Nikon is literally copying the Canon Dual Pixel autofocus system. The newly published United States Patent Application disloses the detail of how this would work.

Nikon patented a surprising new kind of camera. It’s a Smartphone-Camera hybrid. As you see from this brand new patent application image the device has typical physical camera buttons. But it also has a “send and receive button” plus LAN status LEd’s. Nikon describes this as:

A portable telephone equipped with a camera.

Just like any smartphone this Nikon camera is connected to the Internet and can send the images directly via email:

I can imagine such a camera running apps like 500px and Instagram. You could instantly share your images to the world.

Samsung and Panasonic attempted something similar in the past and they failed. Could Nikon finally succeed?

Of course, this is just a patent application and they may never release such a device after all.

Nikon patented two new Fresnel lens designs:

400mm f/5.6 (23cm lenght) and 500mm f/5.6 (28cm length).

Both designed for Full Frame sensors.

via hi-lows-note

This week Nikon published two new patents describing a Canon similar Dual Pixel AF technology and time of flight tech (similar to new Sony sensor). This autofocus system would be used on future mirrorless cameras.

The google translated patent says this:

There is known a time-of-flight (TOF) measurement method for measuring a distance to an object by receiving reflected light of light irradiated to the object (for example, Patent Reference 1). When measuring the distance to the object by such a method, it is difficult to obtain the image of the object at the same time.

It has a set part which sets up the range which detects a focusing state from the information about the exit pupil of the aforementioned imaging optical system, and the information about the aforementioned pixel for focus detection, and a transmission section which transmits the information about the aforementioned range set up by the aforementioned 

Sigma filed a brand new patent which describes a new range of f/1.2 fast prime lenses. This includes 35mm 24mm and 14mm lenses. This is the official Sigma description google translated from the japanese text:

A large diameter ratio lens may use depiction using the shallowness of depth of field as the expression technique in it. Although many interchangeable lenses with a larger F value than F1.4 are provided, in order that they may make depth of field still shallower, an interchangeable lens whose F value is smaller than F1.2 is desired.

Here are the details:

UPDATE: We just learned that while these lenses are indeed for mirrorless system cameras their angle of view suggest they may be compatible with Micro Four Thirds cameras only (and not for APS-C or FF).

Nikon manager Mr. Goto stated in an interview with Xitek that their 2018 mirrorless system camera will use a Full Frame sensor. It will also target professional photographers.

So far we only saw patents for Full Frame lenses designed for the new 2018 mirrorless system camera. But it looks like Nikon engeneers are still considering the launch of an APS-C system camera. Today HiLowsNote spotted two brand new Nikon patents describing a 24mm f/1.8 lens that comes in two versions:

Patent 2017-161847 shows the design of a Full Frame 24mm f/1.8 lens
Patent 2017-161844 shows the design of an APS-C 24mm f/1.8 lens

I am pretty sure only one will become reality 🙂