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Are LiDAR Systems on Cars Destroying Camera Sensors?
There’s a bit of growing unrest among photographers on whether LiDAR systems that are being fitted in new cars are actually capable of destroying camera sensors.
LiDAR systems are used by car manufacturers with self-driving cars to build 3D models of the surrounding environment so that the car knows where to steer.
A thread on Reddit talks about how a car photographer had several cameras destroyed after doing a car photo shoot.
What seems to be happening is that the laser from a LiDAR is too much for certain camera sensors to handle, and results in irreparable damage to those sensors.
As you can see from the video below, it certainly seems to be the case that LiDARs are destroying sensors in some scenarios.
But what is the nuance here?
In the first video, it is unclear what type of camera is being used to show the damage being done.
You will notice in the second video that the gentleman has trouble trying to damage his phone camera, whereas the LiDAR does damage the older iPad camera sensor.
Either way, it is clear that this doesn’t happen on every camera sensor every time it’s exposed to LiDAR lasers.
It also becomes clear from the comments that using a filter such as a UV filter will not protect your camera sensor from such damage. UV filters are designed to protect from ultraviolet light around 400nm, whereas LiDAR light at around 905nm to 1550nm will pass straight through such protective filters.
According to the gentleman in the second video, when he contacted Volvo about their LiDAR and the potential damage to camera sensors, they responded that they were aware of the situation and that people should be cautious about using cameras around LiDAR.
Where do you think things go from here?
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Processing Portraits – A New Toy…
I’m working on a new people-based photography project and decided I’d give Skylum’s Portrait Editor a try. New toys are always fun.
Here’s one of the early results. Very pleased with the look given the demanding desert conditions that the tool had to deal with! More soon… and if you want to check out Aperty you can do so here.
The post Processing Portraits – A New Toy… appeared first on Stuck in Customs.
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Issue 144 of Underwater Photography Magazine Available
The latest edition of Underwater Photography magazine—Issue 144—is now available as a free download.The issue begins with a handy roundup of industry news and the latest imaging equipment. New gear highlights include the Nauticam housing for the Panasonic Lumix S1RII, Nauticam’s UltraBright Monitors, and the AOI Aura Light System multicolor light. We’re also excited to see Byron Conroy’s review of the new Nauticam Midrange Focus Optimizer (MFO-1)—an intriguing gadget that we hope to have a good play with ourselves one day!
In other features, Peter Rowlands chats to veteran shooter and Ikelike Ambassador David Fleetham, the Backscatter team expounds the joys of fluoro using their new excitation filter for the Hybrid Flash, Lars Stenholt Kirkegaard goes on a fascinating nudibranch safari at Gulen Dive Resort in Norway, and Colin Munro recounts his search for the planet’s second-largest fish—the basking shark—off the west coast of Scotland and Southwest England.
Getting your free copy of the latest issue of Underwater Photography magazine is a breeze: Simply sign up with your email to get access. If you’ve already signed up (and you’re logged in), you can download your copy directly here.
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Photographic Composition: The Devil Is In The Details
There is something I have observed, particularly with newcomers to photography. That is, they will often try to capture everything in a scene rather than isolate a subject. That trait tends to diminish as we become more experienced, but there is another thing we often do, concentrate on the subject as a whole rather than isolating details.
We should be doing both, and so today I want to share with you why I think the devil is in the details.
Photography Is Storytelling
At first, we just want to take pretty, creative pictures. That’s a good thing. But as we develop, we begin to realise that photography is so much more than individual images. We can tell complete stories and control the narrative using our images alone. Of course, documentary photographers know this very well, but subconsciously,y anyone who takes photos also knows this.
Imagine you are taking pictures at your child’s birthday party. You photograph his or her friends arriving, you photograph the cake, the blowing out of the candles, the beaming smile on their face as they open their presents. Without even knowing it you have told a story. And within that story, you will have isolated some details. Close up of the candles, hands ripping open wrapping paper.
