Sony Broadcast & Communications Limited

Nicholas Alfred Viliesid

An image capture apparatus (eg. a video camera) for producing video image signals includes an image sensor for producing image signals having signal values representative of radiation intensity incident on respective positions of the sensor. The apparatus is able to identify an area of the sensor at which the incident intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity and to cause a stepped reduction in the image signal values corresponding to said area. The apparatus enables a range of intensity levels above a predetermined maximum to be translated or shifted to within a range which can be accommodated, for example by a broadcast television system, in a manner equivalent to applying a negative pedestal to that range of intensity levels. Preferably, for detecting an area of the sensor at which the incident intensity exceeds a predetermined intensity, a sense array additional to the image sensor is provided for producing sample signals representative of the radiation incident on the sensor at corresponding image positions. Various specific examples of the apparatus are described.

Growing community of inventors

Bramley, United Kingdom

Nicholas Alfred Viliesid