Microsoft and Canon have just entered into a broad patent cross-licensing agreement which is actually expansion of existing alliance between Microsoft and Canon. Now, as it happens this has given rise to some speculations and every major tech site is talking about a possibility of Canon optics and imaging tech on a PureView Lumia camera.
Though, frankly speaking I don’t see Microsoft ditching trusted Carl-Zeiss optics & Nokia imaging tech anytime soon. Reason behind this is simple to understand. While Canon can be one of the major camera manufacturers, when it comes to smartphone cameras (with smaller optics and sensors) thing play differently. Just like Sony which hasn’t been able to outdo Lumia cameras quality with its any of the smartphone cameras, Canon may face difficulties too. In fact Lumia 1020 gives Canon’s DSLR cameras a run for their money!!
Smartphone cameras can be tricky to optimize with lots of constraint on size of the sensor and optics. Only major camera manufacturing company which has done some justice in this department is Samsung. So, while the cross-licensing may allow Microsoft to adopt some technological advancements from Canon, it is hard to imagine canon optics replacing Carl-Zeiss so soon. As per the announcement,
This agreement covers a broad range of products and services each company offers, including certain digital imaging and mobile consumer products. Microsoft and Canon have a long history of collaborating to bring high-quality, cutting-edge products to consumers, including color technology. Contents of the agreement will not be disclosed.
