Box shaped cinema cameras are not a new idea. We’ve seen a number of them over the years from companies like Panasonic with the BGH1 and BS1H, as well as the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. It’s also a pretty major design feature of just about every camera from RED, too. We’ve also seen boxy cameras from Canon in the form of the ME200S-SH, but that’s designed for broadcast, it’s not a cinema camera, and it’s not RF mount.
The idea of a boxy Canon cinema camera has been around since at least 2019, but nothing ever seems to have come from it. Now, though, a new patent appears to show some potential development on a boxy Canon EOS Cinema camera. In fact, compared to the 2019 patent, it looks like it’s been developed a lot. There’s no news on when (or if) we’ll hear an actual release, but it looks very promising.
The design of the camera is a lot more detailed than previous patents. And on the images, one thing that particularly sticks out is that it looks like it uses a pair of batteries. It’s possible that the camera requires two batteries in order to operate, but it could also suggest that it’s able to run from a single battery and that the two slots are hot-swappable, allowing you to quickly and easily switch them out without having to stop recording or power the camera down.
Asobinet has posted a summary of the patent, essentially explaining that it has a short flange distance, like a regular mirrorless camera. This pretty much confirms that it will be an RF mount camera, although I think there’s little doubt now that Canon has completely abandoned EF mount, so it’s also a logical assumption to make, too. The body, they say, is capable of shooting in a vertical orientation or even being mounted upside down.
Beyond that, there’s not much information, and searches online for the publication number seem to be coming up fruitless. When, or even if, we’ll see a boxy cinema camera from Canon remains to be seen, but it’s obviously wanted. Other brands make them, and customers are buying them. YM Cinema goes so far as to suggest that it’s very inspired by the RED Komodo. So, perhaps we could see a direct competitor.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more, but would you prefer a box shaped cinema camera, or will you stick with the standard mirrorless camera form factor?
[via Asobinet]
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