--- You wrote: Would this be totally out of the question? It seems to be necessary due to the rather strange attitude of the major camera manufacturers. ---
It is quite strange. I would be happy to give Nikon a modified version of the firmware that they could provide on their site (with credit, of course) for my D80 if they would just give me the tools and sources. I would even sign an NDA (though that would be less than ideal, it is better than the current version of the firmware)! --- 1. It should support 24 bit color JPEG2000 (both lossy and lossless) compression. JPEG is basically obsolete and I can't help but wonder why it is still the standard format for digital cameras since the artifacts seriously degrade images -- actually worse than lower resolution would be. --- JPEG2000 is a nice format, and I wouldn't mind having a camera that supports it. --- 2. The so called RAW format should be Adobe DNG and/or "OpenRAW" (which isn't actually a format). 3. Communication with a computer should be an open standard. This seems to be a large issue with gPhoto. This appears to be the classical problem that a standard exists [PTP/IP; ISO 15740:2005] yet the implementations don't follow it. Since the standard is only 189 CHF, it would seem that it should be purchased and followed. --- This seems to be a problem. Would we plan to publish an open standard that is compatible for PTP/IP? --- 4. Then there is the problem of remote control of the camera; it appears that there are no standards here. A computer connected by Ethernet, IEEE-1394, or USB (a camera would probably have only one of these) should be able to display the live preview image, obtain exposure and focus information, and control all aspects of the camera that can be controlled on the camera. --- I agree entirely. Presumably there is a _lot_ of functionality that could be released using a USB connection (just think, being able to see exactly what the AF/AE sensor does), and it is not like high speed USB 2.0 isn't fast enough to transmit images in real time. --- I also have a lot of issues with digital still cameras: 1. They seem to all be designed to emulate film still cameras. For some reason, digital video cameras don't have these problems so I presume that they are design issues. Is there some reason that you can't set both the aperture and the shutter speed (within limits) and still have automatic exposure control? --- Actually, my camera (the aforementioned D80) kinda does this. There is an auto ISO mode that will adjust the ISO to achieve an optimal exposure. There does seem to be a lack of interesting electronic modes that would be easy to create, however (again, just give me the compiler and sources, Nikon!). --- 2. It is presumed that to have interchangeable lenses that it must be a high end SLR. OTOH, the high end SLRs all seem to come with large (but questionable quality) zoom lenses. In either case, the possible advantages of a compact camera and lenses are lost. Nobody (except Sigma) makes a fast normal lens. --- Canon makes a fast normal lens -- a 50 f/1.2 -- and it used to make a 50 f/1.0! (for the 5D and 1Ds full frame sensors it is a normal lens) For the 1.6x crop, it makes a 28 f/1.8, and for 1.3x, there is a 35 f/1.4. Nikon similarly makes a 50 f/1.2 (MF) and a 50 f/1.4 (AF) for the D3 normal, as well as a 35 f/1.4 and 28 f/1.4 (that was discontinued) for everything else. Pentax makes a 43 f/1.9 and 50 f/1.4, as well as a 40 f/2.8 "pancake". This are slightly above normal -- their 31 f/1.8 is more accurate. --- 3. Most of them have an optical viewfinders. Video cameras don't seem to have this problem since an EVF is considered to be a feature. --- How is an optical viewfinder a problem? I _love_ SLR viewfinding! Little compact camera optical viewfinders are a joke, but SLRs are really nice. --- 5. For some reason, 24x36mm and smaller formats don't have coolers. 6. For some reason, there isn't a digital only 48x36mm camera available and there aren't fast lenses available for this format. A 60mm f/2.0 doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. The available cameras are designed for 6x4.5cm at the smallest and fast lenses are not normally used for 120 roll film due to film flatness issues. --- The problem, as I see it, with a 48x36mm camera is that there is already so much support for 24x36 that it is overkill. 6x4.5 is a significant increase in quality that has been judged "worth it" by major companies, where has 48x36 has not. How would coolers be needed? --- 7. Autofocus has its uses, but it shouldn't be at the expense of usable manual focus. That is, digital SLRs have viewfinders that are not really suitable for manual focusing. --- The Canon EOS 5D has interchangeable finders, and there is one available that is optimized for fast primes. --- 9. I'm not certain of the reason but most digital cameras have a minimum ISO of 100. A few are a little lower but not by much. --- end of quote --- Are the only advantages of ISO less than 100 is that it reduces noise and removes the need for ND filters (in some cases)? I do like the idea, however -- perhaps as a starting exercise we should build a simple sensor back for a film camera, any film camera, similar to the ones NASA used. _______________________________________________ Open-hardware mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-hardware
