Capturing images under varying lighting conditions
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for capturing a scene image under varying lighting conditions, comprising:
- a) providing an image sensor having panchromatic and color pixels;
b) a user selecting a scene mode and adjusting the image capture exposure as a function of lighting conditions and the selected scene mode; and
c) capturing a scene by the image sensor using the adjusted exposure.
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Abstract
An image capture device using an image sensor having color and panchromatic pixels and structured to permit the capture of a color scene image under different lighting conditions.
84 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for capturing a scene image under varying lighting conditions, comprising:
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a) providing an image sensor having panchromatic and color pixels;
b) a user selecting a scene mode and adjusting the image capture exposure as a function of lighting conditions and the selected scene mode; and
c) capturing a scene by the image sensor using the adjusted exposure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for capturing a scene image under varying lighting conditions, comprising
a) providing an image sensor having a two-dimensional array of pixels including first and second groups of pixels with pixels from the first group of pixels having narrower spectral photoresponses than pixels from the second group of pixels and with the first group of pixels having individual pixels 30 that have spectral photoresponses that correspond to a set of at least two colors, wherein the placement of the first and second groups of pixels defines a pattern that has a minimal repeating unit including at least twelve pixels, the minimal repeating unit having a plurality of cells wherein each cell has at least two pixels representing a specific color selected from the first group of pixels and a plurality of pixels selected from the second group of pixels arranged to permit the reproduction of a captured color image under different lighting conditions; -
b) a user selecting a preferred scene mode and adjusting the image capture exposure as a function of lighting conditions and the selected scene mode; and
c) capturing a scene by the image sensor using the adjusted exposure. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for capturing a scene image under varying lighting conditions, comprising
a) providing an image sensor having a two-dimensional array of pixels including first and second groups of pixels with pixels from the first group of pixels having narrower spectral photoresponses than pixels from the second group of pixels and with the first group of pixels having individual pixels that have spectral photoresponses that correspond to a set of at least two colors, wherein the placement of the first and second groups of pixels defines a pattern that has a minimal repeating unit including at least twelve pixels, the minimal repeating unit having a plurality of cells wherein each cell has at least two pixels representing a specific color selected from the first group of pixels and a plurality of pixels selected from the second group of pixels arranged to permit the reproduction of a captured color image under different lighting conditions; -
b) receiving light from the scene and focusing such received light along an optical path onto the image sensor;
c) producing a signal representative of scene light intensity; and
d) adjusting the exposure of the image sensor in response to the signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for capturing a scene under varying lighting conditions a scene in either single image capture or image stream capture, comprising:
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a) providing an image sensor effective in a first condition for capturing a single image of a scene and, in a second condition, for capturing a stream of images from the scene, the image sensor having a two-dimensional array of pixels including first and second groups of pixels with pixels from the first group of pixels having narrower spectral photoresponses than pixels from the second group of pixels and with the first group of pixels having individual pixels that have spectral photoresponses that correspond to a set of at least two colors, wherein the placement of the first and second groups of pixels defines a pattern that has a minimal repeating unit including at least twelve pixels, the minimal repeating unit having a plurality of cells wherein each cell has at least two pixels representing a specific color selected from the first group of pixels and a plurality of pixels selected from the second group of pixels arranged to permit the reproduction of a captured color image under different lighting conditions;
b) receiving light along a path from the scene and for focusing light from the scene onto the image sensor; and
c) a user selecting the image sensor to capture a single image or to capture a stream of images.
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Specification