Abstract: An image pickup system includes a color noise estimation section, which has a local region extraction section that extracts luminance and color difference signals in units of 4×4 pixels from signals of a CCD with a color filter, an average luminance calculation section that calculates an average luminance value from the luminance signals, a temperature estimation section that estimates a temperature T of the CCD from a signal of an OB region, a gain calculation section that calculates a gain G of the signals based on information from a control section, a coefficient and a function calculation sections for estimating a color noise amount from the average luminance value based on a formulation using the temperature and the gain, and a color noise reducing section that reduces color noise in the color difference signals in units of 4×4 pixels based on the estimated color noise amount.

Abstract: An image processing system includes a frequency decomposition unit adapted to decompose an image signal into a high frequency component and a low frequency component, a high frequency separation unit adapted to separate the high frequency component into an invalid component caused by noise and other valid component, a conversion characteristic calculation unit adapted to calculate a conversion characteristic on the basis of the low frequency component, a gradation processing unit adapted to perform a gradation processing on the low frequency component and the valid component on the basis of the calculated conversion characteristic, and a frequency synthesis unit adapted to generate an image signal on which a gradation conversion has been performed by synthesizing the low frequency component on which the gradation conversion has been performed, the valid component on which a gradation conversion has been performed and the invalid component.

Abstract: An image capturing system includes: a first noise reduction unit which roughly removes the effects of an edge component by performing edge-preserving adaptive noise reduction processing on a target pixel within a local region including the target pixel and the neighboring pixels extracted from an image signal acquired from a CCD; a noise estimation unit which dynamically estimates the noise amount with respect to the target pixel based upon the target pixel value thus subjected to the noise reduction processing by the first noise reduction unit; and a second noise reduction unit which performs noise reduction processing on the target pixel based upon the target pixel value thus subjected to the noise reduction processing by the first noise reduction unit and the noise amount thus estimated by the noise estimation unit.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a photographing condition estimation unit for estimating a photographing condition of the input image based on photometric information and focal information. A Y/C separation unit separates the input image into a luminance signal and a color difference signal; a luminance correction unit extracts an edge from the luminance signal and corrects the luminance signal by a gradation conversion curve; a color difference correction unit corrects the color difference signal based on luminance signals obtained before and after the gradation correction and a theoretical limit characteristic of color reproduction; a skin color correction unit performs skin color correction depending on the photographing condition; and a Y/C synthesis unit synthesizes the luminance signal and the color difference signal obtained after the correction. Gradation correction is performed on the input image such that appropriate hue and saturation are achieved while emphasizing a main object.

Abstract: The image pickup system of the present invention is an image pickup system for processing an image signal at each pixel which is composed of more than one color signals and one or more of the color signals are dropped out according to the location of the pixel, comprising a first interpolating unit for interpolating the color signals dropped-out from the image signals by a first interpolation method based on the edge detection, a verifying unit for verifying the interpolation precision on the basis of the image signals and the color signals interpolated by the first interpolating unit, and a second interpolating unit for interpolating the color signals dropped-out from the image signals by a second interpolation method based on the color correlation that is different from the first interpolation method in cases where it is judged that the interpolation precision by the first interpolation method is insufficient.

Abstract: In the image pickup system of the present invention, factors that have an effect on noise such as the signal level, temperature of the CCD during shooting, exposure time, gain and the like are dynamically acquired, the noise level of the CCD is estimated, for example, for each pixel by a noise estimating unit, and signal components equal to or less than this noise level in the video signals are suppressed by a noise reducing unit, so that a high-quality image that is substantially free of noise is obtained while preserving the edges of the image and the like.

Abstract: In the image pickup system of the present invention, factors that have an effect on noise such as the signal level, temperature of the CCD during shooting, exposure time, gain and the like are dynamically acquired, the noise level of the CCD is estimated, for example, for each pixel by a noise estimating unit, and signal components equal to or less than this noise level in the video signals are suppressed by a noise reducing unit, so that a high-quality image that is substantially free of noise is obtained while preserving the edges of the image and the like.

Abstract: An image pickup system configured to perform an estimation for an unknown spectral characteristic related to a subject or an illumination light on the basis of an image signal from a color image sensor system, includes: a control unit for performing a control to change a predetermined spectral characteristic in the color image sensor system in a time series manner and cause a plurality of image pickup operations; a verification unit for verifying a reliability related to the plurality of image signals; a correction unit for performing a correction processing on the plurality of image signals on the basis of the reliability; and an estimation unit for performing the estimation for an unknown spectral characteristic related to the subject or the illumination light on the basis of the plurality of image signals on which the correction processing is performed.

