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04-02-2009, 08:20 PM   #1
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Welding Pictures

Good evening all,
Kind of a question I think I might already know the answer to, but I might be wrong so I thought I would ask anyway.
I was just wondering if it is possible to take pictures of someone welding. Will I damage the sensor in the camera with the intensity of the arc?
If I can , do I need to wear welding glasses to look through the viewfinder?
Thanks for your replies.

04-02-2009, 08:34 PM   #2
graphicgr8s
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sitting Bull Quote
Good evening all,
Kind of a question I think I might already know the answer to, but I might be wrong so I thought I would ask anyway.
I was just wondering if it is possible to take pictures of someone welding. Will I damage the sensor in the camera with the intensity of the arc?
If I can , do I need to wear welding glasses to look through the viewfinder?
Thanks for your replies.
If you can keep the actual arc covered and get the outer part of it.
04-02-2009, 08:54 PM   #3
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I would get a #10 (or more depending whats being welded) 4"x5" welders filter glass and put it in front of the lens. It's dead cheap, you can buy that for under $10 at any welders supply shops like BOC gases.

I have no idea if the cameras sensor will be damaged without a filter, but I would not take the chance.

As a bonus, you'll be able to use it to photograph/stare at the next solar eclipse (actually NASA recommends a #14 filter for eclipse watching, but I've used a #10 in the past)

Pat

EDIT: It is not EVER safe to look at an arc welding operation without eye protection, the arc is bright enough to blind you, and tiny droplets of metal splatters! Protect your eyes (and lens!)
04-03-2009, 12:14 AM   #4
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ve2vfd: Do you know how the shade # of a welding filter glass translates to f-stops, or the attenuation factor numbers of ND filters? I did a *little* googling and found nothing blatant. I ask because I'd like to shoot city scenes with VERY long exposures, to turn moving objects invisible. A small-town camera shop proprietor suggested welding glass. I'd just like to have an idea of how much the exposure will be affected. Thanks.

As for safety, Welding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia should strike fear in the hearts of the novice!

04-03-2009, 01:59 AM   #5
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I'll give a try with a #10 welding filter vs. no filter later on today, so I'll be able to tell you how many stop you lose later on.
04-03-2009, 03:18 AM   #6
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do you want anything of the surroundings in the frame? (like the guy welding) If so any great ND filtration is going to stop that.
04-03-2009, 03:39 AM   #7
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I have shot welding in our smithy several times. If you add a welding glass, you won't be able to photograph anything besides the welder's arc and the tip of the welding rod.

If you want to take an image of the scene, with the people at work, forget about that filter. I would simply use a UV filter, once for protection against splashes (especially for autogenic welding) and secondly to reduce the excessive UV amount from the welding. Depending on the general lighting, you will need fill-flash. Ofcourse the spot with the welding arc would be completeley overexposed, then.

The camera sensor will not be damaged nor will be the shutter (which is a possibility when taking images of the sun), as the total energy is not that much. You will get burns earlier! Much more important, than to protect the camera is to protect they eyes!

A sidenote: for solar photography I would never recommend a welding glass. The point is, that there are perfectly safe glasses on the market - but you often do not know. In 1996 we had a solar eclipse over Germany and some people simply measured the spectral transparency of welding glasses. Among perfactly safe glasses, there where several which did not block IR - and that is really dangerous to the eye, as the sun emitts more IR than a welder...

Safe solar filter foil (Baader Planetarium is the preferred choice) is cheap and widely available...

Ben

04-03-2009, 04:11 AM   #8
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I did one session with friends that were welding, and did not use a ND filter or any other piece of glass. Granted I was not close to them and all I wore was a pair of sunglasses (I found a small hole burnt into my shirt from a bouncing cinder). All I used was a tripod and played around with the exposure time. Here are some examples:



and another ...



They were taken with a K100d and kit lens on tripod. From there, I can't remember the EXIF data.

I might also add pick one lens and stick with it, as the metal shop where they were working was laden with particulate material. There was a fine layer of incinerated metal dust on many horizontal surfaces and in the air.

Have fun ...

Last edited by Bactman; 04-03-2009 at 06:32 AM. Reason: Woke up too early, didn't drink enough coffee to master the English language. My bad.
04-03-2009, 06:24 AM   #9
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Original Poster
Thanks for the replies guys. I just thought that welding would provide great shot opportunities, but I was not sure about damage to the camera.
Great shots Bactman I love the detail.
Question for HGMonaro or any one else who reads this post. What is ND filtration.
Thanks again and have a great day.
04-03-2009, 01:58 PM   #10
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Here's another one

K10D, DA*16-50 @ 50mm, 1/100th at f4.5, ISO 400. Only filter was the Hoya Pro-1 UV filter that's always on it. (Probably explains the flare.)
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04-03-2009, 02:49 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Bactman Quote
I did one session with friends that were welding, and did not use a ND filter or any other piece of glass. Granted I was not close to them and all I wore was a pair of sunglasses (I found a small hole burnt into my shirt from a bouncing cinder).
Cool! You learn new stuff every day!

I've welded a lot (I have a MIG welder), but have never taken pics of myself welding

Eye protection is definetly a must in a welding shop, molten metal flying around will definetly ruin ones day in quite a hurry, and since there is often a lot of grinding associated with welding, one can never be too carefull.

A UV (or any type) of filter on a lens is a good idea... I've had metal splatter melt holes in a windshield a few years ago (windshield was broken so I didn't care), so I can imagine what it can do to our precious lenses!!!

Pat
04-03-2009, 05:10 PM   #12
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A buddy of mine has that new Casio EXILM that shoots 1200fps in HD, neat little thing, well he shot/filmed guys working on his WRX with a welder and it turned out OK, no filters used. I wouldn't think that the light would do any harm to the sensor at all.

After all you can take pictures of the sun, you just can't look directly at it.
04-03-2009, 07:21 PM   #13
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Welding photo's

Here is one from quite some distance away but it showes better detail than some welding shots closer up. K20 50/500mm at 500mm, f8, .125 sec. iso 100
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04-03-2009, 07:37 PM   #14
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Some of my students welding and grinding:




I kind of prefer the grinding shots because I can get a longer exposure (1/15 here) without any special filters, etc.
04-04-2009, 02:35 AM   #15
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