Equipment

Rental Camera Gear Destroyed by the Solar Eclipse of 2017

Published September 1, 2017

Tags: Canon 600mm f/4L IS II, Canon 7D Mark II, Nikon D500, Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH

Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 with Iris Damage from the Eclipse.

We recently had quite a spectacle in the United States, with a Solar Eclipse reaching totality throughout a large portion of the United States. Being that this was the first solar eclipse passing through the Continental US since 1979, excitement ran wild on capturing this natural event using the best camera gear available.

But with such excitement, came a treasure trove of warnings. Warnings that this event can easily damage your camera, your lens, and your eyes if you do not have the proper protection. 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.

But despite our warnings, we still expected gear to come back damaged and destroyed. And as evidence to our past posts of broken gear being disassembled and repaired, we figured you’d all want to see some of the gear that we got back and hear what went wrong. But please keep in mind, this post is for your entertainment, and not to be critical of our fantastic customer base. Things happen, and that’s why we have a repair department. And furthermore, we found this to be far more exciting than we were disappointed. With this being the first solar eclipse for Lensrentals, we didn’t know what to expect and were surprised with how little of our gear came back damaged. So without further ado, here are some of the pieces of equipment that we got back, destroyed by the Solar Eclipse of 2017.

Melted Sensors

The most common problem we’ve encountered with damage done by the eclipse was sensors being destroyed by the heat. We warned everyone in a blog post to buy a solar filter for your lens, and also sent out mass emails and fliers explaining what you need to adequately protect the equipment. But not everyone follows the rules, and as a result, we have quite a few destroyed sensors. To my personal surprise, this damage was far more visually apparent than I even expected, and the photos below really make it visible.

Burn damage through the shutter system of the camera.

Burning of the shutter system

Under the shutter, you can see the additional damage on the sensor.

Damage to the sensor is really apparent even through visual inspection.

Mirror Damage

The images above are likely created because people were shooting in Live View mode, allowing them to compose the image using the back of their screen, instead of risking damage to their eyes by looking through the viewfinder. However, those who didn’t use live view (and hopefully guess and checked instead of staring through the viewfinder), were more likely to face damage to their camera’s mirror. While this damage was far rarer, we did get one particular camera with a damaged mirror box caused by the sun.

Mirrorbox Photography damage from Eclipse

Damaged mirror on a Nikon D500 resulting from the eclipse.

Lens Iris Damage

Another common problem we’ve had sent back is the lens iris being destroyed from the heat and brightness of the solar eclipse. In short, the lens iris is the mechanic piece that changes the amount of light that enters the camera, or in simpler terms, the aperture adjustment. Apertures are usually made from 8-12 pieces of black plastic or metal and are susceptible to heat damage. In one particular case below, a customer used a drop in solar filter to protect the camera from being damaged by the eclipse. He was right, the camera was protected….but the lens iris was not protected, and was destroyed.

Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 with Iris Damage from the Eclipse.

From the outside, this 600mm looks fine. But quick inspection shows the aperture system is destroyed thanks to the eclipse.

Another angle of the damaged iris of the Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM

A partially disassembled image of the Canon 600mm from above.

Iris Damage of a Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM

ND System Damage

Filed under the unexpected, we also received a built in ND filter system damaged in one of our cinema camera systems. Most cinema cameras are equipped with a built in ND system that slides over the sensor, allowing them to adjust f-stop and shutter speeds to work better with their frame rate and shooting style. However, a common misconception is that an ND filter could properly protect the camera from the heat and light when shooting the solar eclipse. It doesn’t, and as a result, the damage is similar to that shown above with the sensors.

Canon C300 Mark II with a Damaged Built in ND Filter

Overall, we were really impressed with how few pieces of gear we got back damaged. And of the things returned, we were equally impressed with our customer-base, and their guilt and owning up to the damage. Unfortunately, these types of damage are considered neglect, as warnings were given out to customers before the solar eclipse. Our LensCap insurance plan, which can be added to rentals for a small nominal fee, does not protect from neglect but is an excellent tool for those who are worried about their rental and want to protect themselves from any accidental damage. This is just a few of the pieces of gear we’ve gotten back that have shown damage from the eclipse, and will hopefully serve as a warning to those who are already prepping for the next eclipse in 2024.

