Ricoh releases SDKs for Pentax cameras | Hacker News Reader

Ricoh releases SDKs for Pentax cameras

pentaxuser.com

76 pointsbrudgers51 comments

> RICOH Camera SDK provides your application with functionality to control DSLR cameras remotely

This is progress, cameras can be now automated! Nevertheless, all customization is outside of the camera, meaning that the interesting parts like UI, and builtin processing cannot be touched. Magic Lantern still wins, hugely [0]

The THETA series of cameras are apparently based on Android, and "plugins" are possible, so maybe that's the real step forward. [1][2]

[0] https://magiclantern.fm/

[1] https://api.ricoh/docs/theta-plugin-reference/camera-api/

[2] https://github.com/ricohapi/theta-plugin-sdk

The real problem is licensing for the RTOS. "Officially-supported" modding/hacking is probably not going to happen, best you will get is community-driven hacks like Magic Lantern and CHDK.

I'm torn. Yes, having a better UI for my camera could be cool. However, the responsiveness of my phone is nothing compared to what I want the responsiveness of my camera to be. So frustrating when I click to take a picture and it considers focusing or anything else.

The use cases will tend toward tethering. Because Pentax's high end competes with medium format cameras from Hasselblad, Mamiya, Fuji, and Phase One, tethering matters a lot. Rearranging menus doesn't because important controls are physically on the body. In the tethering context, custom in-camera image processing is also a bit of the wrong tool for an important job. If nothing else, the SDK makes integration with existing tools like CaptureOne and Lightroom easier in the comsumer space. It also fits with Ricoh's overall business by facilitating use of Pentax cameras for medical imaging etc.

Many el cheapo Canon consumer cameras can run the alternative CHDK firmware. CHDK exposes almost all of the camera's canonical UI masked bits...

I built a series of book scanners using these under the umbrella of the http://diybookscanner.org project.

This is great. I took a book history course at U of T and this would probably be right up their alley. I'm not sure if it runs anymore (this was ~11 years ago).

I can tell you it was running at St. Michael's college, U of Toronto.

I would pay good money for this for Nikon. I'm a wedding photographer and on the D750 the primary ISO button is right next to a "quality" button. Because of this, with one slip you can change from shooting raw + high quality jpeg to only basic quality jpeg. The button doesn't need to exist. Nobody ever needed to quickly change their quality settings. Most people would probably never change it. The only indication you've done this is the number of shots you can take on your current SD card will go up.

You can enable another button to be your ISO button, but it's a bit less handy to use and quite small.

Best of all, the predecessor to the D750 has the ISO and quality buttons next to each other but in a slightly different place. Fun stuff if you only upgraded one camera.

https://sdk.nikonimaging.com/apply/

Nikon has an SDK program too. Though it requires you to apply first. D750 is supported.

Actually the application isn't necessary to download - just fill out the required fields spread across 7 pages and (seemingly) regardless of what you input, it takes you to the download page for the SDKs chosen (per camera and one for NEF files and one for the film scanner APIs). Haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but the most recent SDK updates are from 2017.

Thankfully the newer Nikons (D500, D850) have a much improved layout on the right side, iso and exposure comp are nearest the shutter button. QUAL is on top of the dial on the left, right out of the way.

Personally I think it should be removed altogether.

The one Nikon improvement I'd like is an option for bracketing and exposure compensation to be reset when you turn the camera off. That's bitten me more than once...

Docs for the interested: https://api.ricoh/docs/

Is there a camera that has some kind of API that allows to control most of the aspects of picture / video taking remotely?

An example - changing ISO settings using some custom web app of the remote camera.

If you're into hardware hacking, almost all big camera brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony) have (unofficial) custom firmwares [1] that enhance the functionality of the original ones.

I have a Sony mirrorless one that is locked to Japanese language and I can't be happier to have it unlocked with the custom firmware.

1: https://github.com/htruong/hackable-consumer-hardware

Yup, have a Sony A7s2 here, the jailbreak is pretty nice, especially that one can lift the 30min video recording limit. But there's next to no documentation, much less firmware development by Sony, even though there are so many things that could be improved...

