Loupe for viewing negatives/prints

[Nate Battles]

Hello,

I was wondering what power loupe you guys recommend to view sharpness in negatives and prints?

I am sort of new to LF. Is there a better way to determine sharpness than by a high power loupe viewing a negative?

[Walter Calahan]

4x is fine for LF, but I do use an 8x for critical stuff. Just my take on things, your eye are probably better than mine. Grin.

[John Kasaian]

I use the ubiquitous Agfa loupe.
Its cheap and plastic---like me! :D

[Keith Fleming]

I use an old 50 mm lens off a junked screw-mount 35 mm camera. It's an f1.7 lens with an aperture that is jammed at about f4, and gives good sharpness for viewing negatives. A loop of string held in place with gaffers tape allows me to hang it around my neck. I reverse the lens when looking at negatives.

I've wondered now and then if I could have someone machine a black plastic cone that would screw into the rear of the lens so that I could use it as a loupe with my view camera.

Another cheap possibilty for veiwing negatives might be one of the many Wollensak-made C-mount movie-camera lenses that are always listed on the auction site.

Keith Fleming

[Nate Battles]

thanks guys!

[Matus Kalisky]

I used the inversed 50mm lense (unpractical and heavy) and a rather cheap and low quality (and low price) Peak 8x lupe. Then I got 4x Horizon (http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/magnifying-glasses.htm) (second from the top with 50x50mm base) for some $30 and the optical quality is remarkable. I use it also for focusing. Still I would like to get a high quality 8x - 12x lupe to check the neagtives (Horizon again?). It makes little sense to get a cheap 8x lupe as the optical imperfections will make it hard to distinguish whether the negativ is not sharp or you are just not viewing through the lopue at exactely the right angle.