Shooting straight into the sun
- Thread starter NorBro
- Start date
eheath
Well-known member
Shooting straight into the sun probably wouldn't look that good anyway 
I can see what you're saying, obviously the front of your lens will cross the path of direct sunlight but i think as long as you don't leave it sitting in the direct sunlight for extended periods of time, you should be okay.
I can see what you're saying, obviously the front of your lens will cross the path of direct sunlight but i think as long as you don't leave it sitting in the direct sunlight for extended periods of time, you should be okay.
Dustin Moore
Active member
This comes up periodically and it occured to me that rather than trust the crowd
you can just do the experiment without risking your camera:
If your lens will hold the aperture f/stop pull it off the lens and use it to focus the
light on your hand. If it burns the crap out of your hand, you might want
to use a slower f/stop or throw on some ND filtering.
If your lens won't hold f/stop off the body, grab a large magnifying glass from the drawer
and fashion a circular window from paper that has the right diameter. If your magnifying lens focuses
the sun F inches away from the magnifying glass lens, you want the diameter of the hole
to be F divided by the f/number that you want to run your camera lens at.
If the light coming through the magnifying glass with paper hole installed is enough to
melt plastic or cause a serious burn, you might have a problem.
you can just do the experiment without risking your camera:
If your lens will hold the aperture f/stop pull it off the lens and use it to focus the
light on your hand. If it burns the crap out of your hand, you might want
to use a slower f/stop or throw on some ND filtering.
If your lens won't hold f/stop off the body, grab a large magnifying glass from the drawer
and fashion a circular window from paper that has the right diameter. If your magnifying lens focuses
the sun F inches away from the magnifying glass lens, you want the diameter of the hole
to be F divided by the f/number that you want to run your camera lens at.
If the light coming through the magnifying glass with paper hole installed is enough to
melt plastic or cause a serious burn, you might have a problem.
Justin Kuhn
Veteran
I've been putting the sun right behind my subject for ages to get that sweet flare around a silhouette with the right f-stop/ISO. not really for extended periods though. That or exposing for the sky behind your subject is always cool. Never had any problems with the HVX, haven't had call to get that shot with the 7D. So basically your iris is almost shut, NDs all the way if you have 'em.
speedracerlo
Well-known member
a short exposure to direct sunlight won't do any damage and the time of the day also makes a big difference.
ND filters also partially protect the sensor like sunglasses do for eyes
the worst thing you can do is point a laser directly into the sensor, it only takes a second before it starts killing pixels
ND filters also partially protect the sensor like sunglasses do for eyes
the worst thing you can do is point a laser directly into the sensor, it only takes a second before it starts killing pixels