Decent Magnifiers

[TreasureGirl]

I'm looking to buy a nice loupe and maybe a handheld magnifier to supplement it. What's the best *general* magnification to buy, to scope the details when I'm making a purchase and maybe scanning for doubling and die cracks? What other "specs" (how many lenses, format [???], scratch protection) are ideal?

 

Thanks a ton, I don't want to spend the money on something and then hate it.

 

EDIT: Also, I plan to do a little camera work with it.

[Cherry Picker]

I'm looking to buy a nice loupe and maybe a handheld magnifier to supplement it. What's the best *general* magnification to buy, to scope the details when I'm making a purchase and maybe scanning for doubling and die cracks? What other "specs" (how many lenses, format [???], scratch protection) are ideal?

 

Thanks a ton, I don't want to spend the money on something and then hate it.

 

EDIT: Also, I plan to do a little camera work with it.

 

I like the 5 -6 power for checking coins..

For cammera work you will also need a leeser power loop because the distance required for focus is much closer with the high powered loops.! the close focal distance makes getting light on the subject very tough for cammera work.

 

Cherry Picker

[Prethen]

Bausch & Lomb makes some good ones along with other manufacturers. The key thing you need to look for in a good lens is that the image is clear from border to border with no distortion. Get a 5X-7X where you can see the entire coin in the field of view (if possible). Only use a magnifier to identify "interesting" areas on a coin and do NOT use it to grade a coin. It's a myth that you need to use any power whatsoever for coin grading.

[GDJMSP]

I'm looking to buy a nice loupe and maybe a handheld magnifier to supplement it. What's the best *general* magnification to buy, to scope the details when I'm making a purchase and maybe scanning for doubling and die cracks? What other "specs" (how many lenses, format [???], scratch protection) are ideal?

 

Thanks a ton, I don't want to spend the money on something and then hate it.

 

EDIT: Also, I plan to do a little camera work with it.

 

 

5x is the recommended power, you can get a nice Bausch and Lomb - 5X Packette Magnifier for under $10 - Right Here

[dprice]

I have a 16x Harris & Co loupe. Its the size of a Quarter. This is perfect for me. I also have a dime sized 17x which is great for double die and other errors. I think it is best to have 15x - 20x magnifier. When looking for errors. I take good pics with both. The 16x was $16 and the 17x was $11. I got both at Books-a-million. You should be able to buy online.

[TreasureGirl]

Thanks for the suggestions and links! I'll probably be buying online since my coin dealer has a very limited selection.

[just carl]

Not sure where you are or what is available but you might try a flea market. I know the ones around me have dealers selling every type, size, shape, power of magnifiers in the world. Naturally there are numerous places that have web sites for such items such as www.sciplus.com If you go to that web site ask for a catalog. The optics section has many types of magnifiers. Naturally the best thing is to always buy what you can see so you don't get a warped piece of plastic. That is why I say the flea markets. No postage, handling, sending checks or money orders or giving out personal info over the internet. I've purchsed about 10 or more different types of magnifiers and some with stands and some with lights and never paid over $5 so far and that was for one with lights and a stand.

[TreasureGirl]

I wish I could find a flea market around where I live now, there is the best one next to where my parents live. Flea markets are good for all kinds of things, good idea!

[Trantor_3]

I have a x10 loupe, which I like a lot.

 

The more lenses are used to get the total magnification, the less distortion.

Look for inscriptions like triplet (3 lenses) or doublet (2 lenses).

 

I have a doublet myself, when I bought it, there was also a magfier that had three individual lenses that you could "stack", 2x, 2x and 2.5x. So you could create maginications of 2x, 2.5x, 4x, 5x and 10x. Unfortunately, the thing was made of plastic (well, the lenses not, but the rest) and it didn't look to solid. My doublet is made of steel

 

[Burks]

I have two loupes.

 

The first being a cheapo plastic one with two 5x lenses. Not a bad loupe by any means ($4 you can't go wrong). It's actually my second one because I accidentally sat on the first and broke it!

 

My other is a heavy duty steel loupe. It's 10x and does a wonderful job. The weight makes it much more easy to use than a plastic one. I have really shaky hands so something with more weight provides less "wiggle" for me. It's a no name brand I bought at the local shop but again, worth every penny of the $13 price tag.

 

I carry both with me to coin shows. The plastic one for general viewing and the steel one for more precise viewing.

 

I've used both for camera photos but they are difficult to use. If you can get some sort of DIY stand built to hold the loupe steady it would probably work much better. The smallest shake and the picture is blurry.

[J.Cordeiro]

Hi, I guess we all have our preferences and favorites. I like a 5x drug store cheap-o for normal viewing, a 5x lighted goose neck magnifier when sitting at the deck, a 14x loupe for up close viewing and a 16x doublet when my eyes are acting up. Hope this helps.

[just carl]

I have a x10 loupe, which I like a lot.

 

The more lenses are used to get the total magnification, the less distortion.

Look for inscriptions like triplet (3 lenses) or doublet (2 lenses).

 

Oddly enough this is not true. I used to think the same about multiple lenses. However, a professional photographer friend of mine explained just the opposite to me. This is why if you see a professional photographer they normally do not use UV filters as most people are led to purchse for their cameras by camera stores. They do not normally like to use Zoom lenses either. That is due to the distortion created by light passing through multiple lenses regardless of the clarity. Light is bent by the curvature of lenses and the more lenses, the more light is bent. In some instances certain colors are lost due to the excessive bending of this light. Note different colors bend differently through glass as a prism will show. Note a professional Microscope has multiple turrents so the necessity of using zoom type lenses is avoided.