Canon integrates CMOS sensor inside image sensor to improve auto focus in SLR cameras

Canon has developed innovative auto focus technology for digital SLR cameras called Dual Pixel CMOS AF, a phase-detection AF technology conducted directly on the image sensor plane, employs a CMOS sensor on which all of the effective pixels are able to perform both imaging and phase-detection AF simultaneously. Canon claims this technology to achieve dramatically improved AF performance over prior EOS cameras during Live View and video shooting.
Dual Pixel CMOS AF logo Dual Pixel CMOS AF structure Canon explains "Each individual pixel (the smallest structural unit capable of outputting an image signal) on the CMOS sensor incorporates two independent photodiodes (elements that transform light into electrical signals) which output signals that can be used for both imaging and the phase-detection AF. When using the EOS 70D Digital SLR camera's Live View function, the technology enables autofocusing with ease, flexibility, speed and accuracy similar to shooting through the viewfinder, enabling sharp focus to be obtained across a wide shooting area1 through phase-detection AF2 until final focus is achieved. Compared with earlier generations of Canon's image-plane phase-detection AF3, Dual Pixel CMOS AF realizes shorter focusing times, outstanding tracking perform...