Rental Camera Gear Destroyed by the Solar Eclipse of 2017

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Lensrentals.com has posted a great article about the damage done to rented camera gear that occurred during the 2017 solar eclipse in North America. They did figure they’d get some damaged gear back, and they did, but the type of damage may surprise some.</p>
<p>First up, wrecked sensors. This is something you’d expect, as lots of people didn’t heed the bevy of warnings about using eclipse filters. The second type of damage that surprised us was melted aperture blades in lenses. Also showing damage, was built-in ND filters on some video cameras. So if you’re paying attention, ND filters aren’t protection from the sun, that’s why they <a href="http://www.leefilters.com/index.php/camera-directory/camera-dir-list/category/solar-eclipse-filter">make special filters for that</a>.</p>

<p>Be sure to <a href="http://www.pjtra.com/t/TUJGRktHSkJGRk5HSklCRkpOSkVN?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lensrentals.com%2Fblog%2F2017%2F09%2Frental-camera-gear-destroyed-by-the-solar-eclipse-of-2017%2F">head over to Lensrentals.com to read the full article</a> and check out the images of dead gear.</p>
<p>For anyone that is going to rent some gear for the eclipses in the future, please pay attention to the safety warnings, as it will save you a lot of money in the end.</p>
<p><em>**Yes, we realize that the eclipse doesn’t do the damage, it’s the sun. However, people don’t tend to point their cameras directly at the regular old sun without the moon in front of it.</em></p>
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[masterpix]

The problem is that some filters, especially solar filters are mounted on the back of the lens. Therefore, letting the whole sunlight in the lens itself, for example:

http://agenaastro.com/daystar-camera-quark-canon-lenses-prominence-dsztcp.html

Which is good for observing the sun, but not sure that the lens will be that happy with it.

 

[Jopa]

I was in a similar situation on 21st, but luckily no camera or lens got hurt . Had no chance to buy a solar filter and thought about skipping shooting the eclipse at all. Instead wanted to take kids pics in the morning with my 5dsr & 200/2, which also didn't work well so I ended up bringing the camera to work. Later when everybody went outside starring at the Sun I thought what the heck, it happens only once in a while, I need to take a picture! Dialed all settings manually, pointed the camera to the sun - it couldn't focus of course... switched to MF, set to infinity and snapped a few pics. Nothing special, but better than nothing, will keep as memories.

 

[LDS]

The problem is that some filters, especially solar filters are mounted on the back of the lens. Therefore, letting the whole sunlight in the lens itself, for example:

http://agenaastro.com/daystar-camera-quark-canon-lenses-prominence-dsztcp.html

Which is good for observing the sun, but not sure that the lens will be that happy with it.

This kind of filters are usually used in a two stage filtering setup, one before the lens, one after. These are very 'narrowband' filters letting only a few wavelengths pass, and are usually used on specific equipment designed for solar observations. Adapting them on a camera may be risky.

Unless one knows what he's doing, my advice is to stay away from this kind of gear.

 

[LDS]

I need to take a picture! Dialed all settings manually, pointed the camera to the sun - it couldn't focus of course... switched to MF, set to infinity and snapped a few pics. Nothing special, but better than nothing, will keep as memories.

Let's repeat it again: the totality is fully safe without filters. You'll need to remove them anyway because it is much fainter. Full Sun or any partial phase are dangerous without filters.

 

[Jopa]

I need to take a picture! Dialed all settings manually, pointed the camera to the sun - it couldn't focus of course... switched to MF, set to infinity and snapped a few pics. Nothing special, but better than nothing, will keep as memories.

Let's repeat it again: the totality is fully safe without filters. You'll need to remove them anyway because it is much fainter. Full Sun or any partial phase are dangerous without filters.

In my area it was around 99% max coverage I believe (Franklin TN). 1/1000s @ f/2.8. Relatively bright, but doesn't seem like very different from taking a regular picture during the day, right? I didn't hold the camera towards the sun longer than 5 seconds. Didn't even try to take a picture when the sun was brighter. Since it's just 200mm - the eclipse turned out to be tiny, but thanks to high resolution of the 5dsr it's still usable.

 

[Talys]

I was in a similar situation on 21st, but luckily no camera or lens got hurt . Had no chance to buy a solar filter and thought about skipping shooting the eclipse at all. Instead wanted to take kids pics in the morning with my 5dsr & 200/2, which also didn't work well so I ended up bringing the camera to work. Later when everybody went outside starring at the Sun I thought what the heck, it happens only once in a while, I need to take a picture! Dialed all settings manually, pointed the camera to the sun - it couldn't focus of course... switched to MF, set to infinity and snapped a few pics. Nothing special, but better than nothing, will keep as memories.