It's a pity you need a jailbreak to crack the 30 minute limit, it did not have to be that way: https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/06/27/encounte...

Of all the sources on the Internet, why did you have to use the neo-nazi platform Breitbart when there are dozens of other legitimate news sites and opinion platforms available? :/

The question of Breitbart aside, tariffs actually do have economic reasons and back in 2007 it may have made sense to introduce them. The problem arises only when tariffs (and, generally, other laws) are not reviewed for applicability after a certain time.

Sorry, was not aware of Breitbart's reputation. It was one of the top results on a Google search, and the article had a tone of disdain that I appreciated. I was put off by the repeated use of the term "Eurocrat" though - funny the first time, tedious by the end.

Stupid EU Tax for video cameras makes my Sony and other brands have a time limit of how long you can record a video for. They even have different model numbers for cameras in the states vs EU to try and get around this problem.

You got a Sony? Search for "OpenMemories-Tweak" and you will be helped... (worked for my A7S2 just fine, though no guarantees etc)

Cool! I hope other manufacturers will follow. There is so much cool stuff you could do if you had full control of the camera hardware.

Looks good. This includes controlling camera through USB/Wireless. Any other manufacturers offer SDK?

As for camera makers releasing SDKs, there’s a few, though I’ve found them to be unimpressive (binary only blobs for Windows, etc). However more interesting to me are cameras that speak standard(ish) protocols. I’ve been looking into this recently, here’s what I found: Panasonic cameras (GH4 is the one I’m looking at) expose a HTTP API over WiFi, and are able to upload images to an SMB share while you shoot. The API is fairly extensive: lets you control focus, etc. Nikon cameras have a pretty bad story on WiFi (at least up to the D810, which is the newest one I own), so I haven’t got far with them. I hear, though haven’t verified that Canon cameras speak PTP/IP, which is pretty neat. Olympus also has a WiFi control mode, but annoyingly it seems to disable the on-body controls when you use it (tested on an OMD EM1 Mk 1). I’m yet to get my hands on a Sony camera (will probably buy an A7 later this year), but I’ve seen videos that suggest it should be fairly straightforward to control remotely.

Very interesting and informative. That sounds relatively easy to reverse engineer the protocol even if they don't document it. Thank you.

Sony has an Android app you can use to get live previews off the A7, tweak exposure parameters, and trigger images. Everything can go over either bluetooth or WiFi. I imagine that a little time with Wireshark would open an API up real quick :)

Sony already has an API and there are a few third party Android apps using it: https://developer.sony.com/develop/cameras/

This is definately cool that you can get this access, but would be even better if they built a gimble and allow you to control the camera together with zoom and shutter. Otherwise, this is just a little bit better than a remote shutter.

Well, with the SDK, you can build your own gimbal and control the camera's shutter... which I guess is the point of releasing the SDK in the first place - let users make neat stuff that Pentax won't/can't make itself.

I'm not too sure about zoom though. Unless the lens is a power zoom that's controllable from the body, you'd probably be better off making your own mechanism to control the zoom.

Pentax tried power zoom years ago and gave up on it rather quickly. The mount contacts that they created for it were repurposed when they introduced in-lens focus motors.

Hmm. Doesn't look like the software runs on device but rather on an connected device via USB or Bluetooth/WiFi.

It doesn't seem to offer much more than PTP already does for many years - or am I missing something?

This is interesting... but I checked the documentation and I can't find any mention of controlling focus with autofocus lenses, which would be crucial for most interesting uses that I can think of.

There's documentation here [.NET], https://api.ricoh/docs/camera-usb-sdk-dotnet/capture/ In programming terms, it looks a bit like clicking the shutter.

That's asking the camera to try to focus, not setting the focus remotely. I'd like the thing to work as a software focus puller for video.

Oh, I see. I use Pentax as my primary camera. If I were serious about video, I'd probably go with a Sony or some other mirrorless system. I wouldn't try to make a DSLR work because the mirror is just in the way.

I don't use a Pentax, but you can't do that on a Sony either (or Canon, Nikon and actually even on most professional cinema cameras, because those typically don't have focus motors).

Nice that the C++ SDK is C++11, but they could have it at least C++14.

