An apodized aperture should make it possible the direct observation of the solar corona without the need of a Lyot coronagraph. For a perfect circular aperture, a Sonine transmission of the form of a simple parabola (maximum at the aperture center and zero at the edge) should sufficiently reduce the diffraction halo produced by the solar disc to observe the corona very close to the solar limb (a few seconds of arc). The MTF of the apodized aperture takes the form of a Gaussian curve. The high dynamic capability of the instrument is obtained with the drawback of a reduction in throughput and a loss in classical resolution of about 20%, compared with a clear aperture.