As photographers, we don’t have to apply storytelling to some long thought-out, socially aware documentary series, we can do it on a trip to the city or an afternoon at the beach. Telling a story can boost your creativity. Let me tell you why.
A wide, establishing shot. By Jason Row Photography 
Same location, same time, but a details shot. By Jason Row Photography. Spotting The Details
Next time you watch a documentary film on TV, take a closer look at the shots that go into that production. There will be wide establishing shots, talking head shots, but also close-up detail shots.
Now let’s apply that documentary style to taking a trip to the city. We can shoot a close-up of our home as we leave, reflected in the car mirror. We can take a close shot of traffic lights with an iconic building behind. In the city, we can shoot close-ups of people on transport, window dressing details, glimpses of a famous transport or city emblem. The list of detailed shots that we can get is virtually endless.
Now, all of the above items are not necessarily things that I have shot before, they are ideas that popped into my mind as I wrote this article. That’s the point, by looking for the details in our scenes, not only do we open up so many more photographic opportunities, but also we are increasing and improving our creativity.
But do I need anything special to photograph the details?
The whole bridge was pretty, but concentrating on the reflections made a stronger image. By Jason Row Photography. What Gear Will I Need?
This is the great thing about shooting details as part of a story. You don’t necessarily need any new equipment. A camera with a standard zoom is ideal. If the zoom doesn’t bring you close enough, move closer. At the wider aspect of your zoom, you can shoot the detail by getting close and perhaps leave some room for something out of focus in the background that hints at your location.
That said, a moderate telephoto or telephoto zoom will be helpful. You will be able to isolate details better and create a better separation with a shallow depth of field.
If you really want to ramp up creativity, a small portable LED light can be great for adding some extra illumination to your scene and punching out some texture details.
Of course, you can also find details in more macro situations. If you own a macro lens or close focusing lens, that’s fine; however, for the occasional macro, a set of close-up filters is a good budget alternative.
Details Need Light
As I alluded to in the last section with the LED light, details do need decent illumination. If, for example, you are shooting a gargoyle on a church, without good light, that gargoyle will just merge with the stone background. Add in a little directional light and the gargyle will cast a shadow on that stone, giving a feeling of depth.
Beautiful low light reveal the details in this drone shot. By Jason Row Photography The time of day is also going to affect how your detail shots look. Harsh light in the middle of the day will give well well-defined but jarring separation of your subject. Morning or evening golden hour is a much softer, warmer light, making your detail look more inviting.
More importantly, the light should be constant with your wider, establishing shots. If you were shooting a documentary film, a shift in light and colour between two shots in the same narrative can jolt you out of the story. The same can be true to a certain extent when using still photography to create a story.
The Narrative Is Important
Whilst it’s very easy to shoot detail shots, shooting and maintaining the narrative is harder yet more creatively rewarding. Your detailed shots must fit the story. For example, going back to our trip to the city, as well as the traffic light shot, we should also have a wide, establishing shot of the iconic building behind. However, that wide shot should contain the traffic lights. They act as a visual clue to the next line in the story. Your wide and mid shots should contain or at least hint at the content of your close, detail shots.
Another variation of the same location. By Jason Row Photography Shooting Details Can Boost Creativity
As I have said, details are everywhere, in every genre of photography. However, the real creativity comes when using those details to tell an ongoing story. Finding interesting ways to connect different images within a sequence is both challenging and highly rewarding.
If you want inspiration on shooting details within a narrative, some of the very best at it are good wedding photographers. Look at how they will shoot the usual shots, bride, groom, and family, but also hunt out the little details, close-ups on the rings, the knife cutting the cake, and the bride preparing her hair. All of these are prime examples of detail shots as part of a narrative.
So next time you are planning a shoot, think about turning it into a story. Think about how you can combine the shots you had originally planned with more close and detailed shots that combine well together. You will soon find yourself thinking outside of your own photographic box, and that can only be a good thing.
