Future of sensors - AF lines embedded in sensor?

[narikin]

read an interesting patent development the other week:

apparently they are starting to dedicate certain lines of the sensor for AF sensing, - i.e. multiple lines spread across the entire chip are used for Autofocus rather than image information.
the lines are then encoded out of the final image in the same way that bad lines are written out and masked (by duplicating a line above/below) in sensor testing.
(most MF sensors have faulty pixels/ lines deleted and correction 'masks' burned into their circuitry)

this bodes well for future developments:
- Live View with AF, where the mirror can be up and AF remains active (or better: deleted the mirror altogether, and go with electronic viewfinder)  
- AF across the entire chip area from edge to edge, not just in the center. no single point/ multi point/ 51 point - but the entire full frame could have AF

it was a Nikon patent I believe, though I'm sure others can apply similar answers to MF chips.

[AndyF]

There would have to be some artifacts after removing an entire line of detail from an image and replacing it with an interpolation.  However, they might provide better access to certain lines so they would be image lines when exposed, and contrast detection lines for use when focusing.   With fast enough read-out from any region of a Live View sensor you could select any area of the sensor to be the focus region.

Andy

[georgl]

Future is much simpler, there will be no dedicated AF/metering-sensors at all. Contrast-AF like with all these tiny P&S seems odd with the small sensor, cheap AF-technology and lenses, but it's the future and will become more powerful over time. The biggest task is still a EVF that rivals good optical viewfinders, which will take years...

[BJL]

The biggest task is still a EVF that rivals good optical viewfinders, which will take years...

Maybe the biggest task is getting such EVFs down in size and price: I believe that high end digital cinema cameras already have EVFs that outdo SLR VF's for resolution and can keep up well with action. The resolution of an SLR's OVF is only comparable to about 2MP, or about like 1080p HD; the ground glass degrades resolution well below what the lens delivers.

[georgl]

"I believe that high end digital cinema cameras already have EVFs that outdo SLR VF's for resolution and can keep up well with action."

No, they're the same 800x600-EVF you can find in consumer-cams. Most cinematographers hate them and prefer optical viewfinders (but also to see what's outside the frame -> the microphone   ) But they have Full-HD video-assists (also in film-cameras) within the viewfinder-system to watch "the action" tethered on a 20k$ 23" barco reference monitor   Nothing for poor, little photographers...

I think we'll have to wait for high-res (>2MP) micro-OLEDs, that would take at least 2-5 years...  Demanding photographers should be happy with a decent optical viewfinder till then.

[Voltman]

read an interesting patent development the other week:

apparently they are starting to dedicate certain lines of the sensor for AF sensing, - i.e. multiple lines spread across the entire chip are used for Autofocus rather than image information.
the lines are then encoded out of the final image in the same way that bad lines are written out and masked (by duplicating a line above/below) in sensor testing.
(most MF sensors have faulty pixels/ lines deleted and correction 'masks' burned into their circuitry)

this bodes well for future developments:
- Live View with AF, where the mirror can be up and AF remains active (or better: deleted the mirror altogether, and go with electronic viewfinder)  
- AF across the entire chip area from edge to edge, not just in the center. no single point/ multi point/ 51 point - but the entire full frame could have AF

it was a Nikon patent I believe, though I'm sure others can apply similar answers to MF chips.

Interestingly the new Leica S2 only has a single center focus point.

[Nemo]

I think we'll have to wait for high-res (>2MP) micro-OLEDs, that would take at least 2-5 years...  Demanding photographers should be happy with a decent optical viewfinder till then.

Two to five years? I think a few months from now... We will see it when the next generation of EVIL cameras is presented, next year. Until now, there was no competition in the electronic viewfinders market. Now Panasonic is the first in presenting a high quality EV, but Samsung will be the next, and then Sony and others...

[narikin]

Interestingly the new Leica S2 only has a single center focus point.

interestingly? disappointingly, I'd say.
very.