Thread: See the big picture ~ 30 x 36 Loupe

Originally Posted by onimaru55

The view is great regardless of magnification even if it's only 8x. The labelling is confusing but it is easier to use than the smaller diameter ones & worth a try at the price.
I tend to reach for the microscope if I need more but rarely bother.
Be interested in your opinion when you try it.

when it arives i will post

Totally agree on the BelOmO 10X Loupe. It really works well. It a true bargain for the money.
It really is 10X whilst most loupes are not what they say.
IMHO its the equal of the Nikon or the Bausch & Lomb which cost megabucks.

I see a lot of guys going for the 30X magnifiers. They are fiddly, no light and they aren't 30X anyway.

Also you can get very cheap chinese imports that are poor loupes. No light and bad magnification.

Get a BelOmO while they are still inexpensive. I think (not sure) Zeiss may have taken them over and that means the prices will go one way.

There is some useful information here, he gives some good down to earth advice about the benefits of different styles of magnifiers.

When it comes to optics its all about resolution not magnification or size. With a good 30x magnifier you can see far more than with a cheap 100x magnifier. I have found when it comes to optics you get what you pay for. I haven't found any bargains yet.

Bausch and Lomb is excellent but like others have said, you pay for it. I have a 30x Bausch and Lomb loupe. It's a tiny little bugger with a price tag near 50 dollars if I recall. It will give you a very, very good look at your edge, though. Much better 80 or more magnification with crappy optics. The optics I use these days is the 200 power ProScope. It's a few bills but I need it for what I do.

After having polished and cut diamonds for 10 years I've gotten really accustomed to using a loupe. It has become second nature for me.

I have a few jewelers loupes and a few loupes for cutting and polishing diamonds. It goes from a 8x to a 30x but in reality my eyes are trained and conditioned that I have enough with my 8 x. I mostly use my 10 x.
It's all in the eyes.

Originally Posted by PapaBull

Bausch and Lomb is excellent but like others have said, you pay for it. I have a 30x Bausch and Lomb loupe. It's a tiny little bugger with a price tag near 50 dollars if I recall. It will give you a very, very good look at your edge, though. Much better 80 or more magnification with crappy optics. The optics I use these days is the 200 power ProScope. It's a few bills but I need it for what I do.

How do you digitize those images?

The boden proscope displays to your computer and you can snap photos or even an .mpg video as you move the scope along. I haven't found a good way to keep the edge aligned well enough to make a "movie" of a pass along the entire edge yet. I'll give that a try again sometime, but there's so little room for error at 200x that it's like threading a needle in the dark.

My DinaScope came with software that displays the magnified picture on my computer. I use apple and I got a free download called "CaptureMe". That records the image to file. Many USB scopes come with integrated do it all software

I presume there is a similar download for microsoft. I don't know, I stopped using their software as soon as I could, when I retired. Never looked back I might add.

This is a rough view from the Chinese cheapie.
I just sat it on my stone holder & slipped the blade under it. Took the shot hand held no tripod just elbows on the bench..
I still think it's ok for the price but a B&L sounds attractive