It seems as though Sony is interested in taking its translucent mirror technology to the next step. Egami (google translated) spotted a Sony patent that stipulates a new type of rotating semi transparent mirror technology. Supposedly this mirror on a hinge would allow photographers to alter the angle at which light hits the sensor.
On top of changing angle, users could also affect the spectrum of light reaching the sensor. The patent gives such examples as blocking off certain colors from the RGB sensor or only allowing infrared light to pass through, letting you create black and white photos without post processing. For now the patent is only a patent, but if it’s ever implemented it could be the extremely interesting use of semi translucent mirrors.
We’re not really sure what something like this could cost, but it surely wouldn’t be something that would be initially introduced to the entry level crowd that Sony caters to so well. Infrared photography is completely different than typical photography and only specialized users or those more experiences would want to work with it. Of course, that statement could be totally invalid if the company develops a metering system for the Infrared spectrum.
What would be even cooler is if Sony somehow or another developed a way to make your images look like Kodak Aerochrome with this technology. To recap: Aerochrome was an infrared film that was developed for military spy plane use. However, there are lots of artistic projects that have been done with it. Lomography has tried to mimic it as well with Lomochrome Purple.