Would You Like To Be Able To Buy An À La Carte Digital Camera? Pick And Choose Your Features

You can pick and choose so many things in life.  Why can't you pick and choose
what features you want on your next camera?  (click to enlarge)

From the dawn of digital imaging up until the present, it seems almost all camera manufacturers have been stuck in the traditional business model when it comes to the design, execution and marketing of digital cameras.  With few exceptions no manufacturers are producing cameras much different than a digital version of an old film camera (I'm not talking about features made possible due to electronics).  Why is that? I would love to be able to purchase a modular digital camera.  Let me explain what I mean by this.

Here is what I was thinking (dreaming, really). I'm throwing out some preliminary thoughts and certainly not a fully developed idea....

I would like to see this concept phased in in two phases.

Phase 1

It would nice to have the ability to buy a bare bones camera equipped with only the most basic features.  There would be only three decisions that have to be made at time of purchase.  Any other choices could be made after you take delivery.

First, we should be able to buy a basic camera from our manufacturer of choice with with the sensor size that best meets our needs.  It would be the same basic camera, but a choice of different sensors. Second, we would make the choice as to whether or not we want in-body image stabilization.  Finally, allow us to choose the camera with a prism finder or EVF.  The default would be a prism finder (since it is larger and requires more room.  An EVF would be smaller but fit the same body.)  That basic camera with no options would cost about 1/2 the price you pay now.  

For example, if you like M4/3 format, you can choose an Olympus or Panasonic with an M4/3 sensor and a choice of several available sensors from, say, 8 to 24 mp, depending upon your needs.  If you like mirrorless, you choose the EVF for a slightly higher price.  If not, it comes with a prism finder.  Same with in-body image stabilization.  If you like an APS-C sized sensor, you could pick from Fujifilm, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, etc.  You could pick an APS-C sized sensor from the same mp range, in this example.  If you like full frame digital SLRs, your needs may dictate a camera with anywhere from 6mp to 50mp, to satisfy a child's first camera to the most sophisticated needs.  These could come from Sony, Nikon, Canon, etc.  You choose the sensor size to meet your low light needs, landscape needs, wedding needs, billboard sized enlargement needs, etc.  This part of the process is similar to what we have now in picking cameras marketed different levels within one manufacturer's line.

But what is different from the past is that you only get a very basic camera with the sensor of your choice.

Now, when ordering the camera and if you need it, it's the time to add in-body image stabilization, since it is mostly a hardware issue instead of firmware.

Third, do you want a prism or EVF?  Choose at point of purchase.  

At this point, you've ordered your basic camera, from the manufacturer of your choice with the size of sensor you want and the number of pixels that best meets your needs, the option of in-body image stabilization and the type of finder you like.  Now what?

Depending upon your specific needs, whether pro, enthusiast, wedding photographer, landscape photographer, street photographer, portraitist, commercial photographer or generalist, you can then pick from a wide menu of options, which can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website and installed with updated firmware, as we now do.  If you know some of the options you definitely need when first ordering the camera body, those options can be added at the factory.

The basic camera may come only with single shot mode.  Are you a sports photographer and need 14 frames per second?  Buy that option, download and install it.  You now have it.

The camera may come with a single autofocusing spot in the middle of the frame.  Are you a bird photographer and need highly sophisticated and extremely fast focusing that can track and lock onto those flying birds?  Buy it and install it.

Are you a landscape photographer and need HDR?  Buy advanced auto bracketing and install it.

Do you want focus peaking?  Option purchase for you when others may not be interested.

How about video?  Personally, I'm not interested and I really don't want to have to pay for it but I do because it comes with the camera and I have no choice.  But, if you want basic video to only record the kids playing, you would be able to buy a basic version.  Need a more advanced version, maybe 4K to do some sophisticated production?  Buy that version. You could even buy the cheaper version, then upgrade later.

You get a basic TTL flash system when you buy the camera.  Do you need a sophisticated system such as Nikon's or Canon's?  Upgrade by firmware.

The camera could also come with just an 8-bit JPEG engine and if you want 16-bit RAW capabilities, add that option.  Or the reverse.

If you are a JPEG user, the camera may come with just a few options for sharpness, saturation, contrast, etc.  If you want lots more like the film simulations in the Fujifilm X-Trans cameras, you can buy and install them.

A basic center weighted light meter would come from the factory and if you needed spot, evaluative or matrix, you can pay a small fee, download the firmware, install it and you are good to go.

If you chose an EVF and want to display a histogram in the viewfinder along with lots of other information, a small fee would turn that feature on.

I could go on and on, but you get my point.  We each could "buy" the exact camera with the exact features we need for our specific needs.  We wouldn't have to "take" what we are given without any choices as we pretty much have to do now.  

You could buy a 6mp camera with the best focusing modules available, which you can't now, or you could buy a 50mp camera with almost no other feature because you want to go out in the tradition of large format photographers and shoot landscapes on a tripod. You don't need any of those other features.  Your needs, your choices.

For years and years, you could do this when buying a new automobile, and still can to a large extent (U.S. automobile manufacturers still offer a wide variety of options you can pick and pay for individually if you order a car and not buy one off the lot), although the automobile manufacturers try to push packages of options to save money and time. But camera manufacturers could also offer packages of options.  You could purchase a landscape package, a wedding package, a street package, etc.

Almost everything is possible because of the ease and versatility of electronics.  I understand there are certain parameters that require hardware and I'm not addressing every little facet of this idea.  As I said above, I'm just throwing this out for thought to get everyone thinking about the possibilities.

After we get the manufacturers used to providing their customers with what we really need and want, on to phase two.

Phase 2

The second phase of my dream is for the camera owner to be able and change out the camera's sensor at will as newer, better sensors are developed.  Developed properly, sensors, along with any modification in firmware, can be a plug and play procedure.  If I can change a motherboard in my computer, I think I can carefully, cleanly and properly change out and replace a plug-in sensor in my camera with careful instructions.  Why do we have to buy a new camera to get a new sensor?  I'll tell you why.  The manufacturers want it that way to sell you more cameras.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  

Additionally, open the market to third party developers to develops apps to give our cameras even more amazing and unthought of capabilities.  Small app developers don't have to make as much money as large camera manufacturers and certainly don't have to sell as many to make a profit.  Heck, I don't even care if the manufacturer vetts all the apps for appropriateness, compatibility, bugs and malware and makes the independent developers sell them through the manufacturer's site, kind of the Apple model.

The point of this is to tap into the creativity of all those out there who can create useful features that make us better photographers and allow us to make better images.

So, there you have it.  A rough idea, but one that has floated around in the back of my head for some time.  I know it won't happen anytime soon, maybe not in my photographic lifetime, but you younger photographers deserve better than us older photographers have had it over the past 50 years.


Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2013-2015 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.