2009/9/4 john lewis <johnlewis@???>:
> On Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:44:30 +0100
> The Holy ettlz <theholyettlz@???> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 2009-09-04 at 07:32 +0100, Stephen Davies wrote:
>> > http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html
>> >
>> > Enjoy.
>> >
>> > Unfortunately, it uses Canon lenses so I won't be getting one.
>>
>> Fortunately, it uses Canon lenses, so I might get one!
>
> If I read the article correctly it said they are using canon lenses "for
> now" so you both might end up being able to us the camera if it ever
> makes it into production. As an open source camera it _should_ have the
> ability to chose which lense mount the user wants
Physical lens mounts is only the start of the problem. Canon (and I
assumke Nikon) lenses have firmware which is used to control focussing
and aperture control. From what I have read, manufacturers like Sigma
that make Canon fit lenses license the right to use compatible
firmware so that their lenses work on Canon bodies, whereas other
manufacturers (cant recall which at the moment) reverse engineer it to
make the lenses work correctly. How an open source camera will achieve
this I am not sure. Presumably the lens firmware is fairly simple, so
reverse engineering it should be simple enough and as the camera body
will be opensource it shouldnt be too hard to keep it working with
existing lenses, and easier to update it for new lens firmwares that
appear in the future.
Anton
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