Image pickup apparatus

• US 20070146538A1
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Hidetoshi, Koseki, Hiroaki, Inagaki, Osamu, Kakinuma, Minoru, Momose, Takumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,755,664 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/362
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/144 Movement detection for video coding H04N19/503; analysis of motion in general G06T7/20

Abstract

A short-time exposure image data and a long-time exposure image data of the same object to be photographed are stored to SE memory and LE memory and then transferred to CPU, motion thereof being detected at a motion detecting section on the basis of the two image data; if no motion is detected, a wide dynamic range, synthesized image as synthesized at a synthesizing circuit on the basis of image data read out from the two memories and compressed is outputted through a selector controlled by CPU. If a motion is detected, the long-time exposure image data read out from the LE memory and processed at a signal processing circuit is outputted through the selector. An image pickup apparatus having a function for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts is thereby able to perform ON/OFF switching of the generating function of synthesized image on the basis of previously taken image data, so that a failed synthesized image can be prevented from being outputted.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

an image pickup section for taking images of the same object at a plurality of different exposure amounts to generate image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts;

a synthesizing section for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames of different exposure amounts generated by the image pickup section;

a correcting section for correcting exposure amounts of at least one image signal of the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames of different exposure amounts generated at the image pickup section; and

a switching control section for performing ON/OFF switching of the correction operation of said correcting section on the basis of an image taking mode set to the image pickup apparatus.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a strobe emitting section, wherein said switching control section controls switching so as to cause an operation of said exposure amount correcting section when an image taking mode for emitting strobe has been set.