IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20080122951A1
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Harushige
• Granted Patent: US 7,868,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/240.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

This invention can appropriately control the relationship between the electronic zoom magnification and the resolution of a displayed image in electronic zoom. An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an image of an image sensing field formed by a photographing optical system, an extracting unit which extracts a part of the video image generated upon being photo-electrically converted by the image sensor, an adding unit which adds signals of respective pixels, the number of which corresponds to the luminance of the image sensing field, of a plurality of pixels of the image sensor, and a limiting unit which limits the extraction range of the video image extracted by the extracting unit, in accordance with the number of pixels added by the adding unit.

Claims

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising:

an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an image of an image sensing field formed by a photographing optical system;

an extracting unit which extracts a part of the video image generated upon being photo-electrically converted by said image sensor;

an adding unit which adds signals of respective pixels, the number of which corresponds to a luminance of the image sensing field, of a plurality of pixels of said image sensor; and

a limiting unit which limits an extraction range of the video image extracted by said extracting unit, in accordance with the number of pixels added by said adding unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extracting unit further comprises a warning unit which issues a warning when said extracting unit extracts a video image which falls outside the extraction range of the video image limited by said limiting unit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extracting unit further comprises a change unit which changes a frame rate at which said image capturing apparatus captures a moving image when said extracting unit extracts a video image which falls outside the extraction range of the video image limited by said limiting unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determining unit which determines movement of an object in the image sensing field; and

a control unit which controls said extracting unit to move a position of the video image extracted by said extracting unit, in synchronism with movement of the object.

5. A method of controlling an image capturing apparatus including an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an image of an image sensing field formed by a photographing optical system, the method comprising:

an extracting step of extracting a part of the video image generated upon being photo-electrically converted by the image sensor;

an adding step of adding signals of respective pixels, the number of which corresponds to a luminance of the image sensing field, of a plurality of pixels of the image sensor; and

a limiting step of limiting an extraction range of the video image extracted in the extracting step, in accordance with the number of pixels added in the adding step.

6. A program for causing a computer to execute a control method defined in claim 5.

7. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program defined in claim 6.