Overheating camera sensor

Reading a book on the D5100 and it talks about heating up the camera sensor due to exposure to light. Can you damage the sensor and overheat it? If so how long is to long? Does this only apply to sunlight? Doesn't apply in night photography?

The book talks about the heated sensor adding noise but nothing in regards to my questions.

Thanks

I think the longer exposures can heat the sensor more than shorter ones. But how much…?

I'm mostly curious if the sensor can damage itself or your photo noise will just increase. In the book it referred to the sensor heat up on pictures over one second.

Thanks

What book are you reading? Yes, it is advisable to not point your camera directly into the sun. Continuous long exposures can overheat pixels on the sensor and you may see spots on ur pictures. Also, nikon limits video recording to 20 minutes as to protect the sensor. Though, there is no way the sensor will overheat with a one second exposure.

The Long Exposure NR on cameras is meant to deal with this issue and is likely what the book is referring to, at least in part. After the sensor has been exposed to light - any light - for more than 30 seconds, it's possible that the sensor will get "hot pixels" due to it "overheating". In other words, it will produce noise in the image due to sensor heating. The longer the exposure, the more likely it is that the sensor will produce these spots. Prolonged exposure could likely damage the sensor, particularly in harsh light, which is why Nikon instituted certain limits like the 20 minute video limit mentioned above. I suspect the book is just explaining what this is more than providing the user with a warning about sensor damage, but there is certainly that risk. So don't go shooting a 2 minute exposure of the sun in full daylight just for kicks, for you may reap what you sow.

Sensor heating is just a myth

Well it may not be, but I have yet to experience any sensor heating with all the crazy stuff I make my camera do. I'm primarily into night time shots and time lapses, so by nature my lens is open for about 30 seconds per shot. Then if I am doing a time lapse, my sensor is being used for 58 out of 60 seconds per minute for up to 5 hours at a time. From all of that use, you think my sensor would get hot, but I see no reason to believe its hot. The pictures come out normally. The only noise in my photo is due to the high ISO I use (4000ish).

Then again I do shoot at night where temps are significantly lower then the day time no matter what season it is. Next time I go out shooting for a long period, I take a temperature gun with me and see how hot the sensor is compared to ambit temperatures.

-Wahugg

AC016 said:

What book are you reading?

Click to expand...

Nikon D5100 From Snapshots to Great Shots
by Rob Sylvan

I was in our local book store and of all the D5100 books they had this was the highest rated on Amazon.

In the book he does not state the sensor will be damaged. He's talking about noise possibly being introduced to your photo on exposures greater than one second due to heating up. That was when I started wondering about damage as with most things overheating can result in damage and I have read (I think on this forum) about a cameras sensor overheating so it made me wonder and ask the question.

Eh? If the camera allows X time exposure, it means it can take it just fine. I wouldn't buy into all these myths.