Recommendations for a quality loupe for 6X6?

Can anyone reccomend a good loupe for viewing 6X6 slides? I'm new to

the square format and see that there are loupes designed just for

this size.

Thanks,

R.J.

I'm quite pleased with my Rodenstock, and certainly to my eyes it was the sharpest available at B&H when I bought it a year or so ago. Far from cheap though!

I use a Hasselblad waist-level finder. Works really well and folds up when you're done. I did try out the Scheider at a camera show once and it was very nice also. But pricy.

Another vote for the Rodenstock 6x.

 

I went shopping for the best loupe I could find recently, and this was it, by a long shot.

 

I compared it to Schneider, Peak, Mamiya, etc and it was easily the sharpest, best corrected, and most comfortable for my eyes.

 

Price was about $200, about the same as the best Schneiders.

Best value for money - Pentax 5.5x. Great glass, robust metal

construction, focuses easily, great glass, good contrast, HUGE

size (2.5 inches wide), and only around $100....and did I say

great glass too? Bargain.

<P>

<P>

<P>

<P>

I also have a Pentax 5.5x. On the edge, it shows some distortion. Other than that, it is very good; especially for that price.

The Hasselblad Tower viewfinder is good for trannies and negs - dioptre adjustable cuts out stray light - seller referred to it as a loupe when I first bought it - I use it on the camera as my preferred finder as well so I can't lose really - worth comparing if you come across one.

Schneider Kreuznach Lupe (3x) 6x6 (Stock Nr 08-39816).

For a cheaper option try the Russian Horizon 6x6 loupe, usually

available on eBay for around $40 USD. Glass loupe of excellent

quality. Coated as well.

Like John M, I use the Pentax loupe. Excellent quality, much less expensive and well made. I have used a largish 50mm camera lens, wide open, from time-to-time and gotten by. Sometimes I'll use a smaller, hi-power ocular to look at small portions of a big neg, but usually the Pentax loupe is adequate. If my eyes are fuzzy, I don't use a loupe at all - shot glasses work better! :)

I'll cast a third vote for the Rodenstock. Super sharp and very bright - worth the money.

Use the normal lens of your medium format camera if it is removable. You just can't beat the optics in the f2.8 Planar!

 

Frank

I bought myself the Calumet 6x6 3x Aspherical Loupe for Christmas (US$149.95). It also has a diopter adjustment. So far, I'm pretty pleased with it, although I haven't used it for really critical examination of negatives or slides yet.

Thanks for all your recommendations on the loupes. As expected, I will need to go out and compare the loupes side by side in the store. Your comments though have helped me determine what I should be comparing.

Thanks,

R.J.

Since I found this extensive discussion of loupes I thought I'd post it -- very entertaining.

 

http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/loupe.html

 

R.J.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to compare approx 10 different loupes for medium format at Ken Hanson in NY. He had virtually everything you mentioned above. Plus the one that my eyes found clearly the best in image brilliance (contrast and color saturation) and detail sharpness: The Zeiss medium format loupe. It covers 6 x 7! Surprisingly nobody seems to be aware of this loupe. So, if you happen to be in New York, spend 20 minutes at Ken Hanson's and see what can be had in a medium format loupe today!

Kornelius, Ahhh yes, the "Z" word! 6x7cm is a favorite of mine and I was aware of the 6x7 Zeiss loupe. Grand optics, indeed! I encountered a Zeiss flourite refractor at a star party, a couple years ago. It really was impressively engineered! Around here, Zeiss optics are rare, but a thrill when one gets to use them! Back to loupes . . . Edmund Scientific optics catalog has some neat alternatives and enough options to build your own, if you wish.

One thing to consider is how you will use it. I have a Schneider Kreuznach Magnifier Lupe 6x6 (08-39816) . It has both a clear and solid attachment at the bottom. The solid attachment is good for looking at negatives on a light box. Whereas the clear is good for looking at prints on a table where you need light to come in from the side. Mine is for 6x6 negatives. I wish I had one for 6x7 because that's what I shoot. Anyway, here's a picture of the unit.

Schneider Kreuznach 6x6 lupe - Google Search:

Wow Alan, you obviously thought long and hard about that response!:rolleyes:

 

Did you notice the OP posting date?

I wonder how many of those products are still available, and at what current price?

Only 18 years! :) I wouldn't want to give him bad or dated advice.

 

Actually, I don't know how I got to this thread to even see it. Obviously, I clicked the wrong link somewheres.

I have an old Minolta 50mm f/1.7 lens I use for a general purpose loupe. When looking at MF sldies and negs, usiing this as a loupe, I just move it around a bit to catch the corners. Reversed, it provides a bit more magnification. A 35mm lens reversed actually provides quite a bit of mangnification.

 

Using the normal lens that came with your medium format camera may or may not work. It depends on whether your lens has a shutter inside. My Bronica has an electronic shutter, which stays closed, so shutters like mine won't do you any good.