Image pickup apparatus, solid-state imaging device, and image generating method

• US 7,653,266 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2006
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Maeda, Kenji, Nakayama, Masaaki, Kitao, Ichiro, Fusa, Shinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Alavi; Amir
• Application Number:
  US11/531,892
• Publication Number:
  US 20070058061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 382/282, 382/312, 382/313, 348/207.99, 348/207.2, 348/294, 348/302, 348/333.01, 348/362, 348/E5.042, 348/E5.047
• US Class Current: 382/312
• 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

Abstract

In an image pickup apparatus of the present invention, a CCD 11 in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, thereof the number of effective horizontal pixels is H and the number of effective vertical pixels is V; a aspect switching operator 18 that sets one of a plurality of aspect modes including a first aspect mode and a second aspect mode; an image processor 141 that generates first image data for recording in the first aspect mode, and generates second image data for recording in the second aspect mode, wherein the first image data for recording is generated using image data that is generated with pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the CCD 11 or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing, the second image data for recording is generated using image data that is generated with pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing, and the first image data for recording and the second image data for recording satisfy the following relationships: H2<H1≦H, and V1<V2≦V. Thus, it is possible to make the sizes or qualities of sets of image data for recording close to each other even if they have different aspect modes.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, thereof the number of effective horizontal pixels is H and the number of effective vertical pixels is V;

a mode setting portion that sets one of a plurality of aspect modes including a first aspect mode and a second aspect mode; and

an image processor that generates first image data for recording in the first aspect mode, and generates second image data for recording in the second aspect mode,

wherein the first image data for recording is generated using image data that is generated with pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing,

the second image data for recording is generated using image data that is generated with pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing, and

the first image data for recording and the second image data for recording satisfy the following relationships;

H2<

H1≦

H, and

V1<

V2≦

V.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a diagonal length φ

1 of the pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels and a diagonal length φ

2 of the pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels satisfy the following relationship;

φ

1≈

φ

2.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first image data for recording and the second image data for recording satisfy the following relationships:

H1/V1≈

16/9, and

H2/V2≈

4/3.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the solid-state imaging device outputs the image data generated with the pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels in the first aspect mode, and

outputs the image data generated with the pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels in the second aspect mode.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data that is generated with the plurality of pixels of which the number of effective horizontal pixels is H and the number of effective vertical pixels is V on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing,

wherein the image processor generates the first image data for recording in the first aspect mode by reading image data that corresponds to the pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels from the image data stored in the buffer memory, and

generates the second image data for recording in the second aspect mode by reading image data that corresponds to the pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels from the image data stored in the buffer memory.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the mode setting portion further can set a third aspect mode,

the image processor generates, in the third aspect mode, third image data for recording using image data that is generated with pixels being H3 horizontal pixels by V3 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing, and

the first image data for recording, the second image data for recording and the third image data for recording satisfy the following relationships:

H2<

H3<

H1≦

H, and

V1<

V3<

V2≦

V.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein a diagonal length φ

1 of the pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1, vertical pixels, a diagonal length φ

2 of the pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels and a diagonal length φ

3 of the pixels being H3 horizontal pixels by V3 vertical pixels satisfy the following relationship;

φ

1≈

φ

2≈

φ

3.

8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the first image data for recording, the second image data for recording and the third image data for recording satisfy the following relationships:

H1/V1≈

16/9

H2/V2≈

4/3, and

H3/V3≈

3/2.

9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a display portion that includes a displayable region in which the number of effective horizontal pixels is PH and the number of effective vertical pixels is PV, and that displays image data that is generated with the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing;

and

a display controller that generates first image data for display in the first aspect mode and generates second image data for display in the second aspect mode,

wherein the first image data for display is generated by processing image data that is generated with the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing in such a manner that these image data are displayed in a region being PH1 horizontal pixels by PV1 vertical pixels included in the displayable region of the display portion,

the second image data for display is generated by processing image data that is generated with the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing in such a manner that these image data are displayed in a region being PH2 horizontal pixels by PV2 vertical pixels included in the displayable region of the display portion, and

the first image data for display and the second image data for display satisfy the following relationships;

PH2<

PH1≦

PH, and

PV1<

PV2≦

PV.

10. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of effective pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array;

an image processor that generates image data for recording using image data that is generated with a portion or all of the effective pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing;

a bracket setting portion that can set the image pickup apparatus in an aspect bracketing mode; and

a receiver that receives an instruction to start image-taking,

wherein, when the receiver receives an instruction to start image-taking in a case in which the aspect bracketing mode is set by the bracket setting portion, the image processor generates a plurality of image data for recording having aspect ratios that are different from one another.

11. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising

a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data that is generated with the plurality of pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing

wherein, when the receiver receives an instructional to start image-taking in a case in which the aspect bracketing mode is set by the bracket setting portion, the image processor generates a plurality of image data for recording having aspect ratios that are different from one another by respectively reading image data that correspond to pixel arrays having a plurality of aspect ratios from the image data stored in the buffer memory.

12. A solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, thereof the number of effective horizontal pixels is H and the number of effective vertical pixels is V,

the solid-state imaging device being capable of setting one of a plurality of aspect modes including a first aspect mode and a second aspect mode,

outputting, when the first aspect mode is set, first image data that is generated with pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels, and

outputting, when the second aspect mode is set, second image data that is generated with pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels,

wherein the first image data and the second image data satisfy the following relationships:

H2<

H1≦

H, and

V1<

V2≦

V.

13. An image generating method for generating image data for recording using a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, thereof the number of effective horizontal pixels is H and the number of effective vertical pixels is V:

setting one of a plurality of aspect modes including a first aspect mode and a second aspect mode;

generating, in the first aspect mode, first image data for recording using image data that is generated with pixels being H1 horizontal pixels by V1 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing, and

generating, in the second aspect mode, second image data for recording using image data that is generated with pixels being H2 horizontal pixels by V2 vertical pixels included in the pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing,

wherein the first image data for recording and the second image data for recording satisfy the following relationships;

H2<

H1≦

H, and

V1<

V2≦

V.

14. An image generating method for generating image data for recording using a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of effective pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, the method comprising:

setting an aspect bracketing mode;

receiving an instruction to start image-taking; and

generating a plurality of image data for recording having aspect ratios that are different from one another using image data that is generated with a portion or all of the effective pixels on the solid-state imaging device or image data that is obtained by subjecting said image data to predetermined processing.