Open Source Consumer Grade Camera
Discussion with Simon Varga, Apertus developer
1
Christoph - what is the latest status of Apertus? Is anyone working on a lower performance derivative? I would like Axiom later on for professional purposes, but we also have a need for multiple simple cameras for use in timelapse, aerial drones, etc - open source so we can fix them as we go through a lot of broken cameras here.
2
Hi Marcin,
hm.. i don't know what to say, i wish the same: a ready camera with a housing, a button interface and a solid workflow. it is not jet done due the lack of interest in the enduser (that's a little bit cynic but also true). the core team are people who like to invent one feature after another and push the technical side but don't focus on the whole cain of the product. so what you can get already is a working stack of pcb's and a sensor. for your purpose the smaller s16 sensor would be perfect (also for professional needs) and that is a LOT cheaper (alltogether arround 500€).
the team is ruled by 'doocracy' (everybody is doing what he/she want's) and there is a lack of social structure and that consumes a lot of energy. no constitution and so on. a friend of mine is trying to establish better and more equal communication but he is starting by now so we will see after 6 month how this developes. i hope that after the summer (with a lot of google summer of codes participants) there will be a big push forward. there should be a design for the whole workflow and not so much a fragmented perspective on single solutions. an open source video workflow from the idea to the final product. at the moment i start a club (open community) of media artists and selfemployed's to share room, knowledge and audio/video equipment. the idea is to focus on workflows and develop them well over the next 2-3 years. this is really the core of this 'rental' - you rent a workflow and not products. and therefore we want to find a way to spread the knowledge and maybe establish an open workflow with open source technology in the end. bringing it back to apertus and creating a demand for finished products. i got very inspired by your approach to establish a social system around your hardware to make sure the knowledge will spread. maybe this way around the axiom have a better chance because as a stand alone product it has too many and excellent competitors. a system which stimulates all the bricks lying around for them selves to cooperate and built something greater: simply a working open source video environment. meanwhile i will use a panasonic GH5 ;)
i hope you could get something out of my text :) and maybe you will come up with a more concrete questions so that i can pass you on to someone who can help you better.
all the best,
christoph
