Focusing loup

[Califmike33]

Hey guys need some recommendations I'm gathering all my gear I don't have a ground glass focusing loup.

I wear glasses can somebody recommend a good brand of loup. I've been looking around I'm wondering why some of them are two and a half inches long and some are only an inch long some have diopters some don't.

[Dugan]

The long ones are good to use with cameras that have folding hoods behind the ground glass, and/or for more distance from the ground glass.
I wear glasses and I use a Toyo/Omega long loupe, 4x magnification...but others will chime in with their preferences.
You might have to try out a few to see what works best for you.

[nolindan]

I wear glasses can somebody recommend a good brand of loup.

If you are nearsighted then a pair of +3.0 reading glasses may be all you need. As to conventional loupes, I have never found one I like. I sometimes carry an old 8x Hastings magnifier.

[Tin Can]

I found advice useless for this quest

I now use a USA 9X, out of production

I keep it around my neck

I tried many

[nitroplait]

If you are nearsighted then a pair of +3.0 reading glasses may be all you need.

+1
I am mildly nearsighted and found the strongest drugstore reading glasses perfect for focusing.

[Pieter]

You need a wolf to help you focus?

[Bernice Loui]

Previously on LFF:
https://www.largeformatphotography.i...Focusing-loupe


Bernice

[Califmike33]

Well from what I've read I've heard that 4X to 5x is the ideal magnification of a loupe. I don't have anything on the back of my camera so I guess I don't need any long one I can just get a short one I wasn't expecting 50 to $75 for a loupe.

[Ulophot]

Many find that a magnification of 5x to 8x works well, but as noted above, there are a host of solutions. Although some find optically poorly corrected magnifiers, such as the bell-bottomed plastic inexpensive ones, sufficient, I would not recommend them, perhaps because I also wear glasses. Although the center area of the ground glass may be easy enough, the edges and corners can become tricky to focus, even with well-corrected optics such as the Toyo or Wista loupes. My personal solution is to reverse the loupe and space it using a finger against the glass, checking for focus on the frosted GG pattern before checking/adjusting image focus.

A good loupe is a long-term investment. If needed, saving up for one may be a good reason to pinch pennies elsewhere.

[Conrad . Marvin]

Years ago I bought a 9x or 12x loupe from Edmund Optical. It came with a clear base but could be opaque (black) on request. It cost less than the ones from Schneider (8x) but is sharp and I still use it decades later.