Collapsible lenses are nothing new: lenses such as the OM System 40-150mm F4 PRO M.Zuiko, Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, as well as several generations of Nikon kit zooms must first be extended from their retracted positions before they can be used. This keeps the lens barrel as short as possible when the lens is not in use.
Now it seems Panasonic might be working on a macro lens that incorporates a collapsing lens barrel. A recent patent applicaton discovered by Asobinet shows diagrams of a small prime lens with an f/2.8 maximum aperture. The illustrated lens appears to be an L-mount design, rather than Micro Four Thirds, as the lens's electrical contacts are at the top of the barrel. The exact focal length isn't specified, but the optical design isn't actually the focus of the patent. Instead, the aims specified in the patent are:
To provide a lens barrel that displays different information depending on the shooting mode and can suppress the size of the lens barrel in the optical axis direction when not shooting.
Judging by the patent diagrams, this barrel retraction is achieved by a third ring, located behind the aperture and focus rings. It shows stops for 'Macro' and 'Retract’, positioned on either side of a central setting; presumably a standard shooting mode. Though no exact dimensions are given, the length of the lens in its retracted state appears smaller than the diameter of the barrel, indicating this is indeed a compact design for an L-mount macro lens. With the lens extended to its standard (non-macro) shooting mode, a focus distance scale is revealed, and this marks the other aim of the patent:
[To] display different distance scales depending on the shooting mode, such as displaying a first distance scale in normal shooting mode and displaying a second distance scale in macro shooting mode.
In the lenses retracted state, neither the first nor the second distance scale would be displayed. Rotated the mode ring to the normal shooting position and only the first distance scale is displayed. Change to the macro mode and the lens barrel would extend further forward, revealing the second distance scale while also hiding the first. The idea sounds like an elegant piece of lens engineering, combining the smallest possible barrel length with two distance scales that automatically switch depending on the rotational position of the shooting mode ring. Whether or not Panasonic can turn these patent diagrams into a fully-functioning lens remains to be seen.
Story credit: Asobinet.com
