[RuiC]

I found a new patent describing a new camera with the ability to search, among the photographer's own lens estate, using RFID, a more suitable lens for the job!!!
quote:
" Provided are a lens-interchangeable digital photographing apparatus that can use a suitable lens according to a photographing circumstance, a method of controlling the lens-interchangeable digital photographing apparatus, and a recording medium having recorded therein a program for the method. The lens-interchangeable digital photographing apparatus includes a photographing circumstance analysis unit, a lens suitability determination unit for determining whether a lens installed in the digital photographing apparatus is suitable for a photographing circumstance, a lens search unit for searching for lenses suitable for a photographing circumstance, and a display unit. If the lens suitability determination unit determines that the installed lens is not suitable for the photographing circumstance, lenses suitable for the photographing circumstance analyzed by the photographing circumstance analysis unit from among lenses searched by the lens search unit are displayed on the display unit to be recommended. " eoquote

Read the text and see the images:

United States Patent Application: 0090161002

Rui

[fishy]

Brrr! Hope not!
Next you know is just lugging a box around that automatically takes the best pictures?

[PaddyB]

This would seem to be an annoying piece of technology. I imagine over 50% of the time it would say:

"You need a faster lens"

But if I want to use a zoom lens it won't be faster than 2.8.
It's like the flash indicator constantly blinking when you don't want to use flash.

I'm curious to see if this technology has any use at all. Perhaps someone with more experience can tell me the point.

[janneman]

I don't think we wil see new Samsung camera's everagain.

[RuiC]

They are listening,...

[Venturi]

Sounds like having a digital caddy in your camera - and one that doesn't know the course to boot.

[stanleyk]

Seriously at what point does it stop becoming photography? Or I guess I should say at what does this stop being fun? Why not just get a point and shoot? Isn 't lens selection an artistic choice (like depth of field)? I doubt Robert Frank, William Eggleston, or Eliot Porter would have needed this. Is the point to take an exact representation of what your eye would see? What are the parameters it uses when telling what lens you should put on the camera?

I suppose this would have some application if you were shooting pictures for advertising. I suppose.

I think Robert Frank took the whole The American's series photos with one 50mm lens. Weegee had a Graflex with one focal length. How many different lenses did Richard Avedon or Diane Arbus use?

I don't see the point. If you can't figure out what lens to use get an Optima.

[quarc]

Most patents never get used. However owning patents is very good when you need to use a patent not owned by you, then you can trade patent licenses instead of money. I guess you could use part of this so that the camera warns you if you try to leave home without out favourite lens (which the camera knows you are almost always carrying). Or if you arrived at a location that is not home, the camera expects you to leave with the same lenses :-) Having the camera telling the user that they should put a certain lens on sounds great for absolut beginners, but I cant see how the camera should know what lens is best, it all depends on how you want the photo to look like.

[Urkeldaedalus]

I remember reading an interview with a Samsung official about the NX that the camera would do more to help the user think through the complicated process of photography (I'm obviously paraphrasing what he said) Maybe this is what he is referring to.

Still, I find the idea sort of hilarious, sort of a digital backseat photographer.

(photographer hits focus button)

Camera: Are you sure you don't want to use the macro?
Photographer: Whaaaat?
Camera: I really think you macro would be better for this.
Photographer: Shut up and let me take the picture. The subject just walked away.
Camera: Alright, alright, but don't blame me when you're disappointed with the end result. Also, one more thing...you need to lose some weight.

[RuiC]

I remember reading an interview with a Samsung official about the NX that the camera would do more to help the user think through the complicated process of photography (I'm obviously paraphrasing what he said) Maybe this is what he is referring to.

Still, I find the idea sort of hilarious, sort of a digital backseat photographer.

(photographer hits focus button)

Camera: Are you sure you don't want to use the macro?
Photographer: Whaaaat?
Camera: I really think you macro would be better for this.
Photographer: Shut up and let me take the picture. The subject just walked away.
Camera: Alright, alright, but don't blame me when you're disappointed with the end result. Also, one more thing...you need to lose some weight.

I believe that it could result with some, if not all, of the Scene modes. If in Portrait, a beginner would be suggested a different focal, or ... well you know.

Rui

[NaClH2O]

I remember reading an interview with a Samsung official about the NX that the camera would do more to help the user think through the complicated process of photography (I'm obviously paraphrasing what he said) Maybe this is what he is referring to.

Still, I find the idea sort of hilarious, sort of a digital backseat photographer.

(photographer hits focus button)

Camera: Are you sure you don't want to use the macro?
Photographer: Whaaaat?
Camera: I really think you macro would be better for this.
Photographer: Shut up and let me take the picture. The subject just walked away.
Camera: Alright, alright, but don't blame me when you're disappointed with the end result. Also, one more thing...you need to lose some weight.

"And another thing, I don't think you should go out with Susy Creamcheese any more, she has loose morals"
Pretty soon there will be the camera what won't allow the shutter click unless it's got the lens it wants on. Just like when you forget and leave the camera in AF when you've just mounted a manual focus lens.

NaCl(but what I want is the camera what gives you a chocolat bon bon every time you nail a shot)H2O

[kiamon]

:P Not many of us have more than a few lenses anyhow. Options are limited and if a camera told me I needed a better lens I'd have to beat the crap out of it and demand it give me the $600 I need for a new one, lol.

[Slugger]

I can see how Pentax and Samsung may not have seen eye to eye over features like this. Samsung is trying to reinvent the wheel here. This is a slightly amusing patent.