Nikon has registered a patent for a 35mm f/2.0 lens that is designed for use with a Nikon mirrorless camera that boasts a curved sensor.
Mirrorless Rumors got hold of the patent, published on July 20, 2017. Now, manufacturers register patents like this all the time for products they might hope to make one day – even products that never see the light of day.
But it’s an interesting development considering that Nikon has been not-so-subtly suggesting it’s planning to launch a full-frame mirrorless camera.
Back in September 2016 at Photokina Nikon told us a full-frame mirrorless camera was in its sights. And only in the last few weeks, in an interview between the Japanese website Newswitch, Nikon CEO Kazuo Ushida said the company is working on a professional mirrorless camera system to rival its competitors.
As Mirrorless Rumors points out, if Nikon did this it would force its competition to launch a new system from scratch if it wanted to properly compete. In short: it would be bold.
A curved sensor should enable the light exiting the lens to meet it at 90 degrees across the whole frame and therefore increase light efficiency, which means less noise. Vignetting and chromatic aberration should also be lower.