Why can't we have a genius of our own??

Two reason's I can offer for the fact that nobody is trying to hack the d90:

1) Its easier, safer and cheaper to just buy a 550d. Then you'll have a working warranty!

2) Different companies put different levels of encryption into their firmware. Nikon's may be alot harder to crack than Panasonics.

The GH1 offers a bunch of features the 550d/7d don't, such as the EVF and autofocus, but it was let down by the codec. Now, it could (arguably) be the clear winner. The D90, on the other hand, doesn't currently have any advantages over the Canon cameras when using it solely for video. So even if it got manual control you wouldn't gain anything over the 7d, except the fact you wouldn't have to buy a whole new camera.
 
yeah, this guy has obviously done something great and he sure knows his ****, but it doesn't take a genius to hack a camera, i know because i've hacked a couple of gadgets myself. it takes time though and as stated different manufacturers make it more or less hard for you, and in the end it's all about what you can make the firmware do and what the demand for that really is and whether it's all worth it. as for advantages of the d90 i think it has a better chip than the canons, better colors and latitude, so if the image processing could be modified it would be worth it, but i don't think it can, and i agree that just manual control wouldn't be such a huge thing, people who want the camera for video already have plenty of better options.
 
Well, I believe that manual control and a bit-rate increase could definitely be in demand by the Nikon people for this now ~$700 camera. I, personally would need it for my D300s and I'm sure D3s owners would be really interested. 1080p might even be possible, who knows?
 
I just wanted to add that my statement might seem to undermine all the great work that was put into bringing the best out of the D90 and that was not my intention at all. I truly and sincerely appreciated your expertise. Thanks.
 
Given that the D90 already cooks I'm not sure it would be a good idea to try to increase the bit-rate. The D3s however might be able to manage it. 70Mbps m-jpeg and 4:2:2 on the D3s would be amazing and blow the Canons away.

The good news is the GH1 hack shows the processing power is there for someone like Nikon (or a hacker) to push the bit-rate on an upcoming DSLR like the D90 and/or D700 replacement.
 
You guys didn't know what you were getting into when you bought a camera with no manual controls for video?

Asking someone to hack the D90 to shoot better video is like asking someone to hack to the HVX-200 to take better stills.

It is what it is, it does what it does.

I am reminded of that infamous Rumsfeld quote...you go to war with the camera you have, not the camera you'd like to have. The GH1 people knew what they were getting into in buying a camera with a weaker codec, the 5D people knew it with 30p (and earlier with no manual controls)....if you knew what your equipment was capable of and you knew what you needed, and these didn't match up, why go to war with it?

There are a few things that I would love to see hacked with the D90. For example, the inability for the camera to stop-down meter is absolutely insane.
 
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Ben_B said:
You guys didn't know what you were getting into when you bought a camera with no manual controls for video?

Asking someone to hack the D90 to shoot better video is like asking someone to hack to the HVX-200 to take better stills.

It is what it is, it does what it does.

I am reminded of that infamous Rumsfeld quote...you go to war with the camera you have, not the camera you'd like to have. The GH1 people knew what they were getting into in buying a camera with a weaker codec, the 5D people knew it with 30p (and earlier with no manual controls)....if you knew what your equipment was capable of and you knew what you needed, and these didn't match up, why go to war with it?

There are a few things that I would love to see hacked with the D90. For example, the inability for the camera to stop-down meter is absolutely insane.
Click to expand...

What point are you trying to make here? If there was a camera at the price of these DSLRs with all their advantages and manual control, high bit-rate, etc..., no one would be talking about the D90 or any of the others. Actually, I would not be quoting Rumsfeld if I were you since neither him nor his children had bombs blown up under their unprotected humvee.
 
Ruzo said:
What point are you trying to make here? If there was a camera at the price of these DSLRs with all their advantages and manual control, high bit-rate, etc..., no one would be talking about the D90 or any of the others. Actually, I would not be quoting Rumsfeld if I were you since neither him nor his children had bombs blown up under their unprotected humvee.
Click to expand...

I was using rumsfeld to make the opposite point...you clearly shouldn't go to war with the army you have if it's not the one you need to get the job done, same with cameras.

The Canon DSLRs and the Panasonic have manual controls, etc....my point here is that you bought the D90 knowing full well what it was capable of doing...and if that wasn't good enough, why did you buy it? I personally think the D90 takes freaking amazing stills....I like the work that I've seen with it better than most of the work coming out of any of the Canons, etc, even ones in a higher tier. But I am wondering why you're wishing for a hacker to come in and solve all of the cameras problems, when the problems are fundamental things that you were aware of when you bought it, and probably should have gone with a different camera IF they were going to be huge issues for you.

