Soulburner
05-02-2008, 05:09 PM
Just thinking out loud.
Why haven't they taken a hint from auto-dimming car mirrors and come up with a lens coating that would auto-dim hot spots to control over-exposure? You could do Neutral Density effects on horizons automatically, perfectly every time.
Dynamic ISO is another thing. Who will be the first to design an image sensor that can adjust individual cells or groups of cells sensitivity on demand, rather than the entire chip as a whole? Have software/firmware programmed to drop ISO sharply on areas of the sensor getting flooded, or increase ISO in areas with lost shadow detail. The only problem I see is how to do this cleanly without it looking too fake.
The touch screen idea is neat as well...incorporate this with dynamic ISO and draw a line on the horizon when you would like the sky darkened across that portion of the sensor for correct exposure without the need for combining multiple exposures for HDR. Tap on the screen where you would like your focus to be, rather than using a directional pad to select a location in the viewfinder. Press and drag toward or away from your focus point to set desired depth of field visually (think of control points in Capture NX to get an idea).
Multiple sensors are an idea as well. Though not cost-effective, one could imagine having one sensor to each side of the main image sensor, tilted at an angle. Each would receive an identical image projected onto it via mirrors and using a different ISO sensitivity one could theoretically create a one-shot HDR image. This will probably never happen due to cost, power requirements and body design complexity though. It would be more feasable to create a new sensor like explained above.
Our cameras have seen excellent feature advancements in the last decade but it will take more outside-the-box thinking to push further as we see so many cameras become similarly capable in today's crowded market. Who will emerge from the pack with something truly unique?
Why haven't they taken a hint from auto-dimming car mirrors and come up with a lens coating that would auto-dim hot spots to control over-exposure? You could do Neutral Density effects on horizons automatically, perfectly every time.
Dynamic ISO is another thing. Who will be the first to design an image sensor that can adjust individual cells or groups of cells sensitivity on demand, rather than the entire chip as a whole? Have software/firmware programmed to drop ISO sharply on areas of the sensor getting flooded, or increase ISO in areas with lost shadow detail. The only problem I see is how to do this cleanly without it looking too fake.
The touch screen idea is neat as well...incorporate this with dynamic ISO and draw a line on the horizon when you would like the sky darkened across that portion of the sensor for correct exposure without the need for combining multiple exposures for HDR. Tap on the screen where you would like your focus to be, rather than using a directional pad to select a location in the viewfinder. Press and drag toward or away from your focus point to set desired depth of field visually (think of control points in Capture NX to get an idea).
Multiple sensors are an idea as well. Though not cost-effective, one could imagine having one sensor to each side of the main image sensor, tilted at an angle. Each would receive an identical image projected onto it via mirrors and using a different ISO sensitivity one could theoretically create a one-shot HDR image. This will probably never happen due to cost, power requirements and body design complexity though. It would be more feasable to create a new sensor like explained above.
Our cameras have seen excellent feature advancements in the last decade but it will take more outside-the-box thinking to push further as we see so many cameras become similarly capable in today's crowded market. Who will emerge from the pack with something truly unique?