Laser Danger!

Can a laser beam cause eye damage when it is shone through a camera to a TV monitor?
- Amy (age 56)
Gardner, KS USA

Hey Amy,

This is just like taking a photo of the sun: the photo won't hurt your eyes, but sun might damage your camera!

Similarly, a bright laser (while dangerous to the eye) might burn out your camera, but I doubt the brightest image your TV monitor can display is dangerous.

David Schmid

Of course, directly viewing the beam rather than the monitor can and probably will damage someone's eye. So if the camera has an SLR-style direct viewfinder, watch out!/mw

(published on 05/02/2013)