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The camera companies are so bad at software that the software companies are building better cameras than them... in the few millimeters thickness of a phone! I

by ponker 6y ago

The camera companies are so bad at software that the software companies are building better cameras than them... in the few millimeters thickness of a phone! I salivate for the day that Google or Apple buys Nikon or Leica or whatever and shoves all of that computational photography goodness under a 24x36mm camera sensor.

DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
As of 2019, Apple sources their iPhone camera sensor components from Sony and the camera lenses from Largan Precision (and other companies). The software that Apple contributes is important - yes (after-all, this is software-defined-photography now, with Portrait Mode and that fancy but fake depth-of-field stuff in the single-lens iPhones) - but let's not pretend Apple is "a camera company".
- richardwhiuk 6y ago
  I expect Apple sold more camera than Canon last year.
ehnto 6y ago
I'm not sure what the "software" companies would gain from buying Canon or Leica that they don't already have. That said, you're also dismissing one of the biggest value propositions camera companies have, which is decades of physical user interface experience and developed hardware modularity. Phones absolutely do not replace good cameras for usability. When travelling I take a mix of photos between my phone and camera, and when I need my camera it's irreplaceable, and when I don't need my camera, I use my phone. The phone is quick and easy, but the camera makes me a photo ninja and I get specifically configured shots quickly in a way I could never replicate with a phone interface.
- ponker 6y ago
  I think you're replying to the wrong comment. The software companies (Google and Apple) would buy Nikon and release a device that looked and operated like a Nikon FM3HP camera with a 24x36mm sensor, interchangeable lenses, and all of Apple's image processing tech onboard. You take the photo and in 2 seconds the image is in your iPhone camera roll. You get the picture-taking optics and ergonomics of the Nikon, the photo-processing AI magic from Apple/Google, and the picture-sharing immediacy of SMS/Instagram.
  - ehnto 6y ago
    Oh, I misunderstood your comment. I thought you meant for a Camera company to put their tech into a phone. You meant for software companies to put software into cameras.

by ponker 6y ago

DaiPlusPlus 6y ago

As of 2019, Apple sources their iPhone camera sensor components from Sony and the camera lenses from Largan Precision (and other companies). The software that Apple contributes is important - yes (after-all, this is software-defined-photography now, with Portrait Mode and that fancy but fake depth-of-field stuff in the single-lens iPhones) - but let's not pretend Apple is "a camera company".

richardwhiuk 6y ago
I expect Apple sold more camera than Canon last year.

ehnto 6y ago

I'm not sure what the "software" companies would gain from buying Canon or Leica that they don't already have. That said, you're also dismissing one of the biggest value propositions camera companies have, which is decades of physical user interface experience and developed hardware modularity. Phones absolutely do not replace good cameras for usability. When travelling I take a mix of photos between my phone and camera, and when I need my camera it's irreplaceable, and when I don't need my camera, I use my phone. The phone is quick and easy, but the camera makes me a photo ninja and I get specifically configured shots quickly in a way I could never replicate with a phone interface.

ponker 6y ago
I think you're replying to the wrong comment. The software companies (Google and Apple) would buy Nikon and release a device that looked and operated like a Nikon FM3HP camera with a 24x36mm sensor, interchangeable lenses, and all of Apple's image processing tech onboard. You take the photo and in 2 seconds the image is in your iPhone camera roll. You get the picture-taking optics and ergonomics of the Nikon, the photo-processing AI magic from Apple/Google, and the picture-sharing immediacy of SMS/Instagram.
- ehnto 6y ago
  Oh, I misunderstood your comment. I thought you meant for a Camera company to put their tech into a phone. You meant for software companies to put software into cameras.