Don't be greedy :-)

Has anyone here been using Pentax cameras and how do they compare to Canon and Nikon professional/hobbyist/tourist offering?

I haven't used them but strongly considered for a while. They offer weather sealing on some cameras and lenses which is obviously great for outdoors. Apart from that they have some great primes but not cheap as their market is smaller, and as such the overall range of lenses isn't as broad. Also the tech isn't quite as advanced as Canikon. Overall though still a fine system, and likely to exceed the skills of most users.

That's from a couple years ago, not sure how much has changed with Ricoh takeover.

The cameras themselves are good. Weather-sealed bodies, had in-body image stabilization long before anyone else, reasonable (although not great) compatibility with older lenses, etc.

The first-party lens selection is not up to par with the Canon/Nikon offerings. If a third-party like Sigma makes the lens you're looking for, it will usually come in a Pentax-mount variant, but most of the Pentax lineup is focused on consumer-grade lenses rather than the high-end stuff. That's fine, but Nikon and Canon have entry-level/midrange lenses too, while the reverse isn't true of Pentax with the high-end stuff.

I would say that Pentax has the best Prime Len stock period. Also you can buy a lens from 1980 and it will work (No auto focus) perfectly. I have extra sharp beautiful 42mm and 50mm and a 100mm prime and it cost me less then $250. I love my Pentax. I own a Sony A3 RIII and I still get better portraits on my cheap o Pentax lens.

Pentax Prime Limited are amazing and so much cheaper then Cannon or any other brand.

Look here for lens: https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

> reasonable (although not great) compatibility with older lenses

All Pentax cameras from 1975-on have used the Pentax K-Mount[0], which means that in (almost) all cases you can use most of the lenses made in the last 43 years. I would call that pretty good compatibility.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K-mount

Pretty mediocre, really. The Nikon F-mount dates back to 1959. :)

I'm specifically referring to the crippled K_af2 mount, which does away with the feelers necessary to read out the aperture setting on older lenses (approximately pre-90s).

The lenses mount, but you need to go into a menu on the camera body each time you adjust the aperture to tell it how much the lens is going to stop down. I think it's perfectly fair to ding some usability points for that.

Unfortunately Sigma and Tamron have backed off from Pentax support in recent years. There are still some in the current catalog, but the newest lenses aren't offered.

On the other hand, Pentax's just released 50mm might be the best 50 ever.

High end Pentax cameras are still medium format. The peer group is Fuji, Hassblad, Phase One, and Mamiya. Cross shopping the 645z with flagship Canon and Nikon cameras might make sense...or not. At the point it's a business decision, the tradeoffs of medium format versus "35mm" are usually pretty clear. The Pentax product line reflects this discreet gap in the product line. Pentax isn't filling out a product line matrix of IS and non-IS lens against weather and non-weather sealed lenses. The high end of Pentax's 35mm lenses are mid-range in the Pentax product line.

They are great cameras. Great usability and super robust. There are videos where a guy cleans his dusty K-5 with a water hose. Problem is the lens and accessory selection. Sigma and Tamron used to support them but not anymore. The old Pentax lenses are excellent quality but new lenses are coming out only slowly.

My biggest gripe was focusing performance. The lenses and cameras can be horribly slow to focus. That's why I switched to Fuji which is much better.

The tradeoff for slow screw drive autofocus is simpler lenses designs. Part of what makes Pentax lenses robust is the absence of focusing and stabilization motors and reduced electronics. It also means there is less reason for Pentax to produce a new lens model, optical formulas don't change much over time.

Even the ones with SDM (no screw drive) like the 50-135 or 60-250 are really slow. My screw drive lenses often were faster.

I like Tom Hogan's takes on the industry http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/whats-the-entry-point.ht...

He is a Nikon centered photographer, but has a (distant) computer background and a very critical eye on a lot of stuff happening.

Nowhere near a professional, but my K-30 has been going strong for years and years for my touristy needs. Not quite as big a selection of lenses, but unless you need something very specific you can find one, and they are quite good. Even an old Soviet Helios with a K-Mount adapter works perfectly, and I think ergonomics and build quality is somewhat better than in a same-priced Canikon.

Another blob in my computer?

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