Canon Patent Application: Hybrid IR/Color sensor to improve Image Quality

[Canon Rumors Guy]

We will be releasing an upcoming series of articles on infrared photography that I’ve been slowly working through the last few weeks, and this amusingly popped up in the list of patent applications published. In this patent application (2024-054762), Canon is exploring using sensor pixels more sensitive to IR light to assist with color images.

See full article...

 

[EricN]

If you want to get a taste for what it could do, take your normal rgb image modify it to be a two channel image and change the third to grey scale, then combine the two. It should be helpful in the weather limited scenario as well as some low light scenarios. Whether (no pun intended) or not it's esthetically pleasing enough for Canon to put it into a camera most of us would buy? I'm gonna to guess it's unlikely, but you never know - they have made some astronomy bodies.

 

[Berowne]

If you want to get a taste for what it could do, take your normal rgb image modify it to be a two channel image and change the third to grey scale, then combine the two. It should be helpful in the weather limited scenario as well as some low light scenarios. Whether (no pun intended) or not it's esthetically pleasing enough for Canon to put it into a camera most of us would buy? I'm gonna to guess it's unlikely, but you never know - they have made some astronomy bodies.

Would you be so kind to post an example-picture?

 

[EricN]

Would you be so kind to post an example-picture?

Unmodified


Red + Green


Blue



Process


Complete

Hopefully this is understandable. I didn't do any adjustments to the channels, but we can expect Canon would develop software AI algorithm to utilize the extra channel the most effective way. So, I think if you want to experiment for getting an idea how this might work, you'll want to adjust the the blue channel (or whichever one you want to pretend is the inferred channel) and keep the other two the same.
in the completed image, you can see some stronger details in the flower petals. Canon's software would know how to only use image data that gave an enhanced quality to the output - depending on some user selectable settings of what you will want enhanced.

This all just my best guess.

a better experiment could be to use a diffusion filter for two channels and take a separate photo with it removed for the third. This should be a bit closer to the idea about fog.

Have fun if you want to try!

 

[Berowne]

Many Thanks Eric!
Greetings Andreas

 

[David - Sydney]

View attachment 216056
Unmodified

View attachment 216057
Red + Green

View attachment 216058
Blue

View attachment 216059

Process

View attachment 216060
Complete

Hopefully this is understandable. I didn't do any adjustments to the channels, but we can expect Canon would develop software AI algorithm to utilize the extra channel the most effective way. So, I think if you want to experiment for getting an idea how this might work, you'll want to adjust the the blue channel (or whichever one you want to pretend is the inferred channel) and keep the other two the same.
in the completed image, you can see some stronger details in the flower petals. Canon's software would know how to only use image data that gave an enhanced quality to the output - depending on some user selectable settings of what you will want enhanced.

This all just my best guess.

a better experiment could be to use a diffusion filter for two channels and take a separate photo with it removed for the third. This should be a bit closer to the idea about fog.

Have fun if you want to try!

Using the existing bayer pattern and modifying the channels in-camera, could the result be better AF as the contrast seems to be better? Or perhaps used only in low light or when focus hunting?

 

[EricN]

Using the existing bayer pattern and modifying the channels in-camera, could the result be better AF as the contrast seems to be better? Or perhaps used only in low light or when focus hunting?

Most likely, if there is any benefit to changing how the there channels are used in terms of AF, someone at Canon thought about it years ago. An inferred fourth channel should definitely have benefits in some situations.