I realize there is already many threads on this topic. I searched it looking for what best fits my need. I don't have a shop close by me so the internet is my only option. Seeing as how this is a purchase best made in hand I was curious if you could give me suggestions of the glass you liked the most over the years. I would prefer nothing weaker than 5X but nothing stronger than 7X. The glass I currently use is a 5X Bausch & Lomb like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Bausch-Lomb-5x-...4550648QQihZ027QQcategoryZ39478QQcmdZViewItem I am not so impressed with it anymore, and am looking for a new one. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I do not use the 7X, but their 10X is great for the price. http://cgi.ebay.com/%60BELOMO-Triplet-7x-LOUPE-MAGNIFIER---Top-Industry-Lens_W0QQitemZ150390772941QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20091121?IMSfp=TL091121182002r1597 I really like the 22mm lens, very wide. Jim
Thanks Jim, I do have a 10X and 15X already, and they are still doing fine. I am looking for something that is "wide" like you said, with little distortion.
I don't necessarily want a 7X, I just don't want anything stronger than that. Like I said, I already have a 10, and 15, and I feel 5X is perfect for grading. I feel if I was to get an 8X I might as well just throw away my 5X and use the 10X.. It's close enough to the 8. So 7 is the highest I want to go.
The Bausch & Lomb 5x you have has the largest viewing area of any quality glass there is - 1 1/2 inches. All others will be much smaller and measure in millimeters. So the question you have to answer is what aspect of the glass is most important to you - viewing area or something else ? You also have to decide what purpose the glass is to be used for - grading or variety/error attribution, or authentication. If it is grading & viewing area, the Bausch & Lomb is as good as it gets, there are no others that match it. But you say you are no longer impressed with it - what exactly is there about it that you don't like ? I will say this, probably the glass that I use most of all is a cheap, 4x magnifying glass with a 3 inch viewing area that I purchased in a grocery store for about $6. Yes, the lens quality is no where near as good as the Bausch & Lomb or any of the other well know manufacturers. But it is plenty good enough for its purpose - to magnify the entire coin and allow you to see it at a glance. if this is anything that you need to look at closer, with a better glass, this glass will show it to you.
....i like these two. http://www.mageyes.com/Hobby.htm and this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000SNA3HE/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen
It's not so much that I didn't like it. Just that for one it is starting to get scratched up a bit, and two, it seems to have quite a bit of distortion and a very small focus area. Not that I am expecting anything with a better focus area I guess, but I did use one at a show one time that was amazing. Very little distortion, The holder was metal. I regret not buying it I think it was $30.00 or something close to that.
Hmmmm - am surprised by that. Have had mine for years and it still has perfect focus and no distortion clear to the edges. You might just need a new one, perhaps it is the scratches doing it. At less than $10, what do you have to lose ?
