We recently discussed the patent here that talked about a motorized tilt-shift lens. It was my imagination that Canon could expand the functionality far beyond simply lens control.
Well, it turns out the smart minds at Canon thought the same.
This patent application allows the user to select areas in which they want in focus, and the camera will automatically adjust the tilt to include the objects in the plane of focus.
More importantly, it appears as if Canon wishes this operation to be continuous thus allowing the user to handhold a lens that is tilting and automatically adjusting for the user's hand movement. This is something pretty much impossible with today's tilt-shift lenses unless you are far steadier than I could ever dream of being.
While I get many people suggesting that manual control is best for tilt-shift – the ability to do things like this takes tilt-shift lenses into another realm altogether.
As with all patent applications, this may never end up in an actual patent, or an actual product. It does however show us what Canon is researching and at least thinking about.
Source: Japan Patent Application 2023-140195
I am worried about:
It certainly will come long before such a complex TS patent turns into an optical reality. So, prepare your cash, and that preciousss will "soon" be yours.
Just a few more years...:devilish:
Noooooo! o_O
by tilting the plane of focus you change what is in focus. i would have to assume what we consider AF would need to be part of this because that is necessary to move the focal plane up and down even with the right tilt amount
I do agree that Canon should lean into the computation thing a bit more, in a workflow friendly way. With DPAF we get a depth-map for free, but Canon doesn’t give up that, only a handful of DPP4 exclusive tricks like face relighting.