Put a phone in the 1dx3

[ScottyP]

All the talk of phone cameras eating into the camera market; lets strike back and put a phone into the 1dx3. Big body with tons of spare room for the minimal electronics required. Ergonomically somewhat larger than ideal but the image quality would destroy the competition. I offer this brainstorm for Canon's use, free of all royalty claims.

Mic drop.

 

[Ozarker]

All the talk of phone cameras eating into the camera market; lets strike back and put a phone into the 1dx3. Big body with tons of spare room for the minimal electronics required. Ergonomically somewhat larger than ideal but the image quality would destroy the competition. I offer this brainstorm for Canon's use, free of all royalty claims.

Mic drop.

Crickets... chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...

 

[LonelyBoy]

Crickets... chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...

In fairness, this was posted overnight.

But, no. No no no. There are some apps that would be useful, but it doesn't need a full phone, nor an arbitrary selection of apps; it should be running an embedded OS much like a smart TV, with a handful of dedicated apps that are signed by Canon and updated like firmware. Turning it into a free-for-all would be a disaster of bugs and malware.

 

[yorgasor]

It's already been done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRBxRlsYR0

 

[Ozarker]

Crickets... chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...

In fairness, this was posted overnight.

But, no. No no no. There are some apps that would be useful, but it doesn't need a full phone, nor an arbitrary selection of apps; it should be running an embedded OS much like a smart TV, with a handful of dedicated apps that are signed by Canon and updated like firmware. Turning it into a free-for-all would be a disaster of bugs and malware.

Actually, the crickets are because there will be an almost universal SMH and silence on this idea. It has nothing to do with being posted overnight, which really doesn't matter. This is a world wide forum with followers from around the globe.

 

[Don Haines]

That's all fine and dandy, but when I am at a job, shooting with multiple bodies, how do I set up camera forwarding?

 

[lion rock]

Can you imaging at a photo shoot that the dSLR-phone rings? Or, at a safari/birding hide and the phone rings!
Put the ringer in vibrate mode and the shot is totally jelly!
Just say NO!
-r

 

[LonelyBoy]

That's all fine and dandy, but when I am at a job, shooting with multiple bodies, how do I set up camera forwarding?

I believe FedEx would be able to help you with that.

 

[Jopa]

Actually a typical modern smartphone processing power and intelligence won't hurt to have in a regular camera body. If the phones manage to produce decent pictures with tiny sensors and lenses, I can't even imagine what's possible to achieve with a FF.

 

[9VIII]

Actually, having a SIM Card in the 1D makes perfect sense.

If they can do wireless shooting with Wi-Fi they can do it over 4G.

Apparently large sports publications at events like the Super Bowl already have a setup for tethering cameras so that they can deliver images back to the office in real time as they're being shot, but Canon could do one better and make that capability standard.
For people running around the Olympics I'm sure it would be very useful, with a venue that large and spread out it would be almost impossible for anyone to set up a private network to cover the whole area, but keeping all cameras connected to the company servers all the time would keep everyone up to date in real time.
You can imagine how useful that would be in places like war zones as well (though probably a security liability at the same time, cameras would have to use encryption and connect to a military channel exclusively. It's an interesting topic).

Amateurs would probably also enjoy having the occasional backups sent straight to cloud servers (on cheaper bodies it would finally be a reasonable way to offset the lack of a second card slot), you could watch a time-lapse project as it happens without actually being there.

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.
Large corporations could have batches of cameras configured at the factory to make it impossible to remove the SIM card and include a small internal battery to power the data connection.
(Ooh, and Canon could test their own prototype bodies and get real time telemetry during use, it would be like a Formula 1 team watching the race every time a Canon Rep goes out shooting.)

 

[LDS]

For people running around the Olympics I'm sure it would be very useful, with a venue that large and spread out it would be almost impossible for anyone to set up a private network to cover the whole area,

With the money required to run Olympic games, I guess it's possible and probably already done. <G>

You can imagine how useful that would be in places like war zones as well (though probably a security liability at the same time, cameras would have to use encryption and connect to a military channel exclusively. It's an interesting topic).

Useful for who? Those attempting to track journalists? Once you have a phone, you have unique IDs like the phone IMEI and IMSI numbers. I guess many governments and agencies would be happy to be able to track photographers as they move - if they didn't fully turn off the mobile radio (but probably in some war zones the mobile cells won't be available or operative anyway - you'd need a camera with a satellite phone).

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.

Sure, phone theft have been totally hindered that way...

 

[hbr]

Actually, having a SIM Card in the 1D makes perfect sense.

If they can do wireless shooting with Wi-Fi they can do it over 4G.

