Innocent
> Hi Larry, I've already been advised that we need not compare a
> desktop computer's CPU with that of a Camera, however no detailed
> explanation was given why the two kinds of processors are not
> complimentary to each other.
As I mentioned, many embedded processors are built on a similar core to that of desktop processors. They may have a dramatically reduced instruction set, operate at very low power consumption and the like. There are some that are built for the purpose and bear little resemblance to desktop chips.
However, just like desktop chips and all other digital devices they adhere to Moore’s Law and capability roughly doubles every 18 months. Since final design of the F5 closed roughly the end of 1995 or early 1996 and there has been no indication that newly designed electronics have been substituted during the production run, we can only assume that what was once the leading edge of technology is now seven or eight years out of date. I might add that the market for the more visible desktop CPUs is minuscule compared to the market for embedded technology – of which many people are unaware.
> Just as a matter of curiosity does the Leica, Hasselberg, Kodak
> and the like models have supersonic speed processors when
> they were originally built?
Certainly they will have the appropriate current technology as at the time they went into production. The Kodak 14n for ex&le was announced a year ago, but suffered intense birthing pains. When it was reviewed on Phil Askey’s DPReview site last May, it was up to Firmware Version 4.2.2 and barely on the shelves yet!!!! By September, they had done a hardware revision and were up to Firmware 4.4. Though the camera is now generally available, it may be still far from finished.
The Hasselblad H1 which is finally being shown as “in-stock†by some reliable stores, is supposed to have the most advanced photo-electronics of any camera on the market at present. It was purpose designed to be a film/digital hybrid. At one of the legit dealers in the USA, the digital backs are listed at $11,995.00US in addition to the camera, for a total of about $17,000US. Add another $895.00US if you want to shoot film as well – the price of a single magazine back.
I must confess that I have never had enough interest in the Leica SLRs to pay attention to new models. I used M3s and M5s on a number of dangerous assignments where I needed a camera that came across as very unaggressive. (I have an allergy to bullets that antihistamines doesn’t handle.) I would assume that the R8 and R9 are fairly new additions to the line, but know little about them. My Nikon F3 system has not been used in nearly four years, so I have even less interest in Leicas.
> I'm glad that you are gradually recognizing that it is certainly
> possible for such a digiback-pack to be effected in the F5 if the
> camera's processor's speed is an issue.
While it is POSSIBLE to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, it is not necessarily wise to do so.
It would be far wiser to build an entirely new model with the idea of a film/digital back from the “git-go†(as Texans are wont to say). I fear that with the compromises that would have to be made, it would end up as an uncompetitive kludge costing far more than anyone would care to pay.
> In response to some of Bob's contribution to the debate,
> I will say this: I await Nikon's response and "I'll be back", it
> will therefore at the moment suffice to clarify the "new kit
> issue for the DX1", what I meant was the D1X power kit
> thing-an add-on to the D1X
Could you provide a URL? I see nothing on Nikon’s web-site. I checked their press releases for the past year and see nothing there as well. It seems a bit odd, since the camera is due for replacement “real soon, nowâ€.
> and perhaps I should add that my D100 has just undergone a
> firmware upgrade at Nikon UK!
Standard procedure. I have only owned two digital cameras and did firmware upgrades on both myself, downloading from Nikon. See also Kodak 14n above. For a while it seemed that Kodak was releasing new firmware about every other day.
larry!
