In “Examples of How Laser Light Can Destroy a DSLR Camera’s Sensor”, Scott Beale of Laughing Squid highlights two videos showing laser beams causing damage to 5D Mark II sensors. It appears that when using a DSLR to record video or compose with live view in an environment such as a club, parade or other laser show, directly exposing the sensor to the laser light can put a pretty big dent in your wallet in just a fraction of a second.

The comments on this Reddit post discuss the technicalities of what is going on, and the level to which the damage is permanent.

Laughing Squid picked up the story from “Lasers can kill a DSLR’s image sensor” by DoobyBrain.com.

How to break your 5D in a second from Agua on Vimeo.