Pourquoi filmer un concert peut endommager votre téléphone ?

“They film my concerts instead of living them,” said rapper Nekfeu in Egérie some years ago.

Today, it’s common. As soon as a concert takes place, phones come out, and many spectators watch the show through the lens of their iPhones, Samsungs, or others.

Their way of immortalizing what they are experiencing.

A concert is a sound and light show

But beware, it’s not without risks. Because most of the time, concerts are actually huge sound and light shows. And the light, via lasers in particular, is dangerous.

“We’ve seen lasers destroy balloons,” recalls Carlos¹, a seller in a specialized shop contacted by actu.fr.

“For phones, it’s the same story. Just like a laser can damage our cornea, it can burn camera sensors and lenses,” he explains.

In reality, this results in a direct trace being left on the lens by this excessive light. “A bit like when we look at the sun. In the moments that follow, we see it, no matter where we look,” explains Carlos.

As rightly noted by Presse-Citron, one of the best on the market, Sony recently warned on its own website. “Do not expose your camera lens directly to laser beams. They could damage the image sensor and cause camera malfunction,” the manufacturer writes.

If you are in the same environment as a laser projection device, whether inside or outside, with direct or indirect exposure (laser beams bouncing off a reflective object), significant damage to the camera’s CMOS sensor still occurs.

LaserWorld.fr, a specialized website, also warns: “This is due to the highly focused rays. A video camera has a very sensitive sensor to transform the photons in it into electronic impulses. Laser beams have a very high energy density where they hit the camera sensor.”

This is the case with lasers at concerts, but that’s not all. “You should avoid taking photos when getting a tattoo removed via laser, for example, or during permanent hair removal,” adds Carlos.

How to protect your device then?

But should you stop filming concerts altogether? Not really, because to damage the device, the beam must really hit the camera lens directly. “It happens, but you have to be unlucky,” notes Carlos.

But even so, caution is advised, especially since changing a phone’s lens costs “as much as buying a new one,” as Carlos points out.

Sony therefore recommends covering the camera even when it’s off, as it’s not necessarily covered by a lens cover.

Carlos sums it up this way: “to put it simply, when you protect your eyes, also protect your camera.”

¹ : The first name has been changed to respect anonymity

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