Canon applies for a hybrid viewfinder patent

In this patent, discovered by CanonNews, Canon is applying for a hybrid optical and electronic rangefinder viewfinder. It would also have the ability to switch to fully electronic, full optical, and hybrid as machine translated and described below.
In the image pickup device, the function of the sight and the function of the electronic viewfinder are realized by using different display devices, so that the image pickup device becomes large. Therefore, the present invention   presents a small display device capable of switching between a sighting device and an electronic viewfinder.
An image in which an image from the objective window and an image displayed on the image display element are superimposed can be visually recognized.
In the above image figure (a) shows the mirror semi-transparent and figure b) shows the mirror fully reflective – allowing Canon to switch between optical and hybrid...

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koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,574
4,110
The Netherlands
I'd sell a kidney for an RF canonet
I really liked the Canonet QL17 when I had it, but I decided that the hassle of using film has to have a better pay-off and continued with a TLR for proper 6x6cm medium format.

But a *digital* Canonet, that would be great, I wonder if dual-pixel can be used to get a not-completely fake rangefinder EVF simulation.
 
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navastronia

R6 x2 (work) + 5D Classic (fun)
Aug 31, 2018
853
1,073
I really liked the Canonet QL17 when I had it, but I decided that the hassle of using film has to have a better pay-off and continued with a TLR for proper 6x6cm medium format.

But a *digital* Canonet, that would be great, I wonder if dual-pixel can be used to get a not-completely fake rangefinder EVF simulation.
I bought and had a Canonet QL17 Giii refurbished just last month. Only put 2 rolls through it so far, but happy enough with the results. It joins my Canon Demi half-frame camera and the two of them together constitute my entire film camera collection ;)
 
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justaCanonuser

Grab your camera, go out and shoot!
Feb 12, 2014
1,031
927
Frankfurt, Germany
In fact, Fuji introduced hybrid E/OVF many years ago, e.g. actually in the X-Pro2. Would be nice to see a sort of Canon P or 7 rangefinder with the RF mount, but I guess it would cover a small segment in Canon's user market. So I am not sure that they will come up with a real product. If, I'd take a closer look, since I still love shooting with classic rangefinders. Using them - guessing with the OFV that doesn't show exactly what you shoot, no chimping - fires imagination and trains a photographer's skills.
 
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TAF

CR Pro
Feb 26, 2012
491
158
I really liked the Canonet QL17 when I had it, but I decided that the hassle of using film has to have a better pay-off and continued with a TLR for proper 6x6cm medium format.

But a *digital* Canonet, that would be great, I wonder if dual-pixel can be used to get a not-completely fake rangefinder EVF simulation.

Let's follow that line of thinking...why not a modern TLR?

I'm still waiting for the Canon "3003" (as in Rollei 3003) digital body. RF mount, of course. Maybe this would be the way to create it.

With additive manufacturing and a deep parts bin (a problem at the moment, I know, but this too shall pass), this really isn't a difficult thing to do.
 
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SteveC

R5
CR Pro
Sep 3, 2019
2,678
2,592
But the most recent M6 body has NO eye-level viewfinder of any kind.
Luckily you can put on a detachable viewfinder. Of course if you do that, your hotshoe is filled. (If they were to come up with a detachable with a hot shoe on top of it...)

What irritated me was that they didn't offer the M6-II and detachable VF as a kit. You could either get the camera body by itself, or the camera, plus VF, plus a lens I didn't want (in one case I already had the lens, in the other I had a more-than-comparable Tamron lens). And they wonder why people sell their kit lenses!
 
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