Curved sensor camera closer?…Sony halves share in Olympus…Phase One’s 80-meg aerial camera…
Curved sensor camera closer?
Sony’s curved sensor technology comes a little closer to reality with the lodging of a new patent on March 19 for what could be the first full frame camera with a curved sensor.
The patent describes a full-frame image sensor that would allow future lenses to be more compact in size without sacrificing quality.
Sony provided full specs for several full frame lenses:
– 29.96mm f/2.06 (likely to become a 30mm f/2.0);
– 36mm f/1.85 (likely to become a 35mm f/1.8);
– 36mm f/2.85 (likely to become a 35mm f/2.8);
– 36mm f/2.26 (likely to become a 35mm f/2.0).
Sony halves share in Olympus
…And talking of Sony, it’s selling half its stake in Olympus Imaging to investment bank JP Morgan to free up cash for ‘strategic investments.’ (See above?).
Sony bought a 10 percent stake in Olympus Imaging in 2012. It was apparently interested in gaining access to the global medical market for its sensor, 3D and display technologies. The two companies created a separate medical joint-venture to apply Sony’s technologies to products based around Olympus’s success in the endoscope market.
The original deal also included Sony gaining lens and optical know-how from Olympus, and supplying Olympus cameras with sensors.
Sony will receive US$390m from JP Morgan for 17.2m shares in Olympus, walking away with a more-than- tidy profit and remaining a 5 percent owner of Olympus.
Phase One’s 80-meg aerial camera
Phase One subsidiary Phase One Industrial, a manufacturer of medium format aerial digital photography equipment and software solutions, has announced the Phase One iXU 180 camera, the world’s smallest 80-megapixel medium format aerial camera.
The Phase One iXU 180 features an 80-megapixel CCD sensor, but its body is barely wider than the lens barrel. And weighing in at less than 950 grams, its lighter than some DSLRs.
Phase One says its light weight and design makes it compatible with ultralight planes or gyro copters. Some websites have interpreted this as being drone-compatible, but with a body-only price of around US$50K, you would want the best droine pilot available.
The Phase One iXU 180 utilises the central leaf shutters built into the wide range of compatible Schneider-Kreuznach lenses (28 mm, 55 mm, 80 mm, 110 mm, 150 mm and 240 mm).
The camera will start shipping mid-April.
You mention that Sony made a profit from its foray into Olympus, but not what it bought its share for originally… any idea? Fascinating stuff!
Hi James. Sony bought its 10 percent stake in 2012 for 50 billion yen. It sold half to JP Morgan for 46.8 Billion yen. Warren Buffett would be impressed with that bit of share trading!