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Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

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Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#101

Post by ferongr »

999900000999 wrote: post #64
morpheuskafka wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in this case, the camera processor still retains final control over the commands from the SDK. This isn't a customer firmware, just a networking interface that simulates pushing buttons and changing menus. The firmware has just as much ability to reject damaging commands as it would if the user was physically entering them.

Not many humans can click a button 30 times a minute for 5 hours straight. This feels like cya, it probably won't break the camera, but just in case it does .

An external intervalometer can. And in any case, both in both the SDK and the intervalometer case, the camera's OS is free to just stop functioning, to prevent any possible damage to the sensor or shutter mechanism due to overuse.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#102

Post by perlpimp »

ISL wrote: post #48
ciprian_craciun wrote: post #11

I am an amateur photographer, and I can't understand why the major camera brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, etc.) aren't open at least to the concept of SDK's to control their cameras (let alone opening the lens mount specifications)... It would make their cameras much more flexible and useful, thus perhaps gaining some users that currently use smartphones where it seems there is greater control over and integration…

For the bigger players, they miss out on market segmentation. An EOS M with Magic Lantern has a number of features that are featured on Canon's cinema line, for example. The M is perhaps no longer competitive in key ways, but had ML been available with today's level of polish in 2012, it would have eaten into higher-margin products. Fuji is perhaps best poised to enable open development -- their pricing structure is…

Raw video on M magic lantern looks absolutely stunning unless you explicitly need 4K to my eye and manipulation beats hands down droll quality of compressed video.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#103

Post by makeitdouble »

fortran77 wrote: post #99
makeitdouble wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japanese gov/corporations have a natural aversion to directly dealing with customers at scale. They’ll want a proxy layer of third party corporations, which can then deal with the minutia of exposing it to end customers. Canon/Nikon/Fuji/Olympus have SDKs and partnerships, they just don’t want to deal with the individual customers.

A "natural aversion"?

If I had to put it another way, it's in their DNA to outsource scaling problems to middlemen.

The country's whole economic structure is a pyramid of sub-contracting companies that live and die on absorbing the scaling/operational risks for the bigger fishes.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#104

Post by t0bia_s »

It would be great to have on Fuji cameras something like Magic Lantern on Canon's. Technically camera HW is capable of much more than manufacturer allow to do with software.

They usually support cameras with updates for 2 years and and then nothing. I understand that it is more profitable to make new cameras but it is not sustainable and eventually all consumer camera manufacturer will have to change their approach, because this industry slowly dying in consumer area. And it is not necessary because of smartphones but also because cameras since circa 2014 are good enough to keep them until die, not to switch every year.

I'm using Fuji cameras for pro work over 5 years now and I still mostly use X-T2 and x100F. Those are most reliable cameras I have. Very solid construction, "made in Japan". X-T3 feels very plasticky. Same for X-T4.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#105

Post by CaptainZapp »

Terry_Roll wrote: post #66
ciprian_craciun wrote: post #11

I am an amateur photographer, and I can't understand why the major camera brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, etc.) aren't open at least to the concept of SDK's to control their cameras (let alone opening the lens mount specifications)... It would make their cameras much more flexible and useful, thus perhaps gaining some users that currently use smartphones where it seems there is greater control over and integration…

Most big global brands are getting into rent seeking because the technology allows it, even company's like GE aka General Electric have diversified from making light bulbs to making money from finance activities so there is bound to be a reason for this avoidance to have an industry wide sdk. They may also want to avoid being labelled a cartel like this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel because legisla…

> Most big global brands are getting into rent seeking because the technology allows it, even company's like GE aka General Electric have diversified from making light bulbs to making money from finance activities ...

That's factually wrong. While Finance was a big part of GE in the early 2000s it all pretty much unraveled after the financial crisis[1].

Money quote :

"GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric.[1]

The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services; it had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 2018."

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Capital

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#106

Post by mdoms »

Manuel_D wrote: post #92
UncleEntity wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A more apt analogy would be the MVD plugged a dongle into the canbus plug and now your warranty is void. I mean, this is exactly what they are doing.

And isn't that normal? If you remap your ECU to use a different fuel mixture that voids the warranty right? That's what google results overwhelmingly say. And it makes perfect sense. Users might alter the firmware to run at a suboptimal setting that increases wear. Would you expect a manufacturer to honor warranty if you bolted on a turbocharger?

No, not right.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#107

Post by nonsince »

ciprian_craciun wrote: post #11

I am an amateur photographer, and I can't understand why the major camera brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, etc.) aren't open at least to the concept of SDK's to control their cameras (let alone opening the lens mount specifications)... It would make their cameras much more flexible and useful, thus perhaps gaining some users that currently use smartphones where it seems there is greater control over and integration…

The sony cameras support a fair amount of external control, I’ve never written code for it directly but third-party apps have no issue other than the requirement that you connect to the camera as a wifi access point, which is a pain but understandable.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#108

Post by cfn »

I have an XE 4 and I also investigated the possibility but they don't even provide headers for all the models. I would have to buy one of the few supported models to be able to play with the SDK.

They are missing a big oportunity and whoever wakes up first may get a nice boost from computational photography afficionados as well as many specialized fields.

I understand that they are trying to save development time by not building the necessary safeguards and I wish they published some less invasive way to communicate with the cameras such as over bluetooth or Wifi which many cameras already support.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#109

Post by cfn »

jseliger wrote: post #57
ISL wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the bigger players, they miss out on market segmentation. An EOS M with Magic Lantern has a number of features that are featured on Canon's cinema line, for example. The M is perhaps no longer competitive in key ways, but had ML been available with today's level of polish in 2012, it would have eaten into higher-margin products. Fuji is perhaps best poised to enable open development -- their pricing structure is…

In the meantime, everyone except professionals and image-quality obsessives has moved to phone cameras, for which Google and Apple have developed incredible software. It's been obvious for at least ten years that camera makers need to improve their software, and they've not done so, or very minimally done so.

For me it is not a matter of obsession, I just enjoy using the equipment. I also take loads of photographies with an iPhone and an Android phone and, invariably, they fall short of the full frame or APS images. Specially when you print them on anything larger than A4. I agree that for screen only, phones are enough.

Re: Using FujiFilm SDK on a Camera Voids Its Warranty

#110

Post by cfn »

lowbloodsugar wrote: post #59
ciprian_craciun wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the camera is already ~1.5-2K EUR (without lens), thus I think the price already covers it... But if I must put a price on it, I would say ~100-200 EUR, but then it should come with at least 5 years of updates, and it should work on Linux. :) Also, just supporting some basic features, like shutter and all the exposure settings, shouldn't be that hard... I bet all of these are already implemented, because many c…

I would happily pay a subscription for an iOS app. The usual argument against this is being commodified, but for the vast majority of the market, Canon has already been commodified in the shape of Apple and Samsung phones. They have to compete now on how good their hardware is, but their "stupid" hardware doesn't cut it without smart software. Their time in the broader marketplace is gone. They can get a small amount…

Canon has an app for that. Actually, a couple of apps for Android and iPhone. They also have desktop apps (mac and pc) that I use to control everything from focus to shutter speed, etc. Very useful to nail the focus on a large screen for reprography work.
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