Photographing a welder

gman

gman

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Graham
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Could be a stupid question this, but is it safe enough to photograph a welder at work without needing any kind of filter to protect the sensor? I'm aware of the usual dangers with welding but I'm thinking more about the light and sensor.
 
gman said:
Could be a stupid question this, but is it safe enough to photograph a welder at work without needing any kind of filter to protect the sensor? I'm aware of the usual dangers with welding but I'm thinking more about the light and sensor.
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you'll have no issues with the sensor, maybe getting a good exposure could be tricky. But thats what ND filters were originally for
 
Thanks! :)
 
•

My experience is that ƒ 11~ 22, 1/30 to 1/60s
on Auto ISO yielded the better results.
 
andrewc said:
don't get to close - welding spatter can burn its way onto the surface of a lens - just look at the glass on a welding helmet - spattered with fragments of molten metal.
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+1

Think 200 mm…

Welding%2037%20XD.jpg


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andrewc said:
don't get to close - welding spatter can burn its way onto the surface of a lens - just look at the glass on a welding helmet - spattered with fragments of molten metal.
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No to mention...
Down your boots,
down your neck
Up your cuffs
In your ears
 
Ark-eye (Arc-eye) we used to call it a 'flash' up here in the NE. When we were apprentices we used to put soap in our eyes in the toilets at work and tell the Gaffer we'd had a flash and been up all night to get the day off work. He probably knew we were having him on, but he would let us go.
Yes, I'd worry more about getting a spark on the lens than damaging the sensor.
 
Heed the above advice re: "Arc Eye" or "Flash". Definitely not fun. try to pre focus then use live view maybe to take the shot. Avoid looking directly at the Arc Light source.
 
Safer to use the screen rather than evf then, thanks for advice I'll be nice and careful!
 
gman said:
Safer to use the screen rather than evf then, thanks for advice I'll be nice and careful!
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An EVF cannot do you harm, since it will only generate light in a limited range of frequencies. An OVF will pass light straight through unless there's some kind of UV filter built in, although even that would likely reduce the amount of UV somewhat.
 
You also don't want any sparks coming into contact with batteries. Don't leave spares out.
 
when I photographed welders I was in pretty close (35mm lens), but I was shooting with an evf, and I made sure to only look through the EVF, using my hand as a shade for my other eye
 
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