Debunking The Myths Surrounding The Sun and Your Camera PDF

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Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Sun

and Your Camera
A
s photographers, we are told at an early age, "Do not point your
camera directly at the sun." It is sound advice. If you follow that
guidance, I urge you to continue to follow it-for several reasons
that I will discuss in a short while. DO NOT try this at home-unless
you really want to. B&H Photo is not responsible for personal or property
damage incurred by recreating these experiments.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:kgEO7j26jroJ:https://www.bhph... 8/15/2017
Photographs by Todd Vorenkamp
History is not without precedence. Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean famously

destroyed a television camera on the surface of the moon by accidently
pointing at the sun while setting the camera up. This is proof that direct
sunlight, unfiltered by Earth's atmosphere, is certainly strong enough to "fry"
a video tube. In researching solar photography and solar eclipse
photography, I have seen those warnings repeated, over and over.
Confusingly, that caution was usually followed by speculation and conjecture,
laced with noncommittal descriptors. "You might damage your lens." "You
could melt your sensor." "You may burn a hole through the back of your
camera." "You can cause your camera to spontaneously combust."
Everyone seemed to agree that pointing your camera at the sun was bad, but
no one was forceful or definite in their statements about what would happen
if you did point the camera directly at the sun. I assume this is because no
one wanted to risk destroying their own expensive camera or lens to prove
their theory or theories. I certainly wasn't going to debunk these myths with
my own gear!
Well, I work at B&H Photo, and we have a robust Used Department with
some very inexpensive photography gear that I could offer up as a sacrifice to
Helios. I decided to take advantage of this to see what happens when you
apply direct sunlight to a camera's sensor, a piece of film, an SLR mirror and
prism, and a camera's shutter!
Safety First!
Never look directly at the sun with the naked eye unless you are wearing
certified solar viewing glasses. Also, never look directly at the sun through an
unfiltered camera's optical viewfinder, even if you are wearing solar glasses,
because a telephoto lens will magnify the brightness of the image. Think
about how you used to burn leaves with a magnifying lens when you were a
mischievous child. Your camera lens is basically a much more complex

magnifying glass.
Testing Gear
For the test, I assembled the following sacrificial pieces of photo gear.
Nikon FM SLR Camera Purchased at a thrift store for $5 with a Nikon 50mm
f/2 AIS lens. The camera does not work, but I could engage a manual mirror
lock-up, exposing the shutter.
Nikon EM SLR Camera Purchased from the Used Department for $45 and
brought to the party since I could not wind film with the broken FM.
Nikon D100 Digital SLR Camera A mint condition model purchased from the
Used Department, for $109. The D100 (not this one) was my first digital
camera.
Sears 60-300mm f/4-5.6 Lens I didn't know that there were Sears-branded
lenses in the world. This beauty came from the Used Department, for a cool
$30.
Kodak 400TX Film A roll of 36 exposures that expired half a decade ago.
Celestron Solar Viewing Glasses I need to aim the camera at something

very bright.
Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 Celestron EclipSmart Deluxe

Black-and-White Negative Film 3-Piece Solar Observing and
Imaging Kit
SPF 50 Sun Screen Even though it is February in New York City, the sun is
bright today!
Test #1: Lens
Myth: If direct sunlight is focused through a lens, the lens will crack, melt, or
explode.
Results: Nothing. Shining direct sunlight through the lens had no effect on
the optics or perceived temperature of the lens barrel, even after minutes of
prolonged exposure to the sun.
Test #2: Lens
Myth: When in focus, a camera lens will spread the light of the sun out over
the sensor or film; not concentrate it in one spot. Therefore, shooting the
unfiltered sun is safe.
Results: It is possible to focus and zoom a lens to create a very narrow spot
of light with the power to burn a leaf-remember your childhood magnifying
glass? I had no way of precisely simulating the flange distance between the
lens and sensor or film, but a later test seems to debunk the myth that light is
evenly dispersed across the sensor or film when the image is in focus.
Test #3: SLR Camera Mirror and Prism
Myth: Direct sunlight into the camera will damage the reflex mirror and prism
of an SLR.
Results: After several minutes of direct, focused sunlight shining on the SLR
mirror on the Nikon FM, there was no apparent reaction by the camera. The
mirror and prism appeared to be unaffected by the light and I detected no
increase in heat through the camera body and prism housing.
Test #4: SLR Camera Shutter
Myth: Direct sunlight into the camera will melt or damage the camera's
shutter.
Results: I locked up the mirror on the Nikon FM and pointed the rig directly at
the sun for several minutes. There was no damage to the shutter. I opened
the back of the camera wondering if I would see the metal blades of the
shutter glowing cherry hot, but there were no visible effects. Gently touching
the shutter through the back of the camera did prove that the shutter was
very hot to the touch, but its operation remained normal. Read the next test
to see if this is something you would want to do with a cloth-shutter camera.
Test #5: SLR Film
Myth: Direct sunlight focused on a piece of film will melt the film.
Results: Yep. This happened. Even after just a couple of seconds, the sunlight
had burned a hole through the film. A second, shorter test burned another
hole. The lens was focused at infinity (the subject was about 93 million miles
away) and zoomed in to 300mm.
The results of this test show that when focused at infinity and pointed at the
sun, the lens concentrates the light to a point small enough to burn through
a piece of film. However, this point of light is not strong enough to damage
metal blades on a shutter. My guess is that it would likely burn a cloth
shutter.
This test also indicates that, when sunlight is in sharp focus, the light is
concentrated to a point-the light is not spread evenly across the film or
sensor.
Test #6: Digital Sensor
Myth: Direct, concentrated sunlight will damage a digital sensor.
Results: I took a test shot of the top of the New Yorker Hotel before shooting
the sun. To verify sensor operation, I also took a test shot in between solar
images. I shot the sun filtered and then unfiltered at 1/500 second, 1, 30, and
60 seconds.
At 1/500 second, the sensor went completely white, as expected. The

