Canon is full steam ahead as far as lens development goes, as a whole slew of optical formulas have appeared at patent offices.

These are the latest EF mount optical formulas. It’s possible that these are Cinema lenses as they appear to be close to parfocal.

Japan Patent Application 2019-066585

Canon EF 16mm f/1.4

• Focal distance 16.40mm 16.36mm 16.21mm
• F number 1.45 1.45 1.45
• Half field angle 52.84° 52.84° 52.84°
• Image height 21.64mm 21.64mm 21.64mm
• Whole length of the lens 98.97mm 98.65mm 97.42mm
• BF 38.50mm 38.83mm 40.05mm

Canon EF 20mm f/1.4

• Focal distance 20.50mm 20.45mm 20.26mm
• F number 1.45 1.45 1.45
• Half field angle 46.54° 46.54° 46.54°
• Image height 21.64mm 21.64mm 21.64mm
• Whole length of the lens 100.04 99.55 97.71
• BF 38.32mm 38.81mm 40.64mm

Read more…

Canon Inc. has released its 2019 Q1 financial results.

Canon presentation summary of the imaging division:

In the first quarter, sales of interchangeable-lens cameras were down 19% to 850 thousand units. This reflects the combined impact of accelerated market contraction for DSLRs, in particular, entry-level models, and economic slowdown in China, which is a sizeable market for interchangeable-lens cameras.

The habit of capturing images with smartphones with improved cameras has become a part of the daily lives of consumers. As a result, the market for entry-level DSLRs is contracting at a pace that exceeds the outlook we had at the beginning of the year. That said, we expect the user base of professionals and advanced-amateur, people who value the image quality and expressive possibilities afforded by cameras with large sensors and an abundance of interchangeable-lenses to remain. For the market overall, however, we expect the trend of market contraction to continue for some time.

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Press Release:

With its new Otus 1.4/100, ZEISS has expanded the tried and tested Otus family to include a new telephoto focal length. The ZEISS Otus 1.4/100 is one of the best lenses in its class due to its low sample variation, outstanding imaging performance, and superior build quality.

With the same uncompromising performance that makes all Otus lenses stand out, the ZEISS Otus 1.4/100 is a truly exceptional lens. A lens that is a reflection of the comprehensive expertise and extensive experience of ZEISS.

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*Update* After speaking with a couple of people, it turns out that this image sensor has no chance of ever making it to a consumer product. One person said its likely application is security if it ever actually makes it into production.

Without giving specifics, the source said that the format of the document removes the chance of this being for consumer photography applications.

A leaked document shows that Canon has a full frame 63mp image sensor in the pipeline. There is no way to verify this information or this document’s authenticity, but from reading the document below, things do look legit.

I do expect some folks on the forum to rip this apart if they mistakes or things that don’t make sense from an engineering standpoint. Chime in and let us know what you think.

Canon News has some analysis of this document and they point out the following observations:

1. The user also mentions it was made with a 300nm process.  Canon has used 130,180 and 500nm processes that I’m aware of.  I would fail to see the reason why Canon would upgrade some equipment to an interim step of 300nm.
2. The read noise of this is far worse than for instance an 80D sensor scaled.  At worst case, this sensor should be no worse than the 80D sensor, as it’s the same pixel pitch as the 80D sensor.
3. The DR matches the 6D Mark II DR curve and not the current generation 5D Mark IV or even 80D DR curves.Calculated DR for ISO’sISO100: 12.00evISO200: 11.94evISO400: 11.55evISO800: 10.84evISO1600: 10.11evISO3200: 9.35evThis is exactly like the 6D Mark II DR curve.  (btw, if you ever wanted proof that the 6D Mark II used on sensor ADC’s. here it is)
4. If you look at Canon’s actual real datasheets for sensors (go here https://canon-cmos-sensors.com/) they have revision marks and notes in the footers and a big red “specs are subject to change without notice” in the header.  This document does not have either. Read the full analysis.

