Camera – Astronomical Telescopes and Equipment for Observation of Total Solar Eclipse

Digital instruments come mainly into three flavours: CCD, webcams, and usual and advanced digital cameras

as far as astrophotography CCD cameras are concerned, they are electronic devices which convert light photons into electric signals. A chip of silicon (its size is tiny compared to a 35mm film) captures photons and translates them into electric signals. These signals are stored into a memory chip. This stored content is then transmitted to a computer where pictures may be edited and computer-processed. A CCD sensitivity is measured in "pixels". Pixels are chips' light sensitive points. They are the equivalent of the "grains" of a chemical film. The more grains (or the finer the "grain"), the more pixels, the more accurate the picture
dedicated astrophotography cameras are expensive however. That's why the amateur community quickly turned to do-it-yourself solutions. Through some modifications, webcams, as they feature a CCD chip too, were found useful for astrophotography imaging. Industry, now, is providing fine astrophotography dedicated webcams equipped with a 1.25" adapters, as the latest trend is the apparition of easy-to-use CCD imagers ranging from simple to advanced, with an affordable price
the industry is providing too digital cameras, ranging from mostly automatized small cameras to SLR-equivalent ones. Such cameras, even the low-end ones, may be used for astrophotography

Digital Imaging Instruments