Those are basically Nikon patent applications from the last few months of 2008 that just became public. I will go trough them in more details and will report later on if I find something interesting. Feel free to help me out – it’s a lot of reading:
- Illuminating optical apparatus, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing
- Digital still camera and image blur correction apparatus
- Image scanning system
- Exposure method, substrate stage, exposure apparatus, and device
- Camera with an interrupting unit, and camera with an inhibiting unit
- Exposure method, substrate stage, exposure apparatus, and device
- Method of evaluating cell function, system for evaluating cell function
- Illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing
- Signal processing method, signal processing system, coefficient generating
- Image processing method
- Image processing method (2)
- Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method
- Electronic image filing method, electronic image filing device and
- Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and method for producing device
Update – few more just got published:
- Lens barrel
- Reflective, refractive and projecting optical system
- Device manufacturing method
- Exposing method, exposing device and device manufacturing method
- Lens barrel unit
- Electronic Camera
- Image processing device, image processing method, and image processing program
- Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus and image processing program
- Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method
- Exposure method, exposure apparatus, and method for producing device
- Imaging apparatus
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24 Comments
Nice research !!!
Here we undoubtly have some clues and keys of the future Nikon products ..
Hope we also see a DSLR with Full HD video capability soon, and of course: with Full Manual Controls (something that Canon still didn’t give to their customers…)
WOAHH!!!
I used to work in Patent Law for a bit, the image noise patent strikes me as the most interesting. . .me thinks we’ll see some SICK ISO’s in the next 5 years (I assume it’ll take that long to get these commercialized). . .so glad I went with Nikon and not Canon 4 years ago when I got into dSLRs!!
What the hell do you think Canon is doing? Sitting still?
Seriously, how much higher does it have to go? No…really? Do you ever really shoot above 800? I see people claiming they “need” these “sick isos” and then in their EXIF data they are shooting at 3200iso, 1/125th at 17mm……totally not necessary. All these super high iso cameras are making careless shooters. I’m still waiting for a “photographer’s camera” to be released. No LCD, no auto anything, no VR or IS, and the size of my old FM. Doubt it will happen….the nerds have won, camera manufaturers are catering to the iPhone tech geek crowd, not the artists.
Mostly microscope stuff but good catch there admin. Same method is used to snoop on what Apple’s up to.
looks like we’re seeing MX format in the works! (i kid)
It looks like they might be working on a metering system that more closely mimics the human eye. Maybe a camera generated HDR without the cheesy skys.
The second one for the “blur correction apparatus” almost looks like an improved/modified Auto ISO feature. If I understand what I read, it looks like the sensitivity of the sensor would be increased if image blur exceeded a certain threshold. This seems like an interesting alternative to the current Auto ISO implementation.
guys,
keep your wallet full. there are lots of new toys to buy in the next couple of years.
Interesting pics in the Image Scanning System one… Has a film canister in it. Has the film been developed yet? Hmm… probably… the “illumination” unit would louse things up otherwise, I’d think… And reading magnetic code from the film? Looks like some APS sorta thing. But it has optical sensors on the edges too to read other film information. Interesting…
wah! new Nikon Coolscan!
a lot of patents never get used in a commercial product
Current coolscans have been discontinued according to an internal store inventory system.
“Illuminating optical apparatus” is a stereo camera, possibly able to deliver stereo video.
The “Electronic Camera” seems intresting. This patent application is something that seems almost finished, and I belive that this is possible to add to an updated software for D3/D3x/D300/D700 and of course any new DSLR in the Pro/Semipro market. I hope this will be released as soon as possible.
OMG….
80,000 ISO Equiv ( no noise at all at 32,000).
15FPS at 78Mp and full 24Bit processing!!!
2010 pixel Color metering…..
Which one is that?
these companies run a line to the patent office daily. if they think of a different way to whistle they will attempt to patent it. IP is a world unto itself. a comodity to be bought, sold and or litigated.
Amen, Sjms. Hell, half the “innovations” of electronics and gaming had already been patented (Dual Shock controller; iPod) and it’s only because Sony and Apple are 10000x the size of the 20-employee companies that originally registered the patent that we have those devices mass marketed today.
LENS BARREL UNIT; from section “BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION”, no.0003 it reads: The present invention relates to a lens barrel unit that is built into a camera capable of execution blur correction to correct an image blur caused by unsteady hand movement.
In other words, we are talking about in-body stabilization here!
Sweet.
@Richard…
But…on a point and shoot. Nothing new.
Oh, of course. I was wondering how the hell that built in lens barrel would work. Thanks for clearing up the matter.
A noticable number of patents concerns Nikon Precision, i.e. scanner for optical lithography. It’s far from photographic stuff!
This one is a dslr, it includes “snow” and “flower” picture modes. Maybe the new D5000?
http://www.google.com/patents?id=mZ6zAAAAEBAJ&dq=nikon&ie=ISO-8859-1