I recently purchased a Visible Dust light loupe to make the sensor cleaning process a bit faster - and it has helped in this regard. I also found another use for the loupe after I received a lens I made the mistake of buying a lens on eBay from Mathew Todd Mason (1372mattthewtodd on eBay) in New Hope, PA.
I was suspicious of the condition of the lens as the case looked like it had gone through a dozen wash cycles and tumbled dry with a bunch of rocks. It looked like severe water damage and I expected that this could easily have affected the lens.
Using the Visible Dust loupe I was easily able to see the fungus growing inside the lens as white spidery formations which will grow over time unless the lens is disassembled and cleaned and then reassembled and realigned - an expensive proposition.
I can see that this loupe would be great for doing a check of a used lens purchased at a camera store, photo fair, or from someone on Craig's list (never again on eBay!!!).
My lesson has been learned with regard to eBay and PayPal and their non-existent buyer protection. Unfortunately with eBay a buyer is limited to a one liner to describe their satisfaction with the transaction, which does very little to alert other potential buyers to a seller's ethical shortcomings. Of course eBay and PayPal get their fees regardless of the outcome.
But a lesson was learned both with regard to eBay/PayPal and in using the Visible Dust sensor loupe to check out used lenses in the future prior to purchase.