unexpected result was that at 1, 30, and 60 seconds, the images were of a
noisy blue and black abstract scene-not overexposed pure white.
The in-between images of the hotel showed no sensor degradation or

adverse effects on the sensor. And, after being exposed to direct, focused
sunlight for 60 seconds, the sensor appeared unharmed.
This is good news for DSLR live-view, mirrorless, and point-and-shoot

photographers who compose images with the sensor energized.
Test shot
1/500 second at f/5.6
Test shot
1 second at f/5.6
Test shot
30 seconds at f/5.6
Test shot
60 seconds at f/5.6
Test shot
Previous Pause Next
Caution!
Disclaimer: Point your gear at the sun AT YOUR OWN RISK. I can only tell
you the results of my semi-scientific experimentation, but I cannot tell you
how your camera(s) and optics will perform or react to the effects of direct
sunlight. Again, B&H Photo is not responsible for personal or property
damage incurred by recreating these experiments or variations of these
experiments.
NOTE: These tests were performed on February 28, in New York City.
During summer months, the sun will be more directly overhead and more
intense. Depending on where you live in the world, you may be able to
find more intense direct sunlight.
The filtered sun through the Sears lens and D100 camera
Are today's sensors more fragile or robust? Would a different type of film
hold up better? I honestly have no idea. Take the above results with a grain of
salt.
I performed these tests specifically to see how the equipment would handle
the direct sunlight in conditions in which you would never ever photograph.
At f/5.6 and 1/500 of a second, the digital image of the sun was nothing but
pure white light, so there is absolutely zero reason you would do the same
image with a shutter speed of 60 seconds if you wanted a photo of the sun.
Nor would you take a 2-second (or longer) exposure of the midday sun at
f/5.6 with a film camera.
Many of us have photographed with the sun in the frame. At times, when
panning with jets flying overhead during an airshow or in the landing pattern
of an aircraft carrier, I have pointed a telephoto at the sun for a brief
instance. No damage to my camera has occurred.
No jets, lenses, or cameras were harmed in the making of this photograph.
In summary, never look directly at the sun, nor look at the sun through a
camera's optical viewfinder. However, based only on these experiments,
brief, accidental exposure to direct sunlight with your camera will not have an
adverse effect on the lens, reflex mirror or prism, shutter, or digital sensor.
Do you have any questions about my tests? Or, can you explain the strange
blue and black patterns from the D100 sensor when exposed to sunlight for
prolonged periods of time? See you in the Comments section, below!
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Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Sun and Your Camera | B&H Explora Page 1 of 20

This is Google's cache of https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/amp/photography/features/debunking-

Full version Text-only version View source

The Professional's Source

Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Sun

Photographs by Todd Vorenkamp

History is not without precedence. Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean famously

mischievous child. Your camera lens is basically a much more complex

Celestron Solar Viewing Glasses I need to aim the camera at something

Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 Celestron EclipSmart Deluxe

Test #1: Lens

Test #2: Lens

Test #3: SLR Camera Mirror and Prism

Test #4: SLR Camera Shutter

Test #5: SLR Film

Test #6: Digital Sensor

Myth: Direct, concentrated sunlight will damage a digital sensor.

At 1/500 second, the sensor went completely white, as expected. The

The in-between images of the hotel showed no sensor degradation or

This is good news for DSLR live-view, mirrorless, and point-and-shoot

1/500 second at f/5.6

Previous Pause Next

No jets, lenses, or cameras were harmed in the making of this photograph.

View original article

800.606.6969 Store Hours Help Center About Us

Contact Us International B&H Gift Card Event Space

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