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A New Portrait Project – Stuck in Customs
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April 2025 : Sunday
Apr 2025 : SundayAnd Exploring Skylum Aperty
I’ve started work on a portrait project which is, let’s just say not insignificant, in its scope… because if I think about it too much, I realise it’s quite the crazy undertaking! So, while I was planning this out, I had to think about how my workflow might work. How do I make things as easy on myself as possible and keep the creativity as the priority, keeping the “how” out of the way as much as I can. I played with a few tools for a while and have now settled on Aperty. Before I get into that here’s a quick look at it:
That image in the interface, pretty great end result from minimal time. It was clear to me from early on in the testing that my normal tools, like Lightroom and Luminar, which I use A LOT, offer great processing but Aperty and its focus on portraits, offers a slicker workflow and quicker almost one click solutions.
Above you’ll see exactly what I mean. On the left, a before, right is the after. 2 button clicks to apply some sympathetic tweaks to the image. Areas to pay particular attention to are the bridge of the nose, forehead and right of the eye. In some cases, the wrinkles disappear, in others the harshness (which was partially due to the environment) is reduced.
Now, don’t get me wrong… if transforming your models into smooth skinned alienlike creatures is your style, that’s possible too… but for more terrestrial based portraits, the tweaks applied by Aperty in just a few clicks feel appropriate, never overdone. Above, that’s the blemish and skin smoothing sliders at work.
This being Skylum there are of course some fun additions to the normal options available too. You can for example have the software add some eyeliner to your model, or tweak their iris color as just two examples but that’s something for another day.
For now, what I see from Aperty is a great tool for anyone working on people pictures. The tools flow in a really nice, logical way for a processing work and a lot of the clutter you’d find in more general processing applications doesn’t feature here. Yet you can still do great environmental portraits too, which is what I think I’ll leave you with today… oh, and one more thing. You can grab Aperty for a 50% discount here, plus a bonus month on the subscription and a bunch of extras. Have fun!
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Sony Announces Compact Full-Frame FX2 Cinema Camera
Sony has unveiled the latest addition to its Cinema Line—the FX2. The compact full-frame video camera has a similar body design to the four-year-old full-frame FX3 and almost three-year-old cropped-sensor FX30. But where the FX3 borrowed the a7S III’s 12MP sensor and lacked an EVF, the FX2 takes the 33MP sensor from the a7 IV while featuring a video-camera-style 3.68-M-dot EVF, which can be tilted up to 90 degrees. Like the a7 IV, the FX2 supports Dual Base ISO (800 and 4000) when using S-Log3.
With its a7 IV DNA, the FX2 promises to be a much more useful hybrid camera, offering not just high-end video recording and powerful video-focused tools, but also high-quality still image capture. (In addition, there’s a handy movie/still lever to switch between modes.) The FX2 can record up to 4K/30p and 1080/120p using the full width of the sensor, and supports Log shooting in Cine EI, Cine EI Quick, and Flexible ISO modes. Shooting 4K/60p entails an APS-C crop factor.
To round things off, the FX2 offers a large dedicated record button, a full-size HDMI port, and an internal cooling fan. The camera has two memory card slots compatible with SD UHS-I/II cards, with one slot also capable of accepting a CFexpress 2 Type A card.
Available in August, the Sony FX2 will be available for a body-only price of $2,700.
PRESS RELEASESony Electronics Introduces the FX2 Compact Camera, Expanding Cinema Line’s Versatility for Creatives
The new FX2 has the look and operability of Cinema Line cameras with the ability to shoot high-resolution photos and comes equipped with an articulating eyepiece
Sony Electronics Inc. is proud to announce today the latest addition to its established Cinema Line family, the FX2. The FX2 will offer a seamless entry point into the broader Cinema Line range, giving greater cinematic expression to independent creators or small crews needing a versatile camera.
“The hybrid cinema camera was created based on user feedback and is engineered with unique features to support filmmaking, a new eyepiece, and enhancements for versatile production needs. The FX2 is intended to continue the Cinema Line’s goal of preserving authentic emotion in every shot and empower creators across all areas of content production,” says Theresa Alesso, President, Imaging Products and Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics Inc.
