Is it bad to leave nikon D200 shutter open longer than 4 hours?

Question

i heard that it is bad to leaver shutter open long on d200 cuz the censor is gonna get really hor, true?

is it bad to leave shutter open long?

Answer 1

It's not bad, but the issue is that the sensor will get hot and begin delivering pixels that are frozen at one color or "hot." You will then be getting what are known as "hot pixels", essentially noise from a sensor that has been heated up for too long.

Moreover, I'm not sure how long the battery will last on the D200. It's an electrically controlled shutter, and the shutter may freeze in the open position if the battery dies in mid-exposure.

Generally such long exposures are for astronomical objects. I can't imagine keeping the shutter open for so long for any other reason. Another possibility might be taking a series of exposures and layering them together, so you should take a look at that option as well.

Answer 2

If the light is so dim that you need to take a time exposure, it is too dim to hurt anything, but 4 hours???? I can get a picture (not in the dark!!) with a cigar box with a hole in it, in less time than that!!!