Does pointing a camera (N95) towards a very bright object (the sun, for eg.), harm the camera?

Question

Does pointing a camera (N95) towards a very bright object (the sun, for eg.), harm the camera?

Answer 1

Not a good idea for a point-and-shoot with live view on the LCD.

With a DSLR, the sensor is protected by the shutter. So it's protected. But you could burn the shutter curtain. Some new DSLRs have live view, which puts them in as much risk for sensor burning as a point-and-shoot. Also, don't look through the view finder while pointing at the sun. You could burn your retina.

In short, don't aim at the sun for more than the moment needed to get the shot.  

Answer 2

From what I know as long as you don't do it for a long time.  If you want that cool lenses fare, point and shoot but don't hold it there.  A fire can be started with magnifying glass likes reading glasses or a camera lenses which wouldn't be good for the electronics.    Hope this helped.