It takes a great deal of skill effort and perseverance to hack into hardware and write software fit for fools to use. (includes self)
Sometimes the doors half open but not enough people are pushing, other times the doors only open an inch and you need to call in the explosives team.
Right now Nikon hardware and end user utility is off the pace and patchy. Its why after much research Nikon, the original brand i had set my eye on ended up being at the bottom of my list. Panasonic and Sony have far more modern offerings than Nikon and Canon. Sony is still using a fixed mirror and thats holding them back, Panasonic using 4/3rds and that's holding them back. Despite this Sony, Panasonic and now Samsung are gobbling up Canon and Nikon turf....remember kodak ?...Nikon's doing a bit of a Kodak right now....so hacker love is much needed but perhaps thin on the ground....Canon's got the longer legs right now.
The future is EVIL, Mirror-less and Video...with touch screen tilt n swivel interfaces, high quality audio & external microphones. In fact processor power will mean you wont need a bag of lenses.
Stills photography will give way to video framestacking type processing....in the not so distant future still pictures, will be live. They will be in essence 'static' HDR video snapshots...that will be the approach for capture and viewing. Call it a Live Photograph if you will.
The camera's of the future already exist. See the Panasonic GH3 and Sony A99 for details. at least their on the main highway
Magic Lantern + Canon = stranglers playing catchup (trying to make good use of Canons legacy)
Canon and Nikon missed the junction marked the future so their lineups are weaving their way across the dust track back on to the main highway. Only a loyal fan base and an equally long legacy have prevented their extinction....im not using a Nikon or Canon webcam, nor is my smart phone endowed with a Nikon or Canon logo. Astronomers are forced to hack into 5 year old webcams.
Just like Xerox, Nikon could have owned the future. Chances are it will be those with a history of Video, companies like Panasonic and Sony will be the ones leading the video age...and of course the new kid on the block Samsung !
I just bought a Canon 600d, but it was by the
slimmest of margins. Panasonic GH1, G5,G6 , Sony A57,58,A65 where all higher on my list than the Nikon D3200 and D5200 , those two Nikon's are dinosaurs feature wise. The D5200 doesn't even have exposure simulation...whats the point of having and LCD screen if you don't even have that !
The hacking is as much about playing catch up as it getting to the cutting edge.
Nikon doesn't just need a Hacker group...it needs a new CEO
Im not even gonna buy a second hand Canon fit lens until im sure Cannon is gonna be part of the future & after dropping the digital video zoom on the 650d and 700d im holding my wallet and not holding my breath....im fresh into the market and these truths are what i discovered. Ive been watching and waiting for almost 10 years now to buy a digital camera 'worthy of the name' ...and i haven't seen one yet for less than $5,000...come to think of it im not sure ive seen one regardless of price ! Crippleware is how one should describe the current ecosystem.
Im not waiting for some wonder breakthru tech to transform the Digital Camera industry....just a breakthrough in common sense!
Because the tech to make a digital camera 'worthy of the name' has mostly been around for several decades !!! and im still waiting for some company to join all the bits up and make me a whole one.
