Will shooting pictures of the sun directly (without any polarizing filter or protection) damage the CCD ? And if shooting the sun is possible what extra equipment/protection is needed, and how long can the CCD be exposed to the sun ? I'm getting a Konica-Minolta Z3 soon so I'm just asking to be sure if it is possible or not with a good camera.
Sun damages ccd's and you have to remember that most digital cameras don't have any curtains infront of ccd. So sun gets there even when your not taking pictures. I haven't tried to photograph sun but I've used some filters (kinda like sunglasses) to block sunlight when I want to use longer exposures. I would guess an UV-, circular-polarizing- and 2 to 3 darkening filters for different variations would get you somewhere. You can keep UV filter always in your camera. It can only make pictures better and protects your lens. I have UV filter in every lens I have. Other filters I change from lens to lens... You need "Conversion lens adapter ZCA-300" for attaching 52 mm filters. Tell us how you succeed...
