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Author Topic: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?  (Read 96383 times)

E.J. Peiker

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #20 on: January 06, 2017, 08:35:03 am »

Because video costs absolutely nothing to add if you already have live view, and adds value.
Actually it does to some degree - cooling of the sensor module needs to be much more robust if you are going to do video, especially 4K or above video, getting data off of the sensor and onto a memory card needs to be more efficient than for stills and live view alone.  And it most definitely costs more in the firmware and software development cycle.
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HSakols

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #21 on: January 06, 2017, 09:22:54 am »

How about a tilt shift lens for micro 4/3.  Say a 20mm lens with silky smooth movements! 
I'm also curious to see if the Nikon 810 becomes upgraded, but honestly it appears to already be a fine camera with not need for an upgrade.
Oh and I want a relatively small wall mounted mat cutter!

Hugh
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Paulo Bizarro

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #22 on: January 06, 2017, 11:16:43 am »

I will add another one: I would like Zeiss to migrate their ZM C Sonnar 50 f1.5 to E mount:) Most fun 50mm lens I have ever used.

shadowblade

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #23 on: January 06, 2017, 02:35:52 pm »

Actually it does to some degree - cooling of the sensor module needs to be much more robust if you are going to do video, especially 4K or above video, getting data off of the sensor and onto a memory card needs to be more efficient than for stills and live view alone.  And it most definitely costs more in the firmware and software development cycle.

You need the same cooling for long-exposure stills. And it pretty much amounts to a big, well-connected heat sink -basically, a static block of metal. Not exactly a major cost.

And firmware/software development is a one-off cost that's the same whether you sell one camera or a million cameras. Including video cuts the overall cost of the camera, since this cost is then diluted among a much larger user base.
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Telecaster

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #24 on: January 06, 2017, 04:25:16 pm »

The 50/1.5 Sonnar in its various versions is one of my favs too. The oldies don't play well with Sony A7x cameras, though: ugly astigmatism off-axis. This is probably true of the current version as well. Maybe Zeiss could do a Loxia version with revised optics…

-Dave-
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Rob C

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #25 on: January 07, 2017, 04:28:13 am »

Someone suggested interchangeable backs for the film Nikons. That would suit me very well, especially if the back went down to around 50 ISO or thereabouts. I don't need to shoot at over a thousandth of a second; in fact I can do quite well at a 125th. Most of my life's work was shot around there... It's nice to be able to use slow speeds too, without ND filters to get in the way.

Another person mentioned a screen that permits real manual focus capability: exactly! And with a split image without a mess of micro-prisms around it, please, with a grid.

Simple stuff, and not a mention of more pixies!

But then, if everybody had still clung on to their film Nikons, three things might have happened: first, R&D money would have been better concentrated; second, the company might have already vanished; third, the company might be world-leader in interchangeable rear modules. In the latter case, I'd have stuck with the F4 instead of back-stepping to the more simple F3 because its single horror (for me) of film loading would have been overcome by the clip-on digital back!

2017 has clearly started well in the wish department!

Rob C

Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #26 on: January 07, 2017, 09:12:17 am »

Early in my career I sometimes wished for an "Ansel" button on my cameras.
But now I think I'd prefer a "Rob C" button that would automatically find the quirky, charming, somewhat obscure but always tantalizing images that are all around us, if we could just notice them.   :D
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Rob C

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #27 on: January 07, 2017, 11:20:36 am »

Early in my career I sometimes wished for an "Ansel" button on my cameras.
But now I think I'd prefer a "Rob C" button that would automatically find the quirky, charming, somewhat obscure but always tantalizing images that are all around us, if we could just notice them.   :D


Eric, I have waved the magic wand three times: the gift's in the post. (Contemporary pun.)

I was out wandering the streets - okay, narrow little ones - in old Pollensa about an hour ago; it was feezing, despite the afternoon sun which, of course, doesn't reach the alleys where I lurk in shade. Anyway, it crossed my mind that being a photographer can also be a bit of a nuisance: one sees stuff all around, all day, and then starts to wonder whether or not to bother clicking. It can be very wearying and, like golf, can ruin a perfectly good walk. But then, the thought comes: what the hell else would I do all evening as I almost never watch tv other than the news programmes? A brief look around brings the word housework to mind, but I rather not listen to those particular little voices in my head. Well, not too often.

