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How to Hack an Expensive Camera

alexhude.github.io

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Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#41

Post by _underfl0w_ »

jimmaswell wrote: post #11

"My wife and I always wanted a Leica camera and suddenly we realized that if we didn’t buy it now, we will not be able to for a while." Is this the mindset of "better buy the expensive thing before we can't afford it"? I've seen this expressed before and it's not sound reasoning. If you wouldn't be able to keep that money in a savings account because you know you'd later find other uses of the money to provide better…

I think the author was referring to the lack of "fun money" that he and his wife were anticipating having in the budget once their kid was born.

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#42

Post by gchamonlive »

getorix wrote: post #36

Heh, I feel like I need to clarify something. Don't get me wrong, it was not 24/7. Instead it was occasional work with huge several month long gaps :)

Did you have problems with motivation or feeling that the project was too daunting? Or was it natural? Some projects I wanted to do I just stopped because I wasn't getting anywhere and felt like someone possibly did it better before (though I don't think anybody did something similar to what you did there) and I just quit it. Do you have any method to overcome such dead ends or negative mindsets?

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#43

Post by bicubic »

Would you consider doing this for sony cameras? Shit, open a kickstarter for it and you'll get funded in a few days if the word gets out.

There were some initial promising efforts to build the equivalent of Magic Lantern for sony alpha cameras, but it seems to have quietly died.

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#44

Post by CamelCaseName »

syntaxing wrote: post #38
getorix wrote: post #36

Heh, I feel like I need to clarify something. Don't get me wrong, it was not 24/7. Instead it was occasional work with huge several month long gaps :)

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living? Your expertise in this is seriously impressive.

He has 15 years of experience as an embedded software dev/security researcher.

Looks like he's worked on a lot of really cool, low level, stuff.

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#45

Post by mschuster91 »

bicubic wrote: post #43

Would you consider doing this for sony cameras? Shit, open a kickstarter for it and you'll get funded in a few days if the word gets out. There were some initial promising efforts to build the equivalent of Magic Lantern for sony alpha cameras, but it seems to have quietly died.

Oh yes. I've got an A7S2 and while I'm pretty satisfied with it in general (especially after jailbreaking it and killing that annoying 29 minute video limit), there are some things that I really miss, mostly related to networking.

Oh and while one can get a full service manual including block diagrams and wiring specs for it on the Internet, if someone knows how to access its bootloader (probably uboot, it runs Linux in any way, with an Android layer on top for the "apps") so that one can experiment without risking a $2000 brick, that would be really really nice ;)

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#46

Post by lizknope »

jimmaswell wrote: post #11

"My wife and I always wanted a Leica camera and suddenly we realized that if we didn’t buy it now, we will not be able to for a while." Is this the mindset of "better buy the expensive thing before we can't afford it"? I've seen this expressed before and it's not sound reasoning. If you wouldn't be able to keep that money in a savings account because you know you'd later find other uses of the money to provide better…

I bought a $5000 Nikon lens because I learned that there would be a price hike of $900.

Leica equipment gets constant price hikes. The cameras and lenses are great but at this point they are mainly for rich amateurs rather than working professionals.

I also bought my house in 2002 because I had looked at houses in 2000 and 2001 and decided to continue renting. I bought in 2002 because I thought that if I didn't buy now that I would get less value for my money later.

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#48

Post by zulln »

StavrosK wrote: post #29
ackbar03 wrote: post #10

This is crazy, how on earth do you have the patience and persistence to work on something like this??? It took five - six years?

You just like it, and you keep working on it as time permits and you get unblocked. Which reminds me, I need to write up my own 4-year project (which is nowhere near as cool as this). https://www.makerfol.io/project/Z5XFwxh-lighttracer-a-photog...

Wow, that is a really cool project! Thanks for sharing.

Re: How to Hack an Expensive Camera

#49

Post by StavrosK »

zulln wrote: post #48
StavrosK wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just like it, and you keep working on it as time permits and you get unblocked. Which reminds me, I need to write up my own 4-year project (which is nowhere near as cool as this). https://www.makerfol.io/project/Z5XFwxh-lighttracer-a-photog...

Wow, that is a really cool project! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! I need to write a proper article up it, then I'll post it here.
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