Me too. I used an old lens and old camera body to snap a few, using stacked ND filters and live view just to have some happy memories.

Everyone was sold out two weeks to the eclipse; for some reason, local camera shops didn't carry it at all (crazy, right?). I wasn't going to pay the price-gougers for a filter, though I would have been tempted if the coverage was close to totality where I live (about 87% here).

Supposed to be another one in 2020 in Eastern Canada. Maybe I will be more prepared then and make it out there to visit some family

 

[slclick]

Ophthalmologists are buying new boats as well!

 

[bholliman]

I need to take a picture! Dialed all settings manually, pointed the camera to the sun - it couldn't focus of course... switched to MF, set to infinity and snapped a few pics. Nothing special, but better than nothing, will keep as memories.

Let's repeat it again: the totality is fully safe without filters. You'll need to remove them anyway because it is much fainter. Full Sun or any partial phase are dangerous without filters.

In my area it was around 99% max coverage I believe (Franklin TN). 1/1000s @ f/2.8. Relatively bright, but doesn't seem like very different from taking a regular picture during the day, right? I didn't hold the camera towards the sun longer than 5 seconds. Didn't even try to take a picture when the sun was brighter. Since it's just 200mm - the eclipse turned out to be tiny, but thanks to high resolution of the 5dsr it's still usable.

Nice pic! This is comparable to the "diamond ring" just before and after totality, which is shot without a filter, so you were doing the right thing!

 

[RGF]

wonder if lens rental is letting people off of the hook if they purchased insurance. This was not accidental damage but stupidity. Hard to buy insurance for your stupidity. In most cases that would be very expensive

 

[privatebydesign]

wonder if lens rental is letting people off of the hook if they purchased insurance. This was not accidental damage but stupidity. Hard to buy insurance for your stupidity. In most cases that would be very expensive

Why would they? Like you say it was stupidity and the customers were warned about specific use. In the article it says the additional insurance doesn't cover misuse, so they should all expect big bills.

 

[Don Haines]

Fortunately, I had cloud cover to protect me from my own stupidity

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I purchased a Orion Glass Solar filter of the right size to fit on the front of my 100-400mm L a few months before the eclipse. I also had a backup piece of Baader Astrosolar film in case something went wrong with the first filter. I did not need it.

There were plenty of warnings, but there were some who claimed that the sun did not produce enough energy to damage a sensor. While the sensor damage and aperture damage are the most obvious, I'd say that the lenses are totaled, because the intense light can mess with the adhesives used to bond elements together, and that may turn dark with time.

As far as Insurance goes, no insurance is going to cover intentional damage or damage thru mishandling, those who damaged a camera or lens will have a very large bill. I doubt if they got any good images either.

 

[Jopa]

Nice pic! This is comparable to the "diamond ring" just before and after totality, which is shot without a filter, so you were doing the right thing!

Thank you Brian, yours look really awesome! Where did you shoot it from?

 

[RandomRazr]

I pointed my 5D IV with 24-70mm 2.8L lens at the sun for 4 seconds to snap a pic. did it hurt the camera? i dont see any issues :/

 

[msatter]

Why didn't LR send with each camera/lens a eclipse sheet in that period. Cost are minimal and the receiver is pointed know that protection is needed.

 

[Sporgon]

One way of getting a rounded aperture

 

[brad-man]

Why didn't LR send with each camera/lens a eclipse sheet in that period. Cost are minimal and the receiver is pointed know that protection is needed.

From the Lensrental article: "With all of our rentals leading up to this event, we warned everyone to view the event with appropriate eyewear and to attach a solar filter to the end of their lenses to protect the lens elements and camera sensor."

 

[SecureGSM]

... and melt away those out of focus transition areas oh so dramatically.

One way of getting a rounded aperture

 

[Skywise]

I pointed my 5D IV with 24-70mm 2.8L lens at the sun for 4 seconds to snap a pic. did it hurt the camera? i dont see any issues :/

Same here - used a 70-300mm f5.6 on a 6D, hand held - waited until we had maximum totality for our area (90%) and then, using live view, quickly aimed and fired. We had partial cloud cover but the clouds were thin enough that the sun was visible and I took a few quick shots of that.

Were these users on a tripod and just constantly pointing at the sun?!