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Official Nikon Hacks, D7000, D7100, D3100, D3200, D5100, V1, V2, J1, D4, D800 and Nikon Tool
  • 336 Replies sorted by
  • toeneetoenee
    Someone just loaded a modified firmware. Looks like theres progress after all. http://www.flickr.com/photos/69296392@N07/sets/72157628134287329/with/6396359065/
  • viljamiviljami
    I'd want a hack for the D7000 so bad. Maybe someone who's interested and knows what he is doing could start a kickstarter.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    >I agree that discovering the checksum CRC algorithm is the next important thing.

    Just checksum. CRC stands for specific algorithms (usually CRC32 and CRC16).
    It can be done by reversing.

    >Hopefully Simeon will reconsider his position and help with firmware the firmware hacking of the Nikon D7000

    Yep. Also hope for this.
  • bleach551bleach551
    Hopefully Simeon will reconsider his position and help with firmware the firmware hacking of the Nikon D7000
  • dtrashrdtrashr
    I agree that discovering the checksum CRC algorithm is the next important thing. Simeon did a little test on his blog where he changed a single text character, and the the update failed so the checksum is clearly used during firmware updates.
  • roosroos
    I might just start such a project to create a hacked firmware. Its a long time since i did assembler, but machine code is always machine code and it cant be that much more complicated than coding compilers. A lot of new stuff to learn ofcourse and a lot to relearn too, but this could actually be a such a project that could revitalize my interest in coding.

    Getting the checksums and encryption right to actually enable a modified firmware to be accepted by the camera would be the hard part for me. My skills are old and modern encryption is young in comparison. Tracing the code to figure out what it does and modify it to do slightly different things on the other hand would be much more in line with my former line of work.
  • dtrashrdtrashr
    If you ever get the time to look into it, I'm sure a lot of Nikon users would be happy to donate for the needed hardware etc. Me included. But I understand that you are super busy now.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Just let's wait now.
    I could help a little.
    But don't have any time now.
    We have few new panasonic projects ahead and new firmware for GH2 also.
  • mojo43mojo43
    I think he just doesn't want to have anyone waiting thinking that he owes them anything. That would be my assumption. Have you thought about hacking it Vitaliy or are you busy with the other hacks?
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Main problem right now is that Simeon looks pretty scared.
    Going from "I need money for IDA Pro" to "I won't do anything besides encryption".
  • bumkichobumkicho
    Judging by VK's comments, it seems there is very little we can realistically expect at this moment. I guess the first question should be if Vitaliy foresees this development going anywhere or not.
  • bleach551bleach551
    @dtrashr,

    I believe what Lpowell is saying is that with exposure on the D7000 and D5100 what you see in your lcd screen is what you get. I just wanted another way to check that what I am seeing is correct. Like the old Ronald Reagan slogan goes " Trust, but verify"
  • dtrashrdtrashr
    @LPowell: Not quite sure what you mean here, since there are no exposure indicators in live view on my d7000, only when using the viewfinder. If you mean that live view reflects exposure changes, then you are of course correct.
  • LPowellLPowell
    @dtrashr
    On the D7000, you can accurately judge exposure levels on the Live View display in any of the P, A, S, or M exposure modes. On the D5100, you can judge exposure in P, A, or S modes, but not in M exposure mode.

    Unfortunately, neither camera has histograms or zebras in Live View mode, nor do they support 60p recording in any resolution.
  • dtrashrdtrashr
    Great work! Very excited to see what this may bring. The d7000 is a great camera with excellent low light performance, but could really use some hacking magic to improve it's video.

    Improvements to the video quality, with options for all "I" frames etc. would be absolutely fantastic of course! If more frame rate options (25p, 30p or dare I dream of 60p) could be enables then that would be amazing.

    The same would live histogram or zebra peaking during recording, since the d7000 has no way to accurately judge exposure in live view.

    For photos, I would love to have more than todays limited three frame(-2 to +2 stop) bracketing.
  • LPowellLPowell
    The D5100 works fine as-is, though any hacks that unlock buried D7000 features would be most welcome. However, in order for manual exposure settings to work properly on the D5100 in video mode, three different patches would be required:

    1. Support for setting aperture manually with the lens aperture ring in M exposure mode.
    2. Use of manual shutter speed setting in videos recorded in M exposure mode.
    3. Display of actual exposure on the Live View screen in M exposure mode.

    If manual video controls were patched in without also patching in proper Live View display of exposure in M mode, you would have no way of monitoring the effects of your exposure settings. This is what makes manual video controls worthwhile on the D7000.
  • bleach551bleach551
    Well here goes,

    The Features I would like are:

    1) Higher bit rates other than the 20 to 28mbits it currently uses in "High" Quality mode( With preference for all "I" frames as in "Driftwoods" settings)

    2) Live Histogram in "Live View" with a Plus/minus exposure bar, along with a Battery info indicator as in the GH1/GH2.

    3) Customize "AE-L/AF-L" button for either a " User 3" button or to be used for an in-camera setting other than for Auto exposure or Auto focus.

    4) Customize "Main Dial" for more in-camera functions.

    5) to be able to incorporate "Active D-lighting" more in the video mode of the D7000 to improve dynamic range.

    6) To remove, Like others have mentioned, the onscreen display info. for a clean HDMI signal out.

    7) 2K record out and possible record.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @bleach551

    Yep, exactly this. Bunch of unfounded fantasies :-)
  • bleach551bleach551

    Forgive me for not Knowing this, but what is "Nikon Fantasies". I assume its a wishlist of desired hacked features for the Nikon DSLR cameras.
  • alcomposeralcomposer
    +1 VK!
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    It looks like we badly need "Nikon fantasies" topic.
  • roosroos
    There is actually no need for a new firmware to stop down at all during live view nor OVF viewving on the D5100, it only makes the viewfinder darker which makes it harder to frame and set the focus. The reason the GH2 does it stopped down all the time is propobly because they cant control the aperture at all with such lenses or it is a manufacturer decision to cripple the use of old lenses and boost the sales of new ones or they just didnt bother to implement open aperture viewing. The need for stopping down comes when starting the meetering system, that is usually then half pressing or hitting the ae/af-button.
  • LPowellLPowell
    @roos
    Thanks for the background info on D5100 exposure. However, it's not clear to me why the Nikons can't work the same way the GH2 works with manual lenses - i.e. treat the lens aperture as externally stopped down and adjust exposure accordingly. Of course, this works more intuitively when you have Live View displaying what-you-see-is-what-you-get exposure levels. On the D5100 (but not the D7000), Live View works this way in P, A, and S modes, but not in full Manual exposure mode. I get the impression that Nikon still has a viewfinder-centric approach to camera design, and has not completely digested the implications of full-time Live View mode to the degree that Panasonic has.
  • roosroos
    LPowell: The D5100 (and similar) lacks the physical connection to read the aperture information from an ai(s) lens. In theory, this shouldnt make it impossible to make the camera measure the light and calculate the correct shutter speed in aperture prioroty. It might even be possible to have a full open aperture viewfinder when the mirror is down. However, flash calculation might be a problem and there will be no way of the camera to calculate and inform the shooter of the foreseen exposure time before stopping down.

    I think the workflow could be something like this:
    1. User sets the aperture on the aperture ring.
    2. Camera keeps the aperture full open when turned on.
    3. When the user half press the shutter release the camera release the aperture pin, making the lens and stop down to the chosen aperture. Camera also starts to meeter the light on the focusing screen.
    4. Full press or full release of the shutter release goes back to normal camera behaviour.
  • bleach551bleach551
    @Lpowell,

    Sorry, I thought you were talking about the D7000, My Bad.
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