Solar Radiation damaging Sensors

[arkusm]

I was recently talking to a couple of photographers about taking sunset pictures. They strongly discouraged me from taking any pictures of the sun (sunset or otherwise) directly with my "primary" camera. They said that the direct radiation from the sun could damage the focusing sensor and/or the image capture sensor. They claimed that it is not the light itself that would cause the damage, but the radiation.

I tried to google this but the discussions that I found centered around the light (damaging overlong exposures, bad for your eyes, overheating sensors, blaa blaa) but could find very little, aside from a thesis paper on radiation effects on CMOS sensors on spacecraft, to back the claims of these photogs. I have a level of trust with them as other things they have told me have panned out.

Anyone know about the effects of solar radiation in the camera sensors?

[jdepould]

A. light is radiation

B. heat from light focused through high quality optics onto sensitive electronic equipment ... yeah that's bad

[arkusm]

Ok. Light is radiation... right, that how it heats stuff up I get that. And I get that heat is your enemy with any electronics.Check.

These two guys go so far as to avoid panning across the sun, without shooting, even through the clouds. They seem to be concerned even about the light/radiation that penetrates the clouds messing up the sensors. A situation that would have negligible light concentrating enough to cause heat build up.

So you are saying that shooting at the sun can/will cause damage to the sensors...

Do you or would you use your "primary"/good/most expensive camera to shoot directly at the sun in any situation?

It does not matter to me, I was not disappointed to not shoot sunsets (sun in frame). It just got me curious.

Cheers.

[jdepould]

Sounds like they're paranoid.

If anything, shooting into the sun is safer at sunset (or sunrise) because the light is going through more of the atmosphere than it is when the sun is directly overhead.

Pointing the sensor directly at the sun for extended periods of time, probably not a good idea, but you're overthinking this one. Just go shoot.

[arkusm]

Originally Posted by jdepould

you're overthinking this one.

Haha, thats fair and true (you should see me what I have been reading lately LOL)
Just didn't want to ignorantly cause damage to my equipment.

Originally Posted by jdepould

Just go shoot.

Good call. Will do.

Thank you for responding and for your patience with me.

[Krusty79]

In all of the photography blogs and articles I have read, I have never heard of this. From my understanding, the lens will focus light on your sensor, not heat.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

In all of the photography blogs and articles I have read, I have never heard of this. From my understanding, the lens will focus light on your sensor, not heat.

Have you ever started a fire with a magnifying glass? You can do the same thing with a camera lens. Though, you'd have to be doing something pretty stupid with your camera to cause any damage. Under normal shooting conditions, you're not likely to generate that much heat.

[Aegea]

I'd say it's definitely possible to damage the sensor, but you'd have to be shooting directly into the sun with some combination of wide aperture and excessive exposure time. Not at all likely under normal circumstances, even shooting sunsets.

[Barbara V]

Originally Posted by jdepould

Sounds like they're paranoid.
but you're overthinking this one. Just go shoot.

I'll go with this post. I try to shoot the sunset every evening, so hopefully I'm not ruining anything!

[OsmosisStudios]

I'll, uh, just go laugh in the corner then, yes?