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Pointed G2 at sun and is OK

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Phil Musk

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Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
 
You're not supposed to point digital cameras at the sun?
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
 
The G1 manual warns agents pointing the camera at the sun. I have not read the G2 manual but it would be a good place to start. Never look through the optical viewfinder and point at the sun. Sunsets are defiantly ok. Using enough ND filters is fine as well.

Morris
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
 
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the picture if anyone is interested.
morris said:
Morris
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
tch said:
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there
were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at
it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the
picture if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I'm curious...

I certainly have taken pictures facing the sun, sun in the photo. I know of that warning but I have always taken pictures with film cameras including the sun in them. A film camera isn't exactly immune to potential trouble from the intense heat and light either. Just that I never heard of absolute avoidance. I never aim the camera toward the sun for more than seconds at a time though, and rarely while steady on a tripod.

Oh, and I have looked through the viewfinder at the same time, whether 35mm SLR or this G2. Like I said though I don't do that for very long at all. Of course, I also stare at the sun alot, since I was a kid I have done so. Just not often. My eyes aren't good but I couldn't say I've ruined them either by merely taking looks at the sun (when I was a kid I remember staring as long as I could stand it to watch the sun turn black and colors around the edge and all that. What kid doesn't I wonder? But yeah, surely damage potentially could occur.

If anyone locates info about purposeful destruction of a digital camera by long exposure to direct sunlight I'd be interested to hear at what point the destruction happens.
--
Farewell, Bob H.
 
Didn't point it at it very long, just long enough to compose the shot..

http://www.pbase.com/image/3811552
bob h said:
tch said:
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there
were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at
it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the
picture if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I'm curious...
I certainly have taken pictures facing the sun, sun in the photo. I
know of that warning but I have always taken pictures with film
cameras including the sun in them. A film camera isn't exactly
immune to potential trouble from the intense heat and light either.
Just that I never heard of absolute avoidance. I never aim the
camera toward the sun for more than seconds at a time though, and
rarely while steady on a tripod.
Oh, and I have looked through the viewfinder at the same time,
whether 35mm SLR or this G2. Like I said though I don't do that for
very long at all. Of course, I also stare at the sun alot, since I
was a kid I have done so. Just not often. My eyes aren't good but I
couldn't say I've ruined them either by merely taking looks at the
sun (when I was a kid I remember staring as long as I could stand
it to watch the sun turn black and colors around the edge and all
that. What kid doesn't I wonder? But yeah, surely damage
potentially could occur.
If anyone locates info about purposeful destruction of a digital
camera by long exposure to direct sunlight I'd be interested to
hear at what point the destruction happens.
--
Farewell, Bob H.
Click to expand...
 
The camera will not be damaged briefly pointing at the sun, but over long periods the CCD could heat up and become damaged.
 
You are not supposed to point the camera at the sun for extended periods of time. Essentially, the camera's CCD and optics system is like your eye. Look at an intense light source for too long and it will burn out your photoreceptors. Same with the camera. Specifically, the dyes used on the CCD to create the bayar pattern will probably burn and discolor, causing permanent damage.

Quick, occasional shots with the sun in it probably won't cause too much damage.

Kenn
Jack Chevalier said:
JACK
Brian said:
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
tch said:
http://www.pbase.com/image/3811552
bob h said:
tch said:
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there
were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at
it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the
picture if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
These artifacts are known as flare, and are caused by multiple reflections of the bright light source from the lens surfaces. The "blocks" are generated by reflections from the diaphragm. These will have a hexagonal shape in most Canon compact cameras. GKL
 
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
The G2 manual (p. 5) recommends against pointing the G2 at the sun in order to avoid damage to your eyesight. A camera can be replaced, your eyesight can't.

When you point the G2 at a bright light source, the diaphragm automatically stops down to protect the CCD and adjust the LCD brightness. This should be sufficient to protect the CCD for brief moments when the sun is relatively low to the horizon. If it is partially blocked by leaves, clouds or other objects, so much the better. Use your judgement - if your reflex is to squint, then it's too bright for you and maybe even the camera. The camera can stop down a bit more than your eyes.

Damage to you and the camera is much more likely when the sun is near its zenith (overhead) as the path through the atmosphere is shorter and less light is absorbed. Do not use the viewfinder when pointing near the sun, especially on telephoto settings. Never look at the sun through a telescope, binoculars or any other telephoto lens - even brief exposure like this can cause permanent damage to your eyesight. GKL
 
Brian said:
Phil Musk said:
Was taking pictures of sunlight back-lit leaves, and accidentally
and momentarily pointed G2 at the sun. (Hot day, UK, 6pm)

No harm seems to have been done.

I'm glad because back-lit scenes are often the most attractive, and
I thought I couldn't shoot them with the G2.

Phil
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
it still has lenses and it has plastic shutters. so it's not impossible you can do damage to the camera, like a magnifying glass to a bug. my camera still works fine, and i've done sunsets. though i wouldn't recommened it, it's simaler if you looked into the sun.

