What is the best grain focusing loupe (for under the enlarger) ever made by man?

[jp]

Re the Magnasight: I guess it depends how much of a distance the OP has in mind. Jason, how far are you able to get with the Magna?

I have a Peak and no longer have a Magnasight. I had a Magnasight in the college darkroom I used in the '90's. Field of view gets very narrow as you back off. But you're looking for actual grain rather than a field of view. Lacking grain, I'd look for a branch, wire, text, or other fine image detail to focus.

[Oren Grad]

My Beseler 45MX, for example, has a long, flexible rod that attaches to one focus knob eliminating the need to contort. Don't know if other enlargers have this capability and/or could be "rigged" that way, but it does make using a standard grain focuser much easier.

LPL offers a focus extension widget as well, though it's pretty pricey now and probably hard to find used. I've been able to get by without as I make small enlargements and the knob on my 4500II is usually within easy reach.

[freesky1992]

I use Peak I focuser and very happy with it~

[Conrad . Marvin]

+1 for the Peak. It tilts so that you can check the edges or corners. I have had mine for decades.

[Drew Wiley]

Yeah, at times I wish I had arms as long as an orangutan in order to use my fine-focus knob on my two Durst L138 chassis when the baseboard is lowered way down. But the bigger L184 8X10 unit has motorized fine-focus control, which makes life extremely easy. And my even way taller custom 8X10 system has a special close-focusing telescope mounted to the carrier platform, which I can use on my rolling platform ladder, with the fine focus knob in easy reach.

[Fred L]

Used to use Paterson grain focusers but now only use Peak focusers. Mirror can be replaced if you find one used and glass is not great. Have the blue eyepiece filter as well but haven't noticed any difference tbh.

[Drew Wiley]

A mild blue filter is very helpful in terms of partially nulling the orange mask with color neg film and making grain more visible. But the one that comes with the Peak magnifier is such a dense blue that it's counterproductive. I think those are a holdover from the days of blue sensitive papers and poorly corrected enlarging lenses, in terms of different wavelengths of light achieving focus on the same plane, apo-wise.

[Certain Exposures]

Thanks for your replies, everyone!

I was not expecting a (near) unanimous recommendation from all of you. I'll start putting dimes in my piggy bank for a Peak Critical Focuser Type I. I can deal with my current setup until then.

Although I haven’t used one personally, the Patterson Major focus finder might work for you and allow a more comfortable focusing experience. It is a bit taller than most focusers. I like the peak but I mostly use a non descript Scoponet the most. For whatever reason it allows me to easily see the grain snap into focus compared to the peak when doing small enlargements from 8x10 negs where the grain is very hard to detect. For smaller formats or larger enlargements from 8x10 the grain is much easier for my eyes to see with the peak or scoponet.

Thanks, I will mostly enlarge from 6x6 and under until I find an affordable 4x5 enlarger that fits my space. Does the Scoponet require you to focus on a "wire" in front of the glass to use it? I'm trying to avoid that process. Also, do you think the Peak is worth the extra cost for enlarging 4x5 and under?

[Drew Wiley]

The Scoponet I once had was way off. Outright tossed it when I acquired the Peak.

[jp]

The larger the format, the more useful grain focuser! I never used it with 35mm since grain is easy to see MF depended on the negative and amount of enlargement. LF it's quite helpful. LF uses longer slower EL lenses for focusing too.