Apparently large sports publications at events like the Super Bowl already have a setup for tethering cameras so that they can deliver images back to the office in real time as they're being shot, but Canon could do one better and make that capability standard.
For people running around the Olympics I'm sure it would be very useful, with a venue that large and spread out it would be almost impossible for anyone to set up a private network to cover the whole area, but keeping all cameras connected to the company servers all the time would keep everyone up to date in real time.
You can imagine how useful that would be in places like war zones as well (though probably a security liability at the same time, cameras would have to use encryption and connect to a military channel exclusively. It's an interesting topic).

Amateurs would probably also enjoy having the occasional backups sent straight to cloud servers (on cheaper bodies it would finally be a reasonable way to offset the lack of a second card slot), you could watch a time-lapse project as it happens without actually being there.

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.
Large corporations could have batches of cameras configured at the factory to make it impossible to remove the SIM card and include a small internal battery to power the data connection.
(Ooh, and Canon could test their own prototype bodies and get real time telemetry during use, it would be like a Formula 1 team watching the race every time a Canon Rep goes out shooting.)

Very interesting post, 9VIII

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.

I would love to have this feature as I had all my camera equipment stolen a couple of years ago in a home burglary.

Brian

 

[Don Haines]

Actually, having a SIM Card in the 1D makes perfect sense.

If they can do wireless shooting with Wi-Fi they can do it over 4G.

Apparently large sports publications at events like the Super Bowl already have a setup for tethering cameras so that they can deliver images back to the office in real time as they're being shot, but Canon could do one better and make that capability standard.
For people running around the Olympics I'm sure it would be very useful, with a venue that large and spread out it would be almost impossible for anyone to set up a private network to cover the whole area, but keeping all cameras connected to the company servers all the time would keep everyone up to date in real time.
You can imagine how useful that would be in places like war zones as well (though probably a security liability at the same time, cameras would have to use encryption and connect to a military channel exclusively. It's an interesting topic).

Amateurs would probably also enjoy having the occasional backups sent straight to cloud servers (on cheaper bodies it would finally be a reasonable way to offset the lack of a second card slot), you could watch a time-lapse project as it happens without actually being there.

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.
Large corporations could have batches of cameras configured at the factory to make it impossible to remove the SIM card and include a small internal battery to power the data connection.
(Ooh, and Canon could test their own prototype bodies and get real time telemetry during use, it would be like a Formula 1 team watching the race every time a Canon Rep goes out shooting.)

At the last olympics they ran many thousands of kilometers of fiber and Cat-6. With that many people and that many phones, the RF spectrum becomes saturated and reliable communications is extremely unlikely.... So sayeth the guy who built and tested the blue van that the Canadian government uses to monitor spectrum

 

[LDS]

I would love to have this feature as I had all my camera equipment stolen a couple of years ago in a home burglary.

Tell the journalists in Mexico who are being spied through their phones (remember your camera has also a mic) - police won't track your stolen items, they will just track targets valuable to them. It is already difficult enough to force telcos to block stolen devices, they have little reason for it, people buying stolen phones still have to pay for the calls and data traffic...

Anyway, devices to change the IMEI exist - their use may be restricted in many countries and requires a technician to perform that, but people stealing and reselling valuable devices have that capabilities. In the worst case, move the items abroad in countries were no questions are asked.

 

[hbr]

I would love to have this feature as I had all my camera equipment stolen a couple of years ago in a home burglary.

Tell the journalists in Mexico who are being spied through their phones (remember your camera has also a mic) - police won't track your stolen items, they will just track targets valuable to them. It is already difficult enough to force telcos to block stolen devices, they have little reason for it, people buying stolen phones still have to pay for the calls and data traffic...

Anyway, devices to change the IMEI exist - their use may be restricted in many countries and requires a technician to perform that, but people stealing and reselling valuable devices have that capabilities. In the worst case, move the items abroad in countries were no questions are asked.

You are right, but it would be nice to have a "Find MY Camera" capability like the iphone has.

 

[LonelyBoy]

Actually, having a SIM Card in the 1D makes perfect sense.

If they can do wireless shooting with Wi-Fi they can do it over 4G.

Apparently large sports publications at events like the Super Bowl already have a setup for tethering cameras so that they can deliver images back to the office in real time as they're being shot, but Canon could do one better and make that capability standard.
For people running around the Olympics I'm sure it would be very useful, with a venue that large and spread out it would be almost impossible for anyone to set up a private network to cover the whole area, but keeping all cameras connected to the company servers all the time would keep everyone up to date in real time.
You can imagine how useful that would be in places like war zones as well (though probably a security liability at the same time, cameras would have to use encryption and connect to a military channel exclusively. It's an interesting topic).

Amateurs would probably also enjoy having the occasional backups sent straight to cloud servers (on cheaper bodies it would finally be a reasonable way to offset the lack of a second card slot), you could watch a time-lapse project as it happens without actually being there.

