Comments on: What Laser Light Can Do to Your Precious DSLR Sensor

By: mojoreel

mojoreel — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:45:00 +0000

sample of lazer shot that i did to make my company montage. luckily nothing happen to my sensor. the distance between the lazer & my lense are about 1 inch & facing straight towards the lazer & the lazer beams really pointing straight towards the lense. shot using canon 60d

see the beginning intro. dont bother with the wedding video. cheers!
http://vimeo.com/24351559

By: Canon 5D Mark II Has Sensor Destroyed by Concert Lasers

Canon 5D Mark II Has Sensor Destroyed by Concert Lasers — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:18:41 +0000

[...] yet another painful-to-watch example of what the powerful lasers used at concerts can do to your camera’s sensor. This poor soul brought their Canon 5D Mark II to capture some [...]

By: bob

bob — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:14:00 +0000

More evidence showing that digital cameras are shit and gay.

By: sevenbates

sevenbates — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:05:26 +0000

The reason you only see one line even though the laser "pointed" at the DSLR sensor a few times in the second video, is because of the angle. Watch closely in both videos and you'll see the point where the line appears is when the source of the laser is perpendicular to the sensor.

It is only when the sensor can see the source of the laser, that the photos cause the damage. Many scientific experiments that used digital cameras to record data where lasers were being used, suffered the same fate. Eventually, some observant people noticed that you can point a laser at a CMOS sensor without damaging it, as long as your sensor is never facing the source directly.

NOTE: While there have been some instances where multiple lines have shown up on CMOS sensors, it's rare. Additionally, many sensors *can* be reset (though not always) if you simply shoot a solid white wall with some strong overexposure.

By: David Bain

David Bain — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:36:19 +0000

Also carries a strong message that not only does it wreck your camera, but I'd imagine too much exposure to a laser and your eyes could easily end up like this. Solution to this, anti-laser sensors or just don't point your camera at a laser.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:02:45 +0000

Yikes…

By: seegullmedia

seegullmedia — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:17:06 +0000

I would be horror struck if this happened to my brand new 5D Mark II. Thanks for the post, I'll keep it pointed safely away from any dangerous lasers!

By: Ephemera

Ephemera — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:08:01 +0000

That was some seriously irresponsible use of the laser from a human safety perspective let alone an electronics one. There's no way that's a class IIIa laser and even scanned through chemical fog, it's just not safe to let it get near audience eye level at all. That said, perhaps if we had more info, we'd learn, unlike an eye, the sensor recovers over time.

By: iCaci

iCaci — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:51:33 +0000

I find it strange that in the second video the laser hit the DSLR several times yet only one “line of death” appears.

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:39:06 +0000

I've shot plenty of timelapses with the sun in the shot for hours and hours, With decently long shutter times. And haven't had a problem. I have a feeling it might be that particular camera having issues.