Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
The Nikon Coolpix P900 has an incredible zoom range of 24-2000mm (equivalent) and has been a pretty hot camera as far as point and shoot cameras go. Its successor might just up the ante if a new Nikon patent application comes to fruition. [Read more…]
C&A Marketing, which licenses Polaroid’s brand name, is suing GoPro for patent infringement of its Polaroid Cube line of action cameras. C&A claims that the GoPro HERO4 Session is a ripoff of the Cube, which was introduced to the market several months before the HERO4 Session.
If you were familiar with the Polaroid Cube prior to the HERO4 Session launch, you couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity of the two.
I said as much in my coverage of the HERO4 Session announcement coverage: [Read more…]
A pair of folded lens patent applications from Apple surfaced last month. These patent applications were both filed in May 2014 but only published in September. [Read more…]
One of the major criticisms of DSLRs, and specifically Canon DSLRs, is the use of a rolling shutter that produces motion artifacts. This rolling shutter effect is very prevalent in video with Canon DSLRs thanks to the readout method of the CMOS image sensors.
It has certainly improved with recent models (the 5D Mark II was a mess and the 5D Mark III is much better) but Canon is continuing to refine the process and reveals some of the methods it is seeking to use in a pair of recent patent applications. [Read more…]
Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS II USM Lens Patent Diagram
In a recently published patent application, Canon details a new 35mm f/2 lens. You can see the optical formula in the above diagram.
The lens construction is 104.5mm long, so it is quite a bit longer than the current model at 62.6mm. The patent also covers a revised image stabilizing system to the current EF 35mm f/2 IS USM.
It was filed on March 31, 2015. You can read it for yourself below. As always, let me know if anything else jumps out. [Read more…]
Canon EF-S 15-55mm f/2.8-4 STM Lens Patent Diagram
A recently published Canon patent application reveals a couple new lenses for the APS-C format cameras. [Read more…]
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 Patent Diagram
A recently published patent application from Canon reveals the development of new 50mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/1.4 lenses, which use similar optical formulas. We know the new EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens is due any day now but a 50mm f/1.4 lens hasn’t really been on the radar even though the current EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens is getting quite old. [Read more…]
A pair of recently published patent applications reveal updated versions of the Nikon 1 10mm f/2.8 lens and the Nikon 1 10-100mm f/4-5.6 VR lens.
The 10mm f/2.8 patent was filed back in March, while the 10-100mm f/4-5.6 VR lens patent was filed in late April. These are probably a couple of the more popular 1-Series lenses, so a replacement at some point makes sense.
As always, don’t take a patent filing as evidence of an impending announcement. It’s just something to keep on your radar.
You can check out the patents yourself by clicking links below.
In a recent patent application submitted to the USPTO, Canon revealed a new adapter under development that would essentially turn every Canon EF lens into a tilt-shift lens.
That’s pretty epic.
Read on for how it works and why it’s so cool. [Read more…]
Of all the odd patents I’ve seen from camera companies, this one is near the top of the list.
A recent patent application from Nikon (USPTO No. 14/407,791) reveals that the company has developed a smart water bottle that communicates via NFC with a smart watch (like the Apple Watch) to both measure the fluid intake from the body and can communicate with a health app to determine if the person needs to take in more fluid. [Read more…]