Hi all,I have a Canon 20D and have a question regarding Mirror Lock up.
I am wanting to take a shot or two of a lighthouse at night using Mirror Lockup with a cable release to minimise vibration.
Is the bright light of the lighthouse likely to damage the camera in any way(shutter curtains)? I will be taking the shots from about 500 metres away,and up to about 750 metres away.Thanks for any help.
John.
I would be more concerned about possible damage to the sensor than the shutter.
I seriously doubt a lighthouse would be bright enough to do any damage; however, pointing your camera directly at the Sun with a telephoto lens can cause damage during a long exposure (why would you take a long exposure of the Sun?) just like it can damage your eye. During Sunrise or Sunset, our atmosphere filters the light...at other times of the day you can seriously damage your eye looking directly at the Sun with a telescope or a telephoto lens.
However, if you are taking a long exposure of a rotating light, such as a 266 second exposure as in the example below, you could ruin the photo. http://www.pbase.com/kevinpa/image/69966855/original.jpg
The first night I tried this light, it was exposed for a few minutes at a time. The light as it rotated into the lens ruined the photo. So, the next night I tried again, this time covering the lens with a black card every time the light rotated past the lens.