FX2 Features: Full-frame Photo and Video Capabilities
The FX2 comes with a full-frame sensor that delivers stunning imagery and beautiful bokeh effects. Equipped with a 33.0 effective megapixel1 back-illuminated Exmor R™ sensor with up to 15+ stops of wide latitude using S-Log3, it captures impressive detail in both highlights and shadows.
Designed for versatile shooting environments, the FX2 offers Dual Base ISO at 800 and 4000, ensuring optimal performance in both bright and low-light conditions. Its ISO sensitivity for video can be extended up to 102400, making it ideal for challenging lighting scenarios. The camera supports a wide range of recording formats—including 4:2:2 10-bit All-Intra—and records in high-quality options, such as XAVC S-I DCI 4K at 24.00p, providing professionals with the tools needed for flexible, high-end production workflows.
The FX2 can also continuously record for up to 13 hours in 4K 60p2 thanks to its internal cooling fan and effective heat dissipation structure. The FX2 offers variable frame rate settings, allowing up to 60 fps in 4K (for a maximum 2.5x slow-motion effect) and up to 120 fps in Full HD (for up to 5x slow motion). It supports Log shooting in Cine EI, Cine EI Quick, and Flexible ISO modes, offering versatile workflows for different production needs. To further the cinematic expression of the camera, creators can import up to 16 user LUTs for on-camera preview, enabling precise color monitoring on set.
Filmmakers can also easily and quickly create in-camera cinematic looks, with S-Cinetone™ set as the default, along with a range of Picture Profile and Creative Look presets. A de-squeeze display function is available, supporting both 1.3x and 2.0x anamorphic lenses for accurate framing.
Improved Usability for Comfortable Solo Operation
The FX2 features the same compact, flat-top design as Sony’s Cinema Line FX3 and FX30 cameras, ensuring familiarity and compatibility across setups. Built-in mounting points (UNC 1/4-20 x3) support a cageless configuration, offering greater flexibility for rigging. An optional top handle (ILME-FX2) enhances mobility and control, especially during handheld or dynamic shooting. Its lightweight, portable build—measuring approximately 5 1/8 x 3 1/8 x 4 1/8 in and weighing approximately 1 lb 8.0 oz—makes it ideal for solo operators or small crew productions.
The camera offers advanced focus features designed for precision and creativity. Its new Real-time Recognition AF (auto focus) delivers fast and reliable performance with improved accuracy for human subjects, although its intelligent subject recognition extends to animals, birds, vehicles, and insects, with an Auto mode available for effortless detection. For even more control, tools like focus breathing compensation, AF Assist, and customizable autofocus transition speed and sensitivity give creators the flexibility to fine-tune focus for expressive, cinematic imagery. The FX2 comes with Active Mode and Dynamic active Mode, which is new to the Cinema Line, and are both designed to ensure smooth and steady handheld shooting.
The Auto Framing feature automatically crops and tracks a subject to keep them in a prominent position when the camera is mounted on a tripod, producing footage that looks like it was shot by an experienced operator. The Framing Stabilizer function automatically keeps the subject in the same position within the frame, which can be useful, for example, when the camera operator is moving alongside the subject.
From a still image perspective, the camera features an additional log shooting option with a newly added ‘Log shooting’ menu. This feature allows creators to shoot high-resolution 33MP stills, optimized for color grading in post-production. The FX2 also offers smooth operation with a MOVIE/STILL mode lever, allowing for a quick switchover between still and movie shooting. Depending on the selected mode, the displayed menu items will automatically adjust. Additionally, mode selection is made easy with a long press of the Fn button, which recalls and changes the shooting mode.