There has been a flurry of sensor talk over the last few weeks, though we haven’t posted much about it because most of it cannot be confirmed with any sort of certainty.

We’re now told that a brand new 32.5mp APS-C sensor is slated to arrive in an EOS M camera as well as in a DSLR sometime in 2019. This comes shortly after being told that an all-new 24mp APS-C sensor was on the way.

The source claims they’re “100% certain” that this sensor is coming in 2019.

I cannot confirm this information, so please take it with a grain of salt. It is rated [CR1].

The follow-up for the Canon EOS 7D Mark II has been talked about for the last year or two, with varying degrees of information being passed onto the rumor sites. This has obviously lead to a lot of speculation about the future of the flagship APS-C shooter Canon.

We’re now being told that no EOS 7D Mark III is coming down the pipeline from Canon. Instead, we’re going to see a replacement for the EOS 80D that will move slightly upmarket to cover the prosumer and enthusiast APS-C shooters.

We’re told that there will be an EOS R camera body that will come to replace the EOS 7D Mark II. However, we weren’t told whether or not the replacement would still be APS-C or if we’ll see a full frame camera in its place.

Read more…

With the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS already announced, it was only a matter of time before an f/4 version of the lens hit the market. This patent shows that Canon is actively working on such a lens.

Unlike the RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, the f/4 version in this patent appears to show an internal zoom lens design.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L:

• Focal Length: 72.20mm 130.45mm 194.20mm
• F-Number: 4.00 3.95 4.00
• Angle of View: 16.68° 9.42° 6.36°
• Image Height: 21.64mm 21.64mm 21.64mm
• Total Lens Length: 215.54mm 215.54mm 215.54mm
• BF: 25.98mm 25.98mm 25.98mm

Read more…

The Canon RF lens lineup will obviously include more affordable non-L options, and this patent shows Canon is working on such optical formulas.

The back focus on the RF 28mm f/1.8 is really short, which is quite interesting.

Canon RF 28mm f/1.8

• Focal length: 28.80mm
• F-number: 1.85
• Half angle of view: 36.91°
• Image height: 21.64mm
• Total lens length: 80.30mm
• BF: 7.00mm

Canon RF 50mm f/1.8

• Focal length: 48.50mm
• F-number: 1.85
• Half angle of view: 24.04°
• Image height: 21.64mm
• Total lens length: 95.00mm
• BF: 15.80mm

We had previously reported on the possibility of an RF 50mm f/1.8 IS coming sometime in 2019. With the coming IBIS in Canon mirrorless cameras, we may not see IS in these types of lenses to reduce size and weight.

You can now download firmware v1.2.0 for the Canon EOS R.

Enhancements:

• Eye-detection AF
  • Supports Servo AF when shooting still images.
  • Now available when shooting movies regardless of “Movie Servo AF” setting.
• Small AF Frame Size
  • Supports Servo AF when shooting still images.
  • Now available when shooting movies regardless of “Movie Servo AF” setting.

Fixes:

1. Under certain conditions, the electronic level displayed in the electronic viewfinder did not display properly.
2. Under certain conditions information displayed in the electronic viewfinder was not properly rotated.
3. Under certain conditions updating the firmware for the wireless file transmitter, WFT-E7 was not possible.

Download firmware v1.2.0 for the Canon EOS R

We’re told that the next generation of Canon CMOS image sensors will begin with an all-new 24mp APS-C sensor inside Canon’s next DSLR and EOS M cameras.

What sorts of improvements we’re going to see in the next generation of sensors wasn’t divulged to us, but we’re hoping to see some major advancements from Canon in this area.

Canon is putting resources into updated dual pixel AF, quad pixel AF and stacked image sensors if we go by the patents we’ve seen over the last year or two. APS-C video shooters might also appreciate line skipping being introduced to get rid of the crop. It’d also be nice to get 4K DPAF in these new cameras.

The next ILC cameras from Canon are an EOS 80D replacement as well as an update to the EOS M5. Neither of these cameras can afford to recycle the current 24mp sensor by just adding direct read 4K.

More to come…