Originally posted by reh321 Problem with that reasoning is AF occurs before exposure and Noise Reduction occurs after exposure; I can see how "offloading" might work for video or burst shot AF after first frame, but not in general.
Yes, if the chip indeed is only for noise reduction I'd say you're right. Unless there's some sort of reservation of CPU cycles - which I find very unlikely.
Originally posted by biz-engineer Pentax AFS is normally as good as any other brands, Pentax AFC is less dynamic relative to other brands and that's where adding an image pre-processor helps freeing up some CPU time so that it's more responsive for AF tracking.
Yes, the Pentax AF-S is really quite good. People tend to lump it in with the more pedestrian AF-C.
Not that the GR is meant to be a super action camera with high FPS and a deep buffer. At least the way I use it the current AF is already more than good enough. Snap focus works very well, too.