Sorry - Still about the Loupe

[Tony Evans]

I have read everything but it still driving me mad. When my loupe is sitting on the ground glass, it is not focused on the fresnel/guide-lines. About .5 cm off the gg it is. Do I have the wrong type of Loupe????? Surely there is a LF loupe which when sitting on the GG, is focused on the film plane. Currently, focusing off the glass with my less than surgeon quality hands is a PITA, enough to seriously dampen my love of LF. Am I using the wrong Loupe? Am I using the wrong focusing procedure? Am I cursed?

[ic-racer]

If it is a cheapie loupe you can just grind it down with some sandpaper. A good loupe should be adjustable.

[Nathan Potter]

You need the loupe to focus critically on the frosted side of the GG which should face the lens and be exactly at the image plane. If it doesn't, which is what you are saying, then you will need a focusable loupe. That is a loupe that has the lens part moveable in the housing. You carefully slide the lens part forward and back while pressed against the GG until you see the grains on the screen in sharp focus. There is usually a knurled ring on the lens part, that when twisted loosens or tightens the lens on the tube. Once critical focus has been obtained tighten the lens part to the tube and check it regularly.

If you are currently in focus about 5 mm off the GG then you will need to move the lens part about 5 mm closer to the glass.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Corran]

This might sound silly but have you tried flipping the loupe over? A loupe that I have that came in a package deal I thought was messed up but I was using the wrong side! On the side I was trying it did as you describe, but when I used it "upside-down" (or right-side up!) it worked fine.

[noahpb]

I use a Schneider 8x loupe. If you hold one end of the loupe and rotate the other end, the loupe lens will move closer or farther from the ground glass when the loupe is resting on the ground glass. With the loupe focused properly, the guide lines on the ground glass are sharp.

[E. von Hoegh]

I have read everything but it still driving me mad. When my loupe is sitting on the ground glass, it is not focused on the fresnel/guide-lines. About .5 cm off the gg it is. Do I have the wrong type of Loupe????? Surely there is a LF loupe which when sitting on the GG, is focused on the film plane. Currently, focusing off the glass with my less than surgeon quality hands is a PITA, enough to seriously dampen my love of LF. Am I using the wrong Loupe? Am I using the wrong focusing procedure? Am I cursed?

First, you do not focus the loupe on the fresnel or the gridlines. Focus it on the groundglass by removing the lens, aiming the camera at a moderately bright light, and adjusting the loupe util the texture of the GG is sharply focussed. If your loupe is not adjustable for focus, get one which is. After focussing the loupe, tape it so the setting cannot change.

[Vaughn]

My gridlines are on the same surface as the ground side of the GG -- so are on the same plane, AFAICT (as far as I can tell).

Vaughn

[E. von Hoegh]

My gridlines are on the same surface as the ground side of the GG -- so are on the same plane, AFAICT (as far as I can tell).

Vaughn

So are mine. But not all are.

[chassis]

Confused here.

If I use a non-focusing loupe, designed for viewing printed material (slides, prints), on the ground glass, am I focusing on the wrong surface?

It is confusing to think that an image created on the frosted side of the ground glass would not be in critical focus if it appeared that way through the aforementioned loupe.

[Tony Evans]

E. V. H & Vaughn,

Yes, have done that. Gridlines and gg are same plane. Obviously, I need a "focusing" loupe. Many thanks, all.