Belomo Loupe: 10X, 12X Or 15X

[islandink]

I'd like to buy a good general purpose loupe for examining pens and doing a bit of nib smoothing and adjustment. Reading through prior posts it appears that one can either:

 

1) buy something for $5-10 on eBay, which is considered either junk or wonderful depending on the commenter

or

2) opt for Belomo, which all who have agree is very well made and has little distortion--I have already decided that I would prefer to buy better quality than buy twice

 

I have ild/mod myopia, astygmatism and now (joy!) presbyopia so responses from the over 40-50 age group are especially valued.

 

If you have used Belomo loupes, what is the best magnification if I only have one loupe? I'm leaning towards 10x-12x, but would appreciate input since I cannot test them myself.

 

Thoughts appreciated.

[redbike]

I've used the Belomo 10x loupe for a couple of years for the purposes you describe. I'm 60 years old and need prescription glasses for reading and other activities within 4' of my face. The Belomo is very good for examining nibs and if you have nothing, the Belomo is a good purchase. I'm thinking seriously of a hands-free magnification option for nib smoothing and adjustment - something like the Optivisor.

[MKeith]

I'm in my early 60's, have a Belomo 10X and find it to be much of much better quality than a couple of cheapies I had before. !0x is kind of the standard for general use, and except for real delicate work will meet most needs. I also have an inexpensive visor magnifier that has three elements that combine to a total of 10X, and find it extremely useful while needing both hands. BTW, I also have astygmatism which only causes you to place the loupe a little closer to your eye when using. Go with the higher quality ie. Belomo and you will be much happier in the end.

[risingsun]

I've got both a Belomo 10X and 15X, and use the 10X far more regularly, for what its worth. If I did it again, I'd buy the Belomo 10X and probably leave it at that.

[PAKMAN]

My loupe is a 10x and works for most every pen repair need I have. Sometimes I wish I had a 15x however.

[Randal6393]

Goulet pens has a lighted loupe for sale, 12X, IIRC, for a decent price. Definitely recommend getting a lighted loupe!

 

Enjoy,

[Glenn Atkins]

I have a Belomo 10x that is very nice, but the one I use the most is this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052G7EX8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have one of these in every location I might even possibly need it.

 

Glenn

[islandink]

I have a Belomo 10x that is very nice, but the one I use the most is this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052G7EX8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have one of these in every location I might even possibly need it.

 

Glenn

I found this reviewer's comments particularly intriguing:

 

"22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

Excellent for identifying tiny bed bug nymphs!"

Hoping never to be able to find it useful for bedbug identification, there again, perhaps useful when staying in hotels. But back to loupes. Is that one really as good in practice as Belomo?

[OakIris]

 

I found this reviewer's comments particularly intriguing:

 

"22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

Excellent for identifying tiny bed bug nymphs!"

Hoping never to be able to find it useful for bedbug identification, there again, perhaps useful when staying in hotels. But back to loupes. Is that one really as good in practice as Belomo?

 

lol - I suppose that is a good reason to have a loupe (and the reviewers username is Cricketoes...hmmm,) though I, too, hope to never need one for that purpose.

 

I am 61 years old (62 in December) and have been nearsighted since puberty. I have a couple of inexpensive 10X triplet loupes that work well, also have the inexpensive Goulet lighted loupe - which is actually 15X. I find the Goulet loupe much easier to use and to see with so that is the one that I reach for most of the time.

 

I would like to try out a Belomo loupe to find out what all the fuss is about, but the Goulet loupe works pretty well for me. If I ever do get another loupe, it will be another lighted one; I find that feature very useful.

 

Of course, there is always this one for $185 : Eschenbach 12.5X LED illuminated loupe but that seems a bit pricey to me!

 

Holly

[Glenn Atkins]

 

I found this reviewer's comments particularly intriguing:

 

"22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

Excellent for identifying tiny bed bug nymphs!"

Hoping never to be able to find it useful for bedbug identification, there again, perhaps useful when staying in hotels. But back to loupes. Is that one really as good in practice as Belomo?

 

 

I like it because it is lighted and cheap. It's not as good as a Belomo, of course, but it's not obviously bad either.

 

Glenn

[ac12]

I use a 10x for most stuff and a 20x when I need more magnification than the 10x.

To me, it makes better sense to get 2 loupes of different power (10x and 20x) than try to make one loupe (12x or 15x) do the job. A 15x would be too much magnification for some stuff, and not enough for other stuff.

I also have hand magnifiers of less than 10x for situations where I do not need that much magnification. Like watching how the ink behaves on the paper as it comes out of the pen.

 

I have come to appreciate the value of a lighted loupe. That way I am not searching for a light source when I need to look at something. If it isn't bright enough without the light, I turn on the light and I can see.

 

If the Belomo had an illuminated model, I would get one.

In fact that was the deciding issue when I got my loupe, it had a light and the Belomo did not. Good optics are of no value if you don't have the light to see.

 

Now on a work bench where you always have a good light source at hand, then having an illuminated loupe is of less value.

But I'm not always in a position to have a good light source that I can use.

In fact I usually carry a lighted magnifier similar to the Goulet loupe at pen shows, just so I can see the details in the dim room light. And if you are inspecting a nib at a pen show, you likely will not have a lot of room light to see very well.

[OcalaFlGuy]

My loupe is a 10x and works for most every pen repair need I have. Sometimes I wish I had a 15x however.

 

 

I completely agree. However, the 20x Belomo is Too Much IMO.

 

 

Goulet pens has a lighted loupe for sale, 12X, IIRC, for a decent price. Definitely recommend getting a lighted loupe!

 

Enjoy,

 

I have this one from the Assisted Living website. It's a 14x. I use it Along With my 10x Belomo.

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[GG917]

 

 

I completely agree. However, the 20x Belomo is Too Much IMO.

 

The 20x is very difficult to focus. I use mostly the 10x and have always wondered if a 15x wasn't the one I should have bought in the first place....

[Chrissy]

I am over 50 and I have just purchased the BELomo 12x loupe on ebay from a UK seller.

 

I have a 10x loupe and wanted one with a bit more magnification without loss of detail. This one fit the bill perfectly. My best friend is a jeweller. She uses this brand of loupe. That's good enough recommendation for me.

[islandink]

I have a Belomo 10x that is very nice, but the one I use the most is this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052G7EX8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have one of these in every location I might even possibly need it.

 

Glenn

Thanks--bought it and surprised how much I like it. For the price I had low expectations. The light is very helpful indeed

[Tasmith]

I have a Belomo 10x that is very nice, but the one I use the most is this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052G7EX8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have one of these in every location I might even possibly need it.

 

Glenn

Anderson Pens also carries this.

 

http://www.andersonpens.com/product-p/loupe-30-60.htm

 

While more expensive from Anderson Pens, I prefer supporting local and brick and mortor vendors.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Tasmith

[Chrissy]

I see what people mean about the higher rating being less easy to see. I'm OK with the Belomo 12x but I wouldn't want to go higher

Edited November 26, 2014 by Chrissy

[fountainbel]

I use a 10X for 15 years and i am still completely satisfied with it .

Francis