I've heard a few things from some other people that I wanted clear up.

1. Is it true that with digital, shooting directly into the sun will damage the camera?

2. Do you really have to turn the camera off every time you switch lenses?

Ok it's late and my brain is fried so I can't recall my other questions at the moment , so that's it for now! Thanks

ok ill try and give you some answers - but im no expert!

1. shooting into the sun isnt really a problem for DSLR's... AFAIK. Obviously extended shooting directly at the sun to try and um i dunno take photos of its solar flares (without proper filters) is well stupid.

Point and Squirt cameras really dont take well to shooting into the sun, and most of their manual's document not to point them at the sun.

2. Turning off the camera to change lenses turns off the CCD / CMOS sensor the camera has, which when it is on, it is statically charged and can attract dust particles.

Its generally rumoured to be better to turn it off. This can also stop problems developing from the lens' contacts. I have heard it is better for nikon's VR lense users to turn the camera off because of its VR function. now sure about Canon's IS if it is the same.

hope my answers are helpful,

Jonathan

i used to switch mine on and off when switching lenses, but that is really hard to do when your in the middle of a wedding!

Always turn everything off (it says flash too) before changing lenses. Your asking for electrical problems (and of course increased dust) if you don't. For those that don't, you got away with it so far but others have had camera failure because of it. When it specifically says something in the manual, it is usually there because they mean it. You're sparking live contacts as you twist it on so imagine what that does to the computer. Plus to you want to risk getting a fatal error message just to save a few seconds.

ewwwwww.... i htink i will. thanks.

Shooting straight at the sun will damage any camera, regardless it being film or digital. The lens focuses the sun into a point, much like a magnifying glass does and so creates great heat. Think of all of those poor ants fried at the hands of a child and a magnifying glass.

Shooting into the sun for flare or to create a silhouette is fine as long as you are not focusing on the sun itself. Also if you do a silhouette into the sun, it looks better if the sun is hidden behind an important part of the subject.

Thanks so much for all the help! I was really tired last night and meant shooting silhouettes/behind subjects (I need more sleep:), like I do with film, wasn't sure how damaging it was with digital but what you've all said makes sense. I had heard about the lens thing from a few unreliable people, but hadn't seen it in the manual yet, thanks for clearing that up!! It seems well worth it to take the extra second to turn it off Thanks again!