Image pickup apparatus

• US 20070159538A1
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• 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
• Application Number:
  US11/706,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20070159538A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/239
• 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 synthesizing system including an image pickup apparatus and a synthesizing apparatus, said 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; and

a recording section for recording as a single file to a recording medium the image signals corresponding to said plurality of frames generated by the image pickup section and synthesizing information to be used in generating a wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames; and

said synthesizing apparatus comprising;

a synthesizing section for synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames contained in said file recorded in said recording medium on the basis of said synthesizing information contained in the file to generate the wide dynamic range, synthesized image.

2. The image synthesizing system according to claim 1, wherein said image pickup apparatus further comprises a detecting section for detecting the remaining capacity of said recording medium, the remaining capacity of said recording medium being detected by the detecting section and, if not enough remaining capacity left in the recording medium for recording said image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames of different exposure amounts, image signals corresponding to one frame being generated by taking image of the object at a predetermined exposure amount by said image pickup section and the image signals corresponding to one frame being recorded to said recording medium by said recording section.

3. 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 at different exposure amounts; and

a recording section for recording as a single file to a recording medium the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames generated by the image pickup section and synthesizing information to be used in generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames.

4. A synthesizing apparatus comprising:

a reading section for reading a file out from a recording medium, said file being recorded in said recording medium as a single file recording image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts obtained by taking images of the same object at a plurality of different exposure amounts and synthesizing information to be used in generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames; and

a synthesizing section for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames contained in the file read out from said recording medium by said reading section on the basis of said synthesizing information contained in the file.

5. A recording medium recording a program for performing synthesis of image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames obtained by taking images of the same object at a plurality of different exposure amounts, said recording medium recording a program for reading the image signals corresponding to said plurality of frames contained in one file out from the one file recording the image signals corresponding to said plurality of frames of different exposure amounts and synthesizing information to be used in generating a wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames, to achieve processing for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing the readout image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames on the basis of said synthesizing information contained in the same file.