Help from a Photographer in Japan

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Shabooboo

Yes, if the sensor is charged from being powered on, the camera will becomes a dust magnetic.

Guys at Nikon Headquarters said NO. Did you read the thread?

[steven]

Originally Posted by Shabooboo

D5100... NICE!

I'm really anxious to try one out... like for real. I've tried one in the shop I go to, but of course everything is ultra-bright in there. I'd love to try taking photos or take video with it in a low-lit indoor setting.

I also want to try some of my microphones with it, as it has an 1/8th inch microphone jack.

[protheus]

Try to find a store where they sell projectors besides cameras, they have a darker corner for testing the brightness/colors of the projectors, a mini kind of showroom. At least that's how it is here.

[steven]

Yea, I've been contemplating going to another store to test one out. Without seeing how it performs in low light in person, I'm not sure that I can take the plunge like that.

By the way, in regards to the OP's original question about the possibility of the camera's charge to attract dust... I'm not really familiar with electronics and all that, but I don't think Camera batteries give off more than 10 volts. In my hobby, recording, we use condenser microphones which (usually) require 48Vs to get a signal. It is known that that kind of charge will attract dust (which incidentally sticks to the capsule gradually lowering the high frequency response). In the case of large diaphragm condensers, though, the component in question is usually just protected by some kind of metal screen, which I think dust can penetrate quite easily. In the case of a (charged) SLR camera, I think the voltage might not be large enough to become magnetic enough to attract any more dust than usual. Furthermore, I think that switching lenses is usually a very quick process (unlike having a microphone powered for a recording, which could take hours). However, getting a giant glob of dust on your photos is a lot worse than losing the slightest amount of high frequency response, I think.

Shabooboo, you mentioned "if the sensor is charged from being powered on, the camera will becomes a dust magnet". How did you come to that conclusion, I'm curious?

Turning the camera off before switching lenses sounds like the safe way to go either way though.