

Stanford group release Open Source Camera - Frankencamera - mrlebowski
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html

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beambot
I'm glad to see any type of open hardware; however, there is nothing
intrinsically new about this hardware device. Essentially it is a commercial
CCD or CMOS imager hooked up to an embedded Linux machine (such as a Beagle
Board).

Something that would be _much_ more exciting would be an open hardware
initiative to build "computational cameras" -- such as ones that employ
assorted pixel masks for high dynamic range or actuated imaging elements to
produce flexible depth of field.

If you're into the idea of "computational cameras", there was a really cool
plenary talk at a conference earlier this year -- check out some coverage at
Hizook.com

[http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/06/26/computational-
cameras-...](http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/06/26/computational-cameras-
exploiting-megapixels-and-computers-redefine-modern-camera)

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apu
Can't talk about details yet, but there is something in the works along these
lines. More info in a month or so...

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sparky
For those who don't know, Marc also did the Digital Michelangelo Project.

<http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/>
[http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps290b/Fall05/readings/dmi...](http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps290b/Fall05/readings/dmich-
sig00.pdf)

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wmf
Some hackers are also producing open source alternative firmware for
commercial cameras:

<http://magiclantern.wikia.com/> <http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK>

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olefoo
As an amateur photographer who would love to do real in camera HDR photography
this strikes me as being a really interesting development; I hope it marks the
beginning of the end of the DSLR as _the_ professional choice, since they are
often limited in bizarre ways because they are trying to conform to a
mechanical model that does not map to what they are.

