Sensor Loupe for the Nikon Z9

[Ivan Rothman]

When cleaning my sensor in the Z9, I have difficulty using the sensor loupes that I have because the sensor appears as a rainbow of colors. Has anyone tried using the Visible Dust Quasar R sensor loupe which has option of using red lights and would this make it easier to evaluate for dust spots?

 

[dabhand16]

When cleaning my sensor in the Z9, I have difficulty using the sensor loupes that I have because the sensor appears as a rainbow of colors. Has anyone tried using the Visible Dust Quasar R sensor loupe which has option of using red lights and would this make it easier to evaluate for dust spots?

I use a cheap loupe with LED lights around it to see the sensors on my mirrorless cameras and usually see the rainbows, but I just tilt it around so they disappear.

I first got it when I had dSLRs and IIRC back then it did sit on the mount and for the life of me, I can't remember if I tilted the loupe then or not.

I hand hold it away from the camera now.

 

[Calson]

I bought the standard Visible Dust loupe with LEDs in 2007 and it was useful overall. At a certain point though I have found it easier to simply take a picture at f/16 of a blank sky and then see the dust specs on the image. As I tended to clean the sensors on a regular basis there was seldom more than a single speck on the sensor to remove.

With the Z9 I have it set to close the shutter whenever the camera is turned off and so have not needed to clean the sensors on my Z9 cameras over the past 14 months. I am also careful to minimize lens changes outdoors as much as possible.

 

[Ivan Rothman]

I use a cheap loupe with LED lights around it to see the sensors on my mirrorless cameras and usually see the rainbows, but I just tilt it around so they disappear.

I first got it when I had dSLRs and IIRC back then it did sit on the mount and for the life of me, I can't remember if I tilted the loupe then or not.

I hand hold it away from the camera now.

What you say makes sense but I still would like a better more detailed view of the sensor which is what the red lights on the Visible Dust Quasar R sensor loupe is supposed to give. I was wondering if anyone here has actually used that loupe.

 

[Ivan Rothman]

I bought the standard Visible Dust loupe with LEDs in 2007 and it was useful overall. At a certain point though I have found it easier to simply take a picture at f/16 of a blank sky and then see the dust specs on the image. As I tended to clean the sensors on a regular basis there was seldom more than a single speck on the sensor to remove.

With the Z9 I have it set to close the shutter whenever the camera is turned off and so have not needed to clean the sensors on my Z9 cameras over the past 14 months. I am also careful to minimize lens changes outdoors as much as possible.

Thank you for the response.
I also have found little problems with dust on the Z9 sensor as I have the shutter closed when camera turned off and I'm careful when changing lenses. Much less of a problem than when I was using a DSLR. I've been using a pair of Z9s for over 2 years and only recently had a small amount of dust which benefitted from a cleaning.
I do routinely take a picture of a blank wall at f22, ISO 100, focus set at infinity and exposure of a few seconds while moving camera in order to demonstrate any dirt on the sensor. But I also like to be able to use a sensor loupe to quickly check for dirt.

 

[dabhand16]

What you say makes sense but I still would like a better more detailed view of the sensor which is what the red lights on the Visible Dust Quasar R sensor loupe is supposed to give. I was wondering if anyone here has actually used that loupe.

My loupe has white LEDs. Worth getting a cheap white LED one to see if it helps?

 

[Calson]

The sensor loupee is better than one without the LED lights but it is not a much better than a small flashlight. Specs that were not visible even with the loupe would still show up in images taken at f/11 at times.

I needed the ultra clean sensors for my wedding photography where I was taking hundreds of shots at small apertures with the sky in the background. With wildlife photography I tend to use apertures larger than f/11 and I am far less likely to have open sky in the images so dust on the sensor is far less of a concern.