Do you have a mirrorless camera? Watch out for lasers

Friday 28 August 2020, 16:08 by Nando Harmsen | 5,797 views | 4 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Concert photography is something I did for decades, from the early 1990s until a few years ago. It is a wonderful thing to do, and I enjoyed it immensely.

My concert photography at its best: Slayer live in concert, Klokgebouw, Eindhoven in 2011
In the final years of my 'career' as a concert photographer, lasers became increasingly popular. More and more artists used these versatile light sources to create spectacular light shows. And they became affordable.

But in the end, they turned out to pose a real danger to the photographer and their camera, as I experienced at first hand.

Aargh, watch out! Lasers.
You don't need to react as dramatically as the singer of the band Helloween. But do pay attention.
A few years ago, after a concert, I went to photograph the aftershow, where lasers were used extensively. The laser beams shoot rapidly back and forth, and can project beautiful patterns in the smoky concert hall. This can produce very photogenic moments.

The French punk band Punish Yourself makes extensive use of lasers.
To capture the laser patterns, a longer shutter speed is desirable. This gives the laser time to travel a distance and draw the pattern while the shutter is open. A fast shutter speed freezes the moment, as it were, and the patterns will not be visible.

So I decided to experiment with long shutter speeds, up to one second. The idea was also to show the movement of dancing people.

DJ Statik Sky, with his laser show. 35mm, ISO400, f/5.6, 0.5sec)

Strange spots in the photo

Besides concert photography, I also spend a lot of time photographing landscapes, and I still do. Shortly after the concert, I noticed a few spots in the photo. After looking more closely, I found that they were present in all the photos. They did not look like dust, but like something else.

Then it dawned on me that the laser had damaged my sensor.

An enlargement of the damage. It took me a while to realise that it had been caused by the laser.
I decided to have my camera repaired. The damage could be repaired, but a new sensor had to be installed. The damage cost more than 500 euros.

Fortunately, I was insured against damage to my equipment, and I was reimbursed for most of it. But the lesson was clear: watch out for lasers.

What about mirrorless cameras?

Now that mirrorless cameras have become commonplace, I have realised that the danger lasers pose to these cameras is greater than it was with the old, trusted DSLRs.

With the latter, the sensor is only exposed to light when the photo is taken. Normally, there is a mirror and a shutter in front of it.

They are beautiful cameras, but because the sensor is always exposed to light, they are very vulnerable to laser light.

Mirrorless cameras have no mirror or shutter. The sensor is used to display the image in the viewfinder and on the LCD screen. So it is continuously exposed to light.

If you are at a venue where lasers are being used, the sensor will always be exposed to laser light. Even when the camera is switched off, with some exceptions.

In other words, because the sensor is always exposed to light, the chance of a laser damaging the sensor is many times greater. After all, it is not only exposed during the moment of taking a photograph, as with a DSLR.

Less danger in normal situations. Or is it?

You probably think you will never find yourself in a situation where lasers can damage your sensor. After all, not everyone photographs at parties or concerts, and not every party or concert uses lasers.

Not everyone takes photographs in these circumstances, so the danger must be limited. Or is it?

However, there are other places where lasers are also used, and you do not always know about it. Did you know that self-driving cars also use, or may use, lasers? Or laser speed checks by the police, where there have been known cases of mirrorless cameras being damaged.

Take a look at the ILDA website, where you can read more about this danger, or at this news report on the BCC.

In practice

I do not want to cause you unnecessary concern as a mirrorless camera user, because I expect that there is no danger at all in 99% of the moments when you are taking photographs. Certainly not with certain types of photography.

However, it is good to be aware of the possible dangers posed by lasers. And with increasing automation and the use of autonomous systems, lasers can appear in places where you do not expect them. It would be unfortunate if your camera suddenly suffered damage, as mine did back then.

A photographer who has been warned is worth two.

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