Hi Ian,
On 20 Dec 99, at 12:18, Ian A. Nichols spoke about
*[OM] Digital 35mm replacement,* saying
>
> It seems thay many on the list share my views about the digital future
> of photography as we'd like to practise it.
>
> To sum up:
>
> We'll only be happy with it when we can afford a 6+ megapixel camera
> that will take interchangeable lenses and store lots of pictures.
No, at least 20 megaPixel (MP)
>
> A CCD that size is likely to be about the same size as a 35mm frame, so
> the focal lengths and optical performance will have to be about the same
> as we're used to getting from our 35mm kit.
I disagree. The pixels can be arbitrarily small - it just depends on
how many photons you need to collect. This, of course, would depend
on the lighting conditions and the aperture. The current 2 MP CCDs
are about 6x8 mm. For 8 MP it would be 12x16mm for same pixel
collection size, for 32 MP, 24x32mm.
But you could always give up resolution for shadow detail - just
agglomerate the small pixels, either at picture time, or later...
>
> Therefore, it would be good if we could pop our existing lenses onto a
> new digital body.
>
> I'd further observe that, IMO, putting a digital back onto an existing
> OM body, or using a digital "film cassette" gadget is a dead end, and
> here's why.
See http://www.siliconfilm.com for the digitial "film cassette"
[coming real soon now...]
Who needs a new body just yet? This would be a fine stepping stone
that works with many bodies & lenses.
Will be nice when they
- occupy the entire frame
- send pic via bluetooth to your 9GB palmtop in your warm picket
- move from 1.5 Megapixel to 20 Megapixels, 48 bit dynamic range.
Yes, will be a dead end. But only eventually.
>
> The 35mm SLR is a prime example of the "form follows function" design
> philosopy - it has a lens mount roughly in the middle so there's room
> for the film cassette at one side of the body and room for the take-up
> spool, winding & shutter release mechanisms and battery compartment at
> the other side; that big lump at the top follows the shape of the prism
> underneath, which *has* to be that shape to do its job; the body is as
> deep as it is because you need a chamber with a mirror in it that's big
> enough to reflect a focused image onto the screen, which also has to be
> the size of a 35mm frame.
>
> A digital camera needs none of those things. You still need a chamber
> with an image sensor at the back, but the storage device doesn't need to
> have a specific location in relation to that, unlike film. Likewise,
> the "viewfinder" could (should) be an LCD screen which could also be
> located anywhere, either viewed directly or through a pop-up mirror &
> lens arrangement (reversing the image appropriately shouldn't be
> difficult to do electronically). It will need a much larger battery
> compartment.
>
> What I'm getting at here is that in order to work properly, from an
> ergonomic & technical point of view, our hypothetical digital 35mm
> replacement should be designed as a digital body, not somehow adapted
> from a camera designed to use film. Since it still uses light to make
> an image, though, there's no reason to change the optical part of
> the system. Not yet, anyway. Our hypothetical body has no need for a
> mirror, so there's no reason why future lens designs, using the same
> mount, should not have protruding rear elements, which will make
> designing compact fast wide-angle lenses easier.
But if the CCD is much smaller, say, 4x5mm, then our lenses for 35mm
will be obsolete, optimised as they are for a 6x larger format.
>
> I'll give it 2 years before the technology is available (if it's not
> already) and another 3 after that before mere mortals who subsists on
> the cast-off -1s & -2(S)s of others can think about getting one.
But how will film progress? Maybe faster?
Tom
-----------------
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