Originally Posted by
Bob Salomon
A proper focusing loupe is, for the vast majority of shooters, 4, 5 or 6x with a focusing eyepiece so you can set it to focus directly on the grain side of the ground glass and has an opaque skirt to block all extraneous light. These were made by several companies, including Rodenstock, Schneider, Wista, Peak, Nikon, etc.. if you wear glasses you want one with long eye relief and a rubber cup around the eyepiece so you don't scratch your glasses.
Since you bought the MT Classic there is also a Linhof accessory that will eliminate both the dark cloth and a loupe. That is the Linhof Focus Metering Bellows.
It attaches to the back in place of the Folding Focusing Hood that comes on your camera. It is a bag bellows that folds flat and has a built in eyepiece that has two loupes in it. A fixed 2x one and a screw in 2x one. When used together you have a 4x loupe that will let you concentrate on any area of the gg that is about the diameter of a US quarter. When you unscrew one and use it as a 2x loupe it lets you see the entire gg at 2x magnification. In addition, if you have a Gossen meter with the microscope adapter the adapter will fit into the rubber eyepiece and with the 2x only eyepiece you can then meter the entire gg, any portion of the gg or a spot on the gg about the size of a quarter.
Additionally, like your Folding Focusing Hood the Focus Metering Bellows is hinged directly to the back and, if desired, it can swing away from the camera to give you access to the gg or Fresnel for, for instance, cleaning, or marking spots on the gg.
In any case, you should be sure that you have the Fresnel screen installed. There is a small rectangular silver bar attached to the middle screw of the ground glass hold down bar. Simply swing these two bars aside, drop the Fresnel screen on top of the gg with the grooved side facing the ground glass and swing the bars back so they hold the Fresnel in place.
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