Carson LumiLoupe Plus 10.5x Power Focusable Stand Loupe Magnifier (LO-10)

So, as I have mentioned before, I usually only write reviews on stand out products, that I've purchased. This isn't to say that other products aren't worthy of reviews. As much as I wish I could write reviews for all things purchased, there just isn't enough time. I am not paid, nor given free items, to review. I am just a regular person, like many of you, and this is just my honest opinion. With that said, this Carson Lumiloupe, is one of those products that i think deserves a shout out. I am a coin collector and have purchased many unlit loupes, but being unlit, most don't allow enough light in. The Lumiloupe, having a clear base, does what the others don't. It let's in light. Granted, you will need an external light source. The thing I like about this Lumiloupe is it's ability to focus. My vision is far from great, so the ability to focus, is a huge plus for me.(I know, I should probably take up a different hobby. One that doesn't require looking at minute details, on really small objects. I just love coins.) The lens on this loupe is really good. I haven't noticed any abnormalities or distortion. The other niceity, is the field of vision. I can see the entire coin. I have tried it on everything from a dime to an Eisenhower dollar, without issue. This loupe is lightweight, easy to use, and a good value. Don't get me wrong, it may not be for everyone, as it is a bit bulky. For my use, at home, it is just what I need. I will probably purchase another Lumiloupes, if I find one similar to this, with a magnification of between 25 and 50, at a similar price point.(My old eyes need extra magnification.) Hopefully, the Lumiloupe will help me find that rare, valuable coin, that every amateur coin collector, hunts a lifetime for.

i've been working in photo studios and darkrooms since the early 90s, both as a student and professionally, and this is one of the nicest loupes i've ever handled. the elements are gigantic, making it really easy to use without the need to keep it perfectly centered on your pupil. also, the ability to easily focus the loupe makes it useful for objects that are not perfectly, perfectly flat (like single negatives that are slightly U-bent). the large size of the clear base is great as well, and lets in plenty of light for viewing even if you don't have a light table. this is not the classic shot-glass size loupe, it's closer in size to a small teacup. my only gripe is that the lens elements aren't glass, but the ~$11 price tag more than makes up for that. this isn't bleeding-edge high-end equipment but it's definitely worth the money for anyone involved in photography.

I purchased three of the Carson magnifier/eye loupes (10x, 13x, 17.5x). All are plastic, but I was pleasantly surprised with the good materials and craftsmanship. (All are made in China.) In my tests, the Carson lenses were much better than those by B&L or others made in China. Objects are clear throughout the Carson lenses, not just in the very center (with a blurred dead zone taking up most of the surrounding view) as in many cheap plastic lens. However, be aware of one problem if you need high need high magnification. These higher-powered lenses-- especially the “magnifiers”-- require the object to be ¼ to ½ inch away to be in focus. With this small focal length, the object has to be brought so close to the lens that it is hard to get enough light on the object to see well.

I especially like the focusable feature of this loupe and the handy larger size.

As a response to Pandemic II, I decided to spend some of the isolation going through my old slides and digitize some, discard others. With over 1500 slides to look at, and most in see-through 20 slide folders, I decided to get a light table and a loupe to speed up the process. The light table allows for immediate viewing of 20 slides, and the loupe allows me to look more closely at individual slides if I have a question about it. For what I want to do this loupe distorts everything except the very center of the viewing area. Other loupes I've used worked better, but in current dollars they cost a good deal more. Moving it around I am able to view all I need to see in the slide, but that slows down the process. On a positive side it seems well assembled, and for this price, usable.

I knew that this loupe was larger, but I had no idea how big that it is!! It is like a small cereal or finger bowl! Massive for a magnifier. The lens is clear and a lot of light comes in to a large field of view. I like it a lot. I am not sure about the “focus” ability, though. It does not seem to me to be doing anything by rotating the ring? I have not seen anything out of focus. It seems to be a well made magnifier and hopefully will last a while. I would prefer a glass lens, but it is what it is!

Quite good for plastic optics. The 6x magnification listed seems to be accurate, unlike many Chinese loupe seller's exaggerated claims. The LumiLoupe Plus series of Carson magnifiers have the advantage of being focusable while many of the other Carson stand magnifiers are fixed focus. Good magnification level for use with the micro print in the two cased volume Unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, the one that includes a rectangular magnifier. I can see the individual LCD pixels on my high resolution Dell LCD monitor with it. Quite large as the clear plastic base is 4.5" in diameter and lets in plenty of light. Works best with the eye as close to the lens as possible for maximum field of view and minimal distortion. In other words designed to be used as a low power loupe rather than a reading magnifying glass. This is true of almost all loupe type magnifiers. For normal book reading type magnification a lower power single lens magnifier or a Fresnel lens type page magnifier might be better unless the higher magnification of this is needed.

I have viewers with different levels of magnification for my blade work. This 17.5x is about as high power as it can be and still be useful as a hand held lense. An unexpected design element, that has been useful, is that the lense can be removed from the base. So I have free range-of-distance from the lense to the knife's edge. It took practice to use the 17.5x to interpret what I'm seeing. Usually the knife edge has a parabolic curve/distortion, but I can still make out some details on the metal. I place the knife edge under the light beam of a desk lamp, then adjust the distance between the knife edge and the lense, and between the lense and my eye. Its a challenge to keep the alignment for any length of time, but I'm getting better at it. Placing both elbows on the desk helps. My go-to lense is a 10x. It is easier to use. But sometimes I resort to this 17.5x to get a more detailed, though less practical, look at a very small section of an edge.