The Digital Camera I Would Like a Major Manufacturer to Make

www.dennismook.com

Everyone has his or her idea of what would make their perfect digital camera.  I have mine.  The digital camera I would love to see a major manufacturer make is one that is based upon my 43 years of active photography, my interests, my method of working and my experience with film and digital cameras.

I find the digital cameras that I have both used and purchased to be loaded with way too many features and options.  My experience with my Olympus OMD E-M5 is a good example.  Even after I read the user's manual and reviewed it several times, I still have a devil of a time finding what I am looking for and quickly making the adjustments I want to make when I need to make them.  It is easy to make adjustments when one is sitting in their living room chair, but not so easy in the field during fast moving action.  The E-M5 has more settings/options than any piece of equipment of any kind I have ever owned--and I'm a gadget kind of guy.  I need a lot more simplicity.

Simplicity and ease of use really increases the satisfaction level of using photographic gear.  Limiting choices is actually a good thing.  Quality of experience goes way up!  Too many choices degrades the experience.  Read "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz, if you want to more fully understand.

I want a camera body that is small, but not too small.  I want one that has a nice, meaty front grip for my fingers to wrap around.  I want a nice bright optical finder that shows 100% of the image.  I want a hybrid that is both electronic and mechanical in nature.  I want a main battery to be utilized when the camera is in electronic, full-function mode, but a small, internal rechargeable battery that would record the raw files if the main battery died.  Only enough juice to control the aperture and write the files to the card, if you know what I mean.

To take this to the next level, how about one of the major manufacturers adopting an automaker's or Apple-type of business model.  In the first, the manufacturer would give you a base model with option packages to suit the style of your photography.  The second would be like Apple's where you could download camera "apps" from the manufacturer's store and they get a 30% cut like Apple does.  I would like either business model at this point.

Here is my preliminary idea of the camera I would like to see built:

Single Lens Reflex (in the concept of the Nikon FM3a for size, weight & design)
As many controls by button or combination of buttons/wheels instead of menus
The camera would be as close to instant-on as possible with today’s electronics
Glass prism—100% image view; high eye point for those who wear glasses
Concurrent battery systems; main removable battery to power all features of the camera; internal, rechargeable, small battery to only power the moving of the aperture blades, re-cocking of the shutter and writing of the files to the card if main battery is discharged or fails; i.e., you can keep shooting    manually with manual focus if you lose power--a failsafe concept
Manual or Aperture Priority modes
Shutter speeds from 30 to 1/4000^th sec. in A mode; 1 sec. to 1/4000^th sec. in manual mode (Quiet!)
24mp FX or full frame-sized CMOS sensor (that seems to be my sweet spot for sensor resolution)
Best autofocus module available today, both single and continuous tracking focus ability
Raw files only; 14-bit; can have lossless compression but not mandatory
ISO from 50 to 12,800
Spot, Center-weighted & matrix metering
Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent white balance with the ability to set it manually or by Kelvin temperature
Attachable 2-piece grip/extra battery holder/vertical shutter & dial accessory (like the E-M5’s)
Single or 5 frames per second
3” LCD on back that can articulate up or down
“AF On” focusing option (disassociate the autofocus function from shutter button)
AE lock button
Self timer with mirror lock-up at the beginning (2 sec. & 10 sec.)
Hot shoe with full compatibility with the manufacturer’s lighting system
PC socket
2-SDXC slots; can set for overflow or backup
Playback option to show “blinkies” and R,G,B, & L histograms
Auto bracketing from 2 to 12 exposures at 1/3, ½, 1, & 2 stops apart
Depth of field preview
Adjustable diopter viewfinder
Button driven exposure bracketing control (not menu driven)
Micro-focus adjustment ability to optimally calibrate lenses
Flash sync speed of 1/250 (rear curtain) and high speed sync with capable flash
Camera won’t fire if no memory card is in camera
Best auto sensor cleaning system
Ability to input file naming schema
Ability to designate copyright information be baked into the raw files

Looking ahead, I really wouldn’t mind a mirrorless version of the above with a very high quality EVF of 3 or 4 million dots.  Of course the “blinkies” and histogram would be viewable in the EVF.

I don't think, in the end, the camera above is overloaded with features as all of my cameras have many, many more.

I probably missed something.  If so, leave me a comment and advise me of such.  But, I could be very happy for a long time with a camera with the features I described.  Remember, the camera I describe above is one that will best work for me, with my experiences and the types of photography I practice.  It may be wholly lacking or useless for you and your photography.  Just keep that in mind.

Thanks for looking.

Enjoy!
Dennis Mook