Chapter 1 Introduction to Webcam （第1章介绍了摄像头）.pdf

Chapter 1 Introduction to Webcam Astrophotography 1.1 Some Background The idea that charge-coupled devices, or CCDs, have completely revolu- tionized the field of professional and amateur astrophotography over the past several decades is no longer up for debate. It is a fact. Starting in the late 1980s, commercially available CCD cameras began making signifi- cant inroads into an area of astronomy that had been dominated by film photography for over a century. Early CCD cameras possessed relatively small imaging sensors that translated into small, pixilated fields of view. This keyhole perspective on the universe, coupled with high cost and new and complex operating procedures that required the use of a computer, made the transition to digital imaging an expensive and challenging op- tion. By the 1990s, computers were a common item in most homes and could be adapted to amateur astronomy as quickly as a new eyepiece design. The price of electronic gadgets also declined and the price of entry- level astronomical CCD cameras soon became competitive with main- stream film cameras. As the 21st century arrived, digital astrophotography with CCD cameras had taken an equal footing with the older technique of using conventional film cameras to image the universe. At the same time, however, the advent of CCD imaging polarized the astrophotography com- munity into “purists,” who remained loyal to film, and “tinkerers,” who saw new possibilities with digital imaging. But the true challenge to the dominance of film astrophotography came from another direction. Consumer digital snapshot cameras have been around since the mid-1990s, but early versions were clearly inferior to film cameras for anything except lunar and planetary imaging. Then, fit- tingly, it seemed, with the arrival of the new millennium, Canon intro- duced the SLR-style EOS 30D, f