JohnSil
Veteran Member
The problem is if the camera has ONLY an E shutter and no mechanical protector on the sensor. Otherwise I think it only runs the battery down and wears out the lenses from the constant hunting.
John
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Sun burned sensor
- Thread starter L Lenson
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John
I also think shutter curtain is much more sensitive. The sensor distributes heat, unless of course it's way too much.
Except that this only protects the sensor and makes the shutter vulnerable...
birdbrain
Veteran Member
What’s that saying? You can lead a horse to water?
Sittatunga
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If you don't use protection filters, replacing the cap when you're not actually using the camera is just good sense as it protects the lens front element.
The advice only appears on the rear screen when you turn the camera off with an EF or EF-S lens attached (but not if it's an RF or RF-S lens). It still appears when continuous focus is disabled, so it's definitely to protect the interior of the camera. Nearly all Canon lens caps now have centre pinch clips so that they can be removed and replaced with the lens hood in the working position - I have replaced my older EF caps for that reason.
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boldcolors
Senior Member
The risk has to be small, otherwise we would read countless rants from pros in the field. I guarantee 100% that no one puts the lens cap on during a session "because of the sun". Maybe turning off the camera occasionally but that's it. And even if the camera is in standby AND RF lenses are used there should be a risk of burning your sensor?
That is just unacceptable from a working perspective and that is why I am sure the risk is not that big. I assume the lens hood covers most of the ingoing rays unless it is pointed directly at the sun with no protection. Like Trump during an eclipse.
Le Kilt
Veteran Member
I agree, I never put the lens cap on, but I always know where the camera is pointing, and never lay it down where it might be facing the sun.
Ephemeris
Veteran Member
I had a sensor damaged from what is believed to have been either bright LEDs or perhaps laser. Photographing a night time tractor run. I'd hope the shutter would help to protect against some light source like that.
I agree, I can imagine it could get very hot pointed at the sun. Living in Yorkshire we no longer have any sun so it's got inbuilt safety for photographers
Ephemeris
Veteran Member
Is it expected (it is from me) that the sensor will have a protector even without a shutter?
I've been on camera forums for a long time and never heard of anyone damaging or destroying a camera from accidental sun exposure. Plenty of people walk around with a camera round their neck and no lens cap, so if this was a problem, there would be many more posts about it. The only damage I've seen is from people intentionally pointing a tele lens at the sun.
My Canon R8 stops the lens down to the smallest aperture when switched off anyway.
My Canon R8 stops the lens down to the smallest aperture when switched off anyway.
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There have been examples - this problem only arises if you use old lenses that are designed to keep the aperture open when not powered on. The lenses designed for mirrorless cameras do close the aperture when not powered on and that does prevent the issue quite comprehensively.
Because you use a RF lens with it. If it were an EF lens it would stay open.
The R8 doesn't do anything specific to aperture while switching off. It simply stops powering the lens and the lens just settles down into it's powered off state. For RF lenses it's aperture closed, while EF has it open
I would much rather pay for a burnt camera maybe once, than to fiddle with lens caps every day. Missing shots because of lens caps is in the same category as missing important shots because no memory card was inserted in camera - very frustrating.
Dareshooter
Veteran Member
If you’ve burnt your camera the whole shoot is ruined so how’s that preferable to missing a shot due to removing a lens cap ?
It's an argument for the sake of argument. There are possibly 100 other things you can miss shots due to if working with Lens caps figures high in the list.
It's not like this means putting the cap on after every shot. Where capping matters, when you are putting camera aside, the reflex to even come back into shooting mode is perhaps slower than doing any camera operation. If one is already actively shooting, they can as well keep the lens pointed in a safe direction than cap it temporarily
One can keep the camera always ready and some action can happen behind them, or drain the battery and miss the shot while changing the battery because they traded preserving battery with being ready for the shot. If someone's shooting revolves so much around opportunistic misses that cannot be planned for, tough luck I guess.
