In article <4cvcmg$a3c@nntp.ucs.ubc.ca>, dfulford@unixg.ubc.ca says...

>Any one have suggestions as to a good quality 8x or 10x loupe to >examine slides with? Thanks!

I keep hawking the plain ol' chrome plated folding 10X field
magnifiers sold by campus stores for classes - they are generally
sharp, and are very cheap. They are not wide-field, but at 10X,
alignment of the magnifier with the film is getting difficult
enough that a wide field may not be very useful (you can use
a 10X for checking sharpness, and a good 4X for an overall
view of the slide).
Hope This Helps