Which Achromat 5x loupe

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zzffnn
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Which Achromat 5x loupe

Post by zzffnn »

Thank you for checking this thread.

I am looking for a quality but not expensive achromat 4x-5x loupe, mainly for viewing seashells, big insects and minerals in the field.

I was considering a Peak Anastigmat 4x loupe, but missed the deal when it was priced at around $50.

Will some vintage lens work well? What specifications should I have? I need relative long working distance, high eye point and wide field for sure.

Thanks again and have a great day!
Last edited by zzffnn on Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Old print inspection and view camera loupes are of excellent quality and cheap. make sure they have a removable skirt if they come with a skirt.

I would recommend a 7x loupe though.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Thank you very much, Lou.

Please kindly suggest some specific eBay search terms, as I know nothing about print inspection loupes.

Yes, I am aware that the skirt has to be removed for my purpose.

I already have a very nice Peak 10x achromat loupe and my macro subjects are usually pretty big, so I much prefer 5x or 4x over 7x. I did notice that there were some nice achromat 7x loupe for less than $20 on eBay, though.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

I don't have any special search terms. "Metrology" + "Loupe" comes up with a couple nice ones but may be too expensive. Nikon has a good line of loupes. Canon also makes decent loupes.

elf
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Post by elf »

For the princely sum of $1.25 you could have this 4X loupe :)

Actually, they have quite a few other lens that would work well.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

elf wrote:For the princely sum of $1.25 you could have this 4X loupe :)

Actually, they have quite a few other lens that would work well.
Thank you very much, elf.

Neither my 7yo son or me like to use eye loupe type though. I did look into Surplus Shed and found this 5x: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3107.html

And this 3x: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l10527.html

I will probably go with the 5x, as 3x barely magnifies much? I did try a simple linen tester 5x before.

lothman
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Post by lothman »

go for a slide projector lens, for example a Leica colorplan 90mm. Will give you more than a 4x loupe but has excellent sharpness even to the extreme corners, best color, no distortion, good working distance and a robust housing.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

lothman wrote:go for a slide projector lens, for example a Leica colorplan 90mm. Will give you more than a 4x loupe but has excellent sharpness even to the extreme corners, best color, no distortion, good working distance and a robust housing.
Thank you! So what visual magnification does that lens provide? Sorry, my optical math is terrible. That particular Leica lens seems to sell for over $50 USD and slightly out of my budget for this application though.

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Post by ChrisR »

Is it just me?
It seems to me that the word "magnification" has changed meaning?

In the old days, 10x meant approx 200mm (normal close-focus distance) divided by 10, giving 20mm FL.
(Maybe it was 250mm?)
Nowadays it seems something like "Area magnification" is used, so you get a less powerful Loupe. What now says "10x" on it can turn out to be a 3x in oldspeak.
I have a 30x and a 10x which are about the same :smt102
Chris R

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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

I like to use a 50/2.8 EL-Nikkor for this purpose. It's a bit heavier than a typical loupe, but you can't get anywhere near the quality from corner to corner with a bespoke loupe, even a Hastings Triplet. They are cheap as well. You need to use it wide open, of course.

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Post by zzffnn »

ray_parkhurst wrote:I like to use a 50/2.8 EL-Nikkor for this purpose. It's a bit heavier than a typical loupe, but you can't get anywhere near the quality from corner to corner with a bespoke loupe, even a Hastings Triplet. They are cheap as well. You need to use it wide open, of course.
Thank you very much, Ray and ChrisR.

Wow, the El Nikkors are pretty cheap.

If it provides around 4x to 5x visual magnification (based on ChrisR's formula, it seems right), then I may get this one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282603720354

Should I? Please kindly advise me. And I should just look into the lens from its sensor side, without any other modifications?

My Schneider componon 50mm f2.8 would work the same way, correct? I would buy the El Nikkor just for field use.

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Post by zzffnn »

I tried my Schneider Componon 50mm F2.8. Its view field is a bit small (20mm ruler marks vs 27 mm of my 10x Peak Loupe), though otherwise it is pretty nice. Will El Nikkor offers much bigger view field?

Optical correction of my Peak Achromat 10x Loupe is good enough for my application. I would probably sacrifice some correction for wide view field, at that level, for my application.

Also, I looked into this loupe http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3107.html
which says "Clear lens diameter is 31mm. Barrel is 48mm diameter at the center by 35mm long." Does that mean objective lens (field of view) is about 31mm in diameter?

My 10x loupe has objective lens of about 29mm and claimed field of view of 32mm: http://www.peakoptics.com/index.php?mai ... ucts_id=12

Please kindly help me understand this.

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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

zzffnn wrote:I tried my Schneider Componon 50mm F2.8. Its view field is a bit small (20mm ruler marks vs 27 mm of my 10x Peak Loupe), though otherwise it is pretty nice. Will El Nikkor offers much bigger view field?

Optical correction of my Peak Achromat 10x Loupe is good enough for my application. I would probably sacrifice some correction for wide view field, at that level, for my application.

...

Please kindly help me understand this.
I just checked my 50/2.8 and I get 23mm FOV with it. Being a Lincoln Cent collector, it's perfect since Lincolns are 19mm in diameter.

I personally can't stand using regular loupes after using enlarging lenses. Distortion at the edges and sensitivity to tilt are annoying characteristics of loupes that simply do not exist with enlarging lenses.

I have several high-end loupes including the Zeiss and some Eschenbachs, plus a group of various Surplus Shed lenses I've tried as magnifiers. None of them come close to the lowly 50/2.8 EL-Nikkor.

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Post by Pau »

For more magnification and smaller FOV and WD (not what you want...) a high eyepoint microscope eyepiece used in reversed position is excellent.
Pau

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Post by ChrisR »

The ultimate I think, is a Pancake style standard f.1.8. Pancake because they're lighter weight, and f/1.8 because you get a great big hole :) .


Some Pancakes are newer and expensive, but old non-pancakes are all good enough, and some cost almost nothing, if there's no current camera they fit.

50mms are the cheapest of course.
I have a Konica 40mm f/1.8 pancake, which may cost no more than about £/$/E 30, (sometimes a lot less) and makes a decent macro lens, reversed.

You can aso reverse it as a shortie lens, on a longie lens,
and if you can find an adapter to your camera (??) it should work as an afocal lens on a microscope.
Chris R

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