Umm, here’s the unlikely scenario of medium format again. Why this is a wish, I’ve never understood. There are three basic companies doing that now. These cameras sell in the thousands a year, not even the tens of thousands that Canon and Nikon would require. Every time Canon has another tilt/shift lens that needs to cover 2 1/4 to work on 35, the rumors start up again.Canon and Sony approached autofocus from two completely different points of view. It will take Canon's route longer to pay off, but it is the future.
Sony doubled the amount of processing power their sensors could handle, allowing for faster data output and faster autofocus. Their hybrid AF is essentially pulling twice the data from focus points using a stacked sensor with double the output. This is why the A9 is a beast at continual AF and FPS shots.
Canon created a new AF system called Dual Pixel Auto Focus. It essentially doubles the amount of data but outputs at the same speed to the sensor. This is one of the big reasons DPAF sensors have a data and heat limitation for video and high FPS shots. However, the advantage to using a split pixel detecting distance in parallax is the ability to detect the range of out-of-focus objects while focusing on an object. By being able to detect the range of objects in a shot, Canon is able to smoothly move between points. This is the biggest advantage of DPAF and it is helping their Cine EOS line by giving filmmakers the ability rack focus smoothly using autofocus.
When Sony or Nikon racks focus it has to hunt for a moment to find the depth of objects as it goes from one in-focus point to the next. This is a different scenario than capturing a moving object and tracking. This is moving from one extreme foreground element to a background element. Hybrid AF does not have the ability to know the depth between objects until it switches focal points. DPAF is able to see ranges within the shot which is why is glides effortlessly between points.
They're different approaches and they speak to the different strengths for each company. As production teams get smaller and smaller, systems like DPAF will be helping filmmakers and journalists capture cinematic quality moments without the need for additional equipment in the field. Sony will be hitting a wall for speed of glass soon that both Nikon and Canon have leapt past with their wider flange size. Perhaps they'll go the route and create a full professional medium format mirrorless to compete with Hasselblad and Phase One. Either way, we are close to another revolutionary leap forward in photography technology.
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