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Eye Loupe

Luree HughesLuree Hughes
in Questions 1 LikesVote Down
Really thinking about treating myself to a new loupe for this wonderful New Year. I have been on my best friend Amazon and have found a few that are interesting. I have a super good UV Light so one that offers UV is not necessary. The LED light is interesting as it will help with seeing what I'm looking for. Currently I have a small 15X (with no light source except the lamp on the desk) and a little bit larger pocket 30X that has a light source. That's okay, but it's annoying as I have to keep adjusting the focus.

So, my question is: what do you have as a loupe, what strength is it and whom is it made by? What would you suggest I might be really looking for in this new purchase?

Thanks for your help,
Luree

Comments

  • 8 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Jerry.BurkhartJerry.Burkhart
    edited January 2022 0 LikesVote Down
    bausch and lomb 10x corrected loupe triplet - maybe too fancy for stamps? :-) I'm sure a lot of the $5-$10 loupes are just fine
  • Luree HughesLuree Hughes
    1 LikesVote Down
    Thanks Jerry. Appreciate the info.
  • Henry BrooksHHenry Brooks
    0 LikesVote Down
    You might want to go to Amazon and search for "thread counter". Plastic is better than metal Larger physical size is an advantage but try to judge the size of the measurement markings, Advantages are deep field of focus,, great light with the open architecture, pretty unbreakable (you want the ones that fold up and are tall when open( tri -fold I think) and they are cheap (under $10)., They also measure stamps...
  • Scott PaytonScott Payton
    0 LikesVote Down
    Another thing to consider, I have basically stopped picking up a loupe almost entierly. They are ok if you're out at a show still, I suppose. For everything I'm examining at home, I'm using a USB Microscope, or my high resolution camera. The image is then scalable, and I can zoom into great detail in the USB usually around 2x to 100x which has some nice advantages. For the largest part, this cover 98% of the viewing I do.
  • Jerry.BurkhartJerry.Burkhart
    edited January 2022 0 LikesVote Down
    I generally scan @ 600dpi for more involved viewing but a USB microscope would be nice. where do you get those at Scott? expensive? do they come in dpi rating and can the view be saved to file?

    Ok , i see them on Ebay. big range in quality.. any brand suggestions? I sell gemstones also.. wonder if they would work for them?
  • Scott PaytonScott Payton
    1 LikesVote Down
    They aren't DPI rated, the are optical magnification rated. Celestron (also makers of telescopes) make a reasonable product at around $70 - $200 depending on the model, so they don't break the bank, and they do an amazing job. I highly recommend getting one that is mounted on a post so that it can be raised/lowered easily. This allows for both high level shots, and high magnification viewing. The one I use is available from Amazon here:
    https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Handheld-Digital-Microscope-Pro/dp/B00CMJ1I08/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ANQ9R13RMPUZ&keywords=celestron+usb+microscope&qid=1643030751&sprefix=celestron+usb+microscop,aps,207&sr=8-3

    And sells for $130. Sure, more than a loupe, but then again, it's so much more than a loupe. There is software that comes with it, but I recommend using Visualizer which is a free download from Microsoft, and also works with the camera. Many of the images I have posted in the forums have been taken with my Celestron (while our store items are taken with the 4k IPEVO that I've posted about previously.
  • Jerry.BurkhartJerry.Burkhart
    0 LikesVote Down
    good info- thanks Scott
  • Scott PaytonScott Payton
    0 LikesVote Down
    Yes, the visualizer software allows for both making live video from the camera, and also capture images.
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