I want to take some sunrise and sunset photos but I am concerned that the the image of a bright sun may damage the CCD. How sensitive is the CCD to strong light?

-- Leon Hides (lghides@public3.sta,net.cn), September 16, 1998

Answers

Sorry for the delay in answering. CCDs really shouldn't be sensitive to strong light, other than a given image getting ruined. (Or unless you're getting enough light focused down there to heat the chip significantly.) Tube-based video cameras can get their phosphors "burned" from a too-strong light source, which probably is why people are leery of too much light on a CCD. I've taken lots of sunset pictures (sunrise is too early for me!) with my Oly 600, with no problems.

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), September 30, 1998.