Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Eiichiro Ikeda

Takaaki Fukui

Yoshiro Udagawa

Kenji Takahashi

Yoshinobu Shiraiwa

Toshiaki Endo

Shoichi Suzuki

Tsutomu Ogasawara

Masato Ikeda

Yumiko Hidaka

Kenichi Kondo

Kazuyoshi Kiyosawa

Yoshirou Udagawa

A luminance signal generation apparatus capable of suppressing an occurrence of aliasing at near horizontal and vertical Nyquist regions in the case of an achromatic object. An OG signal is generated by interpolating a green signal on pixels other than green pixels, and an SWY signal is generated as luminance signals at positions of pixels for respective colors. An angle determination signal is generated according to a direction of an edge of an image signal, and hierarchical image signals having different frequencies are generated from the image signal. Based on results of determination of false color region in the hierarchical image signals, one of the hierarchical image signals is selected. According to an angle determination signal and a chroma signal obtained from the selected hierarchical image signal, the OG signal and the SWY signal are mixed to generate a final luminance signal.

Luminance signal generation apparatus, luminance signal generation method, image pickup apparatus, and storage medium

An image sensing apparatus that senses objects and processes image signals obtained from such image sensing includes a white balance correction means that performs white balance correction of the image signals using white balance correction values calculated based on a face area and on other areas contained in the image signals, and a CPU that changes the proportion of image signals of the face area used in calculating the white balance correction values when calculating the white balance correction values based on the image signals.

Image sensing apparatus and image processing method

A white balance correction apparatus may include a dividing unit, a white evaluation unit, a white balance correction unit, and a camera orientation discrimination unit. The dividing unit divides an image into a plurality of divided areas. The white evaluation unit determines whether image data within every divided area is indicative of a color white according to white detection regions in a color temperature range defined based on a position of each divided area in the image. The white balance correction unit performs a white balance correction based upon image data determined to be indicative of the color white. The camera orientation discrimination unit discriminates orientation of a camera. In accordance with the discriminated orientation, the white evaluation unit changes a combination of position of each divided area and condition used.

White balance correction including indicative white color determination based on regions in a divided image

An image processing apparatus includes a detection circuit configured to detect an image, a luminance correction circuit configured to determine luminance of the detected image and to execute correction for reducing a luminance variation in the detected image, and an extraction circuit configured to extract feature amount data from the detected image corrected by the correction circuit for use in authentication processing.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method

This invention is directed to reduce a deterioration in image quality after thinning operation when pixels are read out upon thinning. An image sensor is designed such that different gains are applied on a pixel basis. After periodical gains are applied to the respective pixels, the pixels of the same colors are added and averaged to obtain a low-pass filter effect before thinning processing for the pixels in the sensor, thereby preventing the occurrence of aliasing (moir&#xe9;) due to thinning.

Image capturing apparatus, image capturing sensor, and image capturing processing method

In a signal processing apparatus for processing an image signal, a hue difference between adjoining pixels is detected by a color image edge detector, and an aperture control main gain circuit amplifies a luminance signal using a gain determined on the basis of the hue difference detected by the color image edge detector to enhance an edge pixel of an image.

Signal processing apparatus and method for reducing jaggedness on color image edge and image sensing apparatus having same

A luminance signal in which the occurrence of spatial aliasing in a diagonal direction component has been suppressed for a red or blue imaging subject is generated from an image signal read from an image sensor. A V-LPF and a H-LPF generate a first luminance signal in which the spatial frequency bandwidth has been limited. Also, a V-LPF and a H-LPF, which limit the spatial frequency bandwidth so as to be even lower than the V-LPF and the H-LPF, generate a second luminance signal in which the bandwidth has been limited. A first GR weighted-addition circuit generates a final luminance signal for a pixel of interest by performing weighted-addition on the first luminance signal and the second luminance signal such that the ratio of the second luminance signal increases as the intensity of the redness or blueness of the pixel of interest increases.

Luminance signal generation apparatus, luminance signal generation method, and image capturing apparatus

An image pickup apparatus for applying high-speed dark shading correction and reducing random noise in a black image is provided. The image pickup apparatus has an image pickup element capable of reading image signals corresponding to one frame, which are obtained by photoelectric conversion, on a field-by-field basis. With the image pickup element exposed to light, first image signals corresponding to one frame are read. Then, with the image pickup element shielded from light, second image signals are read from fields that are fewer than fields constituting one frame. Each of third image signals is generated by averaging the second image signals for each of blocks obtained by dividing the image pickup element and converting the average image signal for each block to a resolution of the first image signals. The third image signals are subtracted from the first image signals.

Image pickup apparatus and method for controlling the same

An image-processing device having a function that performs detection processing on a first image signal to detect a specific target region of a subject includes an image-signal generating unit that generates a second image signal different from the first image signal based on the first image signal, a target-region detecting unit that performs detection processing on the first and second image signals to detect the specific target region of the subject, and a control unit that selects the results of detecting the target region from either the first or second image signal.

Image-capturing device, image-processing device, method for controlling image-capturing device, and program for causing computer to execute the method

An entered image is divided into a plurality of blocks and it is determined, on a per-block basis, whether the image data within an applicable block is indicative of the color white, based upon a condition, from among a plurality of conditions, that conforms to the position of each block in the image. A white balance correction is performed based upon data of a block determined to be indicative of the color white.

In a color-noise reduction circuit in which a color-difference signal of a target pixel is substituted in a random substitution circuit () by a color-difference signal of another pixel within an area including the target pixel, a pixel-substitution color-difference signal that is the substituted signal whose high-frequency components are removed in an LPF () and the color-difference signal of the target pixel are added together in a summation circuit () at a predetermined ratio obtained by a pixel-substitution utilization rate calculation circuit (), and is outputted as a noise-reduced color-difference signal of the target pixel. Therefore, efficient color-noise reduction and suppression of occurrence of color jitters can be realized.

Image processing apparatus and method for color-noise reduction

A control method for an imaging apparatus includes photoelectrically converting a photographic subject image formed by an imaging optical system, repetitively detecting a photographic subject region based on a signal obtained from the photoelectric conversion applied to the photographic subject image, storing photographic subject information of the detected photographic subject region, acquiring the stored photographic subject information, reading, from the stored photographic subject information, photographic subject information corresponding to a point in time when an operation for reading the photographic subject information is performed, and setting an imaging parameter based on the read photographic subject information.

Imaging apparatus, control method for the imaging apparatus, and storage medium storing computer program which causes a computer to execute the control method for the imaging apparatus

An optical apparatus includes a focus adjustment unit which controls a focusing lens such that the focusing lens is driven to an in-focus position using a signal obtained by photoelectric conversion of an image of an object, the image being formed by an optical system including the focusing lens; and a color temperature detection unit which detects a color temperature of the object. The manner in which the focusing lens is driven differs depending on the color temperature.

Lens barrel and imaging apparatus

An image processing method is provided for detecting the position of a specific subject from a movie and combining a display of detection result indicating the detected position with the movie. The image processing method includes a step of determining, depending on a display time of the detection result, whether the detection result should be continuously displayed, when the subject cannot be detected during the display of the detection result combined with the movie.

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Yokohama, Japan

Eiichiro Ikeda