Regarding my own snaps: what I do's born of frustration regarding the high cost of good models - the other kind is worse than useless because it makes you feel bad about yourself (silken purses etc.). I would never spend my own pennies on models anymore, but gladly those of a client, were such a rare bird to perch, and then tap upon my shoulder any day soon. But I also think that Capa had it right: you gotta get in to the thing, not just do the establishing, medium-distance shot. Much by definition, there's got to be more concentrated strength right up close to something. It's finding the something that's the problem - always.

But thank you for the nice words!

Rob
« Last Edit: January 07, 2017, 11:24:01 am by Rob C »
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roscoetuff

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #28 on: January 07, 2017, 04:58:46 pm »

After fumbling around the Sony A7II function menu and custom buttons for a morning, I'd like to have a major revision of the customization. This should allow EVERY option buried in the camera to be put on a user Menu with 4 rows of 6 custom functions. There are some I'd like to have on a function menu I can't put there and some I do have that I don't care about. If they were to go in this direction, it'd sure be nice to allow you to save the custom function menu or button assignments to your SD card so you could recall them or move them to another camera. This would be a big step forward. More, define a menu software standard that would allow user scripting along these lines. Eventually cameras go out of warranty and at that point, the ability to load a custom menu makes sense. Camera hacks like phone hacks are coming!
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Tony Jay

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #29 on: January 07, 2017, 07:40:45 pm »

After fumbling around the Sony A7II function menu and custom buttons for a morning, I'd like to have a major revision of the customization. This should allow EVERY option buried in the camera to be put on a user Menu with 4 rows of 6 custom functions. There are some I'd like to have on a function menu I can't put there and some I do have that I don't care about. If they were to go in this direction, it'd sure be nice to allow you to save the custom function menu or button assignments to your SD card so you could recall them or move them to another camera. This would be a big step forward. More, define a menu software standard that would allow user scripting along these lines. Eventually cameras go out of warranty and at that point, the ability to load a custom menu makes sense. Camera hacks like phone hacks are coming!
As someone who owns two Sony bodies I hear you!
The menus are definitely not great examples of ergonomics.

I think a radical rethink, by all manufacturers is in order, not to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic but to completely redesign camera interfaces.

I do get that in some quarters there would be resistance to this - think of all those Canon and Nikon long-time users, who, at least, have got used to their camera interfaces even if they were never that great.
But, I do think that the first manufacturer to really change the playing field with respect to camera control, menus, customisability, touchscreen functionality, and a really user-friendly customer experience will not be doing their bottom-lines any harm at all!

The building blocks for all this technology already exist so that is not a barrier in principle.
Yes, detail in design, power requirements, and other issues would need to be sorted out, but it is feasible.
To me this is a challenge for the imagination much more than a primary challenge of technology.

So far, for most manufacturers, their medium term record is one of exquisitely measured conservatism.
Perhaps the time has come to break the mould...

Tony Jay
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Manoli

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #30 on: January 07, 2017, 08:16:21 pm »

Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 Art - rumoured to possibly be announced next month.

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douglevy

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #31 on: January 13, 2017, 10:31:21 pm »

ISO below 100 on 35mm. 50, 25 and 12 would be amazing. And not in a "low" mode. Make me a camera that performs great from 12-1600 and I'd be pumped.

ErikKaffehr

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #32 on: January 14, 2017, 01:02:26 am »

Hi,

You can use an ND filter.

Low ISO is limited by Full Well Capacity (FWC) of the sensor. The other factor is quantum efficiency (QE). There is a lot of work going into increasing FWC, but progress is slow. QE can be reduced by more aggressive CFA (Colour Filter Arrays).

Best regards
Erik

ISO below 100 on 35mm. 50, 25 and 12 would be amazing. And not in a "low" mode. Make me a camera that performs great from 12-1600 and I'd be pumped.
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shadowblade

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #33 on: January 14, 2017, 08:54:37 am »

Hi,

You can use an ND filter.

