My best loupe isn't a loupe

[stoneman227]

Years ago I had a broken Vivitar zoom lens, just a cheap one that I took apart just to see if I could get an image out of the individual elements.
The best thing that came out of it was this little group of elements that I used for years to view negs on a light table. Now that I haven't had a darkroom in years I just gave it a shot at viewing coins and wow, sharp edge to edge . It covers like my 10x loupe so this is go to loupe now.
Don't tear apart a good lens! Though if you find a junker give it a shot.

[Roller]

Yep, there are goodies in otherwise useless optics. I have an objective lens from an old rifle scope glued to my 4X standing reader mag. for close ups.

[GrumpyEd]

Anytime I come across any optical junk like old binoculars, cheap magnifiers or eyepieces with lenses I take them apart and put the lenses in a bag that I keep.

My favorite loupe is from an old 10x eyepiece from an old microscope. It has a small aluminum barrel threaded inside with a spacer so 2 lenses can go in it and it screws together with the spacer between the lenses. Using trial and error I found 2 lenses that fit in it and are perfect for variety hunting, no idea what the gain is but it works great.

I also took some paper, wrap it over the lens of my cheap camera and tape it tight so it makes a tube that slides tight over the camera lense then using trial and error I found a lense that works great for close up pics. I made another that works for full coin pics.

Often people with digital cameras say they can't get a close up to show a variety. If they used some trial and error and find a lense to add to it then they could get useful pics. The key is that the camera might be 1-10 meg but if they take a big pic then digitally zoom in on a section to show an RPM or something then there aren't enough pixels in that tiny area to get a good pic. By using a lense to get a much smaller area to be the entire pic means that it can show the detail without being pixelated. It doesn't require spending a lot of money to get pics of varieties. I'm not saying you don't need to great setup and lighting to get really good coin pics because that is a different subject. If you want great coin pics then you probably need a great setup but that isn't really needed just to see or get a close up of a variety.

[jmangham]

I had a cheap loupe that fell apart. I taped one of he lenses to my digital camera. I use it for all of my coin shots. I have a desk lamp that I can adjust to get the lighting right. Works good.

[ray_parkhurst]

Best loupes I've used are enlarger lenses. They cost $100+ years ago and are generally 4-6 element lenses, fully color-corrected, ultra-low distortion, and quite cheap nowadays. A 50mm lens might cost $10-$15, will magnify like a 6-7x loupe, and will perform better than any other optic available.

[sanitarium_inmate]

I still like the 16x loupe I received as a birthday gift years ago.

[uglycent]

Mine is a combination of Vietnam era navy recon equipment. works at around 20x without glare on the top lens by looking yhrough it.

[stoneman227]

Mine is a combination of Vietnam era navy recon equipment. works at around 20x without glare on the top lens by looking yhrough it.

Hey that looks cool !
Just wondering, often if the side of an element allows light in the contrast of the image is reduced. Do you think it would make any difference if you black taped the sides of those top elements?

John

[uglycent]

Sorry for a late reply, my original never got completed I quess. The lens does get that but I use it in darker area or usually at night with a sharp light just above my head. I have tried using electrical tape but it becomes a gooeey mess with constant use.

[stoneman227]

Sorry for a late reply, my original never got completed I quess. The lens does get that but I use it in darker area or usually at night with a sharp light just above my head. I have tried using electrical tape but it becomes a gooeey mess with constant use.

If you can find it, try gaffers tape. I use it for everything from tapeing diffusers to my lights to useing it to tape around the threads of enlarger lenses so they will thread into m42 adapters. In my pics it is the black pebble background behind my coins. It's not cheap but perfect for blocking light and darn near everything else !

John