Focusing loupe

[Alan Klein]

Starting out in LF with a Chamonix 4x5. 45H-1 http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/cameras/45h1

It has a fresnel on it between the ground glass and eye.

What do you suggest?

[BrianShaw]

Even with a fresnel I’d recommend using a loupe.

[Alan Klein]

Which one?

[nbagno]

I really like my Fuji

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/163800?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsJSlgZL05gIVhMhkCh0DTQLvEAQYAiABEgJv1PD_BwE



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BrianShaw]

which one?

4x

[Alan Klein]

I have a Schneider 6x6 that I used for examining 6x6cm medium format slides or negatives. It's about 3x. Would that work?

[BrianShaw]

Yes.

[Greg]

Subjective opinions to follow.
from left to right
30X21mm folding loupe: too high of magnification for general use, but keep one at the bottom of my case.
AGFA LUPE 8X: Probably my most used loupe. Small, inexpensive and just works. Keep one in all my LF & ULF cases
Canon: Higher magnification than the AGFAFocusable high mag metal loupe: Love it but don't like its metal housing touching a fresnel lens or the "clink" sound it makes when it touches the GG
PAM - N.Y. high mag metal loupe: same as above but narrow field of viewPeak 10X: No focusing ability, a negative for a high mag loupe
Large black loupe: Love it. Belonged to W. Eugene Smith. Once almost lost it in the field, so it now stays at home.
Leitz 100mm f/2.8 ELMARON projector lens: Sharp but magnification too low. Pair of CU glasses work a lot better.
FUJI 4X loupe: Great loupe but when using it with its neck strap, it keeps on bumping into the camera and other things
HORSEMAN PRECISION LUPE 4X: Great and it is focusable, but is large. Use it primarily for inspecting negatives and transparencies.
PENTAX SMC PHOTO LUPE 5.5X: Favorite large loupe but in its protective case takes up a whole lot of room in the equipment case. Prefer taking another lens in lieu of it.

[Andy Eads]

Alan, I was desperate one day doing a studio set and so I grabbed a focusing magnifier made for the Nikon F. I think the designation was DW-6. It is 6x and has a huge field of view making it relatively easy to focus in the corners. I scored a decent price on one and have used it to view negs & slides, focus on the ground glass, and even for its intended purpose on my old Nikon. I've also used a 2" focal length projector lens. Both are heavy. - Andy

[Two23]

I've settled on x4 to x6 as a good range. It's easy to overspend but I avoid the cheap plastic ones.


Kent in SD

[John Kasaian]

Grab something, anything, and use it.
That way you'll know what you want to spend your money on.
An Agfa is cheap and works.
A Schneider costs way, way more and works.
Most guys here like the Fuji.
Wisner preferred Linen Testers to loupes and some guys use magnifying glasses from CVS
Carson and Peak also have a following
I use a Silvestri tilting loupe.


What matters is what works for you!

If you want to drop some dough for loupe Nirvana, I'd have to say a Fuji would be a safe bet judging by it's popularity here, but you'll have to hunt for one as they stopped making them a while back AFAIK.

What I found to be most important in a focusing loupe (for me) is that it has a lanyard so I can wear it around my neck, where it's handy and secure.
Some day in the distant future, archaeologists will write dissertations about all the Agfa loupes discovered in the Sierra (which I probably contributed to by losing 'em.)

[ericantonio]

I think it was on this forum someone was saying a 50mm SLR lens would work. I've never tried it and yet, I have like a dozen 50mm lenses!

[Tin Can]

They do if reversed

[Peter De Smidt]

Pentax 5.5x Lupe with an opaque skirt.

[Two23]

Most lenses will work if reversed but are awkward to use. Have done in a pinch.


Kent in SD

[younghoon Kil]

I also recommend Silvestri 8x Loupe.

