Hi All,
Pls advise which loupe and light box is a good buy and what is the price like?
Many thanks.........
Pls advise which loupe and light box is a good buy and what is the price like?
Many thanks.........
Recommendation For Loupe & Light Box
- Thread starter h2o
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May I recommand DIY.
Invert your study lamp, ie lamp facing up.
Place a translucent plastic (white color) eg tupper cover.
Ensure there gap in between.
Use a 50mm lens as a loup with front element facing up.
Best if you use a 25mm extension tube.
Invert your study lamp, ie lamp facing up.
Place a translucent plastic (white color) eg tupper cover.
Ensure there gap in between.
Use a 50mm lens as a loup with front element facing up.
Best if you use a 25mm extension tube.
go to John 3:16 at Funan IT Mall. a good lightbox is about $30 to 50 dependant on the size and a loup is about $10.
Get the Kaiser or Cabin Light Box from Cathay Photo or Ruby Photo. Both of these are daylight corrected.
As for loupe, peak would do if you are on a budget. Else the Rodenstock 4X can do wonders and more justice to your slides.
As for loupe, peak would do if you are on a budget. Else the Rodenstock 4X can do wonders and more justice to your slides.
For lightbox, spend about $50, John 3:16 has some good ones, but not color-corrected (don't know if you can for that price).
For loupe, go to Cathay at Peninsula, and check out the Cabin 5X loupe ... about $120, and once you look through that, you'll give the $190 Rodenstock 4X a miss.
Select a few sharp, well-exposed slides that show a fair amount of detail, and use those when you're evaluating the loupes.
And for goodness' sake, don't buy a cheap $10 loupe ... your eyes will not thank you for it.
For loupe, go to Cathay at Peninsula, and check out the Cabin 5X loupe ... about $120, and once you look through that, you'll give the $190 Rodenstock 4X a miss.
Select a few sharp, well-exposed slides that show a fair amount of detail, and use those when you're evaluating the loupes.
And for goodness' sake, don't buy a cheap $10 loupe ... your eyes will not thank you for it.
denniskee said:
i used to do this but found the light too bright. had to squint a little, and when you do this for long, it gets really tiring. Ended up buying a proper light box evantually.
Bought the rodenstock 4x and cabin 4x5 light box for aroudn 185$ sing 1 yr back.. some offer they had.. check it out..
after using rodenstock, i didn't want to use anythign else. ;p
after using rodenstock, i didn't want to use anythign else. ;p
I've the Rodenstock loupe, sold it and gotten the Mamiya loupe (sold as Cabin here). The Mamiya's pretty good too. But there's some slight distortion if you don't view straight down (the Rodenstock was fine for viewing at any angle if I'm not wrong).
it's strongly advisable to get daylight corrected lightbox.
The Kaiser one is selling around 60/70+ only.
The Kaiser one is selling around 60/70+ only.
ericp said:
I agree, that if you have to make a saving, save on the light box but not the loupe. I a have a good 5x and 10x loupe which I also use for my 4x5 Camera for focusing.
Not sure of the brand tho, it was an hand me down from my dad from the 50s.
Not sure of the brand tho, it was an hand me down from my dad from the 50s.
OzOn3 said:
Eh eh, you really don't know or what? ;p
Loupe is a kind of a mangifying glass for viewing slides (and occasionally negatives if you like seeing peoples' hair in orange). As with all optical devices, there are loupes of differing qualities and hence the comparsion of brands.
A lightbox, as the name suggests, is a box with light. Hehe... :sweat:
It provides the back light on which you can place your slides on and view them.
Both are a must-have for serious slide shooters, failing which, you end up a cheapo like me, using the scanner lid as a lightbox and the 50mm lens as a loupe.
Ah Pao said:
We not El-Cheapo lay, just trying to be creative & save money to buy something that we cant DIY, like camera lens.
Wah, you use scanner lid, 1 class higher than me, I use tupper wear white translucent cover.
hi all,
thanks for your suggestions, was at cathay yesterday and they only have peak and rodenstock......not able to compare between cabin and rodenstock as what most recommended.....rodenstock is $199!!!
in addition, light box is also limited....
seems the demand is too dwindling for them to have the stocks.....
thanks for your suggestions, was at cathay yesterday and they only have peak and rodenstock......not able to compare between cabin and rodenstock as what most recommended.....rodenstock is $199!!!
in addition, light box is also limited....
seems the demand is too dwindling for them to have the stocks.....
Agree with mpenza, there would be times when you need to move the Cabin/Mamiya loupe around, as it's also higher magnification compared to the Rodenstock 4X. BTW, I also compared the Rodenstock 6X (or 8X, I can't remember), and it's also an amazing piece of glass with an amazing ($300+) price 
... and of course I like it better than the Cabin :bsmilie: ...
The reason I liked the Cabin was due to price and comfort ... it's larger than the Rodenstock and the feel (subjective, I'll be the first to admit) is better. However, you can't go wrong with either.
A friend of mine has a Rollei which he waxes lyrical about, but I haven't seen them for sale anywhere in Singapore.
Be kind to your eyes, don't use cheap pieces of plastic especially over protracted periods (eg. if you're viewing 100+ slides). I have an el-cheapo loupe which I won't even give to people I dislike ... it'll either worsen your eyesight or kill your enthusiasm for slides.
Another thing ... buy a hurricane bulb blower, if you don't have one already, and get a soft makeup brush/duster from a women's cosmetics counter (is there such a thing as a men's cosmetics counter ? :think: ) ... use them to remove dust from your slides before you view them. And to clean your loupe as well. A microfibre cloth (about $3-5 from an optician) also comes in handy.
If you share slides around, especially "in the field", a $5 daylight slide viewer from Ruby comes in handy. The lens is a piece of plastic, but it's very portable and adequate for viewing only a few slides every now and again.
To see what a color-corrected light table looks like, go to Fotohub (formerly RGB) in Beach Rd. The ones they have there are a good size, but perhaps overkill for a hobbyist. I'd consider the Nikon loupes they have there borderline ... adequate, but you can do much better for very little more money. Which is perfectly fine because they're a business and you don't want people walking away with your Rodenstocks on a daily basis :devil: ...
... and of course I like it better than the Cabin :bsmilie: ...The reason I liked the Cabin was due to price and comfort ... it's larger than the Rodenstock and the feel (subjective, I'll be the first to admit) is better. However, you can't go wrong with either.
A friend of mine has a Rollei which he waxes lyrical about, but I haven't seen them for sale anywhere in Singapore.
Be kind to your eyes, don't use cheap pieces of plastic especially over protracted periods (eg. if you're viewing 100+ slides). I have an el-cheapo loupe which I won't even give to people I dislike ... it'll either worsen your eyesight or kill your enthusiasm for slides.
Another thing ... buy a hurricane bulb blower, if you don't have one already, and get a soft makeup brush/duster from a women's cosmetics counter (is there such a thing as a men's cosmetics counter ? :think: ) ... use them to remove dust from your slides before you view them. And to clean your loupe as well. A microfibre cloth (about $3-5 from an optician) also comes in handy.
If you share slides around, especially "in the field", a $5 daylight slide viewer from Ruby comes in handy. The lens is a piece of plastic, but it's very portable and adequate for viewing only a few slides every now and again.
To see what a color-corrected light table looks like, go to Fotohub (formerly RGB) in Beach Rd. The ones they have there are a good size, but perhaps overkill for a hobbyist. I'd consider the Nikon loupes they have there borderline ... adequate, but you can do much better for very little more money. Which is perfectly fine because they're a business and you don't want people walking away with your Rodenstocks on a daily basis :devil: ...
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