Any views on the Leica lupe magnifier?

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I´m thinking of investing in one of these lupes, but I´ve never seen one of these mythical items, let alone tried one for size. I need it for contact prints - does it have the necessary attachment? Or is it only for slides/negs? Is it bright when used on paper prints? Can it make tea?

-- Paul Hardy Carter (carter@airtel.net), December 22, 2001

Answers

Hello P.H.C. I just bought the Leica loupe a month ago. I wanted a good loupe to check contact prints primarily, to view slides in second and to check b&w negatives. 1° The thickness and opacity of the transparent mount at the base of the magnifier (when used without the metal lens barrel to view prints) makes it somewhat hard (at least for me) to check 35mm contacts. Not enough light comes thru. 2° On the other hand, to view slides, this magnifier is sublime. The slides (KR-64, E100-VS) jump at you, with a real 3D look. I've never seen anything better than that. For this unique reason, this loupe should be bought even though it is somewhat expensive like all the Leica stuff. I ended up buying a second magnifier just to check my contact prints. The one I bought is a small Nikon rectangular shape 8x loupe that rally does the job well (at 1/6 the price of Leica 5x Universal loupe!). So, if your primary use is to check contact prints, I would first buy the Nikon or some other loupe better suited for this purpose. If you really want to see what a slide can look like, I see the Leica as the best way to do so.

Best Regards, Jacques Leonard

jldadesign.com

-- Jacques Leonard (j.leonarddesigner@videotron.ca), December 22, 2001.


I use the Leica 5X loupe and like it a lot. It works equally well for slides, negatives and contact sheets. It comes with attachments for slides and negatives/filmstrips, and has a removeable chimney to allow side lighting when viewing prints or contacts. The neck strap has to be removed to remove or replace the chimney and this can be a little difficult, but it's not a major problem.

The only caution I would pass on is that before I bought mine (purchased new) I looked at several identical used pieces. The used ones all had severe cleaning marks. This leads me to believe that the elements may be a little soft or particularly susecptible to marking. So, I've always been very careful in cleaning mine. No problems yet.

Bryan Caldwell

-- Bryan Caldwell (bcaldwell51@earthlink.net), December 22, 2001.


Maybe OT for this thread but I would suggest at least looking through the Rodenstock 4X loupe before you buy... It is *very* sharp, dead neutral in color-cast, virtually distortion-free, and has a built-in sliding skirt for print or transparency viewing. It is also quite a bit cheaper than the Leica loupe at around $100 US. On the downside it is only 4x, but you can almost view a whole 2 1/4 neg at once with it.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), December 22, 2001.

I have the 5x "Universal Magnifier." It's OK. I liked my Rodenstock 4x, too, until I spilled soda on it and left it overnight. :P BTW How the heck do you take the neck strap off the Leica 5x??

-- Colin (Colin@nospam.HELL.COM), December 22, 2001.

New schneider 4x offers better eye relief (for glasses wearers such as me). Leica 5x seems to give more saturated (?darker) colours but you need to snuggle up quite close to see the whole frame.

-- steve (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), December 22, 2001.


I have had the Leica 5x loupe for about a year. It is my favorite loupe. The 5x magnification is the largest that allows for full frame viewing of a 35 mm slide or negative. The optical quality is excellent. You can also make adjustments to suit your vision by turning to the left or right at the top. The attachments for looking at negatives or slides come in handy from time to time. I also have a Schneider 4x loupe, but always reach for the Leica first. I prefer the 5x magnification.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), December 22, 2001.

I too have the Leica 5x thing. Before I bought it (one year ago) I tried out "everything" else which I could also find at the same time, and I ended up buying it. As David just finishing saying, it is my favourite loupe. It is the largest mag which allows for full frame viewing of a 35 mm slide or neg. The optical quality is excellent. You can also make adjustments to suit your own vision by turning to the left or right at the top. The attachments -- for sun light or artificial lght -- for looking at negatives or slides really does come in handy.

Mike

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), December 22, 2001.


I second what the other responders said. I have the Leica Loupe 5x and what led me to buy this one, besides the quality that always goes with Leica products, is the fact that only this loupe has the device that holds the slides or negatives in place. Getting the neck cord off can be a bear. Once I got it off, I put it in the original box and forgot about it. I have since forgotten how I got it off, so I can't ever advise on that. I might regret removing it, though, if someone drops my loupe while viewing through it. What I would like for this loupe is a simple stand that holds it so both hands are free. You could peruse something trough it, such as a sliver in one finger while the other hand holds the tweezer that removes it. Something like a macroscope. Good piece of equipment, this 5x loupe.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), December 22, 2001.

I found the major snag with this viewer to be when you are viewing negs or trannies. The translucent panel (ground glass) has very coarse grain and clearly interferes with the viewing. I would recommend a Schneider x6 viewer and a light box (there are lots of good ones going dirt cheap). (Schneider viewer provides a full 6x6 undistorted view ). This would be a more comfortable arrangement for viewing for both transparent and proof material.

-- sait (akkirman@clear.net.nz), December 22, 2001.

I think EMO Macromax 5x loupe which was made in Wetzlar Germany was sold to Leica as Leica 5x loupe.

Many years ago, camera shops in Toronto ofter refered to the Macromax 5x loupe as Leica loupe

See also thread in photonet EMO Macromax Wetzlar 5x loupe and Leica 5x loupe

I have collected EMO Emoskop, Emoscop SM and Octoscop, but not the Macromax, it disappeared from the market.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), December 22, 2001.



A message in LUG also pointed out that Leica 5x loupe is the former EMO Macromax 5x loupe, except some minor difference

Leica 5x loupe and EMO Macromax

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), December 22, 2001.


I like to use the other EMO product, also designed by ex Leitz designer Arthur Seibert--- Octoscop, it has eight different combination of magnifications, from 2x up to 28x



-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), December 22, 2001.


EMO Seibert Wetzlar Octoscop

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), December 22, 2001.

I bought one of these about 8 months ago.

1. It is heavy, and feels overbuilt, compared to many other lupes.

2. It has a nifty slide viewer, which no current loupes now have (the older Schneiders did).

3. The slide viewer channel is overengineered. You have to work hard at pushing in slides-they are held fast by a spring loaded clip. It you are not careful, and have cardboard mounts, these can get creased or dogeared.

Viewing many slides in sequence is tedious because of this obstructive spring and because the viewer is heavy.

4. Prints cannot be viewed while keeping the front element safe from damage. There is no skirt while print viewing, and the lens element is uncomfortably close to allow for stable critical viewing of prints, and so close that light to the print surface is blocked.

5. It has a built in diopter adjustment.

6. It costs as much as a low end slide projector. For a few dollars more, I could buy a Leica p150 Pradovit. So the loupe is revealed as being absurdly overpriced for the functionality it provides. As usual, with Leica accessories.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), December 23, 2001.


How the heck do you take the neck strap off the Leica 5x??

Sorry I overlooked your question, Colin. I too had the same problem and was always worried I might break something here. Now it is off I've never had to (or wanted to) replace it. Just place the loupe on the table and pull the left strap to the left and the right one to the right. As hard as you can. That's all.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), December 25, 2001.



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