FX2 Features: Improved but Familiar Hardware Inherited From Sony’s Cinema Cameras
The FX2 is equipped with a new high-resolution 3.68-million-dot tiltable EVF3 (electronic view finder) designed specifically for video production, offering a wide viewing angle and enhanced immersion thanks to its included deep eyepiece. Complementing the EVF is a 3.0-type vari-angle touchscreen LCD, making it easy to frame shots from virtually any angle. Intuitively arranged controls on the top panel and grip, along with tally lamps for clear recording status, support efficient on-set operation. The camera also introduces a customizable “BIG6” home screen that provides quick access to essential shooting parameters, such as FPS, ISO, shutter speed (angle or speed), Look presets, white balance, iris, and neutral-density (ND) filter settings. Addressing the growing demand for vertical content creation, the FX2 supports vertical menu display during shooting—ideal for social media formats. The handle-equipped model further enhances professional usability with two XLR/TRS terminals and a 3.5mm stereo mic jack, enabling 4-channel, 24-bit digital audio capture.
The camera offers extensive expandability and connectivity options, including an HDMI Type-A terminal capable of outputting up to 4K 60p 4:2:2 10-bit video and 16-bit RAW4 for high-end recording and monitoring. For seamless data transfer and remote control, it supports dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz5) as well as wired LAN via a compatible adapter6. Additionally, the USB Type-C port enables SuperSpeed USB up to 10Gbps data transfers and supports USB Power Delivery (PD)7, while built-in USB and network streaming support enables live broadcasting and remote production workflows.
Social Responsibility
Aligned with Sony’s global environment plan, ‘Road to Zero’, this product supports the company’s vision for achieving a zero environmental footprint by 2050. The manufacturing process reflects this commitment through facilities powered entirely by renewable energy sources8.
The camera system incorporates comprehensive accessibility options, including a Screen Reader function9 and Display Magnification, to support visually impaired users across an expanded range of menu items. Additional intuitive controls enhance usability for all shooters, featuring:
- Real-time recognition autofocus that reduces manual adjustments
- Streamlined touch interface operations for direct menu navigation
- Tactile button design with clear differentiation
These inclusive design elements ensure professional imaging tools remain accessible to creators of all abilities while maintaining full operational capability
The FX2 will be available early August for a suggested retail price of $2,699.99 USD and $3,499.99 CAD body only or $3,099.99 USD and $3,999.99 CAD with XLR handle. It will be sold directly through Sony and at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America.
1 For stills. Max. 27.6 megapixels for movie.
2 Sony internal tests. USB power supply, XAVC S-I (All-I), 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2, 25 deg C (ambient, camera when recording started), Auto power off temperature: High, Cooling fan: Auto. The maximum continuous recording time for a single movie shooting session is approximately 13 hours (a product specification limit) Actual performance varies based on settings, environmental conditions, storage, and usage. Batteries are consumable products and their capacity degrades over time as they age. Sony does not guarantee the life span of the battery.
3 Adjustable from 0° to +90° for flexible shooting angles.
4 The output image will be in the APS-C size /Super 35mm equivalent angle of view.
5 The 5 GHz band may not be available in some countries or region
6 A commercially available USB-LAN adapter is required.
7 A USB PD compatible external power supply device with 9V/3A or higher output capacity and a USB Type-C cable that can handle 3A or more is required
8 Further reducing environmental impact, the product utilizes recycled packaging materials that minimize plastic content without compromising protection. These sustainable practices demonstrate our dedication to eco-conscious production while maintaining the highest quality standards.
9 Download of compatible language file may be necessary. Please refer to the Help Guide for details.
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More from my in progress Project
Hey awesome reader. A little more from me on Aperty, which if you read the previous post you’ll know I’m using for a current project. A couple of things this time round. Firstly Sklyum let me know that the offer I mentioned expires in the next day or so. Therefore, if you want to grab it, now’s the time. Secondly, I wanted to cover some of other features that stood out in my time so far with the software…
Last time I talked about a couple of features which really help with processing workflow. Fixing common issues with skin, etc. This time let’s focus a bit on the eyes. I LOVE a good iris in an image… or two depending on how you look at it. Sometimes that can be a challenge though, like the image above. Originally, with such a bright day in the African desert, the lovely Rose had some significant reflections in her eyes. Not a problem with Aperty, just a few button clicks and we’ve got some nice iris replacement. You can also keep things more natural and enhance what’s already there if you have a good clear image however here replacement was needed to remove the distracting reflection.
