Camera device, exposure control method, and program

• US 8,477,212 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Oyabu, Satoru, Nakamura, Yasuji, Kawakami, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Sinh
• Assistant Examiner(s): GEBRIEL, SELAM T
• Application Number:
  US13/321,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20120120280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.99, 348/221.1, 348/222.1, 348/224.1, 348/229.1, 348/230.1, 348362-368
• US Class Current: 348/229.1
• 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

Abstract

A camera device is provided with an imager that outputs a long exposure signal and a short exposure signal within one field period; a knee processor that compresses a long exposure signal having the luminance level of a knee point or higher at a compression rate (i.e., decreases an inclination of an incident light amount-luminance level line, representing a variation in a luminance level with an amount of incident light); and a knee controller that adjusts the knee point and the compression rate according to a luminance level of a synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal. In this knee control, the knee point decreases with an increase in the luminance level of the synthesized signal, and the inclination is adjusted to approach an original inclination thereof.

Claims

1. A camera device comprising:

an imager which outputs a long exposure signal and a short exposure signal, the long exposure signal being a video signal which has a long exposure time and the short exposure signal being a video signal which has a short exposure time within one field period;

a knee processor which compresses, at a compression rate, the long exposure signal having a luminance level equal to or higher than a knee point, which is a reference luminance level of the long exposure signal at which knee processing is performed, to decrease an inclination of an incident light amount-luminance level line, which represents a variation in the luminance level of the long exposure signal with an amount of incident light input to the imager; and

a knee controller which adjusts the knee point and the compression rate according to a luminance level of a synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal, to make the knee point lower with an increase in the luminance level of the synthesized signal and to adjust the inclination to approach an original inclination before the knee processor compresses the long exposure signal.

2. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a low-luminance area detector which detects a low-luminance area at a predetermined threshold luminance level or lower in an image obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal; and

a gain controller which raises a gain of the long exposure signal in the low-luminance area.

3. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a dynamic area detector which detects a dynamic area which includes a moving subject in an image obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal; and

a gain controller which raises a gain of the long exposure signal in the dynamic area.

4. An exposure control method used in a camera device, including an imager which outputs a long exposure signal and a short exposure signal, the long exposure signal being a video signal which has a long exposure time and a short exposure signal being a video signal which has a short exposure time within one field period, the method including:

compressing, at a compression rate, the long exposure signal having a luminance level equal to or higher than a knee point, which is a reference luminance level of the long exposure signal at which knee processing is performed, to decrease an inclination of an incident light amount-luminance level line, which represents a variation in the luminance level of the long exposure signal with an amount of incident light input to the imager; and

adjusting the knee point and the compression rate according to a luminance level of a synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal, to make the knee point lower with an increase in the luminance level of the synthesized signal and to adjust the inclination to approach an original inclination before the knee processor compresses the long exposure signal.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a program used for exposure control of a camera device including an imager which outputs a long exposure signal and a short exposure signal, the long exposure signal being a video signal which has a long exposure time and a short exposure signal being a video signal which has a short exposure time within one field period;

the program causing a computer to perform;

compressing, at a compression rate, the long exposure signal having a luminance level equal to or higher than a knee point which is a reference luminance level of the long exposure signal at which knee processing is performed, to decrease an inclination of an incident light amount-luminance level line, which represents a variation in the luminance level of the long exposure signal with an amount of incident light input to the imager; and

adjusting the knee point and the compression rate according to a luminance level of a synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal, to make the knee point lower with an increase in the luminance level of the synthesized signal and to adjust the inclination to approach an original inclination before the knee processor compresses the long exposure signal.