The big Question: a firmware hack is possible?

B

beckspace

Active member
Apart the gelly effect of the rolling shutter, most of the D90 limitations for video (aka manual controls, 5 min limit, compression) are software based. The buttons are all in there but we can't use it. The system surely could bypass any automated settings turning it fully manual, but doesn't

and to get real, Nikon will never release "new" features for free so they can enforce a measure of separation between their DSLR price-points. But it's all software, like bracketing absence in the D40's to force the D80 sells

In the weird 2megapixel coolpix cam days, many photographers and scientists needed a remote control software for PCs. Nikon didn't created it, so people wrote the software themselves. nikon never helped giving at least a basic map remote instructions for the cam operation, even after the cam series is no longer produced after years.

So, a software update is out of the question for what we need...

A firmware hack is needed

It happened before, and will happen again

If I were Nikon, I would release a 'D90s' being 's' the manual "feature" before its get too late, before a hacker compromises the nikon firmware language of all of their current generation cams. Or in the end they will have to behave like Creative Labs that sued 'features firmware unlockers' and created an unreaparable damaged image of their software crippled hardware.
 
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Maybe nikon did it on purpose?!? Cause it doesnt make sense why iso and shutter would be left out. Im sure they new about it and possibly someone higher up in the food chain said no?

Ive heard of a few people hacking there D80 to get extra features that are only available on the higher end models... like the D300 and 700.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql1uLyuWra8

oh ye...

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It seems well worth it, though looked down upon by Nikon, if it was reliabe and well scripted, it could take this mediocre video mode and make it into something that could really compete.
 
Interesting.

I would bet we will see 2 more "higher end" cameras from Nikon with all these features and more before Spring.

As to a firmware hack.

Possible. But they need access to the source code or to build their own from scratch.
 
Honestly, I would be happy if the firmware could be hacked enough just to show the correct readouts when doing the exposure lock thing. That to me would be the biggest problem aside from lack of manual control.
 
So...? Let's chip in!

So...? Let's chip in!

Ok so who is capable of hacking/ writing the code?
How much would such a person need to be compensated? I would purchase such a hack, if proven to work and not wreck my camera, for $50 up to $100 dollars, maybe a bit more, depending on what kind of features can be unlocked. Of course the more features, the more I would be willing to spend. I say we network to all of our programmer friends out there, call it a "bounty" if you will..."Nikon D90 firmware hack wanted, dead or alive!". Then we host a D90 filmfest with submissions coming from upgraded Nikons....
If they could get 1.5K out of a DVX, then why not more out of this cam?

Martin
 
I think they were in a hurry, and just added a LIEview capture function. Why did I forget the V? Because the LV doen'st show me the real deal. It's supposed to be a little helper for difficult situations. But it's cmpletely different to the real settings for taking stills.

I don't know if it's that simple. Could get complicated hacking the LV, so it shows the actual image, how it would look if you'd take a foto.
 
There was that guy who hacked the Canon 40D so that it could shoot video (without audio obviously)... basically he modified the firmware so that it mapped a button to initiate dumping of the liveview feed.
 
It is really a matter of finding out what type of code the firmware is written in and finding a kid that knows how to write it. The problem is that you need someone that understands photography and that programming language... so you give him a few bucks and a menu tree, ask him to take a look at the code and change a few values that you suspect could be changed based on the next model up... the D300. You just tell him what you want to change... but you will have to then test it and probably will need to repeat the step a few times till it all works.

What you need to make sure is that you are changing only firmware and don't need to flash the bios of the camera which could be irreversible and if things don't work out you could be stuck with a dud D90. The bios might have to be changed if you need to make the processor run faster if it were to be underclocked to produce less heat within the smaller body.

Just my 0.02
 
I don't think it's hard to find a programmer who knows photography and cameras, nor one who understands the "language". I fit that description myself for example. The problem is the reverse engineering, since there's no documentation. This takes a lot of time and probably a couple of cameras to mess with and possibly sacrifice. It probably costs much more time and money than you'd think, that's why it hasn't happened already. /matt
 
To create a hacked firmware from scratch in near impossible, but is like working with DNA, you take a DNA from a luminescent jelly fish, implant on a rat´s DNA and you have a luminescent rat. But the DNA itself was never created on the lab

The hackers find patterns of programming of another Nikon firmware, and they implant it on their firmware experiment and see what happens, so, if the future Nikon's have a better video feature, they will try to implant them on another Nikon cameras that have the same processor. It happens with Canon all the time, bringing 'pro' features into cheap point-and-shoots

My hope, is that eliminating some D90 firmware functions, just cutting out part of the firmware programming, it could uncripples the camera, thus eliminating the 5min limit, the bitrate compression limit, and bringing manual controls for video.
 
I suggest that we all wait and see what Nikon releases Nov. 20th before anyone breaks into their D90.

In my book, the BIGGER question would be if someone can hack the 5D Mk II and get it to shoot 24 fps. I don't think Canon will give us 24 fps anytime soon and I would gladly PAY someone to provide me with that hack. Hell, I think a lot of people would pay good money for it.
 
I have shot 10 raw files in a row. Didn't test if I could shot more since that wasnt my goal. Don't remember how many fps I used though.

With a fast card the buffer should be emptied as fast as it is filled.
 
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