Imaging apparatus

• US 8,830,355 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2012
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Mizutani, Yoichi, Takezawa, Masayuki, Matsumoto, Hideki, Nakajima, Ken, Yamamoto, Toshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US13/546,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20120274821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 348/333.01, 348/333.11, 348/333.12, 348/222.1, 348/231.99, 348/231.2, 348/231.3
• US Class Current: 348/231.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/42 by switching between different modes of operation using different resolutions or aspect ratios, e.g. switching between interlaced and non-interlaced mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/70 SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/71 Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array

Abstract

An imaging apparatus for performing efficient signal processing depending on the operational mode. In the finder mode, a CCD interface 21a decimates horizontal components of image data supplied from an image generating unit 10 to one-third and moreover processes the decimated image data with data conversion and resolution conversion to produce Y, Cb and Cr image data which are routed to and written in an image memory 32 over a memory controller 22. In the recording mode, the CCD interface 21a causes the image data from the image generating unit 10 to be written in the image memory 32 via memory controller 22 after decimation and gamma correction etc. The camera DSP 21c reads out the image data via memory controller 22 from the image memory 32 to effect data conversion for writing the resulting data via memory controller 22 in the image memory 32.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

imaging means for generating image data based on the imaging light from an object;

memory means for storing the image data;

a plurality of signal processing means for performing pre-set signal processing on the image data;

display means for displaying an image corresponding to said image data;

a recording medium for recording the image data thereon; and

control means for performing control in a first operational mode for processing the image data from said imaging means in a pre-set fashion by the signal processing means of said plural signal processing means required to perform a real-time processing to write the image data in said memory means and for reading out the processed image data from said memory means to supply the read-out image data to said display means, said control means performing control in second operational mode for writing the image data from said imaging means in said memory means and subsequently reading out the written image data to route the read-out image data to said plural signal processing means to record the image data processed by said plural signal processing means or said recording medium.