Question on Loups

[metaltaylor4]

I was thinking of picking up a loupe for checking out tiny details in coins/relics/ or whatever. There are many cheep loupes to pick from on ebay some with led lights, some without but I guess the biggest question I have is what power? The 3 most common are 10-20 or 30. If anybody has experience using these I would like your input. Some say a 30 power might be to strong for coin viewing and that 10 power is a good all around power. Maybe I should purchase one of each or do you think thats over kill. What do you think???

 

[LabradorBob]

I have one that is 16X i really like,Its made by H.E. Harris&Co.

 

[onemore]

n/t

 

[GraveDiggerMax-VaBch-Va]

Plastic job from radio shack...............has 3

not back and not much ammo needed

f y i
.
.
.
.
.
.

 

[dewcon4414]

Hand held digital... now there is a good idea. I wonder how a web cam would do? That would allow you to put the coin in a possition to record the coin and do a closer review of it on the computer. Now days it seems more people are looking for error coins.... kind of like metal detecting. Im starting to trip over people out there.

Dew

 

[LabradorBob]

Here is the digital usb microscope i use from Digital Blue.
There for kids but work great for coins,Magnify 10X,60X, and 200X.
The first pic is 10X,second at 60X.
You just click a camera icon and save a snapshot.
The pics are shown on My computer monitor!
LabradorBob

 

[GraveDiggerMax-VaBch-Va]

n/t

 

[Ray-Mo.]

n/t

 

[LabradorBob]

I got two used ones for 80.00,A qx3,and a QX5.
the QX5 is brighter!A better bulb i think.
LabradorBob

 

[TURNMASTER]

Are you looking for a jewlers loupe or a microscope. That unit labradore bob has is pretty neat. I use high power optics a lot ot work. I find a good 10x loupe very good to cover most of what a guy will need. I do like the bosch & lomb pieses but they can be hard to use because of the eye relief and focal distance, I also think the field of view is a bit limited. I bought a cheap, jumbe sized folding loupe from the local MD shop that works very well. Image is clear and it has a pretty wide field of view. The bosch & lomb should run ya around 15$ and the cheapy was like 6 to 9$. A high quality microscope can run big dollars and I feel a cheapy is not worth the $. However a cheap microscope could work well for many hobbiests.

Jeff

 

[digginrebel]

I bought 10 lenses that were used in the old slide projectors off eBay. They work like a hand-held microscope. And they came in different powers. I only paid 10 dollars for the lot and wouldn't trade them for anything - easy to use and carry!

 

[metaltaylor4]

Thank you all for your great help!