Few of you may have read a post I wrote almost a year ago about ‘5 Features we can expect in future cameras‘. I must admit I was quite a newbie to the technical aspects of photography that time and really didnt know much about the practicality of photography. I was an excited new photographer wanting to try out all the possible different forms of photography in the easiest way possible without really paying much attention to each type. As a result, the list contains things that are probably not particularly useful to the professional photographer but are useful for the everyday photographer who is satisfied with a simple and easy method of photography. That being said, I thought an overview of the list would be useful to see how it could be modified, what things are already achieved and what are on their way.
1. GPS and Google Earth Integration
This was one of the features I’d wanted in cameras before. I cant imagine why I would have wanted because practically, it does not have much value. You can indeed still buy GPS addons for cameras but I dont see any reason to have them built-in. It would only increase the price of the camera unnecessarily for everyone while being useful for the few people who would actually use them. It *might* become a part of cameras but I dont see any need for it.
2. 3D Models
This is the feature of a software rather than of hardware. Indeed, it would be pretty cool to have a 3D model of places like Microsoft’s Photosynth but it doesnt have much to do with the hardware of the cameras but rather a software which should be able to read the visual content of each photograph and link them together.
3. Direct Internet Upload
Eye-fi, a new announced but yet to be released SD Card with build in Wi-fi can do this. It sounds promising and will be quite useful for people. And since newer dSLRs like the Canon 450D accept SD Cards, the Eye-fi card will also be useful for semi-professionals. Read more about the Eye-fi card here. And for the professionals, the Canon users can get the wireless file transmitter which, although costs as much as a camera, might turn to be useful for transferring photos while shooting in the field to the base station for instant review. Nikon users need not give up hope as they also have the option of adding a similar wireless file transmitter to their cameras.
4. Built in HDR Optimiser
HDR or High Dynamic Range photos constitute a small proportion of the world of photography and are sometimes quite controversial regarding their nature since they are highly manipulated photographs. HDR photos do look good, but only if processed correctly. I’ve seen hundreds of HDRs which are really ugly to look at since they werent tone mapped correctly. Therefore, to make a HDR photo look good, you have to spend a decent amount of time getting the processing right. One click processing is definitely not the way to go for HDR and therefore, the so-called HDR Optimiser would be useless. Exposure bracketing is probably the most help a camera can do in the making of a HDR image.
5. Live LCD and Video Recording DSLRs
Before getting a dSLR, I was quite worried about the fact that most dSLRs dont have a Live LCD. But after getting one with Live LCD, I’ve realised that once you use the optical viewfinder, you fail to see the need for a Live LCD. Live LCD is useful certain situations but I can live without it. However, for those who still insist on using a Live LCD, Sony’s newest dSLR, the Sony Alpha 300 and 350 both have a very effective Live View system which can rival a Point ‘n’ shoot. You can read a quick review of Sony’s Live View system here and the mechanism of how it works over here. As for video recording, dSLRs are meant to be the best in shooting stills and if you introduce video recording, you may have to give up some of the quality of still images. Maybe a simple video recording system wont hurt and I’m sure that it is being researched right now.
And there you have it, a complete update of my old post after acknowledging the requirements of photographers and the practical uses for the features. If you havent read the original post, you can read it here.
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