# Lasers Can Damage Your Sensor



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jul 20, 2010)

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<p><strong>Lasers can damage your Canon HDSLR cameraÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s CMOS sensor

<span style="font-weight: normal;">An interesting story on Planet5D in regards to CMOS sensors and laser lighting.</span></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Lasers used in a light show have damaged a Canon EOS 5D Mark II CMOS sensor and I sure didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know it was possible, but I thought IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d get a warning out since it appears to have damaged this guyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s sensor.</p></blockquote>
<p>Check out the video at Planet5D.</p>
<p><strong>Read More: </strong><a href="http://blog.planet5d.com/2010/07/lasers-can-damage-your-canon-hdslr-cameras-cmos-sensor/"><strong>http://blog.planet5d.com/</strong></a></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
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## Jan (Jul 20, 2010)

Wow... I didn't think this could happen. I'm still wondering if the pixels are really damaged or only temporarily out of order...


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## deeznuts (Jul 20, 2010)

Were the lasers attached to sharks?


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Jul 21, 2010)

deeznuts said:


> Were the lasers attached to sharks?



Hah


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## aviator.4.life (Jul 21, 2010)

Wow thanks for the heads up.


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## Kedest (Jul 21, 2010)

Aren't they dangerous to the human eye too then?


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## Grendel (Jul 21, 2010)

Kedest said:


> Aren't they dangerous to the human eye too then?


Yes. But the amount of energy that can cause damage to a CMOS sensor may still be below the danger level of retina damage. Also, the eye is capable to repair minor damage to the retina. Personally I would play it save and stay away from these laser systems w/o proper protection (esp. since my eyes are already pretty bad..)


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## Jaszek (Jul 22, 2010)

and there I am wanting to shoot a laser show. lol


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## that1guy (Aug 11, 2010)

deeznuts said:


> Were the lasers attached to sharks?



Freakin' sharks ;D


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## DetlevCM (Aug 16, 2010)

This is something I am quite curious about:

1) I beleive a laser can damage a sensor - the light will induce a current of some sort - else the sensor couldn't register the light - and I'd guess that fried something.

But 2) - there was discussion about this on Photography on the Net where people claimed it couldn't happen. (And yes they saw the video and deemed it "inconclusive")

I suppose if someoe with actual knowledge on sensor design could chip in it would be great.

I do like physics, but I am a maths student - not a physicist or engineer.


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## samthefish (Aug 16, 2012)

http://www.laserist.org/camera-sensor-damage.htm


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## victorwol (Aug 16, 2012)

Jan said:


> Wow... I didn't think this could happen. I'm still wondering if the pixels are really damaged or only temporarily out of order...



Total damage, fried. Think that a laser can perforate a paper, so I'm not surprised can kill pixels on a sensor....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WlnzcZj_rqU


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## marekjoz (Aug 17, 2012)

Interesting, that there is not even a single word about it in any Canon's SLR manual. There is about exposing to heat, leaving in a car, observing the correct battery charging, sun etc but nothing about laser projectors. I don't think it's well broadcasted information. Interesting again, if Canon honors warranty in case of such a damage?


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 17, 2012)

victorwol said:


> Jan said:
> 
> 
> > Wow... I didn't think this could happen. I'm still wondering if the pixels are really damaged or only temporarily out of order...
> ...



Totally depends on the wavelength of the laser, the amplitude, and the phase. I've seen 800nm wavelength lasers sear through paper but 400nm do nothing but reflect, because the amplitude and power (wattage) weren't there. Again, it totally depends. Some lasers bounce off paper while others cut through metal. One common misconception is that a laser is something special, when it is nothing but light, that we see everyday. The ONLY difference is that the waves or photos are all in-phase, vs. random phase by normal light. You can have radio wave lasers, light wave lasers, X-ray lasers, etc. It's an electro-magnetic field like any other.

I'm guesing the problem with the sensor is too much of one thing, it cannot be handled.


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## AAPhotog (Aug 17, 2012)

This has been known about for quite sometime. I believe it has to be in liveview as well when the laser hits it. 

Im just curious how canon would handle a warranty repair on such instance as there is certainly no warnings from them about the possibility of this happening. So would it be user area and no free fix/replacement from canon?


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## Drizzt321 (Aug 17, 2012)

AAPhotog said:


> This has been known about for quite sometime. I believe it has to be in liveview as well when the laser hits it.
> 
> Im just curious how canon would handle a warranty repair on such instance as there is certainly no warnings from them about the possibility of this happening. So would it be user area and no free fix/replacement from canon?



Well, I'd rather that than hitting my eye. Concentrating that energy even further through a lens could be very damaging to your eyesight! 

Also, I imagine it doesn't matter if it's in liveview or not, as long as it hits the sensor and it's the right intensity/etc.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 17, 2012)

AAPhotog said:


> This has been known about for quite sometime. I believe it has to be in liveview as well when the laser hits it.
> 
> Im just curious how canon would handle a warranty repair on such instance as there is certainly no warnings from them about the possibility of this happening. So would it be user area and no free fix/replacement from canon?


 
Yes, the topic is two years old, and someone just now resructed it. Maybe CR should lock all the old topics?


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