Patent Application 20100259666 from Sony is about a transmissive liquid crystal panel that could be implemented in the optical finder and can provide superimposed indication of various parameters, such as AF area:
The patent includes also diagrams of what appears to be a Sony camera body:
From the patent application:
"Digital single-lens reflex cameras and other imaging apparatuses often shift to a state in which when the power source is turned off by a power switch or a switchover to a power saving mode is made, immediate photographing is not allowed (photography is prohibited) even when a shutter button is operated. Since this photography prohibited state prevents immediate photographing from being carried out even when a user tries to take a photograph by looking into a finder window, photo opportunities are sometimes missed.
Imaging apparatuses are proposed that are provided with a transmissive liquid crystal panel on a light path of an optical finder and can carry out a superimposed indication in which indications, such as a focus detection region (AF area), are superimposed on a photographic subject image in the finder window upon taking a photograph by varying the transmittance."
Related posts:
3 Comments
Got to be more to it than this! Nikon have had transmissive LCDs in their viewfinders for a while now and even the Canon 7D has one.
How can you patent something that already exists?
The wording suggests that they have come up with a way of stopping the transmissive LCD going dark when the camera powers down.
if they do it right they could offer both an OVF and EVF, not just an overlay to the OVF (which I think Sony also already has). The would allow switching between the two depending on the situation, e.g. switch to EVF in low situation where it could have some advantages, image having a night view in a SLR/SLT……I’m just dreaming a little bit
Or what about using the moviefunction while looking through your viewfinder, it’s possible with an EVF, not with OVF