@bwv812 wrote:
That's basically the entire digital media price discrimination system. DRM makes it just difficult enough that some will opt for iTunes, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, or whatever. And the next level is physical media.
Well, they do compete on firmware quality, just not only on firmware quality. I mean, Nikon and Sony share the same sensors. Firmware and software makes up much of the differentiation between their bodies. Sure, lens mounts are a huge factor, as are ancillary hardware considerations as well as ergonomics and the like, but firmware and software is likely the major differentiating factor in terms of IQ.
I'm not so optimistic that fully open-source firmware would result in the innovation you hope for, given the huge investments necessary to develop a lot of the core functionality. I'm not sure that the necessarily higher costs of entry into an unlocked system would make these open-source implementations cost effective. In fact, without ad-supported revenue streams available for developers, I'm not sure that there would be much incentive to develop on this kind of platform.
Out of curiosity, how many people are actively making software for this, and how useful are their creations? Do they do anything more than simply unlock features already developed by Canon, or can they do something really interesting like add lens corrections to an older camera?