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Evaluating Photos
When I was looking around for a table, *every* manufacturer says they use 5000K color corrected
tubes. After putting the same transparencies on different 5000K tables it was obvious that there were
sometimes HUGE differences. Even after you get past the 5000K issues, there are two other important
specifications which rarely get mentioned: Luminance and Color Rendering Index (CRI). I believe the
proper spec for luminance is about 1400 cd/m2 and the CRI should be greater than 90.
I purchased a mid-sized Cabin CL5000M in order to have a highly portable light table I could bring
along when showing my portfolio to prospective clients. A 4x5 transparency I shot with a light blue
background went significantly magenta when viewed on the Cabin. When this same transparency was
viewed on a Just Normlicht and several other light tables, it was blue as expected. It was apparent the
Cabin was *way* off the mark even though they spec color temp and luminance per the ANSI
specification (they don't spec CRI). I returned the Cabin as I viewed it as unreliable for color evaluation.
I have a small 4x5 Cabin, and the same color shift happens on that table so I don't believe I ran into a
bad sample.
Others may also find interesting an info sheet (#CIS-152) published by Kodak titled, "Recommendations
for Viewing Transparencies". I received it through the mail by calling Kodak.
-- Larry Huppert, May 13, 1999
I went down to ProPhoto to see what full frame 4x loupe was the best after reading all the other
comments on loupes. I thought that the Rodenstock was to tight but good clarity. canon was bright. But
the Scheider was the best of all! I looked at most of the other names but they are not worth it. Oh the
Jobo was good for what you pay and I did not get to see the NPC 5.5x. I now have a Scheider.
-- Doug McIntosh, June 10, 1999
I find the best & cheapest loupe to be a leftover 50mm lens, especially the Olympus 1.8
Now I'd like a clear plastic base that bayonets on!
-- Tom Trottier, July 17, 1999
I went to B&H to test out all the loupes and want to add the following opinions and conclusions to the
above comments:
1) Quality of loupes has improved. The "made in Germany" and/or higher prices don't guarantee better
quality or value. 2) There ARE alternatives to Schneider, Rodenstock, Contax, Leica, etc which are just
as good. Seems like most of the above comments focus on premium (overpriced) loupes. Peak, Kenko,
Fuji, Pentax, and NPC have some very competitive models at a fraction of the price. 3) I spent an hour
comparing the Schneider 10x ($244) with the Peak 10x scale lupe ($59) using various slides. The Peak
MATCHES the Schneider in image sharpness and color. I actually liked the Peak more, bought it, and
http://www.photo.net/photo/evaluation (11 of 17)7/3/2005 2:19:24 AM