- https://www.silvestricamerashop.it/shop/en/all-products/29-silvestri-loupe-8x.html
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silvestri-8x-Loupe-45mm-Field-of-View-High-Precision-Magnifier-5058-/333297509310
- https://www.linhofstudio.com/products/Loupes/Silvestri_Loupe_x8

[Jim Galli]

In the studio I'm always grabbing a 50mm Nikkor and looking through it backwards for a loupe.

[Alan Klein]

The camera has a Fresnel lens between the ground glass and eye. SHould I be concerned that certain loupes may damage the lens when you put the loupe on it? If so, what's recommended?

ALso, I wear progressive eyeglasses. Are fixed focus loupe's OK or will I need one that has an adjustment on it?

[Bob Salomon]

The camera has a Fresnel lens between the ground glass and eye. SHould I be concerned that certain loupes may damage the lens when you put the loupe on it? If so, what's recommended?

ALso, I wear progressive eyeglasses. Are fixed focus loupe's OK or will I need one that has an adjustment on it?

Best is a 4 to 6x loupe with an adjustable diopter so you can place it directly on the Fresnel and adjust its focus till the grain of the gg is sharp. Do this without the lens.

Good gg loupes will not scratch.

If you use a non adjustable loupe you will always be out of focus by the thickness of the Fresnel + the thickness of the gg to thground surface since fixed diopter loupe are designed for the focus to be on the surface it is placed on and not beneath it.

[Tin Can]

I also wear Progressives and like adjustable focus, but I set it once and forget it.

I bought this recently, drilled a hole in the base, and made a shoelace necklace

https://www.edmundoptics.com/f/opaque-base-magnifier/11954/

I like it around my neck, so I can find it and keep it safe.

Not cheap, but real glass made in USA

Used it twice today.




The camera has a Fresnel lens between the ground glass and eye. SHould I be concerned that certain loupes may damage the lens when you put the loupe on it? If so, what's recommended?

ALso, I wear progressive eyeglasses. Are fixed focus loupe's OK or will I need one that has an adjustment on it?

[cowanw]

ALso, I wear progressive eyeglasses. Are fixed focus loupe's OK or will I need one that has an adjustment on it?
Regarding the eyeglasses, you will set up the focus of the adjustable loupe for one spot of your glasses, likely infinity, which for practical purposes is the top half. If you use the bottom half of your glasses because the camera is at a short height for example, the ground glass and image will never be sharp but the sharpest is the correct camera focus and if you get that then move your head to use the infinity spot of your glasses, you will find it is spot on. Sharpest is sharpest and your glasses are beyond the film plane and do not alter the correct camera focus. (although it is much more pleasing and reassuring when you are using the correct part of the glasses)

[LabRat]

In the studio I'm always grabbing a 50mm Nikkor and looking through it backwards for a loupe.

Someone long ago gave me a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 that was very worn out from hard press duty,that I promptly took apart to harvest it's organs... The front element assy ended up on a Polaroid Prontor shutter as a soft focus lens for my 2x3 SG, the focusing mount was modified for a 65mm Angulon for use with a cut out modified 35mm stereo camera enlarged to a 3 5/8" wide panoramic format custom camera, the AI f ring went to another non AI lens, the F mount went on a custom adapter for a 75mm B&L/Edison projection Petzval for Nikon cameras, the rear element assy made a perfect loupe for small format negs!!! Not a bad haul from a junk lens!!!

Also add non bifocal 2.5X reading glasses (about $1.50) from the bargain store... Great to see entire GG at once...

If you get a loupe too strong, you only see one tiny spot on the GG and hard to tell where you are, and the GG grain is blown up too much, so the image looks like boulders with many GG's... I think 5X is enough for me...

Steve K

[Bernice Loui]

Decades ago a Foto bud gave me a Contax Zeiss 50mm f1.4 lens that got dropped. It was done for...
This Zeiss 50mm was taken apart, front and rear elements have been used as a magnifier for decades...
Works good.
199139


Bernice

[Mick Fagan]

Almost anything will work, and I have used many things, but the Peak square 4x focusing loupe has been my go to loupe for about the last 8 or so years.

