Loupe Recommendation Please

[dcwaites]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

I've ordered the second loupe suggested in post 8, mainly because of the great picture which can be seen in post 15, which I think is a nib seen through the same loupe.

 

I hope this thread helps others too.

 

You've already ordered it, but it was the second loupe, and a link to one of the ebay vendors was in the post. It's too late now, but look around, because the price varies a little bit, as does the postage.

And, as I said, order a sheet or two of the little AG7 cells because it chews through them fairly quickly, especially if you forget to turn the light off when not using it...

[tenney]

Some people I know much prefer to work on nibs using a microscope. I just looked and you can get a kids stereo microscope for about $34 on Amazon (no idea if the quality is "there" or not). Just something else to consider.

[dcwaites]

Some people I know much prefer to work on nibs using a microscope. I just looked and you can get a kids stereo microscope for about $34 on Amazon (no idea if the quality is "there" or not). Just something else to consider.

 

I love the feature "Ambient Lighting"...

[BookCat]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=+Have+one+to+sell%3F+Sell+it+yourself+Details+about++New+Pro+Quality+Triplet+10X+21mm+LED+Illuminated+Loupe+%23MJ37801L+Ships+from+USA&_sacat=0

 

This is the one I bought. As it's coming from the US, the delivery will take about a month, which gives plenty of time to find the batteries.

[brownargus]

Has anyone had any experience of the Opticron LED 10x26 magnifier - £16.50 in the UK?

[OCArt]

I was told Belmo was the best by a rock hound but I thought I'd try the illimunated loupe from Amazon, $19

http://smile.amazon.com/SE-MJ37801L-Professional-Quality-LED-Illuminated/dp/B002E0MU7U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1447319456&sr=8-3&keywords=10x+lighted+loupe

 

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H3PrKRetL.jpg

I have been extremely happy with the loupe. I didn't think the illumination was necessary, but I use it all the time

[brownargus]

Thanks OCArt. A friend of mine bought one of these for wildlife (botany) use and he hasn't had much luck with it, particularly problems with the battery compartment. However, the other thing is that at Amazon UK, the item is £43 including postage (about $65)! So I think I'll give it a miss.

[dcwaites]

Thanks OCArt. A friend of mine bought one of these for wildlife (botany) use and he hasn't had much luck with it, particularly problems with the battery compartment. However, the other thing is that at Amazon UK, the item is £43 including postage (about $65)! So I think I'll give it a miss.

 

i bought one of OCArt's loupe from eBay vendor uni_mart - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/21mm-Jeweler-Loupe-Triplet-Lens-with-6-Built-in-LED-Light-10x-Magnification-/191507027729?hash=item2c96b55711:g:CP4AAOSwZjJU2Dpu

 

The only 'problem' is that it uses batteries quite quickly, so it's worth while buying a sheet of the little AG7 cells at the same time.

[acorn]

Hi,

 

First post, I found this thread while searching for a loupe for nibs.

 

Some great suggestions, there seems to be 2 types of LED loupes:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-Magnification-Jeweler-Loupe-Triplet-Lens-with-6-Built-in-LED-Light-21mm-/391074819216?hash=item5b0de02c90:g:1CAAAOSwZjJU-PD9

 

And this:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magnification-10x-Jeweler-Loupe-Triplet-Lens-with-6-Built-in-LED-UV-Light-21mm-/391074820562?hash=item5b0de031d2:g:w3QAAOSwrklU-PH2

 

 

Can anyone please shed some light on if there are any major differences besides the shape and the UV light?

 

Can anyone confirm if these are genuine triplet glass?

Edited November 30, 2015 by acorn

[Glenn Atkins]

I've got two of each of those loupes (I keep several in reach 24/7/365) and I can tell you they are very good for the price. I'm not sure they are 3x, but they are heavy and well built.

 

I would buy them again.

 

Glenn

[acorn]

Thanks Glenn, really appreciated.

 

Now i need to decide if I need UV, talking of UV, what does UV bring to the party in a loupe?

[Glenn Atkins]

Thanks Glenn, really appreciated.

 

Now i need to decide if I need UV, talking of UV, what does UV bring to the party in a loupe?

 

Not much that I know of....anybody else?

 

Glenn

[dcwaites]

Thanks Glenn, really appreciated.

 

Now i need to decide if I need UV, talking of UV, what does UV bring to the party in a loupe?

 

I understand the UV function is useful if you are looking at gemstones that fluoresce or, in FPN mode, inks that fluoresce. It won't do anything for looking at a nib.

[acorn]

That was my my understanding too David.

 

Was just curious what in the world a UV would do for a nib lol

[tinta]

I have the set suggested by Sasha. I found that it wasn't really sharp enough for what I wanted to do, which is why I got the LED lighted triplet.

 

As well, attaching it to my iPhone with blue-tac allows me to take photos like this --

 

Lovely shot. What is this blue-tac that you mention? Is this an Apple thing that won't work on Android?

[alaskazimm]

Lovely shot. What is this blue-tac that you mention? Is this an Apple thing that won't work on Android?

 

Probably he means the blue putty that you can hang posters on the wall with. It's not a software thing.

[tinta]

 

Probably he means the blue putty that you can hang posters on the wall with. It's not a software thing.

Thanks "alaskazimm", you're most likely correct.

 

But, what would this photographic set-up look like?

Sounds to me like sticking the lighted loupe onto the back of the phone somehow (without trashing its lens or flash, etc....) to line up with the lens.

[dcwaites]

Lovely shot. What is this blue-tac that you mention? Is this an Apple thing that won't work on Android?

 

Blu-Tack - see images

 

Not sofware, more squishy-ware...

[Goudy]

I use these. The middle one is a no-name Chinese loupe labelled "Made in Germany" (I doubt it) and "30x36" (unlikely, probably 10x).

 

http://i.imgur.com/10gP9GL.jpg

 

I do close-up photos by holding one of these in front of an iPad camera:

 

http://i.imgur.com/D9CXAAD.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/NREi4ng.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/YPWqTI0.jpg

 

I like the Blu-Tack idea. I may try that.

 

You can also get cheap macro lenses that clip directly to an smartphone camera. For example.

 

 

[etaylor33]

This topic was most useful to me, though I am in the States. I was wondering, how do you use this type of loupe if you need both hands to work the nib? One to hold the pen/nib and the other to manipulate the tines? Other than these questions, you've all been a great help here. Thank you.