Camera imaging sensor shield

A digital camera, comprising:

• a camera body having a casing that defines an interior area and that includes a lens locking ring mounted on a front wall of the casing and that defines a void in communication with said interior area:
• a barrier member having a rear surface removably coupled to a front surface of the lens locking ring of the camera body, said barrier member having a ring-shaped configuration that defines an aperture;
• an iris assembly having a plurality of iris blades positioned in said aperture that is rotatably movable between a closed configuration in which said plurality of iris blades are arranged in an overlapping spiral configuration that prevents ambient air from flowing through said aperture and an open configuration at which said plurality of iris blades are arranged in a rotatably displaced configuration that, when actuated, allows ambient air to flow through said aperture;
• a lens having a distal end releasably coupled to a front surface of said barrier member and that is rotatable between an unlocked configuration in which said iris assembly is automatically biased toward said closed configuration and a locked-in configuration that automatically actuates said iris assembly toward said open configuration.