Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hidenori Taniguchi

Toshio Nagata

Kazuo Ikawa

Hidetoshi Masuda

Michio Hirohata

Masayoshi Kiuchi

Minoru Hirose

Kazuyuki Maeda

Hiroshi Arita

There is provided an image pickup apparatus that has a mixture readout mode configured to mix and read outputs of a plurality of pixels in an image sensor (), when pixels to be mixed are image pickup pixels, they are mixed. When the pixels to be mixed contain a focus detection pixel, a signal of the image pickup pixel is not mixed with a signal of the focus detection pixel.

Image pickup apparatus and its control method

An image pickup apparatus which is capable of calculating light amount changing characteristics of an object with high accuracy and enlarging a dynamic range during photometric measurement. An image pickup device of the image pickup apparatus has a plurality of unit pixel areas arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and a first pixel and a second pixel are included in each of the unit pixel areas. When a flicker detection mode in which an image signal for use in calculating the light amount changing characteristics of the object is obtained is selected, a first accumulation period and a second accumulation period for the first pixels and the second pixels, respectively, are set such that a first barycentric position which is a barycentric position of the first accumulation period and a second barycentric position which is a barycentric position of the second accumulation period correspond to each other.

Image pickup apparatus with flicker detection and having plurality of unit pixel areas, control method therefor, and storage medium

An image capturing apparatus comprises an image sensor constructed by replacing some of a plurality of image forming pixels of the image sensor with focus detecting pixels, a comparison unit configured to compare outputs of the image forming pixels as a plurality of correction targets adjacent to the focus detecting pixel with outputs of a plurality of reference image forming pixels of the same color as the plurality of image forming pixels arranged in the vicinity of the plurality of image forming pixels adjacent to the focus detecting pixel, and a correction unit configured to execute correction processing of the outputs of the image forming pixels as the plurality of correction targets in accordance with a comparison result of the comparison unit.

Image capturing apparatus

Image pickup apparatus capable of reading proper functional pixels when image signals are mixed or skipped and are read out, and method of controlling the same

An image capturing apparatus includes: an image sensor including image sensing pixels that generate a signal for image generation, and focus detection pixels dividing the pupil region of an imaging lens into pupil regions and generating a signal for phase difference detection by photoelectrically converting object images from the pupil regions obtained by the division; a switching unit that switches between an all-pixel readout mode in which signals from all of the multiple pixels are read out and a thinning readout mode in which the signals of the multiple pixels are thinned and read out; and a control unit that, in the case where the mode has been switched by the switching unit to the thinning readout mode, controls the accumulation of charges in imaging rows used for image generation and focus detection rows including the focus detection pixels independent from each other.

An image capturing apparatus comprises: a photometry unit configured to perform photometry on a subject and output a photometric value; an obtaining unit configured to obtain a plurality of photometric values from the photometry unit during a predetermined period of time; and a calculation unit configured to perform a prediction calculation to predict a luminance of the subject based on the plurality of photometric values obtained by the obtaining unit.

Image capturing apparatus, method for controlling image capturing apparatus, and method for predicting photometric value

An image sensing apparatus comprises an image sensor having a pair of focus detection pixel groups and a plurality of image sensing pixels, and a control unit that, in a thinning readout mode that reads out signal charges from a portion of pixels disposed within a part of pixels of the image sensor, controls so that at least the pair of focus detection pixel groups are included in the part of the pixels from which signal charges are read out.

Image sensing apparatus with plural focus detection pixel groups

Plural kinds of feature information for identifying an object and a period of time, set for each kind of the feature information, for which the feature information is effective are stored in connection with each other. A feature is extracted from image data, the extracted feature is compared with the feature information, which is within the set period of time, among the stored feature information, and an object is recognized.

Image processing apparatus and method

The image-pickup apparatus includes a focus detector generating focus detection information using light from an image-pickup optical system, a photometer generating photometry information using the light from the image-pickup optical system, a focus controller performing focus control, and an exposure controller performing exposure control. The photometer includes first and second photoelectric conversion part having different spectral sensitivity characteristics and formed to at least partially overlap each other in a light entrance direction from the image-pickup optical system. The photometer generates the photometry information based on the output from the first photoelectric conversion part. The focus controller performs the focus control using the focus detection information and focus correction information obtained based on the outputs from the first and second photoelectric conversion parts. The exposure controller performs the exposure control using the photometry information and exposure correction information obtained based on the outputs from the first and second photoelectric conversion part.

Image-pickup apparatus having a focus controller and an exposure controller

In a distance measurement and photometry sensor device in which sensors are arranged on the same plane to be formed in the form of a semiconductor chip, a photometry sensor is arranged such that its sensor center is deviated by a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to a base length direction in which sensor centers of a pair of first and second line sensors are connected with each other.

Distance measurement and photometry sensor device

A camera with a red-eye preventing feature includes an operation unit for causing the red-eye phenomenon preventing feature to function, a timer for measuring a predetermined period when the red-eye phenomenon preventing feature functions, an indicating device for indicating the state of the timer, and an exposure unit for performing an exposure operation. The exposure unit can perform the exposure operation even during the predetermined time period.

Camera provided with red-eye phenomenon preventing feature

This invention relates to a battery check apparatus comprising an effecting circuit for effecting the power supply battery to decrease an internal resistance of the battery power supply and a check circuit for checking a battery life of the power supply battery after the operation of the effecting circuit.

Battery check apparatus

A camera provided with a red-eye phenomenon preventing feature, includes a control device for controlling the red-eye phenomenon preventing feature in response to at least one of a photometry result and a predetermined speed of a shutter release button operation.

A red-eye phenomenon preventing device includes a light emitting part for flash photography, a light emitting part for preventing the red-eye phenomenon, a reflection shade arranged to surround the light emitting part for flash photography and the light emitting part for preventing the red-eye phenomenon, and a protector disposed in front of the light emitting part for flash photography and the light emitting part for preventing the red-eye phenomenon.

Red-eye phenomenon preventing device

A camera comprises a first responsive circuit for initiating a red-eye phenomenon preventing illumination in response to a first stroke of operation on a shutter release button; a determining circuit for making a determination whether or not the red-eye phenomenon preventing illumination initiated by the first responsive circuit has lasted for a given period of time; and a second responsive circuit for initiating a flash photographing operation in response to a second stroke of operation on the release button and also to the determination made by the determining circuit that the red-eye phenomenon preventing illumination has lasted for the given period of time.

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Zama, Japan

Hidenori Taniguchi