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Mirrorless
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Joined: Sep 2019
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Joined: Sep 2019
I am mostly a sunrise landscape shooter and very accustomed to shooting into the sun for photos. I have done a good share of sunrise time lapses since last year. I do not know enough about the technology to say if this can cause damage but it is best to consider their recommendation.
I can see why a manufacturer would suggest to not expose a sensor to the sun due to risk of damage from such a strong light source. It makes sense with mirrorless as the sensor would be exposed for a long period of time under a time lapse compared to still photos.
I also know from the great information within this forum that it is not a recommended practice to shoot with the sun in the frame due to the high dynamic range, flare, and potential pulsing in exposure around the sun. So from trail and error I never expect perfect results when I decide to do it.
I have done it quite bit however with both DSLR and mirrorless. In my personal experience, it works well when the forecast is for a good amount of clouds.
I begin mostly about 30 minutes prior to sunrise to catch the pre-sunrise colors. Usually use a 6 stop ND filter and QDSLR Dashboard to ramp the exposure. The filter will definitely help when the sun appears in the frame as well. Setting the initial exposure is really critical as you want to protect the highlights. It is good to know the limitations of the camera sensor.
Looking into the sun with our eyes is not too good an idea either so I just monitor things on a tablet.
I actually made a mistake this morning and put on a 3 stop ND. I didn't realize this until I saw the shutter speed was increasing as things got brighter. I don't like the results because where I shoot mostly has a lot of birds and water but I can at least use the section before the shutter got too fast. Another reason I try to set my expectations not so high
I am certainly not an expert but I hope this is helpful.
I can see why a manufacturer would suggest to not expose a sensor to the sun due to risk of damage from such a strong light source. It makes sense with mirrorless as the sensor would be exposed for a long period of time under a time lapse compared to still photos.
I also know from the great information within this forum that it is not a recommended practice to shoot with the sun in the frame due to the high dynamic range, flare, and potential pulsing in exposure around the sun. So from trail and error I never expect perfect results when I decide to do it.
I have done it quite bit however with both DSLR and mirrorless. In my personal experience, it works well when the forecast is for a good amount of clouds.
I begin mostly about 30 minutes prior to sunrise to catch the pre-sunrise colors. Usually use a 6 stop ND filter and QDSLR Dashboard to ramp the exposure. The filter will definitely help when the sun appears in the frame as well. Setting the initial exposure is really critical as you want to protect the highlights. It is good to know the limitations of the camera sensor.
Looking into the sun with our eyes is not too good an idea either so I just monitor things on a tablet.
I actually made a mistake this morning and put on a 3 stop ND. I didn't realize this until I saw the shutter speed was increasing as things got brighter. I don't like the results because where I shoot mostly has a lot of birds and water but I can at least use the section before the shutter got too fast. Another reason I try to set my expectations not so high
I am certainly not an expert but I hope this is helpful.
