Patent: Canon Continues to Work on Curved Sensor Technology

[Canon Rumors]

<p>A patent showing curved sensor development, this one deals with using a magnetic system to deform the sensor. The translation below isn’t the best, but it should give you an idea of the technology.</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-173496 (<a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2016-10-19">Google Translated/Egami</a>)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.9.29</li>
<li>Filing date 2015.3.17</li>
<li>However, generally a dark current is generated by the image sensor, especially since the time of or during long exposure sensitivity is sometimes noise due to dark current are noticeable, various noise reduction process is performed. On the other hand, the imaging surface imaging element is curved in the imaging element curved dark current generated by the imaging device is known to be reduced by the tensile stress at the time of the.</li>
<li>Curving the imaging surface drive means</li>
<li>Driving means magnetic force</li>
<li>Curvature of dark current noise is reduced</li>
<li>Curvature priority to the correction of the curvature of field aberration</li>
</ul>
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[BeenThere]

<p>A patent showing curved sensor development, this one deals with using a magnetic system to deform the sensor. The translation below isn’t the best, but it should give you an idea of the technology.</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-173496 (<a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2016-10-19">Google Translated/Egami</a>)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.9.29</li>
<li>Filing date 2015.3.17</li>
<li>However, generally a dark current is generated by the image sensor, especially since the time of or during long exposure sensitivity is sometimes noise due to dark current are noticeable, various noise reduction process is performed. On the other hand, the imaging surface imaging element is curved in the imaging element curved dark current generated by the imaging device is known to be reduced by the tensile stress at the time of the.</li>
<li>Curving the imaging surface drive means</li>
<li>Driving means magnetic force</li>
<li>Curvature of dark current noise is reduced</li>
<li>Curvature priority to the correction of the curvature of field aberration</li>
</ul>
<span id="pty_trigger"></span>

Interesting that dark current can be reduced by tensile stress in the sensor. Application would likely be a specialty camera with a matching lens.

 

[pokerz]

palm size RX1 from Canon should be coming ;D

 

[kphoto99]

If one of the curvature positions can be flat then you can use existing lenses. But if you want the benefit of curved sensor then new lenses are needed. A new reason to replace your lenses.

 

[tron]

So we will have ... curvy lenses? And the comparison tests will say that a lens is more ... curvy than another?

And then Canon will change curvature and so on ???

OK seriously, this refers to non-interchange-able lens cameras but I could not resist to (curvy) temptation... ;D

 

[GMCPhotographics]

So thinking ahead...if this science gets developed into real world technology...it could bring in some real world benefits to the lens optimisation menu selection. At the moment we have software controlled adjustment for optical vignetting...but this tech could take this to a whole new level (sorry for the pun). Change lenses and the whole sensor adjusts and optimises for the specific lens being mounted. It makes the dual pixel adjustment look very old tech indeed. It could make a 16-35mm f2.8 mkI actually useful....

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It is very difficult to make lenses with a flat field, all of them have at least a small field of curvature.
The old 24-70mm F/2.8L was known for its field of curvature.

The Primary Driver behind the invention is the ability to modify the curvature of the sensor to match the lens, and, of course, third party lenses would not be recognized by the camera - hint -hint. However, it does mention a manual mode using the rear lcd with magnification.

Here is a different Translation.

The present invention relates to an imaging device and a control method for the same.
[Background of the Invention]
[0002]
There is aberration called a curvature of field in the image formation optical system used for imaging devices, such as a digital camera, and a gap of optical axis direction occurs in an image formation position in the central part and the periphery of an imaging surface. Therefore, with constituting an optical system combining a plurality of lenses conventionally, it had corrected so that curvature-of-field aberration might become small. On the other hand, the image sensor which corrects the above-mentioned curvature-of-field aberration is proposed by incurvating the image sensor, i.e., an imaging surface, itself these days. it becomes possible to simplify an optical system by incurvating an imaging surface and correcting curvature-of-field aberration -- many -- it is thought that the necessity of combining several lenses becomes small.
[0003]
With many cameras, the optical zoom function is mounted, and since the positions of a zoom lens differ according to zoom magnifying power, the state of a curvature of field also changes. According to the state of a curvature of field, the technology which controls the curvature which incurvates an imaging surface is proposed to it (Patent document 1).


The Dark Field Current thing is more of a "by the way"

"By the way, generally, with an image sensor, since dark current may occur and the noise by dark current may be especially conspicuous at the time of high sensitivity and long exposure, various noise reduction processings are performed. On the other hand, in the image sensor which incurvated the imaging surface, it turns out that the dark current which occurs in an image sensor by the tensile stress at the time of incurvating an image sensor is reduced.
However, the amount of dark current which will be reduced if the curvature which incurvates an imaging surface according to zoom magnifying power is changed as it describes in the Patent document 1 changes, and even if it performs noise reduction processing, a noise may be unable to be reduced sufficiently.
[0006]
The present invention is made in view of the problem mentioned above, and the purpose is to reduce the noise of a taken image effectively in the imaging device which has the function to incurvate an image sensor. "

 

[Ozarker]

Imagine distortion free lenses.

 

[Mikehit]

Imagine distortion free lenses.

It isn't so much the distortion free lenses (although it will make lens design simpler) that caught my eye as the comment

this one deals with using a magnetic system to deform the sensor

That opens up the possibility of a flexible sensor that deforms to match the characteristic of the lens!
And once you have a flexible lens there is the chance for Canon to perfect an in-body stabilisation that will leave the current Olympus system in the dust - not that Oly will stand still, but even so the future looks intriguing!

 

[Random Orbits]

Imagine distortion free lenses.

It isn't so much the distortion free lenses (although it will make lens design simpler) that caught my eye as the comment

this one deals with using a magnetic system to deform the sensor

That opens up the possibility of a flexible sensor that deforms to match the characteristic of the lens!
And once you have a flexible lens there is the chance for Canon to perfect an in-body stabilisation that will leave the current Olympus system in the dust - not that Oly will stand still, but even so the future looks intriguing!

If this happens it'll be interesting to see how third party lenses perform. And some think the lens correction are annoying enough...

 

[Bennymiata]

What this means is more expensive bodies and cheaper lenses.

Lenses could be hugely simplified using a curved sensor.

 

[Fleetie]

What this means is more expensive bodies and cheaper lenses.

Lenses could be hugely simplified using a curved sensor.

That won't make those lenses cheaper, though, because such lenses will be marketed, and priced, as "CurviCorrection-Enabled(TM)".

Cynical? Me?

 

[RGF]

Definitely interesting.

will only new lenses used the curved sensor or can the camera determine the lens and adjusted the sensor to optimize the sensor curvature for that lens.

In the end we might end up with AFMCA (Auto Focus, Micro Curve Adjustment) :