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PicPocket
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Dareshooter
Veteran Member
Indeed . The worse example I know of is a family friend who kept shooting away unaware that they’d come to the end of the roll of film and carried on regardless .
Paul Pasco
Forum Pro
Your 550D is a DSLR not a mirrorless. I don’t think you understand the potential danger to a mirrorless camera. Over in the Nikon Z forum a few years ago someone noticed that the plastic frame behind the lens of a Z50 was melted. If the angle of the sun had been different it could have damaged the sensor. Didn’t you ever play with a magnifying glass as a child?Since nobody gave the answer I was after, I made a little test trying to burn a sensor a little.
Canon 550D, 85mm lens at f2.8. Focused on infinity, sun near corner of sensor. A ten minute exposure of afternoon sun did not cause any trouble. Sensor looks visually unaffected. No damage to image quality either. I assume the sensors of recent cameras are equally tough.
Zenith sun may be another story but who leaves their cameras pointing up.
So my conslusion is no caps is needed to prevent heat damage in normal situations. At least not for me. For others, please follow Canons advice and put caps on.
Le Kilt
Veteran Member
Of course not, you still have all the shots before the sensor got frazzled
I understand there is a risk but I wanted to know what focal length and aperture the problems start. For instance, do I really need to bother with caps on a slow wideangle?Your 550D is a DSLR not a mirrorless. I don’t think you understand the potential danger to a mirrorless camera. Over in the Nikon Z forum a few years ago someone noticed that the plastic frame behind the lens of a Z50 was melted. If the angle of the sun had been different it could have damaged the sensor. Didn’t you ever play with a magnifying glass as a child?Since nobody gave the answer I was after, I made a little test trying to burn a sensor a little.
Canon 550D, 85mm lens at f2.8. Focused on infinity, sun near corner of sensor. A ten minute exposure of afternoon sun did not cause any trouble. Sensor looks visually unaffected. No damage to image quality either. I assume the sensors of recent cameras are equally tough.
Zenith sun may be another story but who leaves their cameras pointing up.
So my conslusion is no caps is needed to prevent heat damage in normal situations. At least not for me. For others, please follow Canons advice and put caps on.
Using ND filter on fast lens could be a solution when shooting in bright places. Many cameras run out of shutter speed in these situations anyway.
Sittatunga
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What you didn't say about your DSLR test is whether you had the mirror locked up. Presumably the shutter was open so the mirror would have been up, but you didn't state that explicitly. In any case, the front shutter curtain is more vulnerable to a burning glass than the sensor, and most EOS R cameras have one with the default of having the shutter closed with the camera switched off. I'm not sure you can lock the mirror up with the shutter closed and I'm not suggesting you try - I wouldn't try it myself. Personally I think that using a lens cap is less trouble than fitting an ND filter, but it doesn't get bright enough here to require an ND filter anywayI understand there is a risk but I wanted to know what focal length and aperture the problems start. For instance, do I really need to bother with caps on a slow wideangle?Your 550D is a DSLR not a mirrorless. I don’t think you understand the potential danger to a mirrorless camera. Over in the Nikon Z forum a few years ago someone noticed that the plastic frame behind the lens of a Z50 was melted. If the angle of the sun had been different it could have damaged the sensor. Didn’t you ever play with a magnifying glass as a child?Since nobody gave the answer I was after, I made a little test trying to burn a sensor a little.
Canon 550D, 85mm lens at f2.8. Focused on infinity, sun near corner of sensor. A ten minute exposure of afternoon sun did not cause any trouble. Sensor looks visually unaffected. No damage to image quality either. I assume the sensors of recent cameras are equally tough.
Zenith sun may be another story but who leaves their cameras pointing up.
So my conslusion is no caps is needed to prevent heat damage in normal situations. At least not for me. For others, please follow Canons advice and put caps on.
Using ND filter on fast lens could be a solution when shooting in bright places. Many cameras run out of shutter speed in these situations anyway.
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