{"id":119309,"date":"2018-11-24T09:17:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T17:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=119309"},"modified":"2018-11-24T09:17:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T17:17:52","slug":"why-the-future-of-photography-is-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/24\/why-the-future-of-photography-is-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The Future of Photography is Software"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

An idea:<\/p>\n

\n The future of photography is software, not hardware.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\n “Software is eating the world<\/a>” – Marc Andreessen\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It seems like we have hit (somewhat) of an upper-limit with hardware in photography.<\/p>\n

For example, there are limits to physics, in terms of how sharp we can make lenses. Innovation and progress in sensor technology is good– but incremental at best.<\/p>\n

I’m interested in 10x gains<\/a> (in the thinking of Peter Thiel<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Obviously, it is difficult to make 10x gains in camera technology. With hardware, there are physical limits, which prevent us from making these revolutionary 10x gains. If we want 10x gains in camera hardware, we need to design a totally brand-new camera concept\/category (like when Steve Jobs introduced the iPad– the brand-new category of tablet computing).<\/p>\n

\n

Computational photography<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When my RICOH GR II broke in Japan earlier this year, I looked at all the brand-new digital cameras at the camera stores. Unfortunately, all the cameras were far more similar than dissimilar.<\/p>\n

The only brand I saw that was truly innovative was Lumix-Panasonic. Their “iA” (intelligent auto) mode is pretty amazing (software) — which does a phenomenal job of choosing your ideal technical settings, so you can just “set it and forget it<\/a>” (camera settings), to focus on what is truly important:<\/p>\n

\n Shooting powerful photos.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Software for film-simulations<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was also blown away by the ability for the Lumix G9<\/a> to simulate black and white film-grain (dynamic monochrome JPEG setting). It really really looks good. At least 80% “good enough” to simulate the look of Tri-X 400 grain or so. To be frank at this point, I’m not that interested in shooting black and white film anymore– knowing that you can get such phenomenal film simulations from Lumix.<\/p>\n

Color photography is a bit tricky. I still haven’t really discovered anything that looks as good as Kodak Portra 400<\/a> 35mm film. However– the Pentax 645Z digital-medium-format camera<\/a> with the JPEG color film preset looks quite phenomenal. So if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of processing color film, shooting with a digital-medium-format camera<\/a> seems like a good option (for color photography).<\/p>\n

\n

Smaller\/lighter is better.<\/h2>\n
\"\"
RICOH GR II x ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My RICOH GR II<\/a> is broken, yet I can still shoot with it– and I love it!<\/p>\n

I also had this random thought while doing deadlifts<\/a> at the gym the other day:<\/p>\n

\n “Light weight buddy!” – Ronnie Coleman (bodybuilder-powerlifter)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ultimately– isn’t light-weight more desirable than heavy?<\/p>\n

For example if you travel, isn’t it best to be ultralight<\/a>?<\/p>\n

The lighter you are, the further you can walk (with less fatigue). The lighter you are, the higher you can jump! The lighter you are, the easier you can fly!<\/p>\n

Even with hyper-cars, the easiest way to add more power\/speed to these cars is to simply lighten the cars (carbon fiber).<\/p>\n

\n

Computational photography makes us lighter<\/h2>\n

\"Dots<\/p>\n

So anyways I got off-topic, but this is what I mean to say:<\/p>\n

\n Computational photography<\/a> (software improvements to our phone cameras), allows us to make better pictures with the ultralight phone.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For example, the most innovative smartphone camera at the moment is probably the Google Pixel<\/a>, with their HDR+ mode, and now their new ‘night vision’ mode.<\/p>\n

\n

Practical takeaways<\/h2>\n

\"Tetris<\/p>\n

Ideas for cameras:<\/p>\n

1. Simple software<\/h3>\n

\"Macro\"<\/p>\n

When you buy a new camera, look for which camera companies have the best software. This means,<\/p>\n