Wishlist: simple and intuitive to use

[Hugues Wisniewski]

It's a camera first, not a PC :shifty: so it has to be intuitive.
Dropping my film camera for a DSLR means I'd like to have it as easy to use as a non electronic camera. Usual SLR manual features need to be there like the depth of field check for instance.

- it has to be easily switchable to fully manual, turn off all electronics: LCD, zoom, focus, ... to save as much energy as possible and make it work like a film camera as much as possible. In remote locations this would be precious.
- I still shoot on film and I use AAA batteries. Maybe these days, everything runs on rechargeable batteries. I like AAA batteries because I can get a bunch of them in remote locations where I cannot recharge. If that's technically feasible, I'd like to choose AAA vs rechargeable.
- optical viewfinder
- remote shutter, wired or not
- the LCD screen would have to be removable or be placed somewhere else than the usual spot. Squeezing ones nose on this thing, finger prints, ... makes it always look like a greasy piece of crap even if you take 10 showers a day. I'd love to not use the LCD at all when I don't want it.
- autofocus on what the eye is looking at in the viewfinder with easy access to switching it back into manual mode
- just a thought, a few seconds of buffer for the still pictures so if we want to shoot a whale jumping out of the water, or simple kid's smiles, we never miss the photo
- a motion detector that triggers the camera so we can leave the camera on a tripod on a wild animal's path for the night and just go to bed
- shoot as many times on the same picture as we want to so we can do multiple impressions on the same frame
- georeferencing using a GPS. GPS might evolve in the future so add WGS84 to the lat/long metadata information
- waterproofing ... if possible
- almost impossible to build in because of the simple physics behind it, so stereoscopy could be an easy plug in extension, like connect two bodies that would work together as a single camera for: zoom, focus, shutter, flash, storage. And also make the distance between the bodies easily adjustable.

 

[fde101]

It's a camera first, not a PC :shifty: so it has to be intuitive.
Dropping my film camera for a DSLR means I'd like to have it as easy to use as a non electronic camera. Usual SLR manual features need to be there like the depth of field check for instance.

Some of us think the DSLRs of today are already easier to use than the film cameras...

- it has to be easily switchable to fully manual, turn off all electronics: LCD, zoom, focus, ... to save as much energy as possible and make it work like a film camera as much as possible. In remote locations this would be precious.

DSLRs are by nature electronic: image sensor, etc. Turning off the LCD is reasonable to ask for, and you should be able to achieve that effect already with most DSLRs by turning off the review time after taking the image and then just never doing anything that would ask for it to come back on. Lenses are generally the same ones you'd have on an AF film camera, so switch the lens to manual focus and the motors won't kick in, and zoom is already manual using a ring on the lens.

- I still shoot on film and I use AAA batteries. Maybe these days, everything runs on rechargeable batteries. I like AAA batteries because I can get a bunch of them in remote locations where I cannot recharge. If that's technically feasible, I'd like to choose AAA vs rechargeable.

AAA batteries probably could not provide sufficient power for a DSLR or similar camera. They do require more than film cameras do. The big batteries used on pro-grade DSLRs like the canon 1D series cams can last a LONG time between charges, though, and you can typically get battery grips for the lower DSLRs which allow you to stack multiple batteries in the camera to increase time between swaps.

- optical viewfinder

Yes, PLEASE! NO EVF!! I completely agree on this one...

- remote shutter, wired or not

I think this is a given -- at least it should be...

- the LCD screen would have to be removable or be placed somewhere else than the usual spot. Squeezing ones nose on this thing, finger prints, ... makes it always look like a greasy piece of crap even if you take 10 showers a day. I'd love to not use the LCD at all when I don't want it.

You can get covers/protectors for them if this is an issue for you.

- autofocus on what the eye is looking at in the viewfinder with easy access to switching it back into manual mode

Eye tracking is an interesting consideration that generally is not available. Typical current DSLRs have a "multi-point" autofocus that, by default, tries to guess which of the available points to focus on, but lets you override when needed. The 1D series cams (from Canon) offer 45 focus points, lower models have fewer -- commonly something like 9 or 11. Manual focus is just a switch on the lens.

Many of Canon's better lenses offer "full-time manual" focus, which means that after the camera has done its initial autofocus (shutter half-way), you can just spin the focus ring manually to tweak the focus before completing the image. Lower-grade lenses you risk damaging the focus motors in the lens by doing this, but with the better gear...

- just a thought, a few seconds of buffer for the still pictures so if we want to shoot a whale jumping out of the water, or simple kid's smiles, we never miss the photo

Continuous-shooting drive modes generally cover this...

- a motion detector that triggers the camera so we can leave the camera on a tripod on a wild animal's path for the night and just go to bed

Hmm, maybe as an external trigger of some kind, that connects as if a remote shutter release?

- shoot as many times on the same picture as we want to so we can do multiple impressions on the same frame

Composite the images during post using Photoshop, GIMP, Painter, Shake, or similar. You'll have more control and flexibility that way but could also achieve the same effect.

- georeferencing using a GPS. GPS might evolve in the future so add WGS84 to the lat/long metadata information

I think I've seen that some cameras have GPS logging now?

- waterproofing ... if possible

Again, pro-grade DSLRs such as the Canon 1D series have some weather-resistance now, if used with a similarly protected lens. Not immersible by any means, but they can stand up to some dust and light rain. (I really want one of those lenses for my 1DmkII... it's on my list for after I pick up a Scarlet...)

- almost impossible to build in because of the simple physics behind it, so stereoscopy could be an easy plug in extension, like connect two bodies that would work together as a single camera for: zoom, focus, shutter, flash, storage. And also make the distance between the bodies easily adjustable.

They are already doing something along these lines for Scarlet, I think, so this is likely a reasonable request...

As far as the distance between the bodies, that would be controlled by whatever bracket/stand/special-tripod-head you mounted the cameras on.