Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Evaluating Photos
I liked the Schneider and the NPC so well that I have kept them both. I see these as complimentary
products.
The Rodenstock was less satisfying. The primary gripes are:
1) The skirt diameter is barely large enough to cover a 35mm frame, so placement of the loupe is more
critical than it is for either the Schneider or the NPC.
2)My sample was not able to deliver a uniformly sharp image across the whole frame with a single focus
setting. You could either have sharp corners or you could have a sharp central region. You could not
have both simultaneously. This is in spite of the touted aspherical lens. Maybe other samples are better
in this regard.
3)The Rodenstock didn't seem to present as bright an image when used to view prints as the Schneider
or the NPC.
I sent the Rodenstock back to the vendor after a week of direct comparison with the other two loupes.
-- Glen Johnson, December 19, 1996
I have been using a Porta-Trace 1012-2 light table, and it is a very nice product. This unit can be
purchased with two 5,000K lamps, and its surface is exactly the right size to view one archival slide
storage page at a time. The cost was only $49.95 at B&H in fall of 1996, and there is also a carrying case
available for less than $25 more, Two lamps used to cover a 10x12 surface provides very bright, even
illumination.
If you buy one, they include a plastic strip that you can attach to the viewing surface to provide a "stop"
to keep stuff from falling off the table when it is in the raised position. Don't put this strip where they tell
you to put it. Install it between the screws at the bottom, instead of above the screws - that way you can
rest your archival slide storage page on this strip and still illuminate the entire page.
-- Glen Johnson, December 19, 1996
I have to second Glen's comment on the Porta-Trace lightboxes. The 1618-3 is very nice for looking at
two archival pages of slides (1 roll of 36 slides) at once and the three lights give a very uniform
illumination without significant hotspots. Pearl Art Supply has a great deal on these every few months
for $79.
-- Andrew Kim, February 2, 1997
Someone asked how to contact PortaTrace, but the question has been removed from the Q&A area.
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