Loupe for ground glass

[Peter Hruby]

Hello,

I believe this question was here before but any ideas about focusing loupe for ground glass?
Which loupes I might consider buying? What magnification is best for ground glass focussing?

Thank you for all your answers.

[Jim Rice]

http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/498843.html

[darter]

I use a Toyo 3.6x loupe which seems pretty optimal. Focusing precision seems limited by the grain of the ground glass, so greater magnification is not necessarily useful. In addition to being reasonably priced, the Toyo loupe has rubberized ends and an inset eyepiece that prevents eyelash contact. The Rodenstock 4x loupe is really nice, but costs about twice as much.

[Mark Windom]

I've been very happy with my Schneider 4X.

[Alan Davenport]

I'm a cheapskate, so I bought a 4X Fuji loupe. It's a bit large, but my photos are in focus.

[Mark Sawyer]

I've played with quite a few loupes. The best I've ever found is the front element and tube off a broken 70-210 zoom for a 35mm.

[Jeffrey Sipress]

I addition to a loupe, I now use an Optivisor with the #10 lens plate. It is about 3.5x, let's you use both eyes, and is hands free. Imagine your head under the cloth, both eyes open and focused, no squinting or facial straining or fatigue, while you have both hands free to work the gear. What a pleasure....

[KenM]

I've ordered a Silverstri Tilting loupe - I'll let you know when I get it :-)

[Ernest Purdum]

This seems to be a rather personal matter. I think as far as magnification goes you'll get answers over quite a wide range. Maybe some groundglass and fresnels work better with a particular magnification. There are some basic characteristics to look for, though. The loupe should focus easily and the focus should lock solidly once found. There should be no suggestion of the field being other than flat. No weird color effects should be present.

[Donald Hutton]

If you're going to be using very wide lenses, I highly recommend the Silvestri tilting loupe of the Ebony hand loupe - both allow you to look through the lens aperture at an angle from the corners. However, I do find that the 6X magnification if a littel higher than I would like. As others have said, it depends a fair bit on the GG and fresnel combination you have. For a cheap solution, I think the Toyo loupe is probably the best bet.