The square base allows you to slide along the edge of the focusing screen and right into the corners without needing to lift it off the glass and move it over the edge of the glass frame to see into the corners and along the edge.

As for focusing, you can also focus one of these, or any other loupe, without your spectacles. Once you have set the focus adjustment, simply lift your glasses onto the top of your head (under a hat helps heaps) then focus away to your hearts content.

They come supplied with two bottom parts, a semi clear and a fully opaque shroud.

https://www.google.com/search?q=square+focusing+loupe&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNQo4_wm2RRA_LjFK4Kx9f6uq9etOQ:1578542461116&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifj6H10PXmAhUFfSsKHf0tBqsQ_AUoAnoECAwQBA&biw=1536&bih=710#imgdii=zEVm0tfdaYsVwM:&imgrc=0cO_HdPkVnLqSM:

Mick.

[Alan Klein]

Regarding the eyeglasses, you will set up the focus of the adjustable loupe for one spot of your glasses, likely infinity, which for practical purposes is the top half. If you use the bottom half of your glasses because the camera is at a short height for example, the ground glass and image will never be sharp but the sharpest is the correct camera focus and if you get that then move your head to use the infinity spot of your glasses, you will find it is spot on. Sharpest is sharpest and your glasses are beyond the film plane and do not alter the correct camera focus. (although it is much more pleasing and reassuring when you are using the correct part of the glasses)

Just ti be clear. Do I understand you;re recommending I get a loupe that has an adjustable focus ring? If so, any recommendations?

[Two23]

Just ti be clear. Do I understand you;re recommending I get a loupe that has an adjustable focus ring? If so, any recommendations?


Those are very handy, especially if you normally need glasses. Lots of good suqgestions already above.


Kent in SD

[esearing]

Carry a cheap 4x plastic loupe for going anywhere near raging water or cliffs, Loupes are apparently drawn to them. Somewhere at the end of the Amicalola and Etowah rivers is a nice collection I have dropped.

[Doremus Scudder]

Alan,

Loupe power is a personal preference; some like more powerful, some less.

The issue of seeing into the corners of the images arises when using very short focal lengths or lots of movements. For this a tilting loupe may be good. However, I prefer a free-floating loupe without a skirt. My current preference is a 5x stamp viewing loupe that collapses into its housing for easy transport. Yes, one has to learn to hold the loupe the right distance from the ground glass, but there's never any need for adjusting to your eyesight with or without glasses. Sometimes I use mine with both progressives and a set of 4x clip-on magnifiers attached. Easy to find the hot spot anywhere on the ground glass.

As for the Fresnel: your Fresnel should have a protective glass cover. If not, you will need to be careful not to scratch the Fresnel screen since it is plastic. I don't know the configuration on the Chamonix cameras.

Best,

Doremus

[Tin Can]

Doremus, like this?

https://www.zoro.com/bausch-lomb-magnifier-packette-5x-81-31-33/i/G0276096/

[Armin Seeholzer]

Hi I prefer the long Horseman Loupe 6x 25614 its good with the folding back bellows of Horseman and Linhof Technika!
In cold air it gets less troubles, with fogging the screen!

Cheers Armin

[Alan Klein]

Alan,

Loupe power is a personal preference; some like more powerful, some less.

The issue of seeing into the corners of the images arises when using very short focal lengths or lots of movements. For this a tilting loupe may be good. However, I prefer a free-floating loupe without a skirt. My current preference is a 5x stamp viewing loupe that collapses into its housing for easy transport. Yes, one has to learn to hold the loupe the right distance from the ground glass, but there's never any need for adjusting to your eyesight with or without glasses. Sometimes I use mine with both progressives and a set of 4x clip-on magnifiers attached. Easy to find the hot spot anywhere on the ground glass.

As for the Fresnel: your Fresnel should have a protective glass cover. If not, you will need to be careful not to scratch the Fresnel screen since it is plastic. I don't know the configuration on the Chamonix cameras.