The before and after can be a little odd, so here’s the final version.
Aperty also has some cool creative enhancements, like the ability to add a flash of color via generated eyeliner. Again a click or two and a move of a slider and it’s done. It’s not my sort of thing usually, I tend to stick with whatever look the person had, however this software magic tickles my tech brain in a fun way. Nicely done Skylum!
Wrapping things up for now, I think the best way I’d sum up Aperty is that at its core it is a great bit of software for those processing people photos (including groups, street photography, etc) on a regular basis. Especially those who do sessions with the same model, or have a consistent look to go for over a large range of images. For example, being able to apply some sympathetic, natural skin smoothing and blemish removal quickly and easily across a batch of images of the same person is a real time saver. Oh, and the batch processing feature is included in the price, not as a charged extra as with some competing software. The speed and lack of clutter in the UI is also great, getting you (well, me in this case) to the more creative, fun processing as quickly as possible.
So, that’s it for now. As I mentioned, their current offer with 50% off and some free stuff ends tomorrow-ish. So it’s now or never for that. Be sure to share some of your creations with me… by email, or tag me on socials. Have fun! 🙂 And finally, here are a few more of my creations. 🙂
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Simplicity, Street and a Contest! The Light Stalking Weekly Community Wrap Up!
Welcome to the Light Stalking weekly wrap-up of our wonderful little community.
We had another great week on the site this week with some very interesting photographs being submitted for our weekly challenge – Colour in Simplicity.
Here are a few of our favourites.
Pat Garrett:
Frogdaily:
Patrick:
Tersha:
Pat Garrett
Robert Apple
Member Highlight
Over the last several months, Patrick has been producing some extraordinary black-and-white street photography that we thought was well overdue for a bit of a spotlight. Patrick has managed to develop a style all of his own, and, miraculously to us, he manages to produce it on a very regular basis with his posts and his Instagram being updated daily as far as we can see.
Anybody who has been in different photography knows how difficult this is. But here are some of the wonderful images he’s produced lately:
Join the Photography Contest to Win Some Cash!
Don’t forget to jump into our monthly contest for the chance to win some cash. This month, it is Minimalism and Simplicity, which is always a popular type of theme when it comes to photography.
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Instagram Now Supports Images with 3:4 Aspect Ratio
If you’ve really been paying attention to the Instagram profile grid over the last couple of days, you will have spotted that your vertical images that you meticulously cropped to 4:5 aspect ratio are now having the sides trimmed just a little bit. That’s because Instagram has switched to a 3:4 grid ratio on profile pages as it introduces support for images with a 3:4 aspect ratio—i.e., the aspect ratio of the vast majority of smartphone sensors.The change comes only four months after Instagram did away with their square profile grid, causing many carefully crafted profile pages to no longer look quite so cool. Presumably, the latest move will result in a new wave of similarly incensed users—who spent the last four months perfectly lining up their 4:5 aspect images—but the support for the 3:4 aspect ratio is an eminently sensible decision given that an overwhelming majority of users are trying to make full use of the available screen real estate by posting vertical images shot on their phone.
Of course, users of Micro Four Thirds cameras—underwater shooters included—can also pop the champagne, as their days of cropping vertical images are now officially behind them. Meanwhile, everyone else can at least celebrate the little bit extra in our photos we get to show the world. (Instead of a maximum size of 1080 by 1350 pixels, vertical images can now be 1080 by 1440 pixels.) Before you get too excited, though, keep in mind that there’s a very good chance Instagram will not be switching to a 2:3 grid ratio anytime soon, given the ubiquity of the 3:4 smartphone sensor. Still, one can always dream!
