Long exposure performed by CCD camera is often damaged by thermal noise. CMOS detectors generate even higher noise than CCD ones. Conventional still cameras usually do not provide any means to control the detector temperature. Heat generated by camera electronics makes noise even worse after some period of camera operation.

This is why scientific-grade CCD cameras perform 16-bit pixel digitization and use full-frame CCD detectors with high QE and bigger pixel potential-well capacity, which ensures high dynamic range. Such cameras also employs CCD detector cooling. CCD thermal noise typically doubles every 6 or 7 °C. Thus cooling a CCD detector 42 °C below ambient temperature lowers CCD thermal noise at last 64×.

The cooled G2-0402 CCD camera attached to the Olympus microscope is used at Institute of Chemical Technology Prague for instance to study induced bioluminescence of certain microorganisms.