loupe

[Reschsmooth]

I realise I need to get a light box and loupe. WIth respect to the latter, one can pay $10 or $300, and pretty much anywhere in between. My questions are:

1. Is quality that important when it comes to a loupe? I mean, I would have thought you are just checking dust, focus, sharpness, etc - unless the cheapies are likely to not show these things up, why spend 30x the price?
2. For those who know, which loupe would you recommend (for 35mm to 6x6cm)?

Cheers

[sirhc55]

Don’t know about others but I have been using an Agfa 8x loupe for years and years. Probably for large negs I would go for one of those standoff large magnifiers but I will stand in deference to the more knowledgeable

[Matt. K]

I have used every type there is including the leitz....but the best of all is an old slide projector lens. I treasure it for its utility and clarity.

[Reschsmooth]

Out of interest, I have found the 85 lens, wide open, great as a loupe, particularly as it almost covers a 6x6 neg! The only downside is that I don't believe it offers as much magnification as a specialist loupe, for detailed focus review, however, if the image is blurry, then it is more artistic.