Lets have the politics end here in any case. Suffice to say neither of us like Rumsfeld.
 
a lot of people went to war with their d90 last year when it was the only 24p camera around, and now they'd rather upgrade it for the next war rather than buy a new one, how exactly is that a difficult concept to understand? you want your car to be faster? ok you can change the software or the muffler, but that's stupid because you can always buy a koenigsegg and that's faster still?
 
It seems like you're completely new and uninformed about this.
The 5D did not have manual control for a long time after it came out and the D90 was the first one of its kind and, while learning to use it with its flaws, we were hoping for a firmware update or a hack like the ones that came out for the 5D and now, the GH1.
By the way, just like you prefer Nikon's quality, some of us are hoping for a move from Nikon so that we can continue to have the same quality in our videos instead of changing brand. Since Nikon is lagging behind, we're hoping for a hack. It's that simple.
 
deltoidjohn said:
Two reason's I can offer for the fact that nobody is trying to hack the d90:

1) Its easier, safer and cheaper to just buy a 550d. Then you'll have a working warranty!

2) Different companies put different levels of encryption into their firmware. Nikon's may be alot harder to crack than Panasonics.
Click to expand...

I'll add another one:

3) Anyone serious about DSLR video went with Canon or Panasonic... Nikon is primarily left with soccer moms that aren't likely to bust open the firmware.
 
Ben_B said:
You guys didn't know what you were getting into when you bought a camera with no manual controls for video?

Asking someone to hack the D90 to shoot better video is like asking someone to hack to the HVX-200 to take better stills.

It is what it is, it does what it does.

I am reminded of that infamous Rumsfeld quote...you go to war with the camera you have, not the camera you'd like to have. The GH1 people knew what they were getting into in buying a camera with a weaker codec, the 5D people knew it with 30p (and earlier with no manual controls)....if you knew what your equipment was capable of and you knew what you needed, and these didn't match up, why go to war with it?

There are a few things that I would love to see hacked with the D90. For example, the inability for the camera to stop-down meter is absolutely insane.
Click to expand...

Ruzo said:
It seems like you're completely new and uninformed about this.
The 5D did not have manual control for a long time after it came out and the D90 was the first one of its kind and, while learning to use it with its flaws, we were hoping for a firmware update or a hack like the ones that came out for the 5D and now, the GH1.
By the way, just like you prefer Nikon's quality, some of us are hoping for a move from Nikon so that we can continue to have the same quality in our videos instead of changing brand. Since Nikon is lagging behind, we're hoping for a hack. It's that simple.
Click to expand...

Clearly you didn't read my post where I mention everything you have just accused me of being uninformed about.

mattsand said:
a lot of people went to war with their d90 last year when it was the only 24p camera around, and now they'd rather upgrade it for the next war rather than buy a new one, how exactly is that a difficult concept to understand? you want your car to be faster? ok you can change the software or the muffler, but that's stupid because you can always buy a koenigsegg and that's faster still?
Click to expand...

My point is that if it was good enough to do your work with then how is it not good enough now? Did your work fundamentally change? Yeah it'd be nice if your camera was better, but if your car was fast enough already (which presumably it would be if you were to buy it) then why need a faster one? Are your jobs so fundamentally different in 2010 vs 2008?
 
I have a D90 and was thinking the same thing Ruzo... Its how I found your post actually. I would like a hack because I have this camera and would like more options with my current gear. To say why did you buy this camera to begin with is a mute point. We have it.. if it can be hacked to give more control and better picture quality than we, or at least I and Ruzo apparently, want it... period.

What is so hard to understand about that. I'm not ready to invest in another cam just yet so if there is a hack that makes one of my cameras a viable tool then I'll take it.

I agree... no car is ever fast enough.
 
Ben_B said:
My point is that if it was good enough to do your work with then how is it not good enough now?
Click to expand...
but it was never good enough, there just wasn't anything better, and when better first came it was double the price. if you had known this you wouldn't be making that argument, so you gotta be uninformed. qed.
 
mattsand said:
but it was never good enough, there just wasn't anything better, and when better first came it was double the price. if you had known this you wouldn't be making that argument, so you gotta be uninformed. qed.
Click to expand...

Ummm.....if it was never good enough to make videos with then why buy it to make videos just because it was cheap? Clearly it was good enough to do something with.

Anyway, maybe look into a GH1. $650 body only and you can use your Nikon glass.
 
Where in North America can you get a body only new ? When I got mine which was with the lens, the body only was only available from Japan... I recall. Things probably changed since then I guess.
 
BradM said:
Where in North America can you get a body only new ? When I got mine which was with the lens, the body only was only available from Japan... I recall. Things probably changed since then I guess.
Click to expand...

Ebay, new in box, from Panasonic authorized resellers. Tester 13's GH1 was purchased from a US seller on ebay body only.
 
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