This is a guest post by Mitch Aunger, a photographer from St. Louis, MO. He’s also the publisher of Planet5D which offers information about DSLR Video.
A warning to all photographers and filmmakers concert lasers can damage your very expensive camera sensor permanently! And, there’s some worry about your eyes as well, but I’ll leave that for another discussion.
While it’s less likely to happen for traditional photographers (because of the short time the sensor is exposed during a single photo), anyone using live view or recording video had better be aware of this. As you can see from the samples below, very expensive cameras from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II to the RED have been damaged.
Check a screen grab from the damaged RED camera at the top of this post. The horizontal and vertical lines are where the burn happened.
All CMOS sensors are susceptible including sensors used by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, etc. While it appears to be mostly safe and not common to get damage (you’ll see in the video that several lasers appear to hit the camera but only one caused the damage), we thought you should be aware of this potentially dangerous problem.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II damage
Here’s an older sample of a Canon EOS 5D Mark II sensor being damaged:
Is this for real?
I thought I’d check up on this a bit and found this page on the International Display Laser Association’s site which says:
Lasers emit concentrated beams of light, which can heat up sensitive surfaces (like the eye’s retina) and cause damage. Camera sensors are susceptible to damage, similar to the human eye.
For large scale shows, such as on a televised concert, laser show producers work with clients to avoid TV camera locations and video projectors. However, it is not possible for laser show producers to be responsible for all cameras and camcorders which might be at a show. Therefore, if you attend a show as an audience member, you should take reasonable precautions not to let a laser beam directly enter your camera lens.
Consider yourself warned
If you shoot at concerts or live events… lasers are proving quite popular. All it takes is one hit to the sensor and you can have permanent damage. You’ve been warned now let’s be careful out there!
Disclaimer: While there is no guarantee this will happen to your camera, there are several documented cases and warnings. Use your best judgement
Wow, really disturbing. I wonder if the little lasers that DJs use at weddings can do the same thing?
Theoretically, yes… but they tend to be lower powered. Just be careful.
It happened to my t2i at a corporate party so they don’t have to be too high power. Although APS-C’s could be a little extra sensitive. Is there anything like a lens filter or specific lens that might prevent this? I shoot almost entirely live shows and I’d hate to replace my sensor and have this happen again
To: [email protected] Subject: [New post] Beware! Lasers Can Kill Your Camera’s Sensor
Richard Harrington posted: “This is a guest post by Mitch Aunger, a photographer from St. Louis, MO. He’s also the publisher of Planet5D which offers information about DSLR Video. ________________________________ A warning to all photographers and filmmakers — concert lasers can “
Used to point a a low power pocket laser into my Sony p&s cameras for cool abstracts and never noticed any damage,but have been hesitant to try it on my newer DSLR. After reading this I’ll probably forego any DSLR abstracts. Thanks for the advice.
Does the warranty (Canon) cover this kind of problems?
Not at all. User error.
So I just killed my sensor while shooting for a dj friend of my at a Denver night club. We actually spoke about how it is against a regulation for operators to set high end lasers at eye level It is a regulation to set at 3 meters above eye level. Many clubs and small operates just buy lasers online and don’t get proper permits to use them. Thus the issue. I am going to try to get the club owner to pay to replace my camera because they are operating a class 4 laser with out proper permit and… Read more »
both low and high end CCTV and IP varifocal (PTZs in my case), one CCD, the other CMOS, were fried by neighbors (the very same neighbors who watched another neighboring home burglarized, in broad daylight, as it was happening and did/said nothing, did not call police or even notify the owner) who do not understand, nor I wager, have ever read CCTV security camera laws (local, state/federal) and believe 1) they are the center of the neighborhood’s attention, so my cameras MUST be to ‘watch’ them, 2) believe they are pioneers for change in the new “surveillance state” we exist… Read more »
To: [email protected] Subject: [New post] Beware! Lasers Can Kill Your Camera’s Sensor
Richard Harrington posted: “This is a guest post by Mitch Aunger, a photographer from St. Louis, MO. He’s also the publisher of Planet5D which offers information about DSLR Video. ________________________________ A warning to all photographers and filmmakers — concert lasers can “
Wow, really disturbing. I wonder if the little lasers that DJs use at weddings can do the same thing?
Theoretically, yes… but they tend to be lower powered. Just be careful.
It happened to my t2i at a corporate party so they don’t have to be too high power. Although APS-C’s could be a little extra sensitive. Is there anything like a lens filter or specific lens that might prevent this? I shoot almost entirely live shows and I’d hate to replace my sensor and have this happen again
Does the warranty (Canon) cover this kind of problems?
Not at all. User error.
So I just killed my sensor while shooting for a dj friend of my at a Denver night club. We actually spoke about how it is against a regulation for operators to set high end lasers at eye level It is a regulation to set at 3 meters above eye level. Many clubs and small operates just buy lasers online and don’t get proper permits to use them. Thus the issue. I am going to try to get the club owner to pay to replace my camera because they are operating a class 4 laser with out proper permit and… Read more »
both low and high end CCTV and IP varifocal (PTZs in my case), one CCD, the other CMOS, were fried by neighbors (the very same neighbors who watched another neighboring home burglarized, in broad daylight, as it was happening and did/said nothing, did not call police or even notify the owner) who do not understand, nor I wager, have ever read CCTV security camera laws (local, state/federal) and believe 1) they are the center of the neighborhood’s attention, so my cameras MUST be to ‘watch’ them, 2) believe they are pioneers for change in the new “surveillance state” we exist… Read more »
Used to point a a low power pocket laser into my Sony p&s cameras for cool abstracts and never noticed any damage,but have been hesitant to try it on my newer DSLR. After reading this I’ll probably forego any DSLR abstracts. Thanks for the advice.
While this article is correct, a vital piece of information is missing regarding the Subject. I am a generalist in technical theatre (specializing in the Audio, Video, Lighting, and Visual Effects Aspects of Live Production), I am a Former Technical Director for the sports broadcasts of the Pittsburg State Gorillas, Filmmaker, Multitrack Audio Engineer, and AVL System Designer/Integrator. Professionals, such as myself, will never intentionally position laser emitters to point at the audience because of the risks to the people who attend the productions we support. As such, given the fact that Audience members would not have access to areas… Read more »
Nevermind the sensors, this is a safety hazard our own eyes are exposed to, which is far more important. Anyone noticed? While there’s no warranty these lights are always operated by professionals who know what they’re doing, suffering the permanent damage at a club party or wedding where these are operated by untrained DJs is not acceptable. What should we do about it?
Like an idiot I shined my laser at my iPhone, is there any way to fix this?