Nikon working on finger sensor able to understand photographer’s emotions, patent suggests

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Nikon patent application 2017-143581 describes a camera with a finger sensor that can understand basic emotions of the photographer.

The sensors are built into the sides of lenses and on the front and back of a DSLR. The sensor can detect biometric information like the heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, perspiration, and also the pressure you put on the grip. From this data, a simple neuronal network (read basic AI) can get a hint about the photographer’s emotion and act accordingly.

Excerpt from the patent literature:

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in which, while a viewer who views a photographed image can enjoy the photographed image more deeply if a photographer’s emotion at a time of photographing can be understood, how to enjoy such images cannot be realized with the conventional apparatus.
SOLUTION: The display device includes: an input unit for inputting biometric information of a photographer at a time of photographing an image; a display unit for displaying the image; and a processing unit for estimating an emotion at the time of photographing from the biological information of the photographer and processing an image to be displayed on the display unit on the basis of the estimated emotion.

Canon are you listening?

[via PP]

Canon working on 16-60mm f/2-5 for mirrorless cameras (APS-C sensor), patent suggests

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Canon patent application in Japan (2018-106021) for a 16-60mm f/2-5 lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. The f-range is a bit weird and unusual for the industry.

  • Focal length: 15.42 – 58.00 mm (zoom ratio: 3.76)
  • F No.: 2.06 – 5.00
  • Half angle of view: 38.07 – 13.04
  • Back focus: 8.81 – 2.81 mm
  • Lens length: 82.23 – 103.33 mm

Could this be a future kit lens? A bit slow on the tele end, though.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production in the next few years are these:

[via Hi Lows Note]

Canon patent for 58mm f/1.4 full frame lens with adjustable soft focus

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Canon patent application 2018-97240 (in Japan) describes a 58mm f/1.4 lens for full frame cameras with adjustable soft focus.

  • Focal length: 57.58mm
  • F number: 1.43
  • Half angle of view: 20.60
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 160.04mm
  • Back focus: 40.43mm

The patent describes:

[…] an optical system containing the 1st focus group and the 2nd focus group which move by each other different locus on the occasion of focusing,
An arrangement state of the aforementioned optical system,
An optical system comprising:
A first arrangement state by which said 1st focus group and said 2nd focus group are arranged so that it will be in a focusing state in the predetermined object distance and a first aberration amount may be generated.
A second arrangement state by which said 1st focus group and said 2nd focus group are arranged so that a second aberration amount which will be in a focusing state in the aforementioned predetermined object distance, and is different from said first aberration amount may be generated.

More Canon patent applications are listed here.

Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production in the next few years are these:

[via HiLowsNote]

Canon working on AI powered predictive camera control system, patent suggests

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Another pretty interesting patent that shows how much Canon is investing in research. Canon patent application US20180077345 discusses a predictive camera control system that takes viewers interests into account, for instance during a sport event.

Such a system is capable to recognise where people in a stadium is looking, what captures their interest most at a given time, and then can adjust its cameras to point in the same direction. A system that learns from user behaviour what gets the most attention by the viewers. This AI powered system (using neural networks) tracks the eyes of the viewers to learn where they are looking at, and is able to recognise which player attracts most looks from viewers. The system’s cameras are then set to capture what captures the interest of the crowd. I guess this may change the rules for future coverage of big sport events (but the system can virtually be used also for other purposes).

From the patent literature:

A computer-implemented method and system of selecting a camera angle is described. The method comprises determining a visual fixation point of a viewer of a scene using eye gaze data from an eye gaze tracking device; detecting, from the eye gaze data, one or more saccades from the visual fixation point of the viewer, the one or more saccades indicating a one or more regions of future interest to the viewer; selecting, based on the detected one or more saccades, a region of the scene; and selecting a camera angle of a camera, the camera capturing video data of the selected region using the selected angle.

[…] A system, comprising: an eye gaze tracking device for detecting eye gaze data of a viewer of a scene; a multi-camera system configured to capture video data of the scene; a memory for storing data and a computer readable medium; and a processor coupled to the memory for executing a computer program, the program having instructions for: detecting, using the eye gaze tracking data, a visual fixation point of the viewer and one or more saccades of the viewer relative to the visual fixation point; determining an object of interest in the scene based on at least the detected one or more saccades of the viewer, the object of interest being determined to have increasing relevance to the viewer of the scene; and selecting a camera of the multi-camera system, the selected camera having a field of view including the determined object of interest in the scene, the second camera capturing video data of the determined object of interest.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.canonwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/US20180077345A1.pdf”]

More Canon patents.

Canon’s next 18-55mm kit lens might have an LCD display, patent suggests

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Canon patent application JP2018005130A, while discussing what appears to be the next iteration of the popular 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens (Mark III, I guess), reveals an interesting detail: Canon’s next kit lens might have a small LCD display. Something we saw first on the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II.

The LCD display is visible on one of the patent images, and it’s referenced in the patent literature (it’s 305 in the picture above.

Consider the fact that the inexpensive 18-55mm kit lens virtually comes with every Canon entry level DSLR. Nice bonus for future customers.

Canon Patent to reduce image noise generated by the magnetic field of image stabilisation unit

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Well, this is an interesting Canon patent application we spotted (20180164603), and it shows how much care Canon applies to details.

Some background information first. Simplifying it very much, the image stabilisation system of a lens is build on top of a vibration gyroscope sensor. The process of stabilising an image in the lens occurs through a image (shake) correcting unit. The correcting unit uses electromagnetic fields, generated by applying current to a coil.

The generated electromagnetic fields can influence the electronic circuitry and hence may degrade the image quality by generating noise in the image. Turns out that shielding the coil isn’t that easy.

If I got the patent right, it tries to reduce the magnetic field by clever use of non-magnetically conductive materials and shielding. From the patent literature:

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging lens including: a lens; an image shake correcting action unit provided movably in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens; a stationary unit for supporting the image shake correcting action unit; a permanent magnet provided on one of the image shake correcting action unit and the stationary unit and a coil provided on an other; a drive circuit for moving the image shake correcting action unit relative to the stationary unit; a mount section for being connected to an imaging unit having an imaging element; and a conductive member which is nonmagnetically conductive and disposed between the coil and the mount section so as to include a facing surface facing a surface formed by a binding wire of the coil and having a larger area than a surface formed by an inner periphery of the coil.

This patent application might go into production one day.

Other Canon patent applications we think might get into production in the next few years are these: