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Your future Apple laptop could be an iPhone

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It’s not exactly a new idea, but we all know it’s not cool until Apple does it. There have been attempts at a device like this a couple of times before. But it’s just never really taken off. We’re talking about a laptop-like dock for your smartphone. The only one that’s seen any kind of popularity at all is the Motorola Atrix Lapdock. And even that is more amongst the Raspberry Pi crowd than its originally intended target.

Published recently by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s patent provides their take on the idea. And the idea is very cool. It would be very handy to be able to just plug my phone into a larger screen and keyboard while away from home. But can Apple pull it off? Or is it another “me too!” device that’s doomed to fail?

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Canon file new patents for one curved and one bendy sensor

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Technically, I suppose, it’s two curved sensors. But, one of them can actually be bent and have the curve adjusted at will. At least, that’s how it seems if I’m reading this right. The reasons for these curved sensors seem to cite primarily technical and practical benefits of a curved sensor. One that can be bent at the user’s behest, though, opens up a whole host of potentially cool and interesting creative options for the future of photography.

The first patent, filed in April 2015 was published a couple of weeks ago. It shows a fixed curved sensor. If Google’s translation is any good, Egami seem to suggest that this is designed to help reduce vignetting issues. But, each lens presents vignetting in a slightly different way, so I think it’s likely that this design is with a specific lens in mind. Perhaps some type of compact camera, or even a cellphone.

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Tamron patents 115mm f/1.4 VC lens

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It seems that these days, 3rd party lens manufacturers are doing everything they can to try to upstage everybody else. After Nikon’s recent introduction of the 105mm f/1.4E, Tamron have now filed a patent for a 115mm f/1.4 VC lens. If they make it, this would make it the longest f/1.4 autofocus* lens out there, taking Nikon’s recent crown.

What’s even more interesting than the slightly longer focal length is the fact that this lens comes with VC (their version of VR/IS). The Nikon 105mm f/1.4 doesn’t have any kind of built in stabilisation at all. If this becomes more than just a patent, that single feature alone could see it winning out for Nikon shooters. Assuming the optical quality stands up to demands.

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Canon file another 28-560mm f/2.8-5.6 superzoom patent

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Canon filed a patent for a 28-560mm f/2.8-5.6L IS lens just a few short months ago. Now, they’ve taken out the image stabilisation and filed another. Many believed that the previous filing was just another patent that would never actually exist in the real world. This new filing suggests that it might happen after all.

It’s been rumoured for a while that Canon have been working on a replacement for the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS. The 28-300mm is an monster of a lens, weighing in at 3.67lbs (~1.7kg) priced around $2500. Could this be its successor?

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Canon patents 40-800mm F4.5-5.6 lens, it would be great if it’s made, but I am skeptical

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Canon just patented a 40-800mm lens. Isn’t this just incredible. In old point and shoot terms the box would have been marked X20. You have to admit it’s impressive. I mean, the only thing that comes close to that is my old 14-400 modem. Oh, it is full frame too.

It’s not that there were not huge zooms ranges before, Nikon made the excellent (for its price) 18-200 lens, and sigma has the ultra telephoto 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 (a.k.a bigma).

There is not much information about the patent on egami who first shared it, but here is a quick taste of the focal lengths and their corresponding f-stops and angles of view:

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Canon’s new 1000mm lens could be half as big and ready in time for the Olympics

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Companies put out patents for new stuff all the time, and Canon have filed 4,134 of them, many of which will never actually exist in reality, but every now and again, one comes along that looks gives a very strong indicator for eventual release.

Patent No. 2016-102852, reported by Canon Rumors, appears to show that Canon have developed an optical formula to build a massive EF 1000mm f/5.6 DO lens.

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You thought that Google Glass was bad? Sony wants to make a contact lens camera

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Eons ago (at least in technological terms) Google were out to change the world with their Google glass wearable tech. One of the most prominent objections to that tech was people being afraid of being spied upon.  Google Glass now lies at the bottom of Google’s failed-projects cemetery.

Sony is out to bring this concept to life only taking the glass away. And we know how bringing dead things to life seems like a good idea, but really never is…

The concept that Sony patented puts a full camera inside a contact lens.

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Future Samsung smartphones could have interchangeable lens mounts

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Samsung might be looking to exit the mirrorless camera market, but a recent patent suggests they’re far from exiting the photography market as a whole.

Newly discovered patents show that Samsung is potentially working on both dedicated smartphone cameras, similar to Panasonic’s Lumix CM1, as well as smartphones that feature interchangeable lens mount attachments.[Read More…]

Gura Gear Settled a Lawsuit with Peak Design Over its Record-Breaking Everyday Messenger Bag

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Earlier this week, Gura Gear’s acquisition of Tamrac closed its final chapter when the camera bag manufacturer announced the G-Elite series. While the merging of the two entities might be complete, it’s been far from smooth sailing.

In September of this year, Gura Gear filed a lawsuit claiming Peak Design’s new Everyday Messenger bag, funded on Kickstarter and designed with the help of photographer Trey Ratcliff, infringes on a number of patents held by Gura Gear.[Read More…]

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