Abstract: A binocular surgical loupe which enhances the illumination of the viewed field while avoiding flare effects of illuminating light within the loupe optics. The binocular system utilizes circularly polarized illumination and viewing to prevent flare effects and additionally enhances the illumination of the field of view by utilization of the illumination source waste beam that results from the presence of a beam splitter in the illumination path within the loupe. In addition, a camera system is provided which permits remote viewing of the user's field of view. In one embodiment the camera and view paths include separate, identical zoom lenses which are synchronously controlled so that the fields of illumination and view are kept coextensive. In another embodiment for a binocular loupe, the loupe optics for one eye combines illumination and viewing functions while the loupe for the other eye combines camera and viewing functions.