Photography Inside a Hydroelectric Dam: Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if...

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

williejoha

It is hard for me to believe that there is any truth to that. I have used my cameras touring Hoover Dam without any problem.
WJH

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I have flown in a helicopter under high voltage power lines, taken pictures in a number of high voltage remote substations and photographed inside an underground Hydro electric facility (Snetisham near Juneau, Alaska) I was using a Nikon D300. It never occurred to me to worry about the camera and all the shots turned out fine.
…Cam

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee

Thank you both. That is the feedback I was hoping for.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

williejoha wrote:

It is hard for me to believe that there is any truth to that. I have used my cameras touring Hoover Dam without any problem.
WJH

I can't believe it either.
I seriously believe that the electromagnetic field would not be strong enough to hurt a camera.
I wouldn't be concerned in the slightest.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

Shot a bunch of shots in, and around the Hoover Dam with 0 problems

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Did you hear that on UHH, the great arbiter of photography truth?

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I think your camera would be safe for the same reasons that your SD cards (or whatever) and the non-volatile memory inside the camera would be safe. However, if there was anything causing arcing (e.g. mechanical switching of high voltages), that might be a different story.

In the case of arc welding, whether it could cause damage to the electrics or not I couldn't say for sure, but I wouldn't want to get too close just in case, and I can tell you for a fact that it can damage the sensor if you are taking pictures of the welder's arc or making a video recording of it.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

saxman71 wrote:

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such we use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

At one time, our whole family {including our two then teen-aged daughters} lived across the street from high-voltage lines. There were hysterical warnings about high voltage lines at the time. I think you’ll find more support for such concerns now amongst some Attic residents here.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rehess wrote:

At one time, our whole family {including our two then teen-aged daughters} lived across the street from high-voltage lines. There were hysterical warnings about high voltage lines at the time. I think you’ll find more support for such concerns now amongst some Attic residents here.

While there is electromagnetic radiation from the lines, I have no idea what strength it may be.

jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

saxman71 wrote:

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 30 years of practice in power generation, high voltage, etc.

There is no such risk, those are all witch tales.
Nonsense, fake news, flat earth theory, tonterías, quatch.

I try to debunk those conspiracy theories every time I can

traderjohn Loc: New York City

saxman71 wrote:

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

The tour guide.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

jlg1000 wrote:

I'm an Electrical Engineer with over 30 years of practice in power generation, high voltage, etc.

There is no such risk, those are all witch tales.
Nonsense, fake news, flat earth theory, tonterías, quatch.

I try to debunk those conspiracy theories every time I can

Years ago my wife bought a pillow that said, “Never but never question the judgement of the engineer.” Good advice.

starlifter Loc: Towson, MD

saxman71 wrote:

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

I went thru Conowingo dam in Maryland several years ago with a D810, no problems at all.

r1ch Loc: Colorado

saxman71 wrote:

Some time back I heard you should not use your DSLR under high voltage power lines in that such use could damage the camera. I never knew if that was a true statement but have avoided doing so none-the-less. I have an opportunity next week to tour the inside of a hydroelectric dam and want to bring my Nikon D810 on the tour. The tour guide said not to worry. They haven't "fried any cameras yet". I want to believe him. Does anyone have any knowledgeable information this subject?

Probably from 2016 from this question on DPreview

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3993140

A guy was operating his canon camera under power lines and he said it started to malfunction. AF quit working and such.

I have no knowledge of this but if my camera started acting strangly under power lines, I would stop using it there.