Shooting directly into the sun - fine or not?

[Dericali]

I'm interested in photographing translucent objects such as water with the sun directly behind them. I'm wondering if there are dangers about shooting directly into the sun. As you can see in the images the sun is not intended to be in focus.

I have read contradictory information, e.g. connected to the recent eclipse, that you can melt a lens, versus no problem.

Here I've shot some photos with a 70-200mm zoom that I'd like to reshoot because the focus isn't quite where it should be.

I'd like to shoot these with around f8-f20 and shutter speed 1/4000-1/8000, and using LV for manual focus. I have a polarising filter for my 70-200 but not a solar filter or ND. I have a smaller zoom that I have an ND filter for.

Wondering if this is safe to proceed or if I should invest in a solar filter or ND. It's worth mentioning that I would like to shoot at very high shutter speed to freeze the water motion (it's a jet fountain, so moving quite fast). Maximum DOF is also preferred.

 

[Schrodingers_cat]

As with most things, it's a matter of degree.

Lens Rentals posted photos of their damaged cameras people used to photograph the eclipse without knowing what they were doing. Hospital emergency rooms reported patients with eye issues because they are idiots

I suggest that you not rely on the idea of getting the shot quickly and with a fast shutter speed as a method of preventing damage.

If you are relying on an intermediate object blocking otherwise damaging sun you might want to think about what happens if you get it a bit wrong

My suggestion would be that if you don't want it shining into your eye you probably don't want it shining into your camera

People have been taking photographs with the sun in the frame forever so it's certainly possible. I wouldn't think you are going to get very useful information in terms of specifics, just use some caution.

 

[BBbuilder467]

I'm interested in photographing translucent objects such as water with the sun directly behind them. I'm wondering if there are dangers about shooting directly into the sun. As you can see in the images the sun is not intended to be in focus.

I have read contradictory information, e.g. connected to the recent eclipse, that you can melt a lens, versus no problem.

Here I've shot some photos with a 70-200mm zoom that I'd like to reshoot because the focus isn't quite where it should be.

I'd like to shoot these with around f8-f20 and shutter speed 1/4000-1/8000, and using LV for manual focus. I have a polarising filter for my 70-200 but not a solar filter or ND. I have a smaller zoom that I have an ND filter for.

Wondering if this is safe to proceed or if I should invest in a solar filter or ND. It's worth mentioning that I would like to shoot at very high shutter speed to freeze the water motion (it's a jet fountain, so moving quite fast). Maximum DOF is also preferred.

The main concern is to protect your eyes as you frame and compose. It's hard to avoid the bright sun as you do that. I think that's what happened to a lot of people during the eclipse.

Don't leave the lens pointed at the hot sun for an extended period of time. like you would on a tripod. I just re-install the lens cap or cover it with something when I'm in similar situations.

 

[Dericali]

I'm interested in photographing translucent objects such as water with the sun directly behind them. I'm wondering if there are dangers about shooting directly into the sun. As you can see in the images the sun is not intended to be in focus.

I have read contradictory information, e.g. connected to the recent eclipse, that you can melt a lens, versus no problem.

Here I've shot some photos with a 70-200mm zoom that I'd like to reshoot because the focus isn't quite where it should be.

I'd like to shoot these with around f8-f20 and shutter speed 1/4000-1/8000, and using LV for manual focus. I have a polarising filter for my 70-200 but not a solar filter or ND. I have a smaller zoom that I have an ND filter for.

Wondering if this is safe to proceed or if I should invest in a solar filter or ND. It's worth mentioning that I would like to shoot at very high shutter speed to freeze the water motion (it's a jet fountain, so moving quite fast). Maximum DOF is also preferred.

The main concern is to protect your eyes as you frame and compose. It's hard to avoid the bright sun as you do that. I think that's what happened to a lot of people during the eclipse.

Don't leave the lens pointed at the hot sun for an extended period of time. like you would on a tripod. I just re-install the lens cap or cover it with something when I'm in similar situations.

I plan to use live view + manual focus to avoid directly looking through the viewfinder.

 

[Tom Axford]

This has been raised on many occasions in the past. Millions of shots have been taken with the sun in the frame and it is extremely rare for anyone to report damage to their camera.

But in rare cases, damage does occur. Use your common sense. Don't leave your camera on a tripod with the lens uncapped and pointing directly at the sun. However, even in that case, many cameras will survive completely unscathed. Even if the camera is fixed on a tripod, the sun moves and so its image traverses across the sensor. The worst case is a long very fast lens which gathers a lot of light (and heat).

Think about security CCTV cameras that may remain fixed for hours with the sun shining into the lens. Have you ever heard of the sun causing damage to those cameras? Of course, such cameras are designed to survive extreme conditions, but their lenses and sensors are not hugely different to those of other cameras.

I suspect that the extreme damage to cameras during the eclipse was typically with cameras mounted on tracking telescopes that followed the path of the sun across the sky, so the sun's image remained stationary on the sensor. Hence, plenty of time for heat to build up and melt the sensor or iris diaphragm blades or shutter curtains.

