Some ideas

So, with the broad strokes of the electronics out of the way, the broad strokes of everything else still need to be taken care of. I'm partial to cameras with handgrips on the front, molded shapes, so I'm thinking that's going to be in my design. The box I put the machine in won't really matter, though, as the electronics should be small enough to fit in just about any shape you want them to. I might even make mine out of mahogany or titanium or something else interesting.

There's control: you need to be able to control shutter and iso in the field. What else? It's a RAW only machine, and it writes to internal flash. So, what controls do we need? Apeture is on the lenses. I suppose a switch for single/continuous drive would be handy. I'm not going to bother with a screen, so no menu interface, no zoom/playback buttons. There isn't any modality, even: there's a apeture priority position on the shutter speed dial, and the rest is manual. simple is better. I think that's it. there's probably something easy I'm missing.

Batteries: I'm thinking 3-4 AAs, and then I'll have the option of rechargeables or disposables. and I'll be able to power it anywhere.

that's all for now. more later.