Canon patents a pop-up EVF to allow for larger rear LCDs
Apr 3, 2020
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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I’m genuinely amazed that this isn’t already a thing, but Canon has filed a patent for a pop-up electronic viewfinder. It really does make a lot of sense, because it means that there isn’t normally something sticking out the top of the camera when not in use, and when it is in use, you still get the entire back of the camera for your LCD – what appears to be the main goal of the patent.
The patent only shows a point & shoot – perhaps this is an idea for a future G7X Mark IV – but there’s no reason why something like this couldn’t potentially appear in some of Canon’s EOS M lineup, too, or possibly even in an entry-level full-frame EOS R body.
The images in the patent do clearly show a point & shoot compact with a built-in lens and not an interchangeable lens camera. Although it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that Canon may implement it in such a beast. It would make the most sense in one of the EOS M bodies, which have their diminutive stature as a key selling point. But with tiny full-frame bodies like the Sigma fp out there, Canon might just be looking to take a slice of that pie, too.
The patent was actually filed on September 26th last year, but the patent was just published on April 2nd. Exactly when or if we’ll see this pop up in the future is anybody’s guess. But I wouldn’t be too surprised if we did see it integrated into a G7X Mark III successor.
You can read the full patent here.
[via Northlight Images]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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7 responses to “Canon patents a pop-up EVF to allow for larger rear LCDs”
Except it’s already a thing for awhile now, Sony RX100 Mk III with pop-up EVF came out 6 years ago.
Seriously… looks identical. I wonder what “novel” aspect they’re patenting.
Very old news – already done by Canon in the G5X mk2. In fact those drawings look identical to the G5X mk2.
Righto. Some smart people at another site read the patent application, which is for “eye detection” to avoid false pop-outs. Retractable EVFs are obviously not new. I’d hope Canon will use this on mirrorless as well as more than the current PowerShot models.
“I’m genuinely amazed that this isn’t already a thing”… it IS a thing and has existed for years!
Poorly written as always… Can’t believe the so-called tech sites know so little about what they are writing about usually.
I’ve been enjoying this on my Sony RX100 MkV for years now and I still love it