Low ISO is limited by Full Well Capacity (FWC) of the sensor. The other factor is quantum efficiency (QE). There is a lot of work going into increasing FWC, but progress is slow. QE can be reduced by more aggressive CFA (Colour Filter Arrays).

Best regards
Erik

A ND filter doesn't give you the real advantage of lower ISOs - massive amounts of DR. A sensor that can hit 14 stops at ISO 100 would give you 18 stops if it could go down to ISO 12.

BSI technology promises a lot here - just put a huge capacitor behind each photosite. The light-gathering area remains the same, but the capacitor can hold much more charge before getting filled up.

Also, QE can be improved by using a multilayer design (resulting in fewer wasted photons) or by moving beyond silicon. This won't give you lower ISO, but will give you greater DR for the same ISO, and higher usable maximum ISO.
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douglevy

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #34 on: January 14, 2017, 08:56:32 am »

That's a bit over my head on the enginering side, but I'd like to avoid ND filters because of the impact on the viewfinder, and as you get darker, on autofocus. Additionally some of the ND's I've used impart a color cast.

wallpaperviking

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #35 on: January 14, 2017, 04:52:51 pm »


A firmware update for the Sony A7RII that includes different "aspect ratios".  I think it is absurd that Sony's flagship mirrorless only lets you shoot in 3:2 and 16:9 (for video).

1:1, 4:3 and especially a 5:4 aspect ratio please!

If the Nikon D810 can include a 5:4 aspect ratio in its OVF then I do not see any excuse for any manufacturer to have it in its EVF! 

Even worse is that the Sony RX1R2 already has this (3:2, 16:9, 1:1 and 4:3) so it would be so easy for them to do....

Who am I kidding though, Sony don't really do "firmware updates", will probably have to wait for a future generation to have this feature  :(
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PrintPd

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #36 on: January 15, 2017, 07:01:56 pm »

The camera development is presently quite stagnant, maybe because the market is greatly reduced or is the market not interested because there is only very incremental development.
In the last 2-4 years there has been significant new technologies developed at the research level which have not come to the market:
Gobal shutter sensors. That would allow cameras without mechanical shutters. I imagine quite some benefit for all sensors sizes but especially for MF.

Organic sensors with higher dynamic range and sensitivity. Would be especially important for smaller sensors like MFT.

Spherical sensors with small lenses specifically designed for such sensor (no IQ loss over the entire field).

Likely all these features could be codeveloped and brought to the market but I am afraid no company wants really invest in such development.
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HSakols

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #37 on: January 15, 2017, 07:38:25 pm »

wallpaper,
Sounds like you should be using a micro four thirds sensor.  The 5 to 4 crop on this sensor is so minimal that is is essentially what you are asking for.  I agree!
Hugh
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shadowblade

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #38 on: January 18, 2017, 08:46:26 am »

Two things that would be very easy to implement, yet game-changing.

1 - RAW histogram. Already mentioned many times.

2 - An accurate, sensitive electronic level. It's so easy to end up a fraction of a degree off. Spirit levels aren't precise enough, while current electronic levels are either not sensitive or just inaccurate. Many times, the camera's told me I'm level, yet the guidelines in the viewfinder don't match up with known horizontals and verticals in the scene. And not every scene has convenient verticals or horizontals to cross-check against, particularly if the camera is tilted up or down - it'd be nice to have an accurate electronic level to work with.
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alan_b

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Re: What is your #1 request for manufacturers in 2017?
« Reply #39 on: January 18, 2017, 03:14:04 pm »

2 - An accurate, sensitive electronic level. It's so easy to end up a fraction of a degree off. Spirit levels aren't precise enough, while current electronic levels are either not sensitive or just inaccurate. Many times, the camera's told me I'm level, yet the guidelines in the viewfinder don't match up with known horizontals and verticals in the scene. And not every scene has convenient verticals or horizontals to cross-check against, particularly if the camera is tilted up or down - it'd be nice to have an accurate electronic level to work with.

Maybe user zero-calibration could be implemented in electronic levels.
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