Classic Camera Database Major Redesign
An updated version of http://www.classiccameradatabase.com was just released. It includes most visibly a major overhaul of the design and aesthetics. I liked the old design a lot, but this design more closely aligns with the feel of late 90s early 2000s digital cameras with a modern take.
Most other improvements are technical and won't be seen, but will hopefully give faster load times and a more consistence experience overhaul.
I am also beta testing two new features:
- Uploading images for logged in users. After logging in, you will see an option to upload your images of a camera on the camera page.
- 3D models: Over the next few weeks I will be uploading 3D models of cameras I have scanned myself. Right now you can view a demo of this on the Olympus E-300 page: https://www.classiccameradatabase.com/camera/olympus-e-300
As always, provide feedback of any bugs you encounter or other issues either here or through the Contact Me page on the website.
It's slow going making updates, but after this large change behind the scenes I should be in a better position to develop new features more quickly, along with dedicating more time to adding more cameras to the database. 🙂
Thanks,
James
looks pretty neat, got that strong 90's PC games UI kind of vibe.
what are you using to do the 3d scans?
Quote from Cory Maben on February 23, 2023, 12:49 amI know you didn't ask specifically for design feedback and I want to say that I am saying this because I care. But I think the new color pallet is kind of uncomfortable to view. They are all bright colors and low contrast and I notice that I find it straining to look at for long periods. I use a dark filter on my browser and it mitigates it some, but I felt compelled to mention it. I feel bad considering that it does match that aesthetic you were going for and you clearly put a lot of work into it.
That being said, the website is super responsive and I particularly like the button animations when clicking on things, that feels really good to use. The filters are really fast and responsive and update quickly. I personally prefer to apply filters myself rather than have them apply automatically as the reloading can bog down especially when the database gets large and if I plan to alter several filters at once. I do like that there is no element resizing when it refreshes so I don't accidentally misclick a box I didn't intend to if I am trying to add or remove more than one filter at a time. I like the "current filters" tab on the sidebar, it makes it easy to remove specific things and see at a glance how I am filtering. I do wish it were at the top of the page rather than the bottom though and I would also like a 'clear all' button.
Please keep up the work on the site, I am very grateful that it exists as the only alternative I know of is the DPReview database which has it's own particular set of issues and I am glad there is a database being built for the purpose of sorting older cameras as it is currently very difficult to do elsewhere.
Of course you can offer feedback! The website can only get better when people provide input, so thanks!
In regards to contrast, I do run accessibility checks so the contrast between backgrounds and readable elements is at least accessible. But I'll note your experience because that is good to know. It's definitely very much a unique look.
Also noting your other feedback about search - I can definitely play with moving some of those features around the page.
And then of course I need to add many more cameras! Haha.
Quote from HoLun on February 22, 2023, 2:38 amlooks pretty neat, got that strong 90's PC games UI kind of vibe.
what are you using to do the 3d scans?
Thanks, that's what I was going for.
It's an app called WIDAR. There's a photogrammetry apps out there now that are pretty good. This area has really developed over the last couple years.
Cool, I'll check out the app, may be I can contribute some 3d scans and images to the database with some scans of my old digicams
