Large format loupes

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What are peoples experience of large format loupes?

Where do you buy them? It seems Japan has the global supply at the moment. What do you find to be a good magnification?

Are the eTone Chinese ones any good?
Does it matter if they are covered all the way down or can you use a negative loop with the clear sides?

Are the square peak better than the circular for getting deep into the corners? Or will you never need to go that far to the corner?

www.ebay.co.uk

Mint Peak 4x Lupe Loupe *PE33 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mint Peak 4x Lupe Loupe *PE33 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk

www.ebay.co.uk

Wista Lupe Loupe Focusing Magnifier Magnifying Lens for Large Format from Japan | eBay

Tiny scuffs from normal use. There is no scratches. There is no fungus.
www.ebay.co.uk

www.ebay.co.uk

[Excellent+++++] Horseman Lupe Loupe 7x for Large Format From Japan #970 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for [Excellent+++++] Horseman Lupe Loupe 7x for Large Format From Japan #970 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk

Anyone have one they are looking to sell?

Thanks!
 
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I'm not sure I can answer your questions here, but you may well find one closer to home such as these ones at Ffordes. Possibly worth asking them the questions to see which is most suitable, although I'm guessing more answers will come along here soon.
 
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I just use an 8x jewellers loupe, about a tenner on Amazon.
 
I use a ….dammit I can’t recall the name.

It’s a 6x with diopter control but if your eyesight is good then a 4x with no diopter will probably be adequate.

I considered the square one that you mention but decided on it being a sale ploy gimmick rather than actually being massively beneficial.
‘
I’ll edit this post later when I return home and can clarify the model of loupe that I use unless @StephenM replies beforehand as he has the exact same.

Édit : 6x silvestri loupe :)
 
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Asha has a Silvestri 6x loupe (as mentioned, so do I). I also have a Rodenstock 4x.

The magnification is in many ways a personal choice. When I bought my first loupe (the Rodenstock) at Focus on Imaging at the Linhof and Studio stand, the various pros and cons were explained, and the recommendation was that a loupe in the 4-6x was the most useful for using on a ground glass on a view camera.

With a 4x loupe, whatever appears sharp on the ground glass should be sharp on a 4x enlargement to give a print of 20x16 from a 5x4 negative. I have idiosyncratic views on how far you should enlarge black and white negatives, and 6x is my personal limit, so a 6x loupe is about as far as I need to go.

On corners - being able to check the corners can be useful, but many ground glass screens don't have corners (despite the apparent mathematical impossibility of this statement :))

The purpose of the lower part being clear or black is to allow light in for checking non backlit objects (let's say prints) or exclude it to avoid image degradation on backlit items (slides on a slide box or a ground glass). My Rodenstock has a sliding collar; the Silvestri has interchangeable ones.

On buying - in this country, Linhof and Studio used to have a good range.

I haven't looked at your links yet....

Edit to add:

... but here's one I made earlier (after posting but earlier than the edit :))

https://www.linhofstudio.com/products/Loupes
 
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Not all ground glasses are equal; my first LF camera had a plain (no Fresnel) screen. It was on the dim side, but worked well with my 4x loupe. My second LF camera was a Wista DX with a very obvious Fresnel that I hated using. Cameras after that have been fine.

This suggests that camera and loupe should be considered as an entity, which I hadn't thought of before.
 
Sorry for taking another bite from this cherry, but looking over the links gave me another thought. My Rodenstock loupe is mainly plastic (apart from the optics) whereas the Silvestri is metal. The former is larger, but the latter considerably heavier. If weight matters, this might be an additional consideration.
 
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I use a 6x Silvestri tilting loupe most of the time but I started with a 4x Rodenstock. Both are good, the 4x lives in my 10x8 bag, I tend to use the 6x with my 5x4. I bought them used from Ffordes (the Rodenstock) and eBay (the Silvestri). The tilt on the Silvestri is nice for checking focus in the corners with wider lenses but it isn’t essential.

In a pinch I’ve even used the 8x magnifying glass on my Swiss Army Knife!
 
I normally wear 1.5 dioptre reading glasses, I mainly use a pair of 4x reading glasses for focusing on the ground glass, I just find glasses easier than a loupe. I do sometimes use a loupe if I am dealing with a very shallow DoF.

Just remember to take the glasses off before trying to walk around :)
 
The things they call 4x clip on flip up spectacles do work well and have the advantage that if you do flip them up then you don't have to hunt for your normal glasses. As @sirch mentions don't forget to do that. With really dim images I've even used the clip on macro lens on my phone camera and got a bright image.
 
I got a circular Kaiser 4.5X loupe with adjustable diopter. I think it was a good buy, given the dioptre had to be screwed all the way out! It has clear sides at the bottom, which is useful as it has been used for many different tasks as I get blinder. Just today I was finding my specs couldn't decode whether a digit in a serial number was a 5 or a 9; the loupe sorted it for me!
 
Something else to throw into the ring... I have something similar to the below but mine's plastic rather than glass and aluminium (so lighter). IIRC, mine's also just 5x rather than 10x so possibly more useful. I use mine for peering at prints and similar.

QWORK Folding Loupe Magnifier , 10x Magnifier Magnifying Glass with Scale , for Seniors Reading , Soldering, Inspection, Jewelry , Exploring , 1 Piece : Amazon.co.uk: Stationery & Office Supplies

QWORK Folding Loupe Magnifier , 10x Magnifier Magnifying Glass with Scale , for Seniors Reading , Soldering, Inspection, Jewelry , Exploring , 1 Piece : Amazon.co.uk: Stationery & Office Supplies
www.amazon.co.uk
 
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