Digital BW, The Print

PC's (and some minis/workstations) have been this way. A standard
bus architecture, some boot firmware and then a horizontal, component
oriented industry. Separates alot of engineering and manufacturing
(e.g., Intel, nVidia, Seagate, etc.) from marketing/logistics/fulfillment
(e.g., Dell et al).

I don't know if the economics make it worthwhile (vs. the computer
industry), but if one of the big computer chip houses got into making
sensors, things might well shape up like this someday.

Scott

Clayton Jones wrote:

> Hello Jeff,
>
> >>...if a sensor were made specifically for B&W...
>
> >...Such sensors are made by the thousands...
>
> I'd like to share my personal pet prediction. This is not based on
> any technical knowledge, just pure hunch and speculation. I've had
> this idea for over a year and it won't go away. I predict that
> someday we'll have cameras with switchable plug-in sensors. Here's
> why:
>
> To me the biggest difference from film is that we could put any film
> we wanted in our cameras - a huge range of choices. With digi we're
> stuck with whatever we get. That is an enormous restriction,
> especially for such expensive cameras.
>
> Makers must constantly evolve their products to compete. Where will
> they go? Someone pointed out that once the MP race hits diminishing
> returns they'll turn to improving the DR and other attributes of the
> sensors themselves. I agree, but what comes after that?
>
> I think that someone eventually will design a plugin sensor that will
> have a standard pinout, at least within their own cameras. They will
> make several sensors, just a few at first; color and BW. It
> will evolve to having choices of different MP sizes with
> correspondingly different size wells, with correspondingly different
> noise and DR ratings (since all the sensors will be the same size).
> Perhaps even different BW sensitivities such as IR and panchromatic.
>
> Each plugin sensor package will of necessity carry its own onboard
> firmware. The camera will just have enough image processing code to
> trigger the sensor logic and transfer the data to the memory card
> (which might mean lower "body only" camera prices). This means the
> sensor processing firmware will have a standard API.
>
> A standard pinout and API will open up a vigorous 3rd party market for
> sensors for these cameras (think Sony, Matsushita and Kodak), and
> we'll eventually have a large range of choices.
>
> The first company to make such a camera will likely sell tons of cams
> (especially if they work behind the scenes with 3p sensor makers so
> there is a wider range of sensors out of the starting gate) because
> the benefits will be obvious. I predict K-M will do it because
> Minolta has always been innovative. Other makers will have to folow
> suit, and it's possible the pinout and API will become industry-wide
> (that one I'm not so sure about, but what a huge difference it would
> make - the 3p sensor industry would be enormous).
>
> This will most likely take some years to happen, but I think it's
> inevitable.
>
> NOTE: I cringe in fear that by posting this I will start a huge thread
> in this forum. I hope not. I hope people will just think about it
> and put it away to wait and see if it ever happens. Please use
> restraint and don't have a long drawn out discussion of these ideas.
> I'm sharing this because it fascinates me and I think others here may
> appreciate it - but this is supposed to be a printing forum.
>
> Regards,
> Clayton
>
>
> Info on black and white digital printing at
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
>
>
>
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