The lens could equip future Canon PowerShot SX series cameras

Dec 20, 2013 11:46 GMT  ·  By

Compact cameras have come a long way in the last few years, and major optics manufacturers like Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, or Panasonic are now offering compact camera models that feature up to 60x zoom lenses.

With the Canon SX50 HS, Fujifilm FinePix SL1000, Sony HX300, and Panasonic FZ70 already on the market, some might ask themselves what the next step for these focal range monsters could be.

If you thought that the zoom race would stop around the 50x mark, Japanese blog Egami has recently discovered a new patent filed by renowned optics manufacturer Canon that shatters these beliefs and unveils the company's plans to release a 100x-capable compact camera in the near future.

The new Canon lens has a focal range of 3.6mm to 340mm, which translates into a 18-mm-1768mm if we take into consideration the 5.2 crop factor of a 1/2.3'' sensor which most Canon compact cameras are equipped with.

That being said, I'm pretty sure Canon will announce at least one new SX series camera at the CES 2014 show that takes place in Las Vegas next month.