Finally, apps for cameras. Thom Hogan has been advocating this for some time now[1] and the success of the CHDK[2] somehow shows us that a lot of photographers may be interested in this. I hope Nikon starts a trend with this camera and go all the way to Android enabled DSLRs.<p>[1] <a href="http://bythom.com/design2010.htm" rel="nofollow">http://bythom.com/design2010.htm</a><p>[2] <a href="http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK" rel="nofollow">http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK</a><p>Some ideas: <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html" rel="nofollow">http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource...</a>
Interesting...the one nice thing I do like about the Google+ app running on Android is how it automatically uploads my pictures to a private folder online. Many times, I have come back from long hikes but the pictures remain in my slr for a few days because I was too lazy/tired to upload my pictures from the SD card to the computer. Having this functionality to automatically upload your pictures once you get home would be nice.
This kind of thing is the reason I've started boning up on Android development. With the sheer volume of phones on the market and the versatility of the OS in completely unexpected applications I think there's going to be a lot of demand for people with Android skills in the future.
Adding android to their p&s cameras is not what I expected from them. Nikon has a huge problem to tackle and adding android to their p&s is not the solution.<p>While Nikon makes great DSLR (but not necessarily better than the competition), their point and shoot cameras aren't any good. Not when compared to the Canon S95 in the cheap segment. Or the Fuji X10 in the expensive segment.
Nikon can't even get the mirror-less interchangeable lens system right : what were they thinking with the Nikon 1 ? the sensor is way too small, much smaller than the already small sensors of the Four Third system from Olympus/Panasonic and the size of the sensor is one of the most important thing to consider when it comes to image quality. Canon obviously knows better than Nikon and their entry to that market will feature an APS-C sensor.<p>Whatever it is that Nikon does, they do not understand photography anymore, apart from the few who work in their DSLR division.
Some random camera stats:<p>The iPhone has a 1/3.2" sensor (9.7x crop factor), a 4.28mm length f/2.4 max aperture.<p>That's like a 43mm f/23 full frame (basically, apature scales with crop factor just like length); or a 26mm f/14.5 APC-C.<p>Compared to a 1/2.3" sensor (which the S800 is likely to pack) it's like a 6mm f/3.3 lens (43mm full frame, as they don't like to mention how apature scales). The advantage of a S800 will be the range (25mm -> uselessly long without a tripod and good light), compared to the 43mm prime iPhone; apature and image quality will be similar. Also, the Nikon will have niceties like vibration reduction, a flash (maybe), smarter focusing / metering, better processing (maybe).<p>The real question is, who would want one? I'd say - people with dumb phones who carry cameras; and hipsters who want to be seen with a camera while they play Angry Birds on the bus. It might be bigger in non-US markets, where phones don't appear so cheap (due to hidden carrier costs).
Every new device launched with an obsolete version of Android is part of the price that Google pays for making Android as free as it is. And frankly, I don't see the market for a slow, buggy Android experience tied to a Nikon camera.
This might only work if it remains a camera; tactile buttons, a non attention-stealing screen, its own app store(custom camera apps), and the apps function more like plugins/addons than apps. Otherwise it'll be just another android phone with a better camera instead of a simpler CDHK.
Does this really make sense?<p>I mean, a camera is for taking pictures and the corresponing OS should only care about the job of taking pictures and show them later on.<p>Why do I need a fullfledge Android system running on my camera?<p>This seems more like a toy experiment.
Could anyone who knows about optics say how this compares to Nokia's 808 PureView camera/phone?<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_808_PureView" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_808_PureView</a>