Author: Zach Sutton

I’m Zach and I’m the editor and a frequent writer here at Lensrentals.com. I’m also a commercial beauty photographer in Los Angeles, CA, and offer educational workshops on photography and lighting all over North America.

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Kay O. Sweaver

It also doesn’t expand and contract based on temperature, it doesn’t rust in place. Plastic has its advantages.
Kay O. Sweaver

If you own up to it and pay for it yes. Its an accident/mistake.
leo tam

Plastic is fine – probably faster, lighter, and easier to implement in such a complex lens
leo tam

There’s risk, and there’s stupidity… The same difference between shooting in a sandstorm with your camera some sort of protective case, and shooting with out one and just winging it
Vitale Justice

I am really surprised that Canon uses plastic iris’s when my Rokinons have metal ones
Roger Cicala

Well, we’ve honestly never had one request until the eclipse, in over 10 years. But it wouldn’t be a dozen, it would be many hundreds and then they would sit on the shelf forever after the one event.
asad137

“The eclipse does not make it more intense or more dangerous.”

No, but it makes it far more likely, since normally people don’t point their cameras at the sun.
Rocketeers2001

For the cost of a dozen “push on” solar filters that fit your rental lenses would it be worth carrying some filters in stock at the store? That way people will say they either have their own or will accept the provided one and the small fee. Probably less than the repair costs, and the returned filters are reusable. Might avoid the damage altogether.
Greg Cobb

I couldn’t tell you how many posts I made about this very thing. Your article shows the tact and courtesy of the company. However, courtesy and a great attitude doesn’t pay for the damages to the equipment. There is obvious reading comprehension failure with those who neglected the equipment…or lack of common sense anyway.
Greg Cobb

There is no comparison to a Total Eclipse and the sunlight we see daily.
Greg Cobb

What it sounds like you’re implying is that it’s okay to damage someone else’s gear rather than your own, even after all the warnings up front.
ThreeRing

Goddammit. Eclipses do not damage cameras. POINTING AT THE SUN with a telephoto does.
Jason C.

Ouch…so does the insurance take care of it or is it directly billed back to the rental customer?
ThreeRing

THEY WERE NOT DAMAGED BY THE ECLIPSE. They were damaged by being pointed at the sun. This damage can happen any time you compose by pointing at the sun for long periods of time. The eclipse does not make it more intense or more dangerous.
gInSea

I used a lens I rented from you to film the eclipse without a filter without any worry about damage. My secret? I simply didn’t include the sun in the frame – I figured there would be plenty of pictures of the sun going through the process so I placed my m4/3rds cam with the wide angle I rented on a tripod and left it pointed running in timelapse mode at my friends and I as we experienced the event. The little Oly EMD-10 mkii actually crashed during the process (!!), but not before it got all the way through to the other end of totality and beyond – so I was very happy with the result. Btw – after testing my mk ii with a number of SD cards I’ve verified that the crashing bug happens intermittently – a reminder (to me) to test out my system thoroughly in the scenario I plan to use it for such one-time events! The 7-14mm lens I rented was flawless.
Alex Hernandez

The best thing to do when taking pictures of the sun or sun events is to use the appropriate Solar Filter, if looking for an economical alternative to a 16 stop filter Thousand Oaks Optical has a 1/1,000 of 1% film that’s very affordable, it can be simply wrapped around the front of the lens.
I used it during the Solar Eclipse on 08-21-17 and got some nice pictures.
Echo

That’s one of the main reasons I choose you guys as my rental provider of choice. You only charge customers the actual repair cost.

