[philbaum]

If one does long exposures in the evening, one can encounter this problem as well. Part of the solution is to disable AF from the shutter button half press. Since once you achieve a focus, you want to be able to repeat an exposure more than once with the same focus. So disable the half press and norminate whatever button the camera allows for specific focus adjustment. varies between dslrs

Secondly, i carry an led headlamp or flashlight, handy in my camera bag. not only for the occasional focus assist, but also for finding your way home at night if you're out of doors. I don'[t use it that much that i would want to attach it to the camera in any permanent sense, like using the hotshoe,'

Best of luck,

[maltfalc]

Indeed. In Australia it's illegal to import lasers with an output level >1mW without approval.

Also forget about merely damaging people's eyes, think about all the camera sensors you might damage, possibly even your own if it hits a reflecting surface.

Laser light Kills Canon 5D Mark II - YouTube

i hate having to repeat myself. the australian laws had nothing to do with potential eye damage, they had to do with people trying to momentarily blind pilots, and the laws vary quite a bit from one part of australia to another. a 5mw laser isn't going to damage your eye unless you hold it up to your eye and stare into it for at least a minute. it's also not going to damage your camera. the laser in that video is thousands or even tens of thousands of times more powerful than a laser pointer and even it only damaged the sensor 1 out of the 17 times it passed over the sensor.

[rawr]

the laws vary quite a bit from one part of australia to anothe

The Australian Customs regulations apply at all points of entry, nationwide. But yeah, various states do have their own regulations too.

I still reckon 5mW may be overkill. I have a little 0.5mW red keychain laser (not for AF, just as a pointer) and I can easily illuminate targets well over 50m away, especially in dim light. Seems plenty enough for AF.

I'd also not want to point my even my weak 0.5mW laser at my eye for any period of time. The eye is a pretty sensitive instrument, and any damage may not be immediately apparent.

[maltfalc]

you seem to be the only australian in this thread, so i doubt anyone else here is concerned about australian customs regulations. in canada and the states at least, 5mw is considered perfectly legal and safe when used responsibly. you're free to believe whatever you want about the terrible dangers of laser pointers, but you're not going to damage your eye with a 5mw laser pointer unless you do it on purpose. do you seriously think nobody ever bothered to study the potential for long term eye damage from lasers? this isn't some big mystery. the risks are well documented. maybe you could try educating yourself about laser safety before coming on here to alarm people with exaggerated claims about damaged eyeballs and sensors.