Suggestions for the next 1 series

[billarnett]

We all love to give advice.  Michael's was fine as far as it went but why stop there....

An Arca-Swiss "plate" on the bottom is only half a loaf; one on the left side like the RRS L-plates would be even better.  A bit tricky to get the cables out, maybe, but that should be fun for the engineers to work on.

And a good solution to the above problem and a good thing in its own right would be a wireless remote shutter release (perhaps with some other functions, too).  If Canon can do it for it's cheap digicams, why not for the top of the line?

If the camera can capture 5 frames per second why can't it show me 5 previews per second and not bother to record them?  I want live, on the LCD focusing so I can critically focus with my non-AF f/10 telescope.  Obviously this entails repeated previews at 100% magnification but that's just software.  Think of it as a new drive mode:  continuous exposures at high speed with previews but not written to the card.  It doesn't have to be full video; 5 fps would be more than adequate.  Come to think of it, that's just software, too :-)

Record in DNG format.  We all know the advanatages of this from the consumer's point of view.  Which manufacturer will be the first to figure out that they can do the right thing and save some development costs, too?  Why go to all the trouble of supporting proprietary RAW formats and converters when Adobe does it better for free?

At the $7000 price point, how 'bout a built-in GPS?  $200 will buy one retail; Canon could probably built one in for $20 but I would be happy to the whole $200.

And one hard one:  more bits per pixel, ie more dynamic range.  I would much rather have an extra bit or two of depth than an extra megapixel or two of resolution.


And of course, fix the damned MLU ![CODE]

[Das Bosun]

The Grass is Always Greener...

Seems Michael and a number of other Canon 1 series users are lusting after many things that the Nikon D2x already possesses.  Of the twelve points listed in the "Suggestions for the Next 1 Series Canon" article, seven of these points are already implemented on the Nikon D2x.

If you include Nikon's use of the APS-C sized sensor as a work around for Michael's request for 'better' digital lenses, it's probably fair to say that the D2x covers nearly eight points out of twelve.  Whilst I'm not suggesting Nikon deliver perfect OR superior optics, it's clear full frame sensors have their optical shortfall.  

Clearly no camera has it all.  However, many of us wish manufacturers could fulfill ALL of our needs in the one ultimate camera.  Ultimately, I wish that the D2x shared the Canon 1 series noise performance at 1600iso and 3200iso, but there you have it - the grass is always greener on the other side.  

Billarnet is right that we need true 16bits per channel capture, ahead of more mega-pixels. It would also be great to see true RGB capture in high end D-SLRs rather than Bayer pattern interpolation.

Das Bosun

[lexvo]

I like the suggestions Michael did in his article.

However, the reversed charging light thing with the series-1 battery charger isn't an inconsistency in my opinion. I have several chargers in my household which work that way (and others that work otherwise). I guess there's simply no standard on this.

[Marcy]

Re:

"If you include Nikon's use of the APS-C sized sensor as a work around for Michael's request for 'better' digital lenses,  ..."


I think Michael wants optics that are optimized for higher pixel densities (with a smaller circle of confusion) as well as improved edge performance. Using a smaller sensor size helps with edge performance, but does not address the problem of the sensor out resolving the lens.

Marcy

[lexvo]

From the article:
"Wider Range Bracketing: Canon cameras have lagged behind the competition when it comes to bracketing range. It should be possible to build a wide range of intervalometer-type capabilities into the camera itself. After all, it's only software. With interest in HDR increasing, the ability to pre-define a wide range of exposure increments and number of exposures would be welcome, such as eight exposures, one stop apart. Limiting us to just three bracketed exposures is so... so 1990's, don't you think?"

It is possible to set the number of bracketed exposures to 2, 3, 5 or 7. This can be set through personal function 8.

[BJL]

I certainly endorse the call for "mo' sharper lenses". Even if Canon does not go much beyond current sensor resolution levels and instead works on other aspects of image quality and ergonomics, a few new wides seem to be in demand.

However, the idea of diverting part of the image light to a secondary smaller sensor for histogram metering has a problem. To be in-focus, the image on the secondary sensor would be full-sized. (AF sensors only have to look at little parts of the whole image.)

To overcome this, maybe a focal reducer lens could be needed, to shrink the image onto a smaller secondary metering sensor.

[BernardLanguillier]

Seems Michael and a number of other Canon 1 series users are lusting after many things that the Nikon D2x already possesses.  Of the twelve points listed in the "Suggestions for the Next 1 Series Canon" article, seven of these points are already implemented on the Nikon D2x.

Das Bosun
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Funny, that was also my immediate reaction when I read the article.

Anyway, neither the D3x, nor the Canon 2D will ever equal the fun of shooting with an Ebony 45SU by -18 C!

Regards,
Bernard