First off, according to Canon Rumors, the DSLR company is working to finally bring in-body image stabilization (IBIS) to its next round of DSLR designs. Chiefly missing when the EOS R and EOS S/R full-frame mirrorless camera came to market last year, many photographers have been pushing for Canon to play catch up with Sony.
But it probably took the news that Nikon is going to bring it to the Nikon D6 for Canon to get serious about it.
Ordinarily, we'd consider this just scuttlebutt and speculation coming from an overheard conversation at a photo show or an inside source sending out a secret email with their own take. But then new information came out.
Canon's new IBIS related patent application was discovered and that leads many, including Canon Rumors, to expect that Canon will likely test out a new IBIS design on the upcoming EOS 90D.
If you recall, when Canon came out with Dual Pixel CMOS AutoFocus, it was the 70D that got the nod for trying out the new feature back in 2013. Soon it made its way all the into the Cinema EOS cameras, and now it's standard. So if Canon is going to introduce IBIS, it makes sense that the 90D would be the first one to get it. At the same time, it could also be intended for the Canon 1DX Mk. III, which is believed to be intended to launch in the 4th quarter of 2019, to prepare it for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
Canon's position has long been that lens stabilization is better than IBISCredit: Photography Life
Canon's main position on image stabilization has long been that in-body IS isn't as accurate as lens-based models:
"We feel that in-lens IS is the optimum system for image stabilization." said Canon UK Product Consultant David Parry at Digital Camera World last October. "With an in-body IS system you are creating something that needs to work over lots of different types of lenses and different lens groups. All lenses move in different ways, and you get different types of shake depending on what kind of lens you’re using, so dedicating the IS system to the particular lens is, for us, the optimum way of doing it."
But maybe after another year in development, Canon is starting to see things differently. They may have decided to include the feature in order to attract sales. Either way, the good news is that from a practical standpoint, in-body image stabilization will benefit older legacy lenses.
It's also important to keep in mind that this is all just speculation for now. Plus, IBC in Amsterdam is right around the corner, so maybe we'll have more concrete information by then. If Canon is planning to launch a camera in quarter 4, then IBC is a place that they could announce it.
The present invention works as a lens hood function at the time of shooting and as a lens protection function at the time of non-shooting, thus eliminating the need for lens cap attachment / removal and barrier opening / closing operations.
Meanwhile, speaking of patents, Canon has also filed for patent protection on a cool new barn door lens cap design, that will double as a lens hood. According to the patent, users will be able to open up the barn doors automatically, shoot through them, and then close them again when the camera is turned off.
The patent design shows a mirrorless or DSLR camera in its design, but in the application, it talks about a "zooming barrel-like lens, which could point to a long fixed lens point and shoot." Personally, I hope that it will be an optional accessory that you can add to your lens and trigger it with a simple flick of a switch.
So what you do think? Will IBIS breathe new life into DSLRs? Or will it just be its last great moment in the sun?
