Loading alternative additional pixel types (e.g. signed short) via ofPixels

Hi all, I'm in the process of loading GeoTIFF images (terrain data from NASA, etc) and found that the images won't load in their native format using the standard ofPixels loading methods. After digging around a little bit, it turns out that it is because the image format (TIFF) uses 16bit signed shorts. I tried to then load it by passing ofPixels_<short> (as opposed to using ofShortPixels (aka ofPixels_<unsigned short>), but putBmpIntoPixels() method doesn't support signed short pixels and fails.

Currently I'm able to successfully load the GeoTIFF images by reimplementing the FreeImage code, but I'm wondering if there would be a way to make putBmpIntoPixels() more flexible to allow data types other than the standard float, unsigned char, and unsigned short when using ofPixels_<>.

I realize there are strategic and style reasons for pre-defining the ofPixel_ types, but just curious. @arturoc do you have any thoughts on this?

Start by tracing the standard ofPixels loading path into putBmpIntoPixels() and compare it with the reimplemented FreeImage code described for GeoTIFF images. Define what support for signed-short pixels should cover, then verify that signed-short GeoTIFF data loads through the normal ofPixels methods without breaking float, unsigned-char, or unsigned-short pixels.