Will camera be damaged if it is pointed to direct sunlight?

[april64]

I have recently purchased my first DSLR, Nikon D90. I like to take some sunset/sunrise photos but I don’t want to damage my camera, so before I do anything, I like to know if pointing the camera to the sun will damage it in any way and if so how to avoid it?
Thank you---april

 

[zackiedawg]

It CAN, but won't always. Generally, caution should be taken when pointing directly at the sun - late sunset sun is usually less intense than midday sun, stopping the aperture down quite a bit will help, neutral density filters can be used to lessen the brightness of the sun to the sensor, and don't keep it pointed at the sun for long periods of time. Don't use big zooms pointed at the sun without seriously stopping down or using ND filters.

Mostly, it's just down to some simple precautions and logical steps, and you should be OK. I shoot the sun often - usually at sunset, and usually stopped way down or with ND filters to be safe. Even zoomed in heavily and pointing directly at the sun should be OK if you've taken these types of precautions...



--
Justin
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[Laurence Matson]

http://www.pbase.com/lmatson/image/29906625

I have recently purchased my first DSLR, Nikon D90. I like to take some sunset/sunrise photos but I don’t want to damage my camera, so before I do anything, I like to know if pointing the camera to the sun will damage it in any way and if so how to avoid it?
Thank you---april

--
Laurence
laurence at appledore-farm dot com

La chance ne sourit qu'aux esprits bien préparés.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Louis Pasteur

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[WERAQS]

use sth between ND 2-8 to get the best result, your camera's sensor will be damaged if you take the photo. but there is a thing, sunsets not very dangerous for the sensor.
--
WERAQS (google it!)

 

[Andy Crowe]

You should be fine as long as you're not taking a long exposure or using a fast zoom lens to magnify the sun's image.

If you imagine using a live view camera on a sunny day if you're composing a shot with the sun in view you're exposing the sensor to considerably longer direct sunlight than the sensor in a DSLR which would only be exposed while the picture is taken.

CCDs are highly reflective so shouldn't absorb heat quick enough on a short exposure to do any damage. Be careful of your eyes while using the optical viewfinder tho...

I have recently purchased my first DSLR, Nikon D90. I like to take some sunset/sunrise photos but I don’t want to damage my camera, so before I do anything, I like to know if pointing the camera to the sun will damage it in any way and if so how to avoid it?
Thank you---april

 

[CFynn]

I have recently purchased my first DSLR, Nikon D90. I like to take some sunset/sunrise photos but I don’t want to damage my camera, so before I do anything, I like to know if pointing the camera to the sun will damage it in any way and if so how to avoid it?

Sure - if your camera doesn't move, your lens is wide open, focused near infinity and pointed directly at the sun it can be just like focusing the sun with a powerful magnifying glass on the shutter curtain.

On some old SLR's which had a cloth shutter you could easily burn through it. A metal shutter (and the sensor or film under it) can get very hot. Don't leave cameras in direct sunlight with the lens cap off, a wide aperture set and the lens focused near infinity.

OTOH if you are hand holding the camera to take a picture the image of the sun will be moving all over the place and not staying focused on one point. If you are not using live view when taking the picture, then the sensor itself will not be directly exposed for more than a fraction of a second - though looking directly at the sun through an OVF might not do your eyes any good.

Due to the angle the sun at sunrise and sunset is obviously filtered through a lot more atmosphere and nowhere near as strong as at noon. You can reduce the effect further by using neutral density filters.

 

[GURL]

I dismantled an old digital camera and was surprised by the thickness of this slightly greenish piece of glass or plastic. Most DSLR sensors are protected by the mirror but live-view and electronic viewfinders of any kind cause the sensor being exposed to light during much longer time periods, sun light included.

I suppose that camera manufacturers know that and take corresponding protective measures...
--
Georges Urbain René Lagarde

 

[april64]

Thank you all for the helpful l information After reading all these just to be in the safe side, I am planning to buy some filters but since I am a beginner an may not use them that much, I don’t want to spend a lot and I was looking on EBay there some very cheap ones. Since they are cheap make me doubt them, so my next question is are these OK to purchase and use?
Thanks again---April

 

[raptor50]

.....the mirror in the way?

