[zeestephen]

Re: “CCD’s are the modern equivalent of photographic film; they just count photons, and need something to focus them first to form a meaningful picture.”

Thanks - that's helpful.

Is it possible to mass produce an inexpensive lens for CCDs?

[Telepathic Intruder]

If I knew how to make lenses cheaper, I would patent it before telling you. But I don’t think lenses themselves have changed in the last few hundred years.