Finally got a proper watchmaker's loupe and it's a total game changer

I kept putting it off, but I dropped about $80 on a good 10x loupe with a headband mount last month. Just used it to clean the aperture blades on an old Canon FD lens (you know, the ones that get so sticky). Being able to see every tiny speck of oil and grime clearly saved me at least two hours of guesswork and re-cleaning. Anyone have a favorite brand for these, or a different magnification they like better?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_iris2mo ago

That bit about the sticky aperture blades is too real. My buddy tried cleaning an old Nikon lens without a loupe first, just a regular magnifying glass. He thought he got all the old grease off the blades, but when he put it back together the action was still rough. Had to take the whole thing apart again under a proper loupe and found a tiny, hardened speck he'd completely missed.

the_wendy2mo agoProlific Poster

Yeah, that "hardened speck" is the worst. It's always one tiny bit of old grease that ruins everything. That's why you never skip the loupe.

the_jana3d ago

Ha, yeah I used to be one of those people who thought a loupe was overkill. I mean, I've got good eyes, right? But after messing up a cleaning job on an old Pentax lens I was trying to flip, I finally get it. You think you see everything, but that one tiny speck hides right where you're not looking. It's frustrating but now I don't even start without a loupe, no matter how clean I think the lens looks.

patricia_perez742mo ago

Always use a loupe, man. I learned that the hard way with an old Canon FD lens.