Olympus Corporation

Ryo Hatakeyama

Tetsuo Kikuchi

Yoshinao Shimada

Hiroaki Iwasaki

Kazuhiro Haneda

A detection device, comprising an image sensor provided with a plurality of pixels having a plurality of light receiving sections corresponding to a micro lens, capable of adding output signals of the plurality of light receiving sections in accordance with phase difference detection direction and outputting an added signal, and a processor for performing focus detection or depth detection using phase difference detection, based on the added signal of the image sensor, whereby the image sensor makes height of a potential barrier between the light receiving sections different in accordance with the plurality of phase difference detection directions, and the processor sets charge storage determination level differently in accordance with the phase difference detection direction, and controls charge storage operation of the image sensor based on the added signal and the charge storage determination level.

Detection device and detection method

An image pickup apparatus includes: a pixel portion where pixels of a plurality of colors are arranged in a first direction and a second direction as repetition of a basic array, and an arbitrary pixel is divided into a plurality of divided pixels in the first direction; a mixing portion configured to generate processed pixel signals from image data generated by all divided pixels existing in the pixel portion by performing pixel reduction of a plurality of divided pixel signals related to a same color and a same division position; and a managing/instructing portion configured to, in a case of prioritizing phase difference detection, control the pixel reduction by the mixing portion so that the processed pixel signals are not arranged at regular intervals in the second direction.

Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method

An image pickup device, in which a plurality of pixels photoelectrically convert incident light and generate a plurality of pieces of pixel data, includes a vertical scanning section configured to generate a pixel data sequence composed of pixel data having a same characteristic, a pixel section, an analog processing section, an ADC processing section, a memory section, a horizontal scanning section, and an output section configured to add additional information indicating the characteristic of the pixel data sequence to the pixel data sequence.

Image pickup device and and image pickup method having capability of adding additional information indicating the characteristic of a pixel data sequence to the pixel data sequence

An image sensor, comprising: a plurality of photo-diodes arranged divided in a specified pupil division direction, so that a pixel signal is generated by subjecting respective light flux, that passes through different exit pupil regions of an imaging optical systems for a single micro-lens, to photoelectric conversion, and a control circuit that implements an imaging mode for alternately and repeatedly executing a first imaging operation and a second imaging operation, wherein the first imaging operation combines pixel signals corresponding to the pupil division direction and generates and outputs a pixel signal for storage, and the second imaging operation generates and outputs a pixel signal corresponding to the pupil division direction, for focus detection.

Focus detection device, method and storage medium, for controlling image sensor operations

An image pickup apparatus including: an image pickup device including a pixel region in which image pixels corresponding to microlenses are arrayed in a matrix, each of the image pixels being divided into a plurality of focus detection pixels configured to generate respective photoelectric conversion signals; and a control circuit configured to control a cycle in a column direction of first rows in which photoelectric conversion signals in an image pixel are added up to generate an image pixel signal, and second rows in which both of a pair of the focus detection pixel signals or one of the pair of the focus detection pixel signals and the image pixel signal are generated and read, in a frame is provided.

Image pickup apparatus, image pickup apparatus control method and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium recording program

An image pickup apparatus includes a pixel section in which a pixel for image is divided into a plurality of pixels for focus detection that generate photoelectric conversion signals, the pixel section generating a pixel signal for image and pixel signals for focus detection on the basis of the photoelectric conversion signals, and a device control section or the like configured to control the pixel section to perform, in a frame, first readout for generating both of a pair of the pixel signals for focus detection and reading out the pair of pixel signals for focus detection and perform, in another frame, second readout for generating one of the pair of pixel signals for focus detection, adding up the photoelectric conversion signals to generate the pixel signal for image, and reading out one of the generated pixel signals for focus detection and the pixel signal for image.

Image pickup apparatus, control method for image pickup apparatus, and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium in which control program for image pickup apparatus is recorded

A focus detection device includes an imaging unit, an image processor, a focus detection circuit, and a control circuit. The imaging unit includes a pixel portion including light-receiving portions. The light-receiving portions are divided into first and second pupil division directions. The image processor performs processing to display an image based on a display pixel signal. The focus detection circuit performs processing for focus detection based on a focus detection pixel signal. The control circuit controls the imaging unit to generate the focus detection pixel signal regarding the first pupil division direction in a first operation, and controls the imaging unit to generate the display pixel signal and the focus detection pixel signal regarding the second pupil division direction in a second operation.

Focus detection device, focus detection method, and storage medium storing focus detection program

An image pickup device includes: a pixel area where each of color image pixels arrayed in a matrix is divided into a plurality of focus detection pixels; a vertical scanning circuit and a device control circuit configured to read from the pixel area a first frame capable of constituting a color image and a second frame including phase difference information; a digital processing circuit configured to reduce color information of the second frame to reduce an amount of data; and an output circuit configured to output the first frame and the second frame via a transmission route with a number of lanes that is not the smaller of a first number-of-lanes and a second number-of-lanes required to output the first frame and the second frame, respectively.

Image pickup device, image pickup apparatus, image pickup apparatus control method and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium in which processing program is recorded

An imaging device, comprising: a pixel group in which unit pixels including a plurality of pixels receiving light fluxes having passed through different pupil areas of a photographing lens are provided in a form of a matrix; a plurality of types of color filters with different spectral transmittances provided in correspondence with the unit pixels; a microlens provided in correspondence with the color filter; a color information detection circuit which detects subject color information; and a pixel signal readout circuit which reads out a focus detection signal from the pixel group and reads out only a signal of the unit pixel in correspondence with a color filter associated with subject color information detected by the color information detection circuit.

Imaging device and imaging method

An imaging device, comprising a shooting control section for acquiring divided image data for each of a plurality of exposures, a determination section for determining, for every pixel data of the divided image data, whether or not a pixel value is within a specified determination threshold value, an image combination section for carrying out first image combination or second image combination for every pixel data of the divided image data, an image combination control section for selecting either the first image combination or the second image combination based on a determination result by the determination section, carrying out image combination for every pixel data in the image combination section in accordance with this selection, and generating combined image data, and a first storage section for storing the combined image data that has been generated as a result of controlled by the image combination control section.

Imaging device and shooting method capable of generating a bulb exposure image

An imaging device, comprising a dark image data imaging section for acquiring first dark image data acquired by shooting in a state where a light beam incident on the imaging surface of the image sensor is shielded, before acquiring first image data that has been read out from the image sensor, and second dark image data acquired by shooting in a state where a light beam incident on the imaging surface of the image sensor is shielded after the second image data that was finally acquired, a corrected image data generating section for generating dark corrected image data by carrying out combination processing based on a comparison result of comparing the first and second dark image data, or an averaging computation result, and a correction section for correcting fixed pattern noise within the cumulatively combined image data using the dark corrected image data.

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Hino, Japan

Ryo Hatakeyama