Pointed my 7D towards the sun and made a shot, could my camera be damaged?

[dundyable]

Hi guys,

I am just starting in photography and was really stupid to make a test shot against the sun (the shot was made at 4:53 PM, the trees were covering the sun a bit but its ray is still strongly visible on the shot). What's even worse the camera shot at a slow shutter speed (1/13). The details of the shot: f/16, 1/13, ISO 125, 18mm, Canon EOS 7D, EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. Could my camera and eyes be seriously damaged? Just wanted to know the expert's opinion as I have no one beside me to ask.

the link to the test shot on Flickr is here:
IMGL0597 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thank you for your help

 

[JBrown]

Lol. You and the camera are both fine. The only thing I would suggest is not pointing the camera directly towards the sun at high noon with a 30 second shutter speed. At that point you may have a issue.

 

[o hey tyler]

You're fine. So is your camera.


/thread

 

[Josh66]

This actually could be dangerous with some cameras. But not while the shutter is open.

With the shutter closed, it is possible to burn a hole in some shutter curtains by pointing it at the Sun. It is unlikely that this would be an issue with your 7D though.

 

[im2c0ol]

What about the old 5D Mark II?

 

[dundyable]

Thank you for the prompt replies guys! Feeling relieved now, just the idea of breaking a 2,5 K camera because of being stupid made me terrified lol

 

[Josh66]

What about the old 5D Mark II?

Also unlikely to be an issue. The cameras you would need to worry about are those with fabric shutters. Most modern cameras probably use titanium or something like that for the shutter curtains.

 

[Derrel]

This actually could be dangerous with some cameras. But not while the shutter is open.

With the shutter closed, it is possible to burn a hole in some shutter curtains by pointing it at the Sun. It is unlikely that this would be an issue with your 7D though.

This burning a hole in the shutter concept goes wayyy back to rubberized cloth or rubberized silk focal plane shutters in viewfinder- or rangefinder-style cameras, which did not have a reflex mirror...so...that issue is, as far as I can think, one of those long ago and far away kinda' problems. Now...if ya' had an old rangefinder camera with a cloth focal plane shutter...you might have a slight cause to worry...but modern cameras for the most part use metal shutters, which will not burn.

Remember those weird kids who tried to burn things with a magnifying glass?????

You're okay to point your camera at the sun and shoot those kind of sunset pics. Seriously...you're A-okay. No worries.

 

[Josh66]

Haha - yeah, the mirror. I knew I was forgetting something...lol. I use rangefinders more often than an SLR.

On an SLR I think it would be pretty much impossible to do any damage. The mirror would have to be up while the shutter was closed. I think it would still be possible to burn through a metal shutter though, but obviously not as easily as a silk shutter.

 

[KirkS]

A couple of months ago, I was at the beach, playing around with my new (to me) 50D, and 500mm lens (not sure if it was the mirror lens or the conventional), and took the shot below (and a couple of other similar shots. I noticed that when I aimed at the sun, before I took the shot (or pressed anything), the camera made a noise internally, almost like a shade went int to place. Not really sure if that's what it was, but it never caused a problem with the camera or sensor. Anyone else ever hear that noise, or shoot directly at the sun?

 

[Josh66]

the camera made a noise internally, almost like a shade went int to place.

That was either a coincidence, or you imagined it.

 

[EIngerson]

You run a very serious risk of over exposing images that way.

 

[KirkS]

the camera made a noise internally, almost like a shade went int to place.

That was either a coincidence, or you imagined it.

I know I didn't imagine it, because after the first time, I did it a few more times just to see if it was a) my imagination b) if it only did it when pointed at the sun (it only did it then) and c) if I could figure out what it was.

I know it wasn't the lens doing it, as it's (they) a fully manual lens with no communication.

If I think of it, and have time tomorrow, I'll replicate it again, just to be sure it wasn't my imagination.

 

[Trever1t]

it takes 12 hours for the effect to be felt.....let us know in the morning!

 

[Josh66]

Does your camera have a pop-up flash? Sometimes when you move the camera around, the brackets or whatever for the flash flop around and make barely audible noises. I say it's from something in the flash because I've never heard it from cameras that don't have a flash, and it seems to come from that area.