Real or hoax? Will taking photos of the solar eclipse damage your smartphone camera?
TAMPA, FL (WFLA) – The solar eclipse is today, and social media users are debating the best way to safely capture it on camera.
Most of the beauty shots of the solar eclipse will be taken by professional cameras or shot through a telescope. But, the most common photos we will see will be taken by the millions of smartphones everyday people are using.
NASA says taking a photo of the eclipse using your smartphone probably won’t damage it, but it could, especially if you have a newer device.
NASA says if you’re using an older iPhone or Android smartphone camera lens, you should not need any added camera filter. Experts say the lenses on your smartphones are generally very small and do not admit enough light on auto focus. While your picture will likely come out over exposed and washed out, your phone camera should not be harmed.
However, NASA points out that some newer smartphones have larger and faster lenses. Those could be damaged if pointed at the sun for a period of time, both during the eclipse and any other time.
In either case, you need to be really careful while taking these photos, you will no doubt accidentally glimpse at the full-on solar disk and that could damage your eyes if you prolong the viewing.
NASA says to avoid this harmful contact, you should wear approved solar eclipse viewing glasses.