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New technologies for body-lens communication?


rosuna

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This is a patent for a new type of communication between an iPad and Smart Cover.

 

Apple's smarter Smart Cover would keep users up to date with illuminated alerts

 

It reminds me the 6-bits passive device for M lens and M body communication. The new invention is far more sophisticated and I don't think in a direct application of these ideas to the M system.

 

The point is new ways for communication between devices (light signals, electric induction, etc) will be possible in the near future, and this opens the possibility of intercharging more information between the lenses and the body.

 

The M mount seems to be too narrow for incorporating typical electric contacts and these contacts in the metallic mount would have many problems (sealing).

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  • 2 weeks later...

An RFID embedded in the aperture ring could transmit lens id and aperture to a camera. I don't know if an rfid can be tracked with the required accuracy though, it might need accelerometers to know its position. Similarly, filters could be tagged to beef up the exif data.

 

If the camera knew which lens was attached rather than just which type it could optimise its performance, as could the raw converter.

 

This would require new bodies and new lenses, but it wouldn't stop old and new items from working together. Cost would be about 5 cents; profit about 200€.

 

Ideas are ten a penny if you don't have to implement them :)

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There were no technological obstacles to M lenses communicating more than just the focus position (mechanically) and the lens type (optically), provided there was anything else they could communicate. Only there isn’t.

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put smartphone style small camera on the top plate looking down on the lens. Do image processing to figure out which lens (and perhaps aperture) is connected. Just so that we can have all the data in exif. :) :) :)

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There were no technological obstacles to M lenses communicating more than just the focus position (mechanically) and the lens type (optically), provided there was anything else they could communicate. Only there isn’t.

 

What about aperture? The estimation of the camera is not seldom far from reality.

 

What about all those third party lenses that do not get a code reserved and implemented in firmware by Leica?

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What about aperture? The estimation of the camera is not seldom far from reality.

Sure enough, but knowing the f-stop is far from essential. When I see M photographers endlessly agonising about whether they should or should not code their lenses, what are the odds anyone would spend money on lenses that did transmit the f-stop but would otherwise be equivalent to existing lenses?

 

What about all those third party lenses that do not get a code reserved and implemented in firmware by Leica?

An improved M mount transmitting additional data would not change that at all. Third-party vendors would still be left out in the cold.

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More (faster) information is key for future AF lenses for M mount.

Assuming there will be AF lenses for the M mount. I rather doubt it.

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Having the correct aperture logged in the EXIF would be nice when going through photos after the fact. I just did a bunch of fireworks shots, and even though the lens was stopped down to f16, the EXIF from the M9 says f4.

 

Of course, that doesn't really matter in the actual photo taking process.

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What about all those third party lenses that do not get a code reserved and implemented in firmware by Leica?

 

This could be opened up by Leica specifying an external file format for lens corrections and enabling users to upload a file containing this information to the camera. It could then display the item as a new option in the manual lens selection menu. This is rather like uploading a new font for use by proprietary computer software. As things stand older cameras without new firmware updates will not even be able to use official lens corrections for Leica's own subsequent lens releases.

 

Nick

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put smartphone style small camera on the top plate looking down on the lens. ...

If you have a smartphone camera looking at your M camera and lens why would you need your M camera and lens when you could take the shot with the smartphone camera?:D

 

(Yeah I know it's sacrilegious here and I'm not really serious but you'd need to ask yourself that wouldn't you?)

 

Pete.;)

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