• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

SLR's and direct sunlight?

V

Volume

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 17, 2004
Messages
4,010
I went out on my first sunny day shooting, and I wondered this to myself: If you're taking a shot in which the sun is shining toward the lens, can it damage your sensor? I experimented with what the picture would look like with the sun coming from the front and accidentally snapped a couple photos with the sun inside the frame. Is it likely I've done anything permanent with those 2-3 photos, or is it that it would take repeated exposure or doesn't matter at all?

I'll either sound paranoid or thoughtful, but I have heard about how these sensors are so fragile and wanted to be sure.

EDIT: I looked around and found this info: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=648972
Apparently it's only an issue if you have a powerful lens, and/or if you take a long exposure. I figure I'll leave this thread open if anyone wants to chime in, otherwise I'll let it get buried.
 
Last edited:
Taking pictures with the sun in them isn't something to worry about, but as you might imagine... and have read... prolonged exposure to lens focused sunlight could harm the sensor.
 
Depending on the suns angle you can slap a lens hood on there to help reduce / remove the direct light completely.
 
i think there would be warnings with the camera if it was that big of a deal. but most photog forums i been on not once has this come up.
 
All the lenses I own came with warnings in their manuals not to point them into the sun, as the focused high intensity light could potentially heat up the camera internals enough to actually catch the body on fire! :eek: (no, I'm not kidding - this warning is in most lens manuals not the camera manual)

I have no idea how long it would take for this to happen, but it is a definite concern. I would avoid, if at all possible, leaving the camera focused (say on a tripod) into the sun for extended periods, as you could potentially cause damage to a lot more than just the sensor.

That being said, it is nearly impossible to keep the sun out of your photos all the time. Especially on a wide lens like a fisheye, you pretty much have a 50/50 chance of catching the sun in any given daylight shot; and if the sun isn’t in there, your ugly shadow probably will be. :p I can personally attest that the sun looks pretty cool through a fisheye lens, so I'm not too terribly worried about it.

YMMV, but I would just be concerned about leaving the sun focused on any one point inside the camera for any extended period of time. As long as the camera is moving around a good bit, you should be ok. Also, you should probably be more concerned about any retinal damage you could do to your eyes by catching the sun through a longer lens in your viewfinder.
 
Last edited:
why you shoot with the sun behind you, gives better natural light on your subject, the sun is only in my pictures when i want it to be, so nothing near 50/50 chance, even with a wide angle lens.
 
^Oops - I was referring to fisheye (180-degrees), not just any wide-angle lens. It's probably not actually 50/50, but I've generally found that in a bright daylight scene I will either have the sun or my shadow in the frame, and I've decided I like the sun better. :p

Just an illustration to say the sun won't destroy a camera with that kind of minimal exposure.
 
Yes and no - when you're using your camera, the light is directed upwards to the viewfinder & there's shutter curtains blocking the sensor, so it's only exposed for 1/4000 or however fast your exposure is.

Where you get in trouble is "Live View" mode or video recording, because the mirror is up, & shutter curtains are withdrawn. My 7D did have warnings for both.Then you have the sensor exposed to sunlight for an extended period of time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top