

How do you use them together?


During the beginning of this view camera stuff in the early 1980's, tried all sorts of "viewing aids" from every ground glass fresnel lens available at that time, Sinar binocular viewers, bellows with magnifier, short loupe, long loupe, 2x loupes to 20x loupes (these were not good at all), hand held magnifiers and just about every GG magnifying gadget available. In the end, the most often used is a Horseman 7x loupe with a sting that can be hung on the camera and a hand held magnifier made using two +10 diopters 67mm (normally used as a close up attachment for camera lens, 67mm being a odd size lowering the cost of them) in a double"anastigmat" configuration.

Loupes for inspecting film post process is a very different requirement and a LOT more demanding than what is needed for a GG focusing aid.


Bernice

[Tin Can]

The made in USA Edmund 9X loupe arrived just now. No case, that's $20 extra.

Obviously they beat their 1 week shipping time.

Heavy duty with at least 3/4" of adjustment threading with an aluminum lock ring.

Tried it out first on my monitor. I needed 7/16 adjustment.

Just tried it on my 11x14 Studio Deardorff with my DIY GG.

Eureka! I can see and focus highlights in a eye.

Seems simple now, but reality is I never really needed any loupe until after I had my eyes 'fixed'. Not giving them a second chance.

ymmv

I will be drilling a hole in the base, which separates from the lens part, so I can wear it around my neck and not lose it.

My first necklace!




Anxiously await the review!

[Bernice Loui]

Does not need to be two +10 diopter close up lenses. Suggest getting one of these Vivitar Series 1 diopter close up kits (has four close diopters in a kit, +1, +2, +4, +10) in the filter size of interest. larger or smaller filter size depending on need. The 67mm kit is about $13 USD via eBay to your door.
192857

These diopters have a removable lens retainer ring which allows removing then flipping the diopter lens as needed.
192858

Mix and match the diopter lenses of your choice depending on magnification and working distance needed by experimentation, this is NOT a precise optic as it is a modest magnification magnifier. The lens curvature faces the outside of the lens set-group. Once the diopter set is chosen, install the flipped diopter into the filter holder then install the retainer ring with a spanner wrench.. Do not over tighten the retainer ring. tiny amount of lubricant will go along ways to making a smooth retaining ring installation.
192859

192860

A spare empty filter ring can be added to allow the magnifier to sit flat on a table or similar flat surface.


Not a bad magnifier for modest cost.



Bernice








I don't have 2 +10 diopters close up lenses at hand.

As I recall they have glass thicker than the mount making 2 impossible to stack directly.

How do you use them together?

[Bernice Loui]

There are other brands of close up diopters like Tiffen that have removable lens retainer rings allowing the diopter lens to be flipped and mixed as needed.
192861


Bernice