Loupe Magnification

[sperdynamite]

What's your optimal loupe magnification? I've been using a Fuji 4x loupe that isn't terrible but I am having a bit of a hard time focusing with it. I have to rack in and out before I feel that I've hit optimal focus, and even then I rely somewhat on stopping down. Would a greater magnification/more expensive loupe help with this problem? I'm looking at the little Wista 5x that you can get new, but I know there are even 8 and 10x loupes too.

I'm focusing on my brand new Chamonix 45N-2. Such a beautiful camera! Can't wait to break it in. :-)

[B.S.Kumar]

It depends on your eyesight and age. I used a cheap Agfa 4X for many years, then a 7X Horseman for 6 or 7 years. I started using a Peak 10X a few months ago, and I hope it works for the next 6 or 7 years. I have a 15X in reserve

Kumar

[sperdynamite]

HAHA! I'm 32. Shouldn't be TOO bad. But I do have memories of not complaining about focusing dimmer screens in my early 20s.

[BrianShaw]

4x (Forex).

[rdenney]

A 4x isn't enough for me. I've been using a 6x tilting loupe, but I will occasionally uses 10x loupe.

It also depends on the screen. A grainy screen (or a coarse Fresnel), especially when the lens is stopped down, will become unviewable at higher magnifications.

Rick "whose Maxwell screen can be viewed at 10x even through the Fresnel" Denney

[Drew Wiley]

I like 7X Horseman/Peak/Nikon (all the same thing) loupes for both 4x5 and 8x10 usage.

[Ari]

10X Schneider, bought at first for focusing wide-angle lenses on 4x5; now I need it to compensate for poor eyesight and I use it on 8x10.
As a result of using the 10X, I've also changed the type of ground glass I use, going to a much finer grind.

[Doremus Scudder]

I use a two-step approach.

I rough focus and frame/compose using 4-diopter reading glasses. Fine focus is done with an 8x or 10x magnifier/loupe. I have always liked the higher magnification for fine focusing. Perhaps it's from my early days of shooting 35mm slides and using 10x loupes to view those.

Racking in and out is not going to go away; that's how you find the right focus.

Best,

Doremus

[carylee2002]

I use a used Calumet 7x loupe and had put black electrical tape around the barrel so my focus plane doesn't move everytime I use it.

[jose angel]

I have several loupes, e.g., 10x and 8x Docters, 6x Silvestri (without the tilting accessory-), 4x Rodenstock, amongst others.
My favorite ones use to be the Silvestri and the Rodenstock; like Ari, I tend to use the 6x for "fine grind" cameras (sometimes the 8x) and 4x for all the rest. Maybe the easier, more comfy to use is the Rodenstock.
With "bright type" screens I only like to use the 4x.
Needless to say that any focusing loupe should be adjustable (that is, with diopter correction).