Why is the sun black?

When i have my camera or video camera and i point it toward the sun, in the screen the sun looks like a small black ball. What makes this happen?

Chances are you are using a digital camera. The sensors used in digital imaging are usually rated for certain ranges of brightness, exceeding these ranges can often have odd or unpredictable results. One of these is blacking out, (sometimes permanently) of pixels in the sensor. Other times it will be strange light effects like Halos or other damage to the sensor. In general its not a great idea to do either for the sensor or for your eyes if you are using an optical aiming device or lens.

I think it is some protective "circuitry" in digital imaging devices to protect them from too much light/energy which would otherwise destroy the photosensors. It is like a circuit breaker sort of. Without this you would have fried your CCD or Cmos chip.

If your camera uses regular lenses (not digial) as a viewfinder, then DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN. It will damage your eyes at least!

Assuming you haven't burned out the CCD chip or the LCD screen, what you're seeing is a failure in the pixels, which are going black because the brightness exceeds their limits. You'll see the same thing if you turn it towards any really bright light.

You've probably just destroyed your camera. Maybe you should read the instruction manual?

Seriously, DO NOT photograph the sun unless you're trained and properly equipped to do so.

You need to check your camera resolution.

It's not black. It's just the interaction of the lights together, plus your eyes, making it seem that way.

you have it on photo negative