Canon creating even smaller mirrorless cameras, new patent reveals

News
By Sharmishta Sarkar
published

New design ideas could shrink the size of mirrorless cameras

(Image credit: Canon)

Canon's new EOS M6 Mark II is a portable powerhouse: it fits easily into any bag, making it an ideal traveling companion. In fact, even the company's EOS RP full-frame mirrorless snapper (pictured above) is small and light, despite its large lens mount.

However, Canon seems to think it's possible to shrink the size of its mirrorless cameras even further, if its latest patent application is anything to go by.

Filed in Japan, the patent describes "a technique for suppressing an increase in the size of an image pickup apparatus due to the arrangement of a motor for driving a shutter". 

In other words, as Canon News points out, if the shutter motor is moved from its current position next to the battery compartment on the EOS RP to under the shutter assembly (position 405 in the diagram below), it might allow the camera maker to design a smaller body.

(Image credit: Canon)

Going by the diagrams in the patent, particularly the size of the lens mount, the design idea seems to be for a new full-frame mirrorless snapper, although the same concept could be applied to Canon's APS-C mirrorless cameras as well.

While a lighter, more compact interchangeable lens camera (ILC) will make many travel photographers happy, how a smaller body will be able to handle larger lenses – like the brand-new RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM – remains to be seen. That said, if Canon could design some pancake prime lenses with wide apertures of f/1.4 or f/2.8, the company may well win back some customers.

Sharmishta Sarkar
Sharmishta Sarkar
Managing Editor (APAC)

Sharmishta is TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor and loves all things photography, something she discovered while chasing monkeys in the wilds of India (she studied to be a primatologist but has since left monkey business behind). While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, she's also an avid reader and has become a passionate proponent of ereaders, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about the convenience of these underrated devices. When she's not testing camera kits or the latest in e-paper tablets, she's discovering the joys and foibles of smart home gizmos. She's also the Australian Managing Editor of Digital Camera World and, if that wasn't enough, she contributes to T3 and Tom's Guide, while also working on two of Future's photography print magazines Down Under.