| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080267608 | IMAGING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - An imaging apparatus includes an image sensor, a diaphragm control unit configured to control an aperture value of a diaphragm, and an electronic shutter control unit configured to control an operation of an electronic shutter for adjusting a charge accumulation time of the image sensor by adjusting a driving timing of the image sensor, wherein, if driving of the diaphragm overlaps a charge accumulation time when the aperture value is changed from a first aperture value to a second aperture value, the electronic shutter control unit controls a time of charge accumulation corresponding to the second aperture value in the charge accumulation time such that a brightness of an image signal output from the imaging unit when the first aperture value is set and a brightness of an image signal output from the imaging unit when the second aperture value is set become approximately equal to each other. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20090034954 | IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME - The present invention further improves operability related to setting the position and size of a focus detection region. An image capturing apparatus of the invention is provided with an image sensor that photo-electrically converts an object image formed by an optical lens, a focus detection unit that detects the focus state of the object image using an image signal from a focus detection region that is a region that is a portion within a frame of the image sensor, a setting unit that sets one focus detection mode from among a plurality of focus detection modes in which the size and position of the focus detection region within the frame differ, and a storage unit that stores a focus detection region size and position for each of the plurality of focus detection modes. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090041445 | IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - Subjects are detected in a captured image and a main subject is selected from the detected subjects. Focusing areas are set up that correspond to the detected subjects and focus detection is performed in the focusing areas that have been set up. When providing in-focus indication representing focus detection results, focus detection results associated with the particular focusing area among the focusing areas that corresponds to the main subject are displayed in a manner different from focus detection results associated with those focusing areas within the depth of field that correspond to subjects other than the main subject. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20100045843 | CAMERA AND CONTROL METHOD OF CAMERA - An apparatus includes an imaging unit to capture an image of an object, a selection unit to select one of a plurality of shooting modes of the imaging unit, a recording unit to record the captured image onto a recording medium, a switching unit to switch between a reproduction mode in which recorded image data is readout and displayed on a display device, and a shooting processing mode in which shooting processing is performed in the selected shooting mode and a reproduction control unit to cause the display device to display the read out image data. When the switching unit switches the mode to the reproduction mode, the reproduction control unit changes an operation that can be instructed in the reproduction mode according to the selected shooting mode. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100194925 | IMAGE SENSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - Receiving an instruction from a user to start sensing a still image, an image sensing apparatus performs scene determination based on an evaluation value of scene determination from an image sensed immediately after the luminance of the image converges to a predetermined range of a target luminance. The image sensing apparatus can accurately determine a scene of the image even the image sensor with a narrow dynamic range. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100208105 | IMAGE SENSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image sensing apparatus executes a plurality of tone corrections respectively suited to different luminance distributions of images. The image sensing apparatus analyzes a luminance distribution of sensed image data, selects, based on an analysis result, at least one of a first tone correction which suppresses luminance saturation of image data, a second tone correction which converts luminance values of all luminance regions so that a maximum luminance value of sensed image data becomes a largest possible luminance value of the image data, and a third tone correction which multiplies a luminance value of a low-luminance region, which is set in advance, of sensed image data by a gain larger than gains of other luminance regions, as a tone correction to be implemented for sensed image data, and limits, when a correction based on the second tone correction is selected, implementation of a correction based on the third tone correction. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20100284678 | IMAGING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - An imaging apparatus includes an image sensor, a diaphragm control unit configured to control an aperture value of a diaphragm, and an electronic shutter control unit configured to control an operation of an electronic shutter for adjusting a charge accumulation time of the image sensor by adjusting a driving timing of the image sensor, wherein, if driving of the diaphragm overlaps a charge accumulation time when the aperture value is changed from a first aperture value to a second aperture value, the electronic shutter control unit controls a time of charge accumulation corresponding to the second aperture value in the charge accumulation time such that a brightness of an image signal output from the imaging unit when the first aperture value is set and a brightness of an image signal output from the imaging unit when the second aperture value is set become approximately equal to each other. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100316365 | IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME - The present invention further improves operability related to setting the position and size of a focus detection region. An image capturing apparatus of the invention is provided with an image sensor that photo-electrically converts an object image formed by an optical lens, a focus detection unit that detects the focus state of the object image using an image signal from a focus detection region that is a region that is a portion within a frame of the image sensor, a setting unit that sets one focus detection mode from among a plurality of focus detection modes in which the size and position of the focus detection region within the frame differ, and a storage unit that stores a focus detection region size and position for each of the plurality of focus detection modes. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20110033085 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store an attribute of each pixel existing inside a tracking target area set on an image and an attribute of a pixel existing adjacent to the pixel, an allocation unit configured to allocate an evaluation value to a pixel to be evaluated according to a result of comparison between an attribute of the pixel to be evaluated and an attribute of a pixel existing inside the tracking target area and a result of comparison between an attribute of a pixel existing adjacent to the pixel to be evaluated and an attribute of a pixel existing adjacent to the pixel existing inside the tracking target area, and a changing unit configured to change the tracking target area based on the allocated evaluation value. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110033086 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An apparatus includes a storage unit configured to classify pixels existing inside a tracking target area set on an image and pixels existing outside the tracking target area according to an attribute and to store a result of classification of the pixels on a storage medium, a first derivation unit configured to derive a first ratio of the pixels existing inside the tracking target area and having the attribute to the pixels existing outside the tracking target area and having the attribute, a second derivation unit configured to derive a second ratio of pixels, whose the first ratio is higher than a first predetermined value, to all pixels existing inside the tracking target area, and a determination unit configured, if the second ratio is higher than a second predetermined value, to determine that the tracking target area can be tracked. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110141316 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus and an image processing method that enable suitable contrast adjustment are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a region detection unit configured to detect predetermined first luminance level detection region and second luminance level detection region in a human face as a target to be photographed, a luminance amount calculation unit configured to calculate an absolute value of a difference between a luminance level of the first luminance level detection region and a certain reference luminance level as a high luminance amount and calculate an absolute value of a difference between a luminance level of the second luminance level detection region and the reference luminance level as a low luminance amount, and a determination unit configured to determine whether a difference or a ratio between the high luminance amount and the low luminance amount falls within a certain range. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110150451 | IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREFOR - An image pickup apparatus that is capable of reducing variation in the color temperature of a subject in a taken image and capable of shooting a more suitable image. The image pickup apparatus can shoot with emitting a light emitting unit. A color temperature acquisition unit acquires information about a color temperature of a light illuminating a subject. An emission control unit controls emission of the light emitting unit. The emission control unit determines emission light amount of the light emitting unit based on a color temperature difference between a color temperature of an illumination light of the light emitting unit and a color temperature based on the information acquired by the color temperature information acquisition unit. | 06-23-2011 |