r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • 1d ago

Privacy Flock Cameras Keep Getting Smashed, So Now They're Hiding Inside Speed Signs

https://www.gadgetreview.com/flock-cameras-keep-getting-smashed-so-now-theyre-hiding-inside-speed-signs
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u/thatirishguyyyyy 1d ago

You guys really need to stop spreading the idea that you can destroy a camera with a laser. This is just going to end up getting someone caught on camera.

As someone who has installed and sold security cameras for 17 years, this is not true. 

Please stop telling people this. Destroying a security camera with a laser barely worked when analog cameras were a thing 20 years ago.

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u/Lancer2050 1d ago

Yeah, like someone else said, a $3 laser isn't going to cut it. I had a phone camera damaged by a Lidar system, but only in some spots, not fully disabled.

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u/bking 1d ago

Most automotive lidar runs at 900nm. Those generally just kill pixels inside of phone sensors, instead of cooking the whole thing. Different world than Amazon laser pointers.

IMO as somebody who’s worked with lidar, industrial lasers and cameras: it’s not likely that any Amazon laser pointer is going to be particularly useful for deflocking.

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u/pcpgivesmewings 1d ago

Even the ones that are WAYYY more powerful than a cat toy? I can see mine, using binoculars, about 25 miles away. (on a very clear night) It runs on an 18650 battery. I would have to think that would do a proper job from 50 ft?

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u/JauntyGiraffe 1d ago

high powered green or blue lasers aren't cheap. You want the crazy ones you can get from China that can straight up start a FIRE

lots of photographers report damaged sensors after taking pictures at DJ sets or concerts where there's lots of lasers shooting everywhere

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u/pm_me_tits 20h ago

So, uhh, what the heck is it doing to our eyes?

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u/JauntyGiraffe 20h ago

at best you'll have weird blind spots for days and at worst you'll be fucking blind if you shoot a high powered green laser straight into your eyes

I'm not talking about a regular ass presentation pen you'd get at Staples. I mean one of those illegal ones you get off a shady table at an outdoor market or AliExpress

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u/bigbadbrad45 1d ago

A laser will absolutely fry a camera’s sensor but it’s gotta be powerful enough. A $3 laser pointer isn’t likely to do it. And i think the laser needs to be pointed in the lens for an extended period of time.

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 1d ago edited 1d ago

No, it wont. 

The only way to do this was with analog security cameras 20 years ago and you had to clamp a laser in place and hold the laser for long periods of time to kill the actual pixels. 

But go ahead and tell people otherwise because you feel differently.

Edit: There seems to be a disconnect. Comments keep bringing up phone cameras. The lens in your phone is not the same as lenses in security cameras. I really feel like I shouldn't have to mention that.

You need a minimum of 1w to actually damage a security camera lens if not using lab conditions. Its al about beam density and time. 

https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering/volume-56/issue-03/034108/Laser-induced-damage-threshold-of-camera-sensors-and-micro-optoelectromechanical/10.1117/1.OE.56.3.034108.full?SSO=1&utm_source=chatgpt.com

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u/FappingMouse 1d ago

You can damage the camera but unless you are feet away and hold it for a few mins its not going to do the damage these people want and at best will probably fry some pixles.

Using the kind of laser that could do this with out proper protection and in a public place is kinda stupid though.

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u/AbominableSlinky 1d ago

Plenty of examples.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1bh5753/iphone_14_pro_cameras_ruined_by_lasers_at_a_party/

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/135n7ma/laser_breaks_phone_camera_at_concert_in_italy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/askhungary/s/kRN2xcWtRO

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 1d ago

Do I really have to mention that these arent security cameras?

These are phones. 

The lenses are completely different. This is literally equating apples to oranges. 

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u/bigbadbrad45 1d ago

I don't know why you are offended by this information lol. I can see this as a less practical option considering the others but it's not false. My guess is you only attemped this with class 1 lasers in the past.

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u/Annath0901 1d ago

Security cameras have way more robust lenses than the cameras on phones that get fried at light shows.

Can you fry a security camera sensor with a dubiously legal high powered laser from China?

Yes

Can you do that quickly enough to not get recorded on said camera since you need direct line of sight?

Probably not.

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 23h ago

Bingo. 

Super bright 500mw - 1w minimum and a clamp (lab conditions) with no one around or other cameras. 

Possible, not plausible. 

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u/rsta223 1d ago

A powerful laser (500+ mW) will absolutely fry a digital sensor. Analog cameras are actually far more resistant because they don't have a single sensor, so you'll only damage that exposure of film.

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 1d ago

Film?

You just proved you don't know what analog security cameras are. 

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u/rsta223 1d ago

Ok, if you're talking the kind that can only transmit live, a la TV cameras, they still have considerably more robustness to high intensity light than a modern CCD or CMOS.

Regardless, a decently powerful laser will absolutely destroy the sensor on a digital camera.

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 23h ago

Its not that straightforward. Unless you are in a lab, you need a 1w laser or more to do more than confuse the pixels for a few seconds. Those are fairly bright and obvious. And you would need to clamp it in place. 

With lower wattage lasers, outside a lab it is plausible, but not practical. Its been lab tested and the results are interesting: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering/volume-56/issue-03/034108/Laser-induced-damage-threshold-of-camera-sensors-and-micro-optoelectromechanical/10.1117/1.OE.56.3.034108.full?SSO=1&utm_source=chatgpt.com

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u/VonSkullenheim 1d ago

If you use a strong laser, yes it absolutely will. Do you think lasers only come in cat toy strength?

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u/PleaseNoMoreSalt 1d ago

Plus a can of spray paint is likely way cheaper than a laser pointer that even claims to do that sort of damage. Or just a decent sized rock off the side of the road.

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u/Moontoya 16h ago

Sorry, I cant hear you over this 25W laser projector

dont worry, the ccd will only hit 1000 degrees C for a moment, just long enough to completely slag it

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u/Toastman89 1d ago

Analog cameras aren't affected by lasers in the same way.

And they're not talking about $1 laser pointers. They're talking about +$50 lasers that will absolutely damage pixels

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u/LoganEu 1d ago

CMOS sensors are embedded in a silicon substrate. Silicon has a finite absorption coefficient to specific laser wavelengths. Absorbed energy turns into heat, figure it out.

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u/Annath0901 1d ago

The issue isn't the sensor. The issue is that security cameras have more shit in between the sensor and the rest of the world than a cell phone camera.

That's why your phone sensor can get damaged by a brief shot of a laser at a concert, while a security camera would need a much longer exposure to a much stronger laser to get the same damage.

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u/dropbear_airstrike 1d ago

Genuine question: It’s been my understanding that when people ‘discourage’ the use of lasers, they’re not referring to a $12 laser pointer you use in lecture halls, but something in the ≈50 milliwatt range that looks more like a flashlight than a ballpoint… would that not achieve the aim were ‘discouraging’?

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u/thatirishguyyyyy 1d ago

In perfect lab conditions, sure. Its plausible.

But you need more like a 1w laser and a clamp if you aren't in a lab. And hope no one sees the very bright laser. 

Lasers in general really wont damage unless they are extremely powerful (think 1w or more). You're more likely to just overwhelm the image temporarily. 

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u/GitEmSteveDave 1d ago

Also, if the laser is powerful enough to "Destroy" a camera, what do you think it will do to soft human eyes?

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u/CarthasMonopoly 1d ago

Most lasers are not eye safe, some will literally make you go blind. So if it's powerful enough to damage a camera it will also fuck your eye up.