On Wed, 12 Jan 2000 22:35:57 +1100, "Tim Jones" wrote:

>Can you do damage to a video camera's optics by videoing the sun, or having
>the sun or bright light source in shot? What are the benefits of UV filters?

UV won't stop IR (though the heavy IR-cut filtration in most
camcorders will stop a lot of it...). I shoot the sun rather
often, and so far, none of my several mini-DV camcorders has
shown ill effect. It is always done hand-held, though, with
motion - it may not be a good idea to do a mid-day sky-shoot
with the sun in a clear sky using a tripod, but a sunset may be
OK using a tripod. BTW, everyone at some time
inadvertantly aims their camcorder toward the
sun, without wide-spread reports of damage...