Super Shooter said:
But what would the benefits of such a design be in this application? What other similar designs are you refering to TaoTeJared? An optical mouse perhaps?

An optical mouse is not the same - it is a wired USB connection not optical. You may want to read more on the internet for optical data connections better known as fiber optics. There is a wealth of knowledge that can better describe it than I can. Basically stated it is used to pump huge amounts of information though it. Huge, I mean 1 gigabytes, 5 gigabytes per second or more over distances of 50 feet (15m) or more (In the uses I have dealt with). Connections in cameras are still in the single bytes except image capture and transfer to a card which is only 1 inch (25mm). This is an expensive and quite finicky (compared to copper and other alloys) technology as well.

Either way - many years off from us seeing anything.

Maybe Nikon is planning something like this for their EVIL camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgBl0ejQ8c0&feature=player_embedded

Yes it's fake but so were the spaceships in Star Trek. Still cool to watch :^)

I don't think you can be serious, Super Shooter. This thing looks like a non-starter to me (maybe I'm missing something?). What topics haven't been discussed on this forum? It's true there are a lot of purchase advice threads, but it seems like that happens more after big product releases (the most recent being the D7000).

I guess I just can't see the benefit of using this instead of standard electrical contacts. Switching to optical signals allows you to control features of the lens when it's far from the camera. But when is your lens far from the camera? It may also let you transmit data at higher rates, but unless you want to put the memory card interface in the lens or there's a potential for significant autofocus or VR performance improvements, I really don't see the point.

So nobody has an opinion on this? OK so that pretty much proves my theory that the only questions this forum cares about are the ones that help me choose what I should purchase. More of you were willing to help me choose a billiard table over a camera then discuss Nikon's new technology. Wow!!!! Just WOW!!!!!

But what would the benefits of such a design be in this application? What other similar designs are you refering to TaoTeJared? An optical mouse perhaps?

There are 1,000s of Nikon patents the never went anywhere and I can't see this going to far either. If it is a good idea, they will patent it though. (Just look at Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, and HTC battling on touch interfaces.) Whoever's patent wins allot of royalties are to be had.

Interesting though for other technologies. There are allot of similar designs for computer and communication systems.

Yes Nikon filed such a patent according to the NR blog.
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/01/04/nikon-files-a-patent-for-optical-communication-between-lens-and-body.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NikonRumors+%28NikonRumors.com%29

I would think that such an optical link would be a bad idea because it would be very prone to dirt and smudges. I'm trying to understand what exactly would the benefit be? How would such a design make current F-mount lenses work with a new Nikon mirrorless camera with an adapter?

Yes, well, I thoroughly enjoyed that billiards thread. It seemed less nonsensical than some other threads and a lot more funny, but we soldier on.

Where did you read about this, Super Shooter? I haven't heard of it, but I don't always pay attention to the patent applications on the main blog. If it is some kind of interface with the lens, it seems like you'd still want to have power contacts to power things like AF motors and VR systems.

How would an optical lens link work? Would it be something like an IR beam that just relays aperture and focus settings to the camera body? How exactly would an adapter for such a lens design work with older camera bodies?

My last question in this forum, "Billiard table or wait for the D700 replacement?" got closed, so hopefully this question will get me back on the moderators good side :)