Patent: Canon continues Quad-Pixel autofocus development

The next autofocus advancement coming from Canon will likely be in the form of quad-pixel autofocus, I would think we’d see such technology appear in the Canon EOS R1 first.

Quad-Pixel AF would improve the autofocus performance when you’re shooting in any orientation.

Canon Quad-Pixel Overview

• [Publication Number] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-2383 (P2022-2383A)
• [Publication date] January 6, 2022
• INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY: An image pickup device, an image pickup device, and a focus detection method.
• [Application date] June 22, 2020
• [Applicant]
  [Identification number] 000001007
  [Name or name] Canon Inc.
• PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the division direction of a pupil region while suppressing variation in sensitivity of an image signal.
• [0002]
  As one of the focus detection methods of an image pickup device, a so-called image pickup surface phase difference method, in which a pupil division signal is acquired by using a focus detection pixel formed in an image pickup device and focus detection Is Performed By A Phase Difference Method, Is Used. Are Known. As A Focus Detection Pixel, A Configuration In Which One Microlens And A Plurality Of Sensitivity Regions Are Formed In Each Pixel Is Known, And Each Of The Plurality Of Sensitivity Regions Is Light The pupil division signal can be acquired by receiving light.
• PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem.
  [0005]
  Generally, in a phase difference type focus detection, focus detection is performed when the brightness pattern of a subject, that is, the direction in which the luminance changes is close to the division direction of the pupil division signal. There is a problem that the accuracy of the
• [0006]
  Even if an image pickup device that divides the pupil division signal in a total of four directions by combining the pixels described in Patent Document 1 is configured, the characteristics are aligned between the pixels having different division directions. However, the image signal obtained by adding the pupil division signal for each pixel will vary.
• [0007]
  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to increase the division direction of the pupil region while suppressing variations in the sensitivity of image signals.