Loupes? 30X? 40X?

[ac12]

 

I use a cheap E-bay x30. The clarity and magnification are good but it has a very short focal distance, about 20 mm.

 

 

Yes loupes put your eye very close to the subject.

[NewPenMan]

Thanks for all the tips and information..hugely helpful. I got the loupe Anderson Pen is selling..10x/20x. Amazing what it shows...

[Freedom]

This one from Goulet Pen Company works great and is affordable. The built-in light is also a big plus.

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/gpc-loupe/p/GPC-Loupe

[Drone]

 

What a great idea...thank you

 

You're welcome. I just checked and on Android I use an app called "Cozy Magnifier and Microscope", which is ad supported in the free version but works pretty good. There are plenty of others to try though. Sorry but I don't use Apple products, so I can't suggest anything there.

[Frank66]

If you have a cell phone with a decent camera, download a magnifier or microscope app. Many cell phone cameras these days will macro focus. But if your phone doesn't macro focus, then just hold your loupe in front of the phone's camera lens and voila - video microscope! You can stick a loupe on the phone temporarily with some of that foam mounting tape. There are even macro lens attachments for cell phones. The cheap ones just stick to the phone and are easily removable. The one thing you will need though, is a good light source that you can move around a bit. A desk lamp does nicely.

 

Thank you, Drone, I also usually do what you have described. However, I did not know about the microscope app. I will definitely search for one in the app store. Any particular one that you could suggest? Thanks again for your reply.

Photios

[Drone]

 

Thank you, Drone, I also usually do what you have described. However, I did not know about the microscope app. I will definitely search for one in the app store. Any particular one that you could suggest? Thanks again for your reply.

Photios

 

We probably posted on top of each other. As I said in my previous post:

 

 

"I just checked and on Android I use an app called "Cozy Magnifier and Microscope", which is ad supported in the free version but works pretty good."

[Feldspar]

This one from Goulet Pen Company works great and is affordable. The built-in light is also a big plus.

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/gpc-loupe/p/GPC-Loupe

 

This is a quality loupe. It's bigger and heaver with 3 x AAA batteries than the smaller folding loupes but it gets the job done.

I like having the smaller illuminated ones for shows.

[ac12]

The Goulet loupe does not have the magnification of the smaller folding loupes, like the Belemo. I think the Goulet loupe is really around 8x, when compared to a similar 8x loupe that I have. But it is a good loupe to take to shows, because of the built in light.

 

I would carry 2 loupes; the Goulet loupe for general use, and a 10x or 20x folding loupe for looking at nibs.

 

I just found a use for the 30x magnification, on my stereo microscope. Looking at the tipping on a F nib, to determine if there is enough tipping to polish, without going through and hitting the base metal. And looking at the details of the tipping to determine what needs to be done, and where to polish, to avoid penetrating the tipping.

Next step is polishing the tipping under the microscope, so I can see what and where I am polishing.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ac12