Canon has filed a new patent for barndoor-style lens caps

Canon has filed a new patent application (JP 2019-113645) for a lens cap with a barndoor-style configuration that allows you to open up the lens cap, shoot through it, and close it again without having to detach it from the lens. For many photographers who inadvertently lose their traditional lens caps, this technology may be helpful.

Canon states that, beyond the lens cap’s permanent integration into the lens, the barndoor-style lens cap will also double as a lens hood while shooting. “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.”

While the diagrams in the patent application show a DSLR-like camera, Canon does not specifically mention this model and instead refers to the lens cap as applying to “digital camera[s].” The application further discusses lenses with a zooming barrel, thereby implying that the feature may only appear for products such as bridge cameras.

Authors: Jaclyn Tilak and Shadi Varkiani