I want to shoot a laser dot sight (the laser sight you always see on guns), directly at the camera. Will this damage it? Or is this something that I can quickly flash the lens with but not leave pointed at the CCDs for any duration?

It says it's a Class 3A 5MW Wavelength 670mm laser. (With the warning not to point at the eyes).

I would suspect that aiming a high-intensity laser beam into the lens of any camera is not a good idea, however, I am not entirely sure.

I would at least start by activating the internal ND filter, and probably also add an additional 9db screw-on filter on the front of the lens, closing the iris prior to pointing the laser beam into the lens, slowly opening the iris until perhaps you see the effect you want.

Careful though, years ago an associate of mine zapped me in the eye with a laser pointer, it hurt.

Hmmm, sounds like a no go shot for me. I won't have the lighting I need. Probably I will have the actors aim off center.

perhaps you could use a slight amount of B-smoke (fog) to enhance the beam of the laser in the shot?

I doubt I will be that organized, to be honest.

Question though: would that set off a sprinkler system?

I think Don is right on the money. If you are going for the look I think, you are going to need smoke to really bring out the beam. Lazer dot sights don't make a beam on their own, so all you will see if a tiny red point on the sight itself, barely noticible at all.

Maybe dry ice might produce the same smoke effect? I dunno, not my specialty.

I don't think I'd ever shoot a lazer straight down my lens right into the heart of the camera no matter what filters I put on it.
Of course, your camera is still under warrenty, isn't it? :)

Call your local grip supply company or perhaps studiodepot.com or barbizon.com,,, there are different forms of fog machines and even some "smoke in a can" (spray can) solutions that I do not think will interefere with smoke detectors at all.

I'd be more afraid of the smoke eminatting from your burning eyes after being hit with the laser beam hehe

Ruby (red) lasers, such as those used for pointers, are quite low power. While they can temporarily damage a retina it's doubtful they'd harm your camera's ccd with limited exposure. The risk to your eye through the camera's viewfinder is nil since there is no direct exposure; you're basically watching the laser on tv.

Still, you might actually get a better head-on effect by creating the laser beam in something like After Effects rather than the actual practical effect of a beam. Getting a practical profile view of a beam might be cheaply and easily achieved with a humidifier or simple cigar smoke in a still room.

I hope you mean 5 mW and MW laser. A 5 MW would blow a hole right through an XL-1, maybe even two or three...

I agree with the others about using a fogger. Lasers are pretty hard to spot without particulates in the air. Every movie that has used one always uses smoke or fog to enhance the beam.

I don't think it would damage the XL-1 image array if its only as powerful as a typical laser pointer and the duration is short. However, if in doubt go try it on a cheap camcorder somewhere and see.

Yes, I think mW (not completely sure since I didn't bring the assault rifle it is attached to to work today).

I'm not going to chance it. I'll just have the dot settle on the (target) actor.

If you have a 5 MW you will never need bullets. Your power laserbeam will do "a perfect job"...No no, pointers are milliwatt stuff. Your pointer will not deteriorate your CCD if you point the light straight into the lens (unles you keep it minutes focussed on the same spot), but your image will be unusable because all you will get is excessive blooming and smear filling the whole picture. You can easely shoot a pointer if not pointed straight into the camera without problems and if you want to reduce the relative amount of light, keep in mind that pointer lasers produce polarized light which can be dimmed by a polar (up to 9 F-stops if you have a good polar)