Unless the mirror is locked up any light coming through the lens will reflect off the mirror up in to the pentaprism. I can envisage other damage maybe but with the mirror in it's normal position I would have thought the shutter curtain/blinds would be perfectly safe.

Regarding damaging the sensor, if it were to happen surely that would only happen if the exposure was set well over the top? If the camera is set to get a correctly exposed image of the sun then the sensor is not going to receive any more light than any other correctly exposed subject.

I think the biggest risk would be to the photographers eyesight.

 

[fvdh]

A filter is another layer of glass added to those of your lenses.

If you use a bad one then the quality of your picture can dramatically shrink. I understand the money factor for the little use but the cheaper is not always a good option.

Just consider how much you paid for your DSLR and your lens. Why did you spend so much ? Because you wanted quality no ?

Adding cheap filter in front of your lens is normally not a good idea (at least the very cheap one from some unknown brand...) it's like always using your DSLR to shoot thru a dirty window.

Try at least a "decent" filter from a known brand

 

[april64]

Thank you, I am glad I asked before buying. Being new to this field I was thinking glass is a glass but again was wondering why there is so much of price difference. Now after reading your statement “it's like always using your DSLR to shoot thru a dirty window” I understand and will defiantly buy a known brand. Thank you

 

[Barrie Davis]

.....the mirror in the way?

Unless the mirror is locked up any light coming through the lens will reflect off the mirror up in to the pentaprism. I can envisage other damage maybe but with the mirror in it's normal position I would have thought the shutter curtain/blinds would be perfectly safe.

Yes. In SLRs it is the focusing screen that is vulnerable. They can melt as the suns rays are focused to a point on them.

It was focal plane shuttered rangefinder cameras that got holes burnt in their rubberised cloth shutter curtains (no mirror)... older Leicas, for instance. I guess it was those the poster was thinking of.
--
Regards,
Baz

"Ahh... But the thing is, they were not just ORDINARY time travellers!"

 

[chuxter]

.....the mirror in the way?

Unless the mirror is locked up any light coming through the lens will reflect off the mirror up in to the pentaprism. I can envisage other damage maybe but with the mirror in it's normal position I would have thought the shutter curtain/blinds would be perfectly safe.

Yes. In SLRs it is the focusing screen that is vulnerable. They can melt as the suns rays are focused to a point on them.

Never heard that one, Cuz. Modern focusing screens are almost totally transparent, so no energy is absorbed, thus little heat generated. I put my D300 on a tripod last year and framed it so that the sun was intentionally in the frame...left it there for about 30 minutes...took a few pix:

It was focal plane shuttered rangefinder cameras that got holes burnt in their rubberised cloth shutter curtains (no mirror)... older Leicas, for instance. I guess it was those the poster was thinking of.

Yep...

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
"Quantum Mechanics: The dreams that stuff is made of..."

 

[chuxter]

“it's like always using your DSLR to shoot thru a dirty window”

Actually, it's quite a bit different than that (assuming you keep your fingers off your filter). The reason some filters are expensive is that they have multiple anti-reflective layers on each side...cheap ones don't. These AR coatings are quite important if you are pointing at a bright light source, like the sun...the lack of good AR coatings causes "flare".

But why do you want to use a filter? You don't need no stinkin' filter! ;-)

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
"Quantum Mechanics: The dreams that stuff is made of..."

 

[Barrie Davis]

.....the mirror in the way?

Unless the mirror is locked up any light coming through the lens will reflect off the mirror up in to the pentaprism. I can envisage other damage maybe but with the mirror in it's normal position I would have thought the shutter curtain/blinds would be perfectly safe.

Yes. In SLRs it is the focusing screen that is vulnerable. They can melt as the suns rays are focused to a point on them.

Never heard that one, Cuz. Modern focusing screens are almost totally transparent, so no energy is absorbed, thus little heat generated. I put my D300 on a tripod last year and framed it so that the sun was intentionally in the frame...left it there for about 30 minutes...took a few pix:

I had seen a screen melted some years back.

