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Evaluating Photos
saved $185! The Schneider seems a little more durable (all metal), while the Peak has a plastic focusing
ring. The Peak optics are great (4 elements, 2 groups, coated). The Peak has a clear skirt; Schneider has
black skirt. The Peak comes with a nice case and also a handy scale that is visible in the viewfinder. 4) I
also bought a Pentax 5.5 lupe. It is sharp. It has a nice big image. It is GREAT for eyeglass wearers. My
only gripe is that when I look too close into the finder, the edges of the 35mm image start to pincushion.
I tried the Fuji Professional (4x) and the newer Kenko 4x (with the slide-able skirt a-la the
Rodenstock). In my opinion, they match the Schneider 4x and Rodenstock 4x but at a slightly lower
price. There is the excellent Canon 4x, but is pricey at $139. 5) In conclusion, do try out various loupes.
There are some excellent Japanese-made models with optics that match German optics. However, I have
seen some aweful samples of Peaks and Kenkos that were totally unacceptable (major distortion,
horrible color transmission). My point is that there are alternatives. Go out there, test the loupes, and
trust your eyes. A $244 Schneider is not necessarily better than a "cheap" $59 Peak.
-- Ken Nguyen, July 19, 1999
I am very thankful for Phil's alway illuminating (my pun)comments since I have only recently begun
shooting slides again and he has satisfied my initial curiosity regarding loupes and light tables. I guess I
must be somewhat of a rube, though, since I have been strictly using a 2 x 2 viewer to look at my slides.
Is the true advantage of quality loupes and light tables both color quality and sharpness? And wouldnt
the value of the higher power loupe be in checking for sharpness if you wished to produce large prints? I
won't touch the issue of which brand is better since this seems to be very subjective and there are no
shortage of strong opinions here. Or maybe the length of this thread is proving that what started as a
short list of quality products has expanded rapidly in the last couple of years.
-- Bill Servatius, July 19, 1999
It is curious to note that there seems to be little said about the bulbs used in the light boxes. I know that
for viewing my images and general lighing within the house) full-spectrum lighting makes a huge
difference. Ottbiolight has a 48" bulb with a CRI of 98 (CRI stands for "color rendering index". CRI is a
measurement of how much of the suns spectrum is replicated by the lightbulb. If the color frequencies
are not in the light you are viewing with, they cannot be accuratly rendered) The bulb has a color
temperature of 5000K (that's about the color of the light around noon on a clear summers day. 6000K is
the color of an overcast day, I like working inside under about 5500K) Unfortunatly it is a 48" bulb. I
know there are shorter bulbs out there with CRIs of 92 or so, but I would have to look through my
papers...
Has anyone done research on the results of using different bulbs in their projectors?
-- grant groberg, August 22, 1999
I'd also like to add to the chorus of people who like the Cabin Lightpanels. They come in at least 3 sizes
http://www.photo.net/photo/evaluation (12 of 17)7/3/2005 2:19:24 AM