Best,

Doremus

I have a Schneider 6x6 film loupe. It has black and translucent skirts that are interchangeable. Without them, the main focusing portion can be move up and down as you suggested as a free floating loupe. The Fresnel is between the GG and the operator's eye. Do not know if it's protected or what. I'll try it out once I get the camera.

[cowanw]

Just ti be clear. Do I understand you;re recommending I get a loupe that has an adjustable focus ring? If so, any recommendations?

I have gone through many including a low power set of lenses that I put together is ABS pipe and the hard to find EMO. I have ended up using a Toyo long like this
https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?156005-FS-Toyo-3-6x-Loupe-Excellent-Condition&highlight=toyo+loupe
Outdoors. It is simple rugged and I won't cry if I lose it. I do need to float it over the GG.
And for indoors I use a Fugi 4X power like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fuji-4X-Loupe-for-35mm-film-in-Cameras-amp-Photo-film-photography-/352867308385?hash=item522887d361%3Ag%3Ax3IAAOSwHB5d3FkL&nma=true&si=YxCdpzGxcoWO9s1to3Qlghp1DgI%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[darr]

I have used this Ebony loupe for about 15 years. I use it mostly to see the tiny numbers on my ALPA medium format lenses when looking down from the camera.
I believe it is a simple magnification filter put in an elegant solution for usage and storage.

I have no problem focusing with my Linhof right angle viewer or my Sinar bio viewer; film is sharp!
A vision problem I do have is not being able to focus correctly through a viewfinder while wearing contact lenses.


https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ebony-magnifier-scaled-e1578614932752.jpg

[Doremus Scudder]

Doremus, like this?

https://www.zoro.com/bausch-lomb-magnifier-packette-5x-81-31-33/i/G0276096/

Yes. I have two similar to the one you linked to as well as my favorite, as seen on "Sherlock."
https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Magnifier-Reading-Magnifying-Accessories/dp/B07MQ42M1B/ref=asc_df_B07MQ42M1B/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343224617698&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11508784098607370607&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033108&hvtargid=aud-801738734305:pla-765477174204&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=64450094570&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343224617698&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11508784098607370607&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033108&hvtargid=aud-801738734305:pla-765477174204

I have regular loupes to with both opaque and transparent skirts, but I use them mostly for negative viewing.

Best,

Doremus

[Tin Can]

Great show

I will try one

Thanks

[Bob Salomon]

Yes. I have two similar to the one you linked to as well as my favorite, as seen on "Sherlock."
https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Magnifier-Reading-Magnifying-Accessories/dp/B07MQ42M1B/ref=asc_df_B07MQ42M1B/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343224617698&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11508784098607370607&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033108&hvtargid=aud-801738734305:pla-765477174204&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=64450094570&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343224617698&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11508784098607370607&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033108&hvtargid=aud-801738734305:pla-765477174204

I have regular loupes to with both opaque and transparent skirts, but I use them mostly for negative viewing.

Best,

Doremus

This is an Eschenbach:

https://www.eschenbach.com/products/hand-held-pendant-designo.asp

[LabRat]

The loupes with the flat bottomed plastic skirts are better on a lightbox, but on a GG, the further away from the center means the light is more at an angle, so the loupe has to be tilted towards the lens angle for maximum brightness (esp in the corners and edges)... So having a skirt type has a drawback...

Getting used to skirt less means you have to "focus" it by the distance between loupe and GG, but you get used to it quickly by first getting the GG grain + GG side gridlines sharp, then examining the image...

Loupes with skirts can be often be "cheated" by looking through the skirt end and looking for the GG grain and at the angle fox max brightness... Loupes with an eye cup tend to be slightly useless as you don't usually have your head that close to the camera, and most loupes allow your eye distance to still view at a slight distance, and the eye cup gets in the way if loupe is reversed...

A little practice, and it becomes second nature...

Steve K