Canon Patent Reveals Compact Wide-Angle Prime Lens Designs with Built-In ND Filter and Shutter

On May 2, 2025, Canon published a new patent application that outlines multiple wide-angle prime lens designs, seemingly developed for sensors around 1.4 inches in size. The application suggests a focus on compactness, with provisions for integrating an ND filter, iris diaphragm, and shutter – a configuration particularly suitable for video-oriented imaging devices.

Patent Overview

• Publication Number: P2025070387
• Publication Date: May 2, 2025
• Title: Optical System and Imaging Device
• Application Date: October 20, 2023
• Applicant: Canon Inc.
• Applicant ID: 000001007

The patent describes a small, lightweight wide-angle optical system that arranges key optical elements – such as the iris diaphragm, neutral density (ND) filter, and shutter – in optimal internal positions.

Background

Modern imaging devices, including digital cameras, smartphones, vehicle cameras, and security systems, require compact lenses that maintain high image quality across wide angles of view. Smartphone cameras, in particular, rely heavily on fixed-aperture prime lenses made with plastic-molded aspherical elements. These lenses are also expected to house an ND filter, iris, and shutter, all while maintaining a short overall length, especially important for video applications.

Previous designs (e.g., Patent Document 1) struggled to accommodate these components without increasing the lens diameter. Positioning the ND filter and shutter too close to the aperture limited internal space, while placing them farther away resulted in a bulkier external design.

Canon’s latest approach attempts to solve this by efficiently integrating all components in a compact form factor.

Design Notes

The optical systems described here appear to support an ultra-wide angle of view, roughly equivalent to 20–24mm in full-frame terms. While the image height seems modest for a 1.4-inch sensor like that used in the PowerShot V1, this is likely intentional – reserving part of the sensor area for electronic image stabilization.

Interestingly, only Example 3 assumes a different sensor size.

The PowerShot V1, for context, features an 8.2–25.6mm f/2.8–4.5 zoom lens, which encompasses the optical system type discussed in this patent – though it’s physically much larger. If Canon applies this new design to the V series, we might not see a huge leap in performance. Still, there’s hope for a truly compact model with a non-protruding lens, which would be a welcome development for vloggers and mobile content creators.

Example 1

• Focal length: 9.47
• F-number: 2.88
• Half angle of view: 47.57
• Image height: 10.36
• Overall length: 27.22
• Back focal length: 7.41

Example 2

• Focal length: 11.68
• F-number: 2.88
• Half angle of view: 41.11
• Image height: 10.19
• Overall length: 27.14
• Back focal length: 7.56

Example 3

• Focal length: 6.75
• F-number: 1.85
• Half angle of view: 46.56
• Image height: 7.13
• Overall length: 18.77
• Back focal length: 3.35

Example 4

• Focal length: 8.41
• F-number: 2.88
• Half angle of view: 50.47
• Image height: 10.19
• Overall length: 29.95
• Back Focus: 7.16

[via asobinet]