Canon has Patented a vibrating Lens Shutter, here’s Why
News | By Stephan Jukic | January 22, 2023
Haptic elements in modern camera design are a fairly rare aspect of even the latest models, despite being extremely common in other smart devices. Canon is apparently changing that.
The iconic company has patented a vibrating shutter button that we might soon see in upcoming camera models from the brand.
Canon’s new patent is fairly simple. It consists of a small vibration mechanism that sits underneath the shutter button of one of its cameras.
This vibrating motor activates when the shutter button is depressed and takes a photo.
According to Canon, the purpose of the vibrating patent for these buttons is to make sure that users know for sure when they’ve taken a picture without having to look at the LCD screen.
Canon argues that modern mirrorless cameras have become so quiet, that it can sometimes be hard to tell. This applies especially to models with quiet electronic shutter features and even physical shutter mechanisms that are whisper-silent.
Users can of course always make sure that an electronic shutter sound is activated in many camera models, but sometimes silence is useful and golden when a photographer wants to have a way of rapidly, physically knowing they’ve caught their desired photo.
The Canon shutter button vibrate feature is Canon’s answer to this.
Users can of course see that their LCD screen has captured a new shot, and they can also see the photo quantity readout to know if they have space for one less image in their memory, but all of these features require a bit of distraction.
The shutter vibrate button does actually sound like a pretty good idea for being sure about shots taken quickly and subtly without having to pause and check anything else.
Some call this a solution looking for a problem, but I disagree. It’s a small, worthwhile feature that it’s easy to see being useful. If cell phones have haptic functions, why can’t modern electronic digital cameras?
We’ll see when Canon starts releasing actual cameras with vibrating shutter buttons. If I were to bet on a timetable, I’d say that they might emerge by late 2023.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