However, if you wish to play safe, just arrange for some object to block the sun's rays from going directly into the lens (as in the image in your OP). This also has the advantage that it largely eliminates the flare that you will inevitably get if the sun is directly in shot.

 

[mamallama]

I believe there are definite risks in photographing the sun, especially on a bright sunlit day. With the lens focused at infinity it is not unlike burning holes in leaves with a magnifying glass. Burning holes in the rubberized cloth focal plane shutters of Leica rangefinder cameras by pointing the camera at the sun used to be a common occurrence. It was so common camera repair shops had this patch to easily repair the hole. Below is a picture of the patch on my old Leica IIIf camera.

I believe the same risks applies to a digital camera as well. It might show up as damaged pixels or worse and can go unnoticed for months. I discovered the hole in my camera shutter only after noticing a bright spot in the upper right of all my pictures after hundreds of pictures.

 

[Dericali]

I believe there are definite risks in photographing the sun, especially on a bright sunlit day. With the lens focused at infinity it is not unlike burning holes in leaves with a magnifying glass. Burning holes in the rubberized cloth focal plane shutters of Leica rangefinder cameras by pointing the camera at the sun used to be a common occurrence. It was so common camera repair shops had this patch to easily repair the hole. Below is a picture of the patch on my old Leica IIIf camera.

Was this with long lenses, or just any focal length?

 

[mamallama]

I believe there are definite risks in photographing the sun, especially on a bright sunlit day. With the lens focused at infinity it is not unlike burning holes in leaves with a magnifying glass. Burning holes in the rubberized cloth focal plane shutters of Leica rangefinder cameras by pointing the camera at the sun used to be a common occurrence. It was so common camera repair shops had this patch to easily repair the hole. Below is a picture of the patch on my old Leica IIIf camera.

Was this with long lenses, or just any focal length?

It was with a 50mm prime lens. I think any lens pointed at the sun focused at infinity will create a lot of heat. I experimented with the lens pointed at the sun and focused on a piece of paper and here is what I got. The two big holes were burned with the magnifying glass. The small hole was burned with the 50mm lens (removed from the camera body).

 

[Steve Rog]

This is a curious topic as I'm really very excited to know about this, if any expert tells about this.

Following this thread ....

 

[New Day Rising]

This is fascinating reading:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/09/rental-camera-gear-destroyed-by-the-solar-eclipse-of-2017/

 

[MacM545]

Some ND filters don't work. You'd be best off to have an approved solar filter. Sometimes, depending on the material that the filter's made of, there will be IR leakage that can cause destruction. Welding glass might work, but I wouldn't try it if I'm not sure.

 

[J A C S]

I plan to use live view + manual focus to avoid directly looking through the viewfinder.

Don't! You do not want to prolong the exposure!

 

[Dericali]

I believe there are definite risks in photographing the sun, especially on a bright sunlit day. With the lens focused at infinity it is not unlike burning holes in leaves with a magnifying glass. Burning holes in the rubberized cloth focal plane shutters of Leica rangefinder cameras by pointing the camera at the sun used to be a common occurrence. It was so common camera repair shops had this patch to easily repair the hole. Below is a picture of the patch on my old Leica IIIf camera.

Was this with long lenses, or just any focal length?

It was with a 50mm prime lens. I think any lens pointed at the sun focused at infinity will create a lot of heat. I experimented with the lens pointed at the sun and focused on a piece of paper and here is what I got. The two big holes were burned with the magnifying glass. The small hole was burned with the 50mm lens (removed from the camera body).

Do you think that if you never focussed to infinity there would be no problem?

 

[mamallama]

I believe there are definite risks in photographing the sun, especially on a bright sunlit day. With the lens focused at infinity it is not unlike burning holes in leaves with a magnifying glass. Burning holes in the rubberized cloth focal plane shutters of Leica rangefinder cameras by pointing the camera at the sun used to be a common occurrence. It was so common camera repair shops had this patch to easily repair the hole. Below is a picture of the patch on my old Leica IIIf camera.

Was this with long lenses, or just any focal length?

It was with a 50mm prime lens. I think any lens pointed at the sun focused at infinity will create a lot of heat. I experimented with the lens pointed at the sun and focused on a piece of paper and here is what I got. The two big holes were burned with the magnifying glass. The small hole was burned with the 50mm lens (removed from the camera body).

Do you think that if you never focussed to infinity there would be no problem?

I don't know. I guess that would depend on what you mean by no problem. I think you will get an increase in temperature even when the sun is not totally focused. In my experiment with both the magnifying glass and the 50mm lens you can see the heat rise (smoke rising) even before you get the sun totally focused. As you continue to focus the sun image gets smaller. At some point you see smoke rising and suddenly the paper turns black and bursts into flame.

It is an easy experiment you can try yourself with a magnifying glass or even your lens. With your lens, it's a little more tricky since you have to be sure the lens axis is pointed to the sun.

You can try it on your arm and then you can feel the heat when you are out of focus and decide for yourself if there is a problem or not. Then again how do you know what the camera thinks?