Focusing Questions

[ron_crawford2]

When I'm focusing my 4X5 Crown Graphic, I have usually just used a

couple of pair of my reading glasses to focus off of the ground

glass. I was just wondering if anyone has ever used one of the

magnifying hoods like jewelers or engravers wear. They look like a

welding helmet without the helmet, just the lens. When you're not

using it, you just push it up out of the way. They come in different

powers, 2X, 4X, 6X, etc. To me, that would seem to be very

convenient, but would I be a lot better off in buying a loupe to

focus? What would be the advantages. Thanks for your ideas.

[ellis_vener_photography]

your idea works great as you can line your eyes up with the brightest direction of the

light path especially when looking at the edges and corners of the groundglass.

[steve_baggett]

I've not tried the "hood" but I have tried the jeweler's "eyepieces" that attach to your glasses (one side) where you raise/lower them in and out of your line of vision. They usually come with two magnifiers giving you a variable 4x-8x magnification. They work, per se, but I found that it is too difficult to hold my head the correct distance from the GG while also trying to focus, so I reverted to the loupe. The loupe's advantage is that its placement on the GG is what keeps the focusing device's optical distance fixed, and thus reduces the number of variables to contend with to 1 = subject focus. IMO, the loupe is the way to go. Contact me via email, if you like, and I will send the thingy to you to try out and see if it works for you, as I don't use it at all.

[ron_crawford2]

Thanks for the offer Steve. You're right. It is a little difficult to keep the distance from the ground glass constant. I've had this problem when wearing my "piggy-back" glasses method. I've decided to go with the loupe. Can any of you recommend a magnification power, and is it necessary for it to have the adjustable eyepiece? Thanks for your help.