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Magnifier/loupe advice (1 Viewer)

Binoscoper

Also a spotting scoper
Greetings all.

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this.

Does anyone here use a magnifier or loupe device for the close study of insects and plants ect?

If so, what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.
 
I've been using a 'Ruper' hand lens with a 10x lens at one end and a 20x at the other for the past thirty years for insects, it's also pretty much the botanists choice of hand lens too, I believe they also made/make one with 8x and 15x, which would also work just as well/be just as useful. My 10x/20x one was about £25 back in the day, but still going strong and has earned its cost a thousand times over.
More recently I've also been using an un-named Jewellers magnifier with 30x and 60x lens' and an LED light for each lens, this came cased and boxed for £5.99 on A*azon, it performs just as well and is great for those times in the field when 20x just isn't quite enough. At that price I wouldn't have a problem if I lost it in the field.
For everything else my Leica microscope comes into play!

Hope this helps.
 
Ruper pops up occasionally when I search for loupes. Opticron 10x23mm doublet seems to be popular in the search as well.

I've not heard of belomo before but seems to be a popular opotion.

Thanks to all for your input.
 
hi..I just bought a pair of Pentax Papilio II 6,5x21 for my son.I am planning to do a little review if I ever have time,but for starters ,I can say that it works great as a magnifier,..Being able to focus as close as 50cm,perhaps less,this little binocular brings 6,5X magnification to a different level...I have no experience with instruments like those mentioned here,like loupes and hand lenses,so dont know how the papilio truly compete with such glasses,but ,(and with some limitations like narrow depth of field and a small sweet spot at close range,)these are very useful field glasses that can cover a vast array of subject for any naturalist..
 
Me three for the Belomo 10x triplet. I find it a good compromise between price, weight, size, and optical quality. The multicoating is nice and the field of view is a little larger than most of the other compact 10x magnifiers. Not much larger, but by enough it's helpful. Also seems like 10x is about optimal; not so much magnification it's a hassle to use in the field but enough for a good boost in what you can see. I toy with the idea of also getting Belomo's 7x or 20x from time to time but have never followed through as 10x does everything I need.

I wouldn't say binoculars are a substitute for a hand lens but I use my 8x32s near their close limit fairly regularly to get better looks at things too high to reach. Mostly tree parts and parasites, evidence of arboreal insect activity, aerial lichens, that sort of thing.
 
Belomo 10x triplet loupe

Well, my belomo has finally arrived directly from Belarus.

About £24 it cost me all together and my first impressions is that it is money well spent.

All the reviews about it aren't wrong! Bright sharp optics right across the field. It can be a bit twitchy to focus but not at all shaky. With a bit of practice though I'm sure I will get the hang of it.
 

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I found the Minox Macroscope monocular, while mediocre as a monocular (way too big due to its porro prism design compared to a Leica Monovid or Nikon HG 7x15) makes for an outstanding stand-off loupe (about 4x at 1-2m range). That makes it ideal for skittish insects like butterflies.
 
The Belomo is excellent. A quick and easy mod you can do is to pull it apart and blacken the lens edges with a sharpie. They only real flaw from the factory is the lack of edge blackening.
 
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