Yup. A modern CMOS chip (virtually all cameras now) is essentially an array of photoresistors. Apply too much energy to a particular resistor, and you will overload and burn it out. If you look at Pyrostyro's videos on youtube, you'll see lots of dead pixels on his cameras, often just from sidescatter (because he's using crazy strong lasers.) Tubes aren't immune -- they are even more sensitive, because the phosphor layer on the end of the tube is easier to burn. It was before my time, but my time is back enough to know guys who shot news on Saticon tube cameras. (Saticon is a type of camera tube, the most 'modern" IIRC.) Guy goes out to shoot an air show, and comes back with a HUGE black streak across the tube. (There's a huge line running across the tube that doesn't show anything but black.) Guy claims to have no idea what happened. Chief engineer throws his tape in, starts shuttling it. (This was the 3/4" Umatic era, so it was only a 20 minute tape.) Halfway through, he's tracking a jet... and tilts right across the sun, which leaves a distinct black streak behind it. Black streak stays through the rest of the tape. "Still no idea how the tube got burned up?" A lot of cameras automatically close the iris when they are powered off, for this reason, and it started back with tube cameras.