Creagerj
Incidental Artist
The Open Source Camera Project
The idea came to me a while ago, and I think it is worth sharing…
If you are completely satisfied with what the camera industry currently has to offer this probably isn’t the thread for you. However if you feel that maybe a camera could be more, or perhaps some old concepts should be revisited, please read on.
A camera is a camera; it takes a picture, that’s it. Still there is a lot more to a camera than its intended purpose. Beyond the simple task of taking a picture, a camera should inspire. It should be intuitive, simple, and reliable. It should just feel right.
I am the first to agree that there are plenty of manufacturers that offer this, at least to a degree. I am aware that Nikon, Canon, Leica, Minolta, Sony, Contax, Hasselblad, Olympus, and almost every other major camera company has at some point made a system that can (with enough money) do anything that one could need. However there is always room for improvement.
My Vision:
My vision is to include anyone who wants to contribute in a collaborative design of a new camera. There are however a few things that this camera should be:
1. A rangefinder
2. Accepts M mount lenses
3. 35mm film format (but there is no reason that it could accept a digital back)
4. Simple, intuitive, reliable
When conceptualizing really focus on SIMPLE, and INTUITIVE. I see no reason why we shouldn’t look in the past for some great ideas that never really took off. Also, we should try to take the best features from our favorite cameras and incorporate them in the design of the new camera.
I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t determine what the camera should be and have some renderings of what the camera should look like. Maybe even some models. Working prototypes are prohibitively complex and expensive and likely are not feasible. However that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t have a great camera design on paper at least. The best part would be the fact that it would be a design with contributions from a large mind pool.
Think of it as an exercise in democratic design. Besides being open design, I think we should also vote on what components and features will stay and what will go for our final design.
Original post
An idea came to me today that I think is worth sharing. Cameras never really have everything that we want, and sometimes not everything that we need. That is why I propose that we design an "Open Source" camera(s) (maybe). This would allow anyone who wants to contribute to the design of their ideal camera do so. The idea is that allowing hundreds possibly thousands of minds to contribute to the design will result in a much better camera as opposed to a small design team building a camera.
There will be a couple of contentions for the design:
1. The camera is a Rangefinder
2. The camera will accept interchangeable M mount lenses
3. The camera will use 35mm film
What say you?
The idea came to me a while ago, and I think it is worth sharing…
If you are completely satisfied with what the camera industry currently has to offer this probably isn’t the thread for you. However if you feel that maybe a camera could be more, or perhaps some old concepts should be revisited, please read on.
A camera is a camera; it takes a picture, that’s it. Still there is a lot more to a camera than its intended purpose. Beyond the simple task of taking a picture, a camera should inspire. It should be intuitive, simple, and reliable. It should just feel right.
I am the first to agree that there are plenty of manufacturers that offer this, at least to a degree. I am aware that Nikon, Canon, Leica, Minolta, Sony, Contax, Hasselblad, Olympus, and almost every other major camera company has at some point made a system that can (with enough money) do anything that one could need. However there is always room for improvement.
My Vision:
My vision is to include anyone who wants to contribute in a collaborative design of a new camera. There are however a few things that this camera should be:
1. A rangefinder
2. Accepts M mount lenses
3. 35mm film format (but there is no reason that it could accept a digital back)
4. Simple, intuitive, reliable
When conceptualizing really focus on SIMPLE, and INTUITIVE. I see no reason why we shouldn’t look in the past for some great ideas that never really took off. Also, we should try to take the best features from our favorite cameras and incorporate them in the design of the new camera.
I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t determine what the camera should be and have some renderings of what the camera should look like. Maybe even some models. Working prototypes are prohibitively complex and expensive and likely are not feasible. However that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t have a great camera design on paper at least. The best part would be the fact that it would be a design with contributions from a large mind pool.
Think of it as an exercise in democratic design. Besides being open design, I think we should also vote on what components and features will stay and what will go for our final design.
Original post
An idea came to me today that I think is worth sharing. Cameras never really have everything that we want, and sometimes not everything that we need. That is why I propose that we design an "Open Source" camera(s) (maybe). This would allow anyone who wants to contribute to the design of their ideal camera do so. The idea is that allowing hundreds possibly thousands of minds to contribute to the design will result in a much better camera as opposed to a small design team building a camera.
There will be a couple of contentions for the design:
1. The camera is a Rangefinder
2. The camera will accept interchangeable M mount lenses
3. The camera will use 35mm film
What say you?
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