So, I collected a few excellent guides or tutorials which provide good summaries (I think) of the possibilities of these cameras when it comes to autofocus or AF.

• How to use autofocus with moving subjects (all brands)
• Action photography: AF modes (for Nikon cameras)
• Canon 5D Mark III: Autofocus (AI Servo) for Birds in Flight
• Understanding Canon EOS 1DX Autofocus
• Sony A6000 and A5100 Autofocus Guide
• Sony: Autofocus (AF) modes

Good reading!

“You cannot depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus” – Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[3] well-known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which has been called “the Great American Novel”,[4] and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He is extensively quoted.[5][6] Twain was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

(from Wikipedia)

Let’s admit that it will shake things up (if it is confirmed, as for all rumors):

• 9 cross-shaped zones,
• One central double cross, sensitive up to f/2.8
• All the zones sensitive up to f/4 (much better than the usual f/5.6)

Usually, the LiveView mode is done merely by moving the reflex mirror up. The image is then projected onto the single image sensor of the phot camera (like it is done in the point and shoot cameras). But in this case, the little AF sensor is no longer able to work. The main image sensor is used. Instead of the best phase detection algorithms, the camera must used a less powerful micro-contrast detection approach.

Sony decided to opt for another solution, more innovative. The AF sensor (4) is always kept in full operation (the reflex mirror (3) is not moved up). Instead, when going in LiveView mode, a small viewfinder mirror (1) is used to direct the view either toward the eye cup, or toward a LiveView video sensor (2). Everything is visible on the Flash animation below.

Kudos to the Sony engineers.

Not much more, but it could be significant if Canon is actually creating a new stepping stone for incremental improvements in the mid-range SLR Autofocus system, getting the best AF from the 1D system and making it slightly better while bringing it to the 50D/60D level of SLR cameras.