Coming soon: the open source digital camera?

We already know about open source software for computers, and there are even mobile phones and routers that run on open software.  Now, Stanford researchers Marc Levoy and Andrew Adams (right) are working on an open-source digital camera.

It's a rather unusual mix that starts with the sensor from a Nokia N95 mobile phone.  Then, there's a Canon EOS lens, powered by a Texas Instruments chip running Linux, with it all in a frame that they've cobbled together at home.

The idea is not to produce a quality product, nor to produce incredible photos.  Instead, the interest lies in the way it works: because it uses an open source operating system, the whole camera can be configured by the user.

A limited version of this concept has already been seen on some Canon cameras: CHDK is an alternative firmware that allows some Ixus and PowerShot cameras to be controlled from a computer, giving them an ordered set of instructions or otherwise altering their behavior.  It's only really hacking an existing system though, a bit like jailbreaking an iPhone.

Open Systems

With an entirely open source camera, though, it's the operating system itself that can be rewritten from scratch, with the manufacturer's knowledge and consent.  Things as fundamental as the way the autofocus system and the light meter interact, or that exposure is calculated, or the settings for speed, aperture and sensitivity are determined for each photo can all be modified by the user, as can white balancing, electronic noise handling or even the file format that the camera saves it photos in … as long, of course, as you know how to program!

That means that everybody can adapt the camera to the way they want to use it.  Marc Levoy explains that, ''what we’re talking about is, tell it what to do on the next microsecond in a metering algorithm or an autofocusing algorithm, or fire the flash, focus a little differently and then fire the flash again — things you can’t program a commercial camera to do.''

More generally, though, it should also be possible to customise a camera in more basic ways.  Which amateur photographer hasn't been frustrated by an incomprehensible menu, or a button that doesn't quite work how it should?  An open source digital camera should also be able to work with extra applications, like computers and smartphones. Some cameras already have direct access to Flckr or Facebook, but with an open camera, anybody could choose what software to install.

General Evolutions

At the same time, Levoy and Adam see some advantages for the development of new algorithms.  For instance, they could create a system that automatically produces HDR images by combining under- and over-exposed photos of the same scene to produce a photo with details in both light and dark areas.  Their suggestion that nothing like that currently exists on the market is a little much though, as Fuji's EXR cameras do something similar in DR mode, as does the Ricoh CX1 in HD mode.  With their system, though, the whole thing would be entirely customizable.

The same goes for stitching together panoramic photos, which are usually put together afterwards using a computer.  Although some cameras, notably Sony's, can do this themselves, it's impossible to modify the algorithm used.  While some photographers might want to wait a few moments while powerful software like Autostitch creates an impressive panorama that has dozens of Megapixels, others will be happy with a quick and easy solution that allows them to get straight back to using their compact.

The researchers are supported by Nokia, Adobe, Kodak and HP and hope to be able to produce a version of their open-source camera in 2010 for under 1000 dollars,

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