Regarding direct sunlight on the sensor: the sun now shines for a good hour every day direct onto the sensor without permanent damage. For the past few weeks I have been shooting the sunrise where the sun shines directly into the camera lens and onto the sensor. I'm using the G1X with 20% zoom. The aperture is open to the maximum. And I didn't have any temperature issues. Attached is a plot of the temperature history.
There are a few things to note:
-Only early morning sun shines directly into the camera lens.
The sun only shines on the sensor in the winter months, not in the summer, as the sun then disappears to the left out of view.
The winter months are very cold here (-15°C), and even with the camera under the roof, the temperature where the camera is located is between 15°C and 20°C.
The camera is behind a double glazed window (so I guess the UV rays are absorbed by the glass of the window?).
I had no problems with the temperature (overheating) and no burns or permanent damage to the sensor.
The sunrises with direct sunlight in winter are not so nice, but in summer, when the sun shines more from the left, the valley is well lit. Since I want to leave the recording period throughout the year the same (always adjusted to the according sunrise time), I think it is better so if even in winter at the end of the sunrise timelapse the sun shines.