A lot of us mouthy photo bloggers have our opinions about what the camera of the future should be, or what features we’d like to see in our dream cameras. Since I haven’t posted anything like that yet, I figured it was time to waste everyone’s time and make my own insignificant addition to this already saturated topic.
Nondestructive Readout
One thing we’ve seen with all these modern cameras is a definite transition away from CCD technologies towards the CMOS sensor. That allows a lot of things like addressable pixels and binning. One neat thing that could be utilized in the future is nondestructive readout. In theory you could set your camera up for a long exposure and watch the exposure and histogram accumulate via the back screen. For people who love doing long exposures like myself, there are some situations where this kind of capability could definitely come in handy. It would also be just plain cool to watch.
You can really push the ideas of what a camera is capable of as sensor technologies continue to move forward. For now I am just going to stick with what seems like more reasonable goals considering the current technology in use.
Built in (Electronic) Level
Nikon has already done this with the D3 and personally I see no reason this cannot be done by more manufacturers. It sure beats the bubble level in the hot shoe. On demand gridlines (or at least gridded focusing screens) are nice but this is a feature to add to that which can be really handy.
High Resolution Sensors with Binning
Like the nondestructive readout, binning is another approach that CMOS sensors can allow. Canon has already hinted at this as a possibility, with 50 megapixel full frame sensors in the future and binning to enable extremely high ISOs at lower resolution. Binning is nice in sensor because there’s less processing needed after the fact but it will annoy some because you’re throwing away data. I think being able to choose between extremely high res when desired under good lighting and binned when needed is a choice we should be able to make, not be afraid of having. Of course, most 35mm format lenses are inadequate for managing resolution as high as 50 megapixels, but I am going to go with the assumption that lenses will improve too. I’m also assuming that a lower noise, lower resolution binned image is going to be preferred over a higher resolution image which suffers from more noise. Whether or not you want the bulk of a 50 megapixel image is another topic entirely, I’m on the fence about that myself.
Removable Hot Mirrors
The ability to remove or disengage the hot mirror is not a new feature, but it is one that is sadly missing from modern DSLRs. In the past companies like Kodak offered this ability which enables fantastic IR recording capability (Canon at one point offered a 20D without a hot mirror as well). It would be even better if you could choose between having the hot mirror, an IR pass (visible cut) filter and none at all allowing you to use whatever you like.
Modular Cameras
I’m not as certain that I would want this in my camera, but with the lines between video cameras and still cameras blurring, I think there’s a possibility we could see modular camera systems built around a central “imaging core” which houses the sensor, mirror and shutter. For shooting stills you could slap it in to an SLR body and the mirror is used to view the image through the viewfinder. If you want to use it more as a video camera you drop the imaging core in to something that is built like a video camera with an eyepiece, swivel out screen, microphone and everything else. The mirror is then locked away in the up position and you can shoot video. Considering that there is likely to be renewed effort in making electronic viewfinders that don’t suck (the micro 4/3 being an example of something which would use that) then it’s possible the mirror would just disappear entirely. Even the physical shutter might be done away with in the future. In some ways it seems like RED is moving in this direction.
These are just a few ideas, there are plenty more possibilities for how future cameras will operate and I’ve certainly got plenty more ideas of my own. As my discussion on this topic with friends continues, I’m sure I’ll post more crazy ideas.
It’s funny that you mention the level. I was just at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport and they have a collection of vintage Kodak cameras. One of the earliest cameras they owned had a built in bullseye level. I’ve got a picture of it around here somewhere.
I also glued a level to my Holga so that when I shoot from the hip it’s not giving me a skewed view.
[...] a bevy of new gear, a core part of much of it being a new modular camera system much like I have talked about before. I don’t know if this will shake up the industry like they and so many of their fans [...]