Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Canon has been working on their own focal length reducers. Lens adapters commonly sold under “speedbooster” or similar names, these adapters translate a larger projection circle, like that from a full frame lens, to the smaller sizes needed by APS-C and smaller sensors.
Now, a new Japanese patent discovered by Canon Rumors shows that Canon has filed patents covering at least four more reduced optical formulas.
South Korean electronic giants Samsung may be entering into the drone market, according to a patent published by the US Patents & Trademark Office. According to GizmoChina, though, it’s not just any drone. It’s a “transformable drone”. Exactly how that’s different from a “folding drone”, I’m not so sure, but that’s what GizmoChina call it.
Lens adapters to put Canon EF mount lenses onto M mount bodies are nothing new. Canon’s had one for a while now. But when it comes to speedbooster style adapters, one company’s pretty much had the market sewn up, and that’s Metabones. But Metabones only produces such adapters for Sony, Micro Four Thirds and Fuji crop cameras. At least for now.
A new Japanese patent (2018185393) suggests that Canon will be working on their own, now, though, breathing some new life to their EOS M mount line of cameras – as well as their EF mount lenses as they make the push towards full frame mirrorless.
Canon has stated that their new full-frame mirrorless line will sit alongside their existing systems in their product lineup. That an APS-C format mirrorless in the EOS R is essentially not possible, and that EOS M will continue to live on and see development.
True to their word, a new patent has just surfaced for a potential 10mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens design. The short backfocus distance suggests that it is for a mirrorless camera with an APS-C projection size. Given that it’s APS-C, it won’t be for the EOS R, but for the EOS M line.
According to a patent unearthed by Japanese blog Hi Low Note, Canon appears to be working on a new IBIS system. Great news for those who were annoyed by the distinct lack of any kind of stabilisation in the new Canon EOS R Mirrorless camera. There has been statements about why Canon didn’t include IBIS, but it was never ruled out as a possibility in future models.
Interestingly, though, this patent doesn’t actually show a mirrorless camera, but a DSLR.
Earlier this year, we saw a patent for a fingerprint sensor from Canon. Nikon has just taken things a bit further. The company has filed a patent for biometric sensors that will read a photographer’s emotions. They will be placed on the lens, as well as on the camera, to record your biometric information while you are shooting.
We’ve covered many interesting patents from Canon so far. The one spotted recently reveals that Canon’s 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens will get a new design and feature a small LCD display like the one on the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM.
Well, this is interesting. I knew that most optical image stabilisation systems in lenses used electromagnetic fields in order to try and keep the elements steady. But what I hadn’t considered was how these fields might affect noise on the sensor and in the images. As it turns out, it affects them enough to warrant Canon developing a new system to help reduce it.
Remember when Huawei released the P9 and everybody got excited over its cameras because they had Leica written on them? And then there was the whole controversy over exactly how much involvement Leica had with their development? Well, it seems here we have another item bearing the Leica name with questionable origins. According to a patent recently filed by Konica Minolta, the $5,500 Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH lens is actually their design. Not Leicas.
A new patent spotted by Canon News shows a lens mount that looks similar to both Canon’s EF and EF-M mounts but is actually neither. The web translation of the patent is a little confusing. The patent seems to suggest, though, that this mount could be some kind of hybrid compatible with both full frame EF and EF-M mirrorless lenses.
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can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
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