AND the camera would have a globally trackable ID, they could probably give it the ability to lock down in the case of being stolen, making the camera worthless to anyone but the owner, and still trackable.
Large corporations could have batches of cameras configured at the factory to make it impossible to remove the SIM card and include a small internal battery to power the data connection.
(Ooh, and Canon could test their own prototype bodies and get real time telemetry during use, it would be like a Formula 1 team watching the race every time a Canon Rep goes out shooting.)

At the last olympics they ran many thousands of kilometers of fiber and Cat-6. With that many people and that many phones, the RF spectrum becomes saturated and reliable communications is extremely unlikely.... So sayeth the guy who built and tested the blue van that the Canadian government uses to monitor spectrum

It even gets dicey in high-density residential areas, with the ever-increasing number of wifi and other wireless devices everyone has. Especially the younger people who tend to be living in dense high-rises.

 

[jolyonralph]

This is necessary.

Current pairing systems from cellphones to cameras are diabolical. Complex to set up, unreliable (using the camera as a wifi hotspot doesn't work if your phone is paired already to a hotel wifi network, for example). Even more of a pain on the iPhone than android because no NFC pairing.

Problems are though:

a) screen isn't big enough to run apps. And I really can't see many of us excited by the idea of removing physical controls and relying on touch controls on a larger back screen.

b) Power drain.

c) It'd need to run android (no other practical way) to be able to access all the necessary apps (instragram, facebook, etc). Which is fine, except the startup time from powerup on Android is diabolical.

So you'd need to have the current bare-bones Canon OS running normal camera things, and to load in Android on top of that when you want to use connectivity and apps. Which would be slow to do.

d) Power drain.

e) And, did I mention, the power drain?

 

[LonelyBoy]

This is necessary.

Current pairing systems from cellphones to cameras are diabolical. Complex to set up, unreliable (using the camera as a wifi hotspot doesn't work if your phone is paired already to a hotel wifi network, for example). Even more of a pain on the iPhone than android because no NFC pairing.

Problems are though:

a) screen isn't big enough to run apps. And I really can't see many of us excited by the idea of removing physical controls and relying on touch controls on a larger back screen.

b) Power drain.

c) It'd need to run android (no other practical way) to be able to access all the necessary apps (instragram, facebook, etc). Which is fine, except the startup time from powerup on Android is diabolical.

So you'd need to have the current bare-bones Canon OS running normal camera things, and to load in Android on top of that when you want to use connectivity and apps. Which would be slow to do.

d) Power drain.

e) And, did I mention, the power drain?

Much of this would be addressed by running a locked-down embedded OS, in the manner of a smart TV, instead of the horribad idea of cramming a whole Android phone into the camera, which would be terrible. It doesn't need to play Angry Birds, it doesn't need to show Netflix, and it doesn't need to have your banking app.

An embedded OS, with embedded apps (like the Netflix and YouTube apps on a smart TV) that would mostly be about sharing the pics and connecting to sister apps on iOS and Android, would be much better. They'd be updated via firmware, not an app store, it wouldn't have to run arbitrary software, and it would be much less vulnerable to malware. It would also suffer less power drain, since it doesn't need the horsepower to run all the modern smartphone apps.

Now maybe it still doesn't need to happen at all, but there are better ways than cramming a whole phone in there.

 

[Ozarker]

1. Insure your gear in case it gets burgled. Stop with this tracking crap. Do we really want our gear back after the thief has tossed it to the ground or into a dumpster when it is discovered to be locked down? Nope. Give me a new one, insurance company.
2. Why must the camera sync with a phone? Isn't there enough clutter on social media? Or should I say, "Vanity Media?" "Self-absorbed media?"
3. Pulling my hair out.
4. Some of you are nuts. Especially the one who thinks putting a phone in a FF camera will somehow make it take better photos because phones do such a great job with tiny lenses and sensors. Good Lord.

 

[LonelyBoy]

1. Insure your gear in case it gets burgled. Stop with this tracking crap. Do we really want our gear back after the thief has tossed it to the ground or into a dumpster when it is discovered to be locked down? Nope. Give me a new one, insurance company.
2. Why must the camera sync with a phone? Isn't there enough clutter on social media? Or should I say, "Vanity Media?" "Self-absorbed media?"
3. Pulling my hair out.
4. Some of you are nuts. Especially the one who thinks putting a phone in a FF camera will somehow make it take better photos because phones do such a great job with tiny lenses and sensors. Good Lord.

1. I'm with you.
2. There's much to do with a synced phone and camera besides upload photos to social media. Though also yes, it's my business if I want to upload a picture to social media, not yours. If I take a picture of my wife's triathlon team at a race, why should I not upload it on the spot instead of that night? Please do tell me more about how I should live my life.
3. Don't pull your hair out.
4. No one has claimed it will take better photos. We have claimed that it could help streamline workflows for using those photos, however. For some of us, it would. Those InstaTweeters you hate so much wouldn't use a 1DX3 anyway, so you don't have to worry about that.