The camera was a film Canon with acute matt type screen. It had been left on its back on a blanket on a beach. The scar on the screen was a slightly curved dash about 3/8" long... estimated exposure time 2 hours...but damage was consistent from end to end, so we concluded that melting had started within 2 or 3 minutes, or so.

I have also seen the surround to an EVF screen melted inside the viewfinder of a video camera. In this case it was the eyepiece lens that had been tilted up and left aimed towards the sun on a sunny day... and the image of the sun had been focused inside the viewfinder... missed the glass screen but damaged the black plastic mount plate...

..... I still have pictures of that, somewhere, I think. :-|
--
Regards,
Baz

"Ahh... But the thing is, they were not just ORDINARY time travellers!"

 

[april64]

Thank you- well for two reasons I would like to use a filter. 1- I just don’t want to take any chances of damaging my camera (I am falling in love with it ..lol) and 2- I have seen long exposures shots of waterfalls, rivers, etc. and would like to try to do some of that, which if I understand correctly I will need the filter to lower the exposure so I can use slower shutter speed, right?

 

[chuxter]

Thank you- well for two reasons I would like to use a filter. 1- I just don’t want to take any chances of damaging my camera (I am falling in love with it ..lol) and 2- I have seen long exposures shots of waterfalls, rivers, etc. and would like to try to do some of that, which if I understand correctly I will need the filter to lower the exposure so I can use slower shutter speed, right?

OK, go ahead and use an ND filter (you didn't say what kind)...just be sure to get a good one. Now you have to figure out how dense of an ND filter you want. ;-)

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
"Quantum Mechanics: The dreams that stuff is made of..."

 

[april64]

Yep, looks like it is a never ending story! I was doing some research and now thinking of either ND6 or 8. Maybe Hoya since it is not an unknown brand but is not very expensive either. What do you think? Does this sound OK or you have any other recommendation?

 

[chuxter]

.....the mirror in the way?

Unless the mirror is locked up any light coming through the lens will reflect off the mirror up in to the pentaprism. I can envisage other damage maybe but with the mirror in it's normal position I would have thought the shutter curtain/blinds would be perfectly safe.

Yes. In SLRs it is the focusing screen that is vulnerable. They can melt as the suns rays are focused to a point on them.

Never heard that one, Cuz. Modern focusing screens are almost totally transparent, so no energy is absorbed, thus little heat generated. I put my D300 on a tripod last year and framed it so that the sun was intentionally in the frame...left it there for about 30 minutes...took a few pix:

I had seen a screen melted some years back.

The camera was a film Canon with acute matt type screen. It had been left on its back on a blanket on a beach. The scar on the screen was a slightly curved dash about 3/8" long... estimated exposure time 2 hours...but damage was consistent from end to end, so we concluded that melting had started within 2 or 3 minutes, or so.

I have also seen the surround to an EVF screen melted inside the viewfinder of a video camera. In this case it was the eyepiece lens that had been tilted up and left aimed towards the sun on a sunny day... and the image of the sun had been focused inside the viewfinder... missed the glass screen but damaged the black plastic mount plate...

The answers are: 1) "acute matt screen" and 2) "black plastic". Modern focusing screens absorb much less of the image that is projected on them (which is one reason it's difficult to manually focus with those screens) than the old frosted screens of the past, so they won't melt like the one you saw.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
"Quantum Mechanics: The dreams that stuff is made of..."

 

[camera2]

When it comes down to it, I'd be more concerned about my eyes than the camera sensor. Sunglasses might help, but then you wouldn't see the image as clearly.

You should be fine as long as you're not taking a long exposure or using a fast zoom lens to magnify the sun's image.

If you imagine using a live view camera on a sunny day if you're composing a shot with the sun in view you're exposing the sensor to considerably longer direct sunlight than the sensor in a DSLR which would only be exposed while the picture is taken.

CCDs are highly reflective so shouldn't absorb heat quick enough on a short exposure to do any damage. Be careful of your eyes while using the optical viewfinder tho...

I have recently purchased my first DSLR, Nikon D90. I like to take some sunset/sunrise photos but I don’t want to damage my camera, so before I do anything, I like to know if pointing the camera to the sun will damage it in any way and if so how to avoid it?
Thank you---april