---Mike Savad

--
http://www.pbase.com/savad/

http://www.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=9050
 
tch,

I, too, have seen these artifacts when I blew out 1/3 of a picture. I see the lens flair in your pic, but also the blocky artifacts. I contacted Canon about this and they said they didn't know about it, but that if the camera continued to malfunction, send it on in...It hasn't and I didn't. Anyway...I'm glad, after posting the same artifact with no response from the forum, to see that someone else has gotten the same result. Here's mine...

full image(noise in upper left corner)
http://www.pbase.com/image/3820517
zoomed crop of noise:
http://www.pbase.com/image/3820519
tch said:
http://www.pbase.com/image/3811552
bob h said:
tch said:
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there
were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at
it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the
picture if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I'm curious...
I certainly have taken pictures facing the sun, sun in the photo. I
know of that warning but I have always taken pictures with film
cameras including the sun in them. A film camera isn't exactly
immune to potential trouble from the intense heat and light either.
Just that I never heard of absolute avoidance. I never aim the
camera toward the sun for more than seconds at a time though, and
rarely while steady on a tripod.
Oh, and I have looked through the viewfinder at the same time,
whether 35mm SLR or this G2. Like I said though I don't do that for
very long at all. Of course, I also stare at the sun alot, since I
was a kid I have done so. Just not often. My eyes aren't good but I
couldn't say I've ruined them either by merely taking looks at the
sun (when I was a kid I remember staring as long as I could stand
it to watch the sun turn black and colors around the edge and all
that. What kid doesn't I wonder? But yeah, surely damage
potentially could occur.
If anyone locates info about purposeful destruction of a digital
camera by long exposure to direct sunlight I'd be interested to
hear at what point the destruction happens.
--
Farewell, Bob H.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
a) There are a couple of threads about CCD burnout: someone got a large grey 'blind spot' on the CCD which was probably due to direct sunlight.

b) I got some nice flare in my picture, but the sun itself wasn't in the frame.

c) The 'blocky' artefacts in the cited pictures look like 'burn tool' or contrast overload and clipping.

d) NEVER take chances with your eyesight.

e) How many ND filters would be 'enough'??

Phil
 
These hexagonal shapes also appear in non-sun photos as well:



I always thought they were pieces of dust or something near the lense that the light source (flash or sun) caught a certain way and brought them into the photo.
gkl said:
These artifacts are known as flare, and are caused by multiple
reflections of the bright light source from the lens surfaces. The
"blocks" are generated by reflections from the diaphragm. These
will have a hexagonal shape in most Canon compact cameras. GKL
Click to expand...
--
Tomzinho
http://www.pbase.com/tomzinho
 
gkl said:
tch said:
http://www.pbase.com/image/3811552
bob h said:
tch said:
I one time pointed my g2 at the sun and took a picture and there
were crazy blocky artifacts all over the picture when i looked at
it, i dont think any permanent damage was done, I'll post the
picture if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
These artifacts are known as flare, and are caused by multiple
reflections of the bright light source from the lens surfaces. The
"blocks" are generated by reflections from the diaphragm. These
will have a hexagonal shape in most Canon compact cameras. GKL
Click to expand...
I thing tch was referring to the weird posterization occuring in the
upper part of the photo. Something really bad is going on there.

--
  • TG -
 
Phil Musk said:
a) There are a couple of threads about CCD burnout: someone got a
large grey 'blind spot' on the CCD which was probably due to direct
sunlight.
Click to expand...
This is another good reason not to use continuous focusing. Your camera may be pointed at the sun in between shots. Note that the G2 itself will automatically stop down as far as f8 if necessary to protect the CCD, even before the shutter button is pressed.
Phil Musk said:
b) I got some nice flare in my picture, but the sun itself wasn't
in the frame.
Click to expand...
If a bright light source is outside the image frame, refraction and internal reflections can still cause flare. This is why people who don't like flare use lens hoods.
Phil Musk said:
c) The 'blocky' artefacts in the cited pictures look like 'burn
tool' or contrast overload and clipping.
Click to expand...
There is one spot in your photo where you can see the hexagonal shape of the diaphragm. The hexagonal shape of diaphragm ghosts is usually clearer at smaller apertures, becoming more circular and diffuse as the diaphragm is opened up.
Phil Musk said:
d) NEVER take chances with your eyesight.

e) How many ND filters would be 'enough'??
Click to expand...
For what purpose? Setting the camera to f8 1/1000 at ISO 50 will underexpose objects lit by direct noon sun by about 2 stops, so if the sun is low to the horizon, blocked by clouds or vegetation, you probably won't need any ND.

OTOH, if you want to take solar eclipse pictures you would need way more than a standard 3 stop ND filter - see this post: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2846115

Before investing in ND filters (which are normally only used for adjusting the depth of field), try a standard polarizer - it's more useful than ND and gives 1.5 to 2 stop reduction. cheers, GKL
 
mango said:
tch,

I, too, have seen these artifacts when I blew out 1/3 of a
picture. I see the lens flair in your pic, but also the blocky
artifacts. I contacted Canon about this and they said they didn't
know about it, but that if the camera continued to malfunction,
send it on in...It hasn't and I didn't. Anyway...I'm glad, after
posting the same artifact with no response from the forum, to see
that someone else has gotten the same result. Here's mine...

full image(noise in upper left corner)
http://www.pbase.com/image/3820517
zoomed crop of noise:
http://www.pbase.com/image/3820519
Click to expand...
Now I see what you mean. The top part of the cropped image looks like its at a different resolution. I wonder if the bayer interpolation didn't happen in the top part - note the colors are off, and too greenish. GKL
 
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