Many other shops would just say, “Sir, we have charged your card for the total amount of the lens.” If you ask nicely, they may let you have the one you rented back, but not necessarily.
Echo

This makes me happy my 6D survived.

I kept a lens cap on mine and only removed it for moments at a time when the intervalometer was about to click.
I also used a 10-stop filter on it. It wasn’t a solar filter, but it seemed to keep the heat down enough.

For the 2019 eclipse though, I’ve already bought my solar filters.
denneboom

That poor panasonic 20mm f1.7 is far from telephoto, I am suprised to see it in the list.

Its really punny compared to a 600mm f4
feelgood13

Your examples are akin to someone using their rental camera for a hammer show ? The equipment got damaged while it was doing what it was supposed to do! – shoot stuff!

And shooting the sun doesn’t automatically mean damage to equipment – there are variables involved. Couldn’t I argue that I accidentally put it on the wrong setting (bulb, for instance) and THAT would qualify for accidental damage? or what if a kid picked up the camera and shot the sun and got it damaged?
Jon Meeker

Do you guys really think a professional is going to worry about gear breaking? No. They need the shot and they need to be paid. It’s a calculated risk. I’m not saying it’s not shitty, but if you’re a pro sometimes it’s a risk you must take. Period.
Jon Meeker

“Looks like we’ve found the pro. ”

Like that. ?
Dean Johnson

I cannot resist…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3114adb41d2fd437a4a947f56d0e9c41d0ffab4d3e918eaca356b677fc65645c.jpg
sportsbomb

Looks like we found the “pro”.

Like that?
Piotr Jedrzejczak

How much the renter had to shell out to repair that Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM?
Jon Meeker

Also, it might benenfit you to use quotes properly.
Jon Meeker

I guess you’ve never had an accident on set before then..
If you’re a pro you use the gear as tools and not as a precious personal camera. Think planet earth, think action movies, think documentaries. Things happen and guess what, gear breaks. It’s life and that’s why we have insurance. When you rent a camera, does I come to you brand spanking new? Are there scratches and dings and sometimes water damage? Yes! Because it’s rental gear that’s used hard. It’s simple. You live in fairy land if you think professionals don’t damage gear.
Traveler

A once in a “lifetime shot” does not require that you damage yours, or someone else’s gear. If you’re professional, or at least do due diligence, you can get the shot without collateral damage.
Richard Sanderson

Not sure why anyone would take the filter off a camera aimed at the sun during the partial phases, unless they are very inexperienced or simply not thinking. There is a time, however, about 30 seconds before totality begins when the camera needs to be unfiltered to capture the “diamond ring.” After totality ends, most photographers again keep the filter off for 30 seconds or so to record the second diamond ring. Then the filter goes back on. I’ve done this at multiple eclipses with both film and digital cameras with no damage, because only a pinpoint or razor-thin crescent of sun is exposed. At this eclipse, I decided to risk my older Canon digital camera to record a video of totality. I started it, unfiltered, about a minute before totality and walked away. I then turned it off about 1.5 minutes after totality ended. No damage, and I even captured the two NASA jets zooming past the eclipsed sun over Tennessee!
Panacea

If you took your rental Camry out onto the Rubicon Trail and returned it with three wheels, it doesn’t matter whether anybody warned you (or not) against doing that. You were rented the equipment with the representation that you were a competent operator, and that you are responsible for the welfare and care of the equipment during the term of rental. That doesn’t mean that you must know how to operate the equipment under every condition, but that you would treat unfamiliar terrain/usage with care, or avoid it altogether until you can be trained/guided so that you use it in a way that won’t harm it, i.e. treat it with the same degree of care as it it was your own.

The fact that there were exhortations around the time of the eclipse just makes it doubly inexcusable.

If I borrowed your camera and threw it into the air for an awesome drone-like selfie, but dropped it in the process… would I be responsible for the damage even though you didn’t exactly tell me beforehand that I shouldn’t do that? Of course I would be responsible. Common sense about what is involved and general caution that I should have exhibited applies.