Check out True Macro-Photography Forum section of our forum.
Does photographing the sun hurt a digital sensor?
Aug 24, 2018 10:44:49 #
olemikey
Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida
jerryc41 wrote:
There are thousands of sunset pictures, but not many of the noon-day sun. Camera makers warn about exposing the camera to the sun directly.
Nikon D7100: Sunlight focused into the camera could cause a fire. ...could damage internal circuitry.
Nikon D7100: Sunlight focused into the camera could cause a fire. ...could damage internal circuitry.
Good one Jerry, I was going to bring up the heat issue too. I have an old tele lens that I bought, had a couple specs of fungus - I sat it out on a tripod all afternoon in the Fla sun.....and managed to catch the leaves on fire below it!!!!! Good thing I was paying attention, I would have hated showing up in the local papers!!!
Aug 24, 2018 10:53:29 #
There seems to be confusion here regarding photographing the sun and photographing the sunrise for sunset where the sunrays are filtered by a lot of air and moisture even so the sun is a "hot item" and the eyes and camera should be protected. The reply below is for "photographing the sun."
If in doubt barrow your best friends camera and test.
Use an ND filter... no not 2, 4, 8... rather one that is 1,000 ! "All filters block 99.999% of the energy from entering the instrument. For visual and photographic use."
http://thousandoaksoptical.com/products/solar-filters/
Discussion and comparison of two types of filters:
https://astro.ecuadors.net/baader-astrosolar-vs-thousand-oaks-black-polymer-solar-filter/
DO NOT FORGET TO GET SOLAR EYEGLASSES BECAUSE YOU WILL BE AIMING THE CAMERA LOOKING TOWARD THE SUN.
The glasses should have ISO [International Standards certification]
If in doubt barrow your best friends camera and test.
Use an ND filter... no not 2, 4, 8... rather one that is 1,000 ! "All filters block 99.999% of the energy from entering the instrument. For visual and photographic use."
http://thousandoaksoptical.com/products/solar-filters/
Discussion and comparison of two types of filters:
https://astro.ecuadors.net/baader-astrosolar-vs-thousand-oaks-black-polymer-solar-filter/
DO NOT FORGET TO GET SOLAR EYEGLASSES BECAUSE YOU WILL BE AIMING THE CAMERA LOOKING TOWARD THE SUN.
The glasses should have ISO [International Standards certification]
Aug 24, 2018 10:58:06 #
PeterBergh wrote:
In "film days", I didn't worry about the sun harming the sensor; after all, each image had its own sensor. Will repeated exposures of the sun harm a digital sensor?
You probably never took a long enough exposure to harm the film. If you are equally cautious with digital you will probably be safe.
But if you leave the shutter open long enough, even with a filter in place, you can eventually burn a hole in the film or sensor.
It's not just the sun. Have you ever seen a movie film projector get stuck? The heat burns right through the film.
Check out Film Photography section of our forum.
Aug 24, 2018 11:42:52 #
Reference the film days.... Yes you could burn a hole in the cloth focal plane shutter. Less of a problem with the metal shutters. Unless you are careful you can burn a Digital sensor. If you are shooting the sun as in with a telephoto or telescope to photograph the sunspots the you need a solar filter. There should be tons of them around since the Solar Eclipse last year. Be careful.
Sun filtered by Oregon Wildfire Smoke cloud
Aug 24, 2018 12:29:07 #
therwol
Loc: USA
Dikdik wrote:
just a good practice to avoid... also at risk are SLR cameras sitting on the back window ledge of automobiles without a lens cap... even when walking I cover the lens area with my hand to keep any unwanted sunlight out...
Dik
Dik
Anyone remember Apollo 12? Alan Bean accidentally pointed their video camera at the sun, and we got no video from the surface of the moon on that mission.
Aug 24, 2018 13:49:50 #
PeterBergh wrote:
In "film days", I didn't worry about the sun harming the sensor; after all, each image had its own sensor. Will repeated exposures of the sun harm a digital sensor?
In film days you could melt the film if the exposure was long enough. Like holding a magnifying glass in front of the sun. Since sensors are quite sensitive you can cause it damage. I know for sure that a laser pointer will take out a sensor in security cameras. Most of it is due to the strength of the laser and the small size of the sensor in security cameras. To be safe I would no photograph the sun without a lot of ND filtration in front of it. And if you look at the sun through the view finder without a lot of ND filtration it will burn your retina.
Aug 24, 2018 14:27:12 #
rjriggins11
Loc: Colorado Springs, CO
Yes, yes it will.
Did you ever burn ants with a magnifying glass? The lens on your camera acts just like the magnifying glass. It will burn.
Did you ever burn ants with a magnifying glass? The lens on your camera acts just like the magnifying glass. It will burn.
PeterBergh wrote:
In "film days", I didn't worry about the sun harming the sensor; after all, each image had its own sensor. Will repeated exposures of the sun harm a digital sensor?
Check out Photo Critique Section section of our forum.
Aug 24, 2018 14:36:15 #
Aug 24, 2018 15:25:18 #
Thanks to all who responded, both here and in a PM. Y'all added a lot to my sparse fund of knowledge.
Aug 24, 2018 15:57:23 #
May be if you use a mirrorless then it can harm your sensor otherwise with other type of camera it may harm your shutter, focusing screen but not the sensor unless you overexpose the image. All these damages are done while you are composing the image not while exposing the image. If you give the images about the right amount of exposure then the Intensityxduration product is the same for any other images.
Aug 24, 2018 16:29:11 #
Check out Drone Video and Photography Forum section of our forum.
Aug 24, 2018 17:04:07 #
rmorrison1116 wrote:
Not if they use a solar filter. I've pointed a DSLR at the sun, with the equivalent of a 1200 mm lens, in live view so others could see the surface of the sun.
Well, you are talking about a special case, namely doing photography of the sun, not the typical case of having the sun in a landscape image or other such case in which the view includes the sun.
Aug 24, 2018 17:21:54 #
PeterBergh wrote:
In "film days", I didn't worry about the sun harming the sensor; after all, each image had its own sensor. Will repeated exposures of the sun harm a digital sensor?
Yes it will - only EVER shoot in total darkness
Aug 24, 2018 21:05:24 #
IDguy
Loc: Idaho
PeterBergh wrote:
In "film days", I didn't worry about the sun harming the sensor; after all, each image had its own sensor. Will repeated exposures of the sun harm a digital sensor?
You can wipe it out with one exposure. Many did last August with eclipse.
Aug 27, 2018 13:02:04 #
therwol wrote:
I'm sure that if you point a camera at the noon day sun to take a picture of the sun, you're putting the sensor at risk, especially with a mirrorless camera. (It would be like using a magnifying glass to focus the sun on a small spot to ignite something.) Intense heat. In that situation, you'd want a sun filter in place. As for the sunrise and sunset scenario, I defer to the experts on that.
Looking at the sun through the eyepiece will burn your retina. never look directly at the sun. The mirror and the lens can intensify the normal exposure looking at the sun.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Check out The Pampered Pets Corner section of our forum.