Pixiq

Today's DSLRs have a CMOS sensor which is what records the light coming through the lens — and if that light happens to be a laser from a light show, you may end up permanently damaging your sensor!

In the videos below, lasers used in light shows damaged CMOS sensors on these two Canon DLSRs. I thought it important to get a warning out to everyone. I would suspect that all CMOS sensors are probably susceptible — including 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 hit the camera, but only one caused the damage), we thought you should know.

And, from comments on my planet5D blog when I posted a similar article a few months ago, not only are cameras susceptible but so are your eyes if the laser operator hasn't properly set up the lasers.

We thought we’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 (ILDA Members, see this page for details). 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.”

Here's the first video. Sorry the audio is horrible — just turn that down and ignore it.

So, in the future, as you're filming or taking those cool concert photos, be careful!

Oh, and here's a story about some individuals in Russia that had eye damage from lasers.

planetMitch