but did he manage to capture the image?

sorry for your loss

Can you post some photos taken by the burnt CCD?

Sorry for your loss. Maybe you should try the same on his Satio.

@Max: Sorry for your loss... one thing bugs me though... from your own admission it seems that your friend did it intentionally to your device knowing what would happen and you seemed perfectly okay with it.

Was it done over a bet?

lmao @ the "sorry for your loss" comments, its not quite a funeral, but yeah ur 'friend' deserves a good slap!

Yes, we all have these 'friends' that step in when we done something too stupid to admit...

It would be a green, full, image with black taints as the sensor darkens. You can't capture what is beyond sensor ability. It might even be some other colors, if the software never expected to see over-unity light.

It's not the lens that's burned, it's the sensor. Anyway, the whole module is easily dismantled and replaced. If you find them free they can do it on the spot in about 5 minutes.

Not incredibly expensive, though I would make the dolt pay for me. In fact, I'd take it to Nokia right now, pay them, then present him with the bill. Ask Nokia to specify "darkened camera sensor" as to not have a dispute later.

If you don't he'll never learn. Next time you'll hear "hey, there's this trick I found".

Most remotes are quite slow by communication standards, sometimes operating as low as 300 baud, sometimes 4800 on high-end remotes.

On a camera, that's 300 to 5000 FPS, way, way beyond the capabilities of the camera.

Remember, you capture 15 million samples (5 for each color component) from 0 to 256, that translates into 15 MB, or 120 Mega bits per frame. Multiply that by 25 or 30 and you have an impressive amount of data - it requires specialized hardware.

Meantime, a remote receiver only captures 1 bit every "tick", a grand total of 300 bits for low-end (sometimes lower), that's 40 bytes. I've seen remotes as low as 12.

So, no. But if you really wanted to receive a remote, the IR port could help. If not, an adapter isn't very complicated, and with the USB OTG that's being cooked as we speak you could use a USB-RS232 adapter and simply get codes in the terminal.

Note, however, that under 10$ there are several ways to read them on a PC, maybe send the codes over.

Depends on DSLR, on focus, etc. However, remember that a nice DSLR has a 55 or 60 mm lens that gets focused on a 16x24 mm sensor (APS-C). That's a ratio of 3:1 or (let's make it interesting) 4:1. (less for full-frame, even less for telephoto)

Sun delivers about 3000W per sq m. That's 3000W/1,000,000 sq mm, or 3 mW per sq mm.

A red pointer is little danger at 5 mW, but a green pointer goes from about 10 (very, very low), to 50mW (medium) to 300 mW(strong). The beam completely fits the lens if it's any good.

A generic camera sensor is 4x3 mm, or 12 mm (if you're lucky). That delivers an average of 3W per sq mm, with a very rough rounding.

So, a strong laser pointer in an N900 delivers about 1000 times the power of a DSLR in the sun.

You shouldn't _leave_ a DSLR in the sun, as there is no ventilation and it WILL go kaboom. There is no danger in taking shots upwards, as long as you don't take forever.

Lasers above 5 mW are illegal in most of the world.

The blink reflex kicks in at about 2.5 mW(max), that's why the 2mW and 5mW pointers are legal to use, annoying as they might be. The blink reflex kicks in and blinks a few milliseconds after exposure, so under about 5 mW not enough damage is done, that's why the signs say "do no STARE into beam". This assumes, of course, that you are sober, you see the light (don't laugh, it's not hard to make an IR laser) and, of course, you are not adverse to temporary damage.

Note, however, that there is no way to know if some idiot didn't overvolt, replace, upgrade the diode or optics, so the general safety rule is: if someone points a laser close to your eyes, punch them. 5 seconds of fun do not balance out a life of decreased visual acuity and depth perception.

And finally, the sensor is a CMOS, not a CCD. Just sayin'.

Sorry for your loss...However I wonder if its somewhat Nokia's fault as well.... You see my old N95 8gb also has amazing 5mp camera without mechanical protector but there was an additional layer inside the camera which (I'm guessing) was protecting it from powerful light sources, i wonder why they didn't include it in N900' camera

p.s. take a look at pics and correct me if I'm wrong

AFAICT it's a (maybe) UV filter on a thicker plastic since it's unprotected. I doubt it has any light dimming qualities, as small CMOS cameras (especially pinholes) are notoriously "dark". At the most optimistic, it's a polarized filter, but would help with reflections and sparkle, but do nothing with a coherent beam such as a laser.

Don't make this the truth, I'm guessing here, it might just be plastic.

I am, however, quite sure you'll fry the N95 camera with the same laser in roughly the same time.

ETA: My camera! The goggles do nothing!

I did not place a bet on that. He just don't want to risk his own thing that's all.Thanks for all the information thogh, they are very helpful.

Uh, since i consider my content-laden N900 to be an extension of my mind, including all the twisted aspects and dark corners, i would never lend it to anyone, any more. Apart from that, i don't believe in the concept of lending anything anyway.

As a small anecdote regarding that issue. I made one mistake once, i gave it to a female(!) classmate of mine while we, a group of 4 people, were sitting in a bar. She needed to check her emails and saw all my uhm.. favorites, but i realized too late. But when i finally did a couple of minutes later i was blushing hard, at the same time silently realizing that i am an idiot (yes, one of those moments when you wish to drown in quicksand instantly).

She didn't say anything at that time, it was just one or two times several days later, that she smiled with that knowing expression in her eyes, calling me a "freak".

It turned out ok this time, but i learned my lesson.