Question about a 30x loupe...

RW

I bought a 30x loupe to look for RPM, DDs..etc... Looking through it I don't get any more magnification then I do out of a 5x. So to the stupid question we go....does the 30x not indicate a view of 30 times normal, as in 30 times larger? Am I going crazy? Don't answer the second question. TYIA

Steve27

It means that you took off your 6x reading glasses before using it.

seanq

In my experience, anything in the hand stronger than a 16x Hastings is too much. I used to forget what part of the coin I was looking at with a 30x magnifier. Also, this may sound snobbish, but any variety yo ucan't see with a 16x loupe probably isn't collectible in the first place.


Sean Reynolds

RW

Not snobbish at all...thanks for the info. I'm just making sure I'm not losing my mind here since this supposed 30x has barely any magification power. 30x is 30 times normal view correct?

100proof1957

maybe its a crap 30x

smoebody gave me a 6x zeiss and it is hands down better than a 10x B&L

BillJones

Unless it's part of microscope, 30X is really pretty useless. The only thing it’s good for is counterfeit detection. It’s absolutely useless for grading purposes.

One grades with 3 or 5X, if you are not nearsighted like me. One uses the 10X to look for tampering of the surfaces or evidence of counterfeiting. Beyond that you might use a 15 or 20 to look for glued on mint marks. Anything higher than that is useless at a coin show IMO. I almost never get beyond 10X.

RW

Thanks for the advice. I'm gathering that this 30x is just a piece of crap. It was a cheapo on ebay and I figured that 30x had to mean 30x. Apparently not!

LanLord

The relief of a loupe of that power makes it hard to even consider.

It's kinda like trying to consider holding a microsope to you eye and looking at different coins. Doesn't seem like that would work well.

If you need more than a 16x, get a microscope and use it in combination with a computer.

66Tbird

I had the same thoughts with my 30x the first time I used it. With a 30x, the glass and coin need to be an 1/8 in apart leaving little light to see with. I found a strip of SMC LEDs in a flex strip package. mounted them on the rim and that was the answer. Two things I wish about that setup. One, that I would of bought more than one led strip and two, that I hadn't sold the working setup

JRocco

<< <i>In my experience, anything in the hand stronger than a 16x Hastings is too much. I used to forget what part of the coin I was looking at with a 30x magnifier. Also, this may sound snobbish, but any variety yo ucan't see with a 16x loupe probably isn't collectible in the first place.


Sean Reynolds >>



I agree 100%. 16X is my max hand held glass. 30X and over would be for photography or micro-verification. You need to see more of the coin than a 30X can show you anyway. 5x to 10X (7X is perfect) is all I regularly use, the 16X is rarely used, and then only for verification.

RickMilauskas

Maybe it's missing a decimal point and is a 3.0x?

RW

Anyone want a used 30x?

Can I go wrong with a Bausch & Lomb 10x Hastings Triplet?

PerryHall

<< <i>Anyone want a used 30x?

Can I go wrong with a Bausch & Lomb 10x Hastings Triplet? >>



I have one and its an excellant product.

coppercoins

I search at shows and at home between 10X and 12X. I photograph what I find at between 25X and 35X just to get a crisp, clear shot of what I have. I otherwise don't bother with that much magnification.

I agree that if it isn't readily apparent with a 16X, it's not worth the bother.

carl

Sounds like you bought one of the many Made In China products around here lately. At one flea market there was a guy selling lots of magnifiers, all made there and I noticed that regardless of which one I looked through at my watch they all appeared to be about the same regardless of the X rating. I tried the 2X, 5X, 12X and even a double one that was supposed to combine to be 30X and all were the same. Something got lost in the translation. The guy looked surprised when I pointed that out but since he was Asian, I think he was play acting.