Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Can UV light harm the sensor?

B

Beom Koh

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hello,

i just filmed an assembly process in a lab where UV light is used in some steps.

They had a glass that filters out the UV lights on their equipment.

Would this environment harm the sensor?
 
Do you need safety glasses when watching the process?
 
They had the safety glass on the machine. So I (and people working there) didn't have to wear one.
 
It shouldn't hurt the sensor - I shot an ad for an air purification system that uses UV 'C' lights a couple years ago (on a different digital camera) no harm to the camera.
 
Generally if there is any glass in front of the sensor, like a lens, UV will not be able to reach the sensor.
There are some glass formulas that do allow UV to pass, but they are usually grouped in combination with other formulas that will block the UV.
Then there are the coatings on the lenses which can also block UV.
You would almost have to take the lens off of the camera in order to expose the sensor to UV, and even then the OLPF filter might block UV, depending on which one is in use.
It's also my understanding that the sensor is manufactured with a protective glass over the actual pixels, and this may also block UV. Check with RED.
 
Generally speaking, if you should be wearing eye protection, then the camera should too. If they put a safety glass on the machine, then the camera should be fine if it's viewing through that safety glass. Things like lasers, welding arcs, intense sunlight, or anything that has high energy photon emissions can in fact damage the image sensor. Light that enters the lens is focused and projected, usually being condensed in the process, onto the sensor or image plane of the camera.
 
Probably something that should have been explored before the shoot... Not much you could do now if it had been harmed.
 
We just rented the camera to a short in Vancouver. They pointed a beam light into the sensor and it resulted in a blown pixel which required sending the camera in for evaluation. Bottom line is a new sensor is required and cost the shoot $2500 deductible for insurance. Without it the sensor was 10,000 USD to replace.
 
Jeremy, it sounds like you had a very high intensive light focused onto the sensor, similar to focusing the sun onto the sensor.
This would be way more than just ultraviolet light. Was the beam light a full blown laser?
 
Randall Weatherington said:
Jeremy, it sounds like you had a very high intensive light focused onto the sensor, similar to focusing the sun onto the sensor.
This would be way more than just ultraviolet light. Was the beam light a full blown laser?
Click to expand...

Doesn't have to be a laser. I've seen sunlight and welding arcs do it.
 
Randall Weatherington said:
Jeremy, it sounds like you had a very high intensive light focused onto the sensor, similar to focusing the sun onto the sensor.
This would be way more than just ultraviolet light. Was the beam light a full blown laser?
Click to expand...

This was a rental to a good friend of mine who is directing and starring his first short (he's an actor first). They provided insurance -phew! I don't know what kind of light was pointed at the lens but it was meant to be extreme enough to look like a beam from a UFO. That said, Red determined it was a laser, but I don't believe it was...as Jeff says something equally harmful did the trick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top