Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention structured to synthesize a plurality of images having different quantities of exposure to enlarge the image pickup dynamic range is intended to prevent rise of the noise level of the connection point of the images. A maximum value detection circuit controls the quantity of exposure of an image pickup device to be a first quantity of exposure and a second quantity of exposure smaller than the first quantity of exposure and optimizes the second quantity of exposure in accordance with the second quantity of exposure. A first image signal corresponding to the first quantity of exposure and a second image signal corresponding to the thus-optimized second quantity of exposure are synthesized by a synthesizing circuit.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus for picking up an object comprises an image pickup device formed by arranging the photoelectric conversion elements constituting pixels in two-dimensional directions. A reading out circuit reads out from the image pickup device an electric signal obtained by photoelectric conversion with the image pickup device. A selecting portion selects from a plurality of reading out modes a reading out mode of the reading out circuit to carry out reading of the electric signal from the image pickup device. A memory circuit stores reading out positions of the image pickup device respectively in correspondence with the plurality of reading out modes. The reading out circuit reads out the electric signals from the image pickup device based on a reading out position corresponding to the reading out mode selected from the plurality of reading out modes by the selecting portion.