Canon has patented a handheld camera that combines a design reminiscent of the DJI Osmo (now called the OM) with its RF lenses and a rotating hinge. The rotating lens hinge is described as making it much easier to switch between forward and selfie views.
According to the patent, the design was created to make the lens ‘rotatable’. It consists of a main body, movable part, lens unit, hinge unit and a display.
Canon says that the product meets the need for video devices that can record video content in different situations and angles. As you can see in the illustration below, an attached RF lens can rotate up and down and also rotate completely backwards to look at the photographer.
“The image capture device allows you to rotate the screen according to the orientation of the lens unit while rotating it relative to the main body,” reads the patent, translated from Japanese to English.
Manually sliding and tilting a camera with this design is not particularly difficult, but the patent shows both options that would probably be motorized. In addition, the inversion of the lens completely backwards is an important selling point of the design.
There does not seem to be any gimbal support mentioned in the design, which, if implemented, would be the first from Canon. The gimbals that DJI originally developed for its drones are one of the most successful implementations of its technology. Without a gimbal, Canon would rely entirely on sensor and optical stabilization, although some companies have done an excellent job of making it reasonably usable, less able to adapt to different shooting situations than a motorized gimbal.
Canon filed five separate patents dealing with this design, which is an exceptionally high number Canon News testify. Even if it’s not a final consumer product, Canon is at least serious about protecting the idea.
(via Canon News)