Originally posted by raymeedc Edward Steichen & Ansel Adams were known to frequently complain about their inability to take a decent shot without some sort of automation being invented to assist them.
Autofocus LF view.cams... what a concept! But not impossible. Laser rangefinder, DOF and movement (tilt-swing-shift) automation -- Dial-A-View and there you have it!
Actually, I've proposed a smaller version of that for a couple years now. With a 6x9cm digital sensor (250mpx+ with current technology) in a folder platform (Teflon bellows) with a solenoid-controlled lensboard (movements) and AF, the lensboard supporting both primes and zooms. No LCD screen; the image is bluetoothed to the shooter's VR goggles. Use onboard controls and/or a TV-type remote. No problem.
But you might say, "Rico! Nobody can build sensors that big! Not yet!" So, don't. Use a matrix of economically-feasible smaller sensors, with onboard warez to stitch the images together. That way, they don't even need to be latest-generation silicon, just arrays of whatever cheap small obsolete sensors are available. Such an approach would easily be scaleable up to 8x14cm, 4x5in, whatever. Digital Ansel, here we come!