Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Hidetoshi Fukuda

Osamu Inagaki

Minoru Kakinuma

Hiroaki Koseki

Takumi Momose

Kuniaki Saito

Gakuji Kamishima

Toshiyuki Terada

Shinichi Nakajima

Jun Inoue

An electronic camera for generating an image having a wide dynamic range by synthesizing two image pickup signals of different exposure amount generated by using an electronic shutter function and unit for shutting off light, shading of image pickup signals resulting from difference in charge accumulating time among the pixels of image pickup device due to operation from opened state to closed state of the unit for shutting off light being corrected by a shading correction unit to form a synthesized image without an occurrence of false color due to shading.

Electronic camera that synthesizes two images taken under different exposures

Disclosed herein is an electronic camera for generating an image having a wide dynamic range by synthesizing two image pickup signals of different exposure amount generated by using an electronic shutter function and means for shutting off light, shading of image pickup signals resulting from difference in charge accumulating time among the pixels of image pickup device due to operation from opened state to closed state of the means for shutting off light being corrected by a shading correction means to form a synthesized image without an occurrence of false color due to shading. Also provided is an electronic camera generating two image pickup signals of different exposure amount by two shots of picture taking each using a flash emission in combination, at least one of an electronic shutter of image pickup device and means for shutting off light, as well as an emission of the flash emission means, being controlled to equalize between the two shots of picture taking ratio of exposure by normal light excluding light from the flash emission means and ratio of emission amount by the light from the flash emission means so that the two image pickup signals can be readily generated as having a predetermined exposure amount ratio in every part of a frame of picture even when a flash emission is used in combination.

Electronic camera for synthesizing two images having a white balance correction

An image pickup apparatus having a function for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts. A correcting section for correcting exposure amounts of at least one image signal of the image signals corresponding to the plurality of frames of different exposure amounts.

Image pickup apparatus

An image pickup apparatus having function for synthesizing image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts to generate wide dynamic range, synthesized image is provided with: at least two control means among a taking control means based on a normal taking mode, a taking control means based on a forced wide dynamic range taking mode, and a taking control means based on an automatic wide dynamic range taking mode for selectively generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image automatically on the basis of object information or information set for the image taking; and means for selectively setting one image taking mode out of the taking modes respectively corresponding to the two control means. It is thereby possible to take image by selecting one image taking mode from at least two taking modes among the normal taking mode, the forced wide dynamic range taking mode, and the automatic wide dynamic range taking mode.

Image pickup apparatus for generating wide dynamic range synthesized image

A short-time exposure image data and a long-time exposure image data of the same object to be photographed are stored to SE memory and LE memory and then transferred to CPU, motion thereof being detected at a motion detecting section on the basis of the two image data; if no motion is detected, a wide dynamic range, synthesized image as synthesized at a synthesizing circuit on the basis of image data read out from the two memories and compressed is outputted through a selector controlled by CPU. If a motion is detected, the long-time exposure image data read out from the LE memory and processed at a signal processing circuit is outputted through the selector. An image pickup apparatus having a function for generating wide dynamic range, synthesized image by synthesizing image signals corresponding to a plurality of frames of different exposure amounts is thereby able to perform ON/OFF switching of the generating function of synthesized image on the basis of previously taken image data, so that a failed synthesized image can be prevented from being outputted.

A system controller controls a solid-state image pickup device so as to read pixels at a predetermined pixel skip-reading-out rate. During pixel skip-reading-out, the system controller adds up, for example, four pixels to acquire a value representative of a unit area for pixel skip-reading-out. A space between adjoining ones of pixels to be added up is set to, for example, a half of an inter-sample space, whereby an MTF of an image signal representing added pixels, which is attained at the sample rate, is set to 0. Consequently, an aliasing noise can be eliminated and deterioration in image quality can be prevented. Moreover, since four pixels are added up irrespective of a pixel skip-reading-out rate, a sensitivity will not vary.

In an image pickup apparatus, a level of an output signal from an image pickup device is detected. A first quantity of exposure of the image pickup device is determined such that a maximum value of the output signal from the image pickup device does not exceed a saturation level. And a first image signal picked up by the image pickup device with the first quantity of exposure is synthesized with at least one second image signal picked up with a second quantity of exposure which is larger than the first quantity of exposure.

Image processing apparatus

An electronic camera for producing a composite image having a wide dynamic range and a high quality by composing first and second image signals obtained by picking-up an object successively two times with first and second stroboscopic flash exposures having a predetermined exposure amount ratio, including a CCD image sensing element, a stroboscopic flash device, and a flash light control circuit for controlling an excited emission of said stroboscopic flash device. At an end of the first exposure, the excited light emission from the stroboscopic flash device is temporarily stopped, but an excited condition of the stroboscopic flash device is kept. During this very short light emission interruption period, electrostatic charges stored in a light receiving section of the CCD image sensing element during the first exposure are transferred into a vertical transfer section. After that, the excited flash light is emitted again to perform the second exposure without recharging a trigger capacitance.

Electronic camera for producing an image having a wide dynamic range

An image pickup apparatus having a function for OB clamping, the image pickup apparatus including an XY addressing type solid-state image pickup device having light receiving pixels and optically shielded OB pixels on the periphery of the light receiving pixels and drive means for driving the solid-state image pickup device in both or one of a thinned-out readout mode for reading out one light receiving pixel out of every given number of pixels and a mode of reading out the light receiving pixels in a given region, wherein OB clamping is effected by always reading out OB pixels at the same location, regardless of the above two signal readout modes or regardless of location and/or number of light receiving pixels to be read out in the above two signal readout modes. A stable OB clamping is thereby effected even when there has been a change in signal readout mode or in location and/or number of pixels to be read out.

A photographing lens focuses and forms incident light from a photographed body as an image on an image pickup face. An image pickup element photoelectrically converts the incident light focused and formed as an image by the photographing lens and converts the incident light to an image signal. A first control section obtains a first image signal by reading the image signal from each of pixels of a first area in all image pickup areas of the image pickup element. A second control section obtains a second image signal by reading the image signal from each of pixels of a second area smaller than the first area in all the image pickup areas of the image pickup element. A display section displays the first image signal obtained by the first control section. A third control section controls a level of the first image signal obtained by the first control section and a level of the second image signal obtained by the second control section such that these levels are substantially equal to each other.

Image pickup system for obtaining an image signal at a proper level with high definition from an arbitrary small area selected from all image pickup areas

An image pickup apparatus including a solid-state image pickup device for photoelectrically converting incident light from an object into an electrical signal and outputting the electrical signal, an electronic flash tube for irradiating light onto the object, and a system controller for controlling the light emission timing of the electronic flash tube. The electronic flash tube is caused to emit light in the vertical blanking period of the solid-state image pickup device. The invention is to also provide an image pickup apparatus having a solid-state image pickup device capable of performing photoelectric conversion and reading out the charges accumulated for an arbitrary time, a field memory for storing image data obtained by performing predetermined processing for the readout signal, an image synthesizing unit for synthesizing an immediately preceding field image and a new image from the image pickup device, and an electronic flash unit. Even when the image is picked up using short-time light emission of the electronic flash unit or the like, two images with different exposure amounts are obtained and synthesized to generate an image having an appropriate and wide dynamic range.

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Yokohama, Japan

Hidetoshi Fukuda