Canon Patent: 50mm f/1.8 Image Stabilized Lens

Egami (translated) spotted a Canon patent for a 50mm lens with f/1.8 and image stabilization. The patent does in some way fit with a rumor regarding a new image stabilized Canon 50mm lens said to be announced in 2013. Another Canon patent for a 50mm lens I reported about can be seen here. Canon has three 50mm lenses in their line-up: the EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 50mm f/1.4 and the inexpensive EF 50mm f/1.8. The lens described in the patent will not replace the 50mm f/1.2L nor the 50mm f/1.8, most probably it will replace the 50mm f/1.4 (I don’t think Canon will add a fourth 50mm lens to their line-up).

  • Patent Publication No. 2013-142782
    • Publication date 2013.7.22
    • Filing date 2012.1.11
  • Example 1
    • Focal length f = 51.51mm
    • Fno. 1.85
    • Half angle ω = 22.78 °
    • Image height 21.64mm
    • The overall length of the lens 76.78mm
    • BF 37.84mm
    • 8 pieces of 7 lens configuration
  • Canon patent
    • (Optical system of the anti-vibration unit is located between the aperture and the front lens group) and vibration-proof

A Bit Of Everything (and a hands-on video with the EF 1200mm f/5.6L)

Video above: Hands on with the Canon EF 1200 f/5.6L Lens

Canon press releases:

  • Canon U.S.A Celebrates Official Grand Opening of its Canon Americas Headquarters with Chairman and CEO of Canon Inc. and Local Officials – Canon USA
  • New PIXMA All-In-One Printers from Canon U.S.A. Provide High-Quality Output to Encourage Creativity –  Canon USA
  • Canon U.S.A. Adds Apple AirPrint Compatibility to Newest PIXMA Wireless All-In-One Printer – Canon USA
  • Canon U.S.A. Brings Images to Life with Interactive Solutions at SIGGRAPH Conference – Canon USA
  • Canon U.S.A. Services Local Community With Customer Service Center – Canon USA

Reviews:

Video above: Kickass Bokeh Glass – Sigma 35mm f1.4 Review

Various:

  • Canon Auctions Five Phantom of the Opera themed Canon PowerShot Ns – superadrianme
  • Lenstag: A New Layer of Security For Your Camera Gear and an Interview with Creator Trevor Sehrer – The Phoblographer
  • Canon plans to expand, possibly in NYS – newsday
  • Hahnemühle teams up with Canon in the “Try My Photo” program. Have you ever wondered what your image will look like printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag or Hahnemühle William Turner? Now you can get a free print through Canon’s “Try My Photo” program from select Canon PIXMA PRO printers – photoghraphyblog
  • The Photographer’s Fascination With Being “NEW” (Developing Your Own Style) – photofocus

Video above: Magic Lantern RAW Dual ISO (100 and 400) hack v ISO 100 RAW

Your DSLR May Soon Act As A Light Field Camera with KaleidoCamera

German researchers of the Saarland University presented a paper describing an accessory that transforms your DSLR in a Lytro-like, refocusable light field camera. This opens new perspectives for multi-spectral and high-dynamic range photography. The prototype will be presented at the Siggraph conference and exhibition in Anaheim, California. The prototype, named KaleidoCamera, is an accessory that fits between the lens and the camera body, and has a beam splitter that enables the camera to record various differently filtered images. Those images are then available for further processing. The paper abstract:

We propose a non-permanent add-on that enables plenoptic imaging with standard cameras which we refer to as KaleidoCamera. Our design is based on a physical copying mechanism that multiplies a sensor image into a number of identical copies that still carry the plenoptic information of interest. Via different optical filters, we can then recover the desired information. A minor modification of the design also allows for aperture subsampling and, hence, light-field imaging. As the filters in our design are exchangeable, a reconfiguration for different imaging purposes is possible. We show in a prototype setup that high dynamic range, multispectral, polarization, and light-field imaging can be achieved with our design.

The paper A Reconfigurable Camera Add-On for High Dynamic Range, Multispectral, Polarization, and Light-Field Imaging is available for download.

KaleidoCamera
Exemplary applications of the camera add-on: Top Row: Multispectral imaging: unprocessed output (left), a spectral stack of images after processing (middle), a neutral image relit with a flat spectrum (right). Middle Row: High Dynamic Range Imaging: unprocessed output (left), a simulated exposure sweep of contrast ratio 100 : 1 (middle), a tone-mapped version of the HDR image (right). Bottom Row: Light-field imaging: unprocessed output (left), virtual refocusing on foreground (middle) and background (right).
[Max Planck Institut via MLZphoto via Photographyblog]