Last Updated on 09/26/2013 by Chris Gampat
For a little while now, camera companies have been putting phase detection sensors on the camera’s imaging sensor pixels to make autofocusing faster and more accurate. So far, the one company that seems to have been doing it best is Canon with their Dual Pixel AF technology. This technology is present in their 70D camera and is quite good at focusing on subjects.
But 43Rumors found a patent that might be even better. The 70D covers around 80% of the sensor when it comes to focusing with the Dual Pixel AF technology–and to one up them Olympus’s patent describes the ability to focus using every pixel.
Now let’s think about this practically for a second here. We’re in the middle of reviewing the Olympus OMD EM1; and one of our complaints about the otherwise stellar camera is the fact that we want more autofocus points and we want the ability to make them smaller than the current boxes that the company allows. If this technology is brought to the mass market, then the company will need to figure out a way for consumers to utilize it better; and in the end that will mean more AF points that may cover the entire imaging circle area. If the technology is being aimed at the true professional, it might break one focusing point down into four smaller ones.
But that could all just be wishful thinking.