Abstract: An image pickup system according to the present invention includes an extracting unit for extracting a block area with a predetermined size from a signal of an image pickup device, a transforming unit for transforming the signal in the extracted block area into a signal in a frequency space, an estimating unit for estimating the amount of noises of a frequency component except for a zero-order component based on the zero-order component in the transformed signal in the frequency space, a noise reducing unit for reducing noises of the frequency component except for the zero-order component based on the estimated amount of noises, and a compressing unit for compressing the zero-order component and the frequency component except for the zero-order component from which the noises are reduced.

Abstract: An image pickup system according to the present invention includes an extracting unit for extracting a block area with a predetermined size from a signal of an image pickup device, a transforming unit for transforming the signal in the extracted block area into a signal in a frequency space, an estimating unit for estimating the amount of noises of a frequency component except for a zero-order component based on the zero-order component in the transformed signal in the frequency space, a noise reducing unit for reducing noises of the frequency component except for the zero-order component based on the estimated amount of noises, and a compressing unit for compressing the zero-order component and the frequency component except for the zero-order component from which the noises are reduced.

Abstract: An image pickup system for processing a signal from a CCD includes a noise reducing unit for performing a noise reduction processing on the signal from the CCD, an edge direction detection unit for detecting an edge direction from the signal having been subjected to the noise reduction processing, and an edge extraction unit for extracting an edge component from the signal from the CCD on the basis of the edge direction.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus converts a color image signal into a luminance signal and a color signal in a predetermined color space (111), and performs tone conversion processing on the luminance signal on the basis of a predetermined tone conversion characteristic (112). A function for chroma correction processing is then set using the luminance signal, the tone conversion-processed luminance signal, a maximum value of the luminance signal in the color space, and a luminance value when a maximum chroma is indicated in a hue region to which the color image signal belongs, as parameters (113), whereupon chroma correction processing is performed on the color signal using the luminance signal, the tone conversion-processed luminance signal, and the set function (114).

Abstract: A camera system is provided, which performs exposure amount control operation in combination with gradation conversion processing for an image signal acquired from a CCD. With such a camera system, a control unit performs control operation so as to perform pre-shooting multiple times with different exposure amounts prior to real shooting. A conversion property calculation unit calculates conversion properties with respect to the image signals acquired in the pre-shooting, which are to be used in the gradation conversion processing. An exposure control unit determines an exposure amount used in the real shooting based upon the image signals acquired in the pre-shooting, the exposure amounts used in the pre-shooting, and the conversion properties. The control unit performs control operation so as to perform the real shooting based upon the determined exposure amount. A gradation conversion unit performs gradation conversion processing on the image signals obtained in the real shooting.

Abstract: An image processing system includes a multiresolution decomposition section for frequency decomposing an image signal into high and low frequency components at an nth stage, a correction coefficient calculation section for calculating at least one of a gradation correction coefficient, a noise correction coefficient, and an edge correction coefficient with respect to the high frequency component at an ith decomposition stage (1?i?n) based on at least one of the low frequency component at the ith decomposition stage, a visual system adaptation model, a noise amount estimation model, and an edge enhancement model, a correction section for correcting the high frequency component based on the calculated correction coefficient, and a multiresolution composition section for composing the image signal corrected based on the low frequency component and the corrected high frequency component.

Abstract: An image processing system including: a CCD which outputs an image signal; an edge extraction unit which extracts an edge signal from the image signal; a false edge estimation unit which estimates an edge signal that arises due to noise components based upon the image signal; an edge correction unit which corrects the edge signal by performing coring processing based upon the edge signal that arises due to noise components; and an edge enhancement unit which performs enhancement processing on the image signal based upon the edge signal thus corrected.

Abstract: An image processing system includes an extraction unit for extracting a local region which contains one target region and at least one or more neighborhood regions from an image signal formed of a plurality of color signals from a CCD, a vectorizing unit for obtaining vector signals which contain the plurality of the color signals as components for each of the target and the neighborhood regions, a weighting set unit for setting weighting factors with respect to each of the vector signals in the local region based on the vector signal in the target region, a filtering unit for performing a filtering process using the weighting factors with respect to the vector signals in the local region, and a noise reducing unit for reducing the noise of the vector signal in the target region based on the vector signal through the filtering process.

Abstract: An image pickup system has a noise estimating unit which estimates the amount of noise contained in a digitized signal from an image pickup element composed of an array of a plurality of pixels, either for each pixel or for each specified unit area made up of a plurality of pixels, and a shooting conditions estimation unit which estimates the shooting condition when an image based on the signal is acquired. The amount of noise estimated by the noise estimating unit is corrected on the basis of the shooting conditions estimated by the shooting conditions estimation unit, and the noise in the signal is reduced on the basis of the corrected amount of noise.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus including: an information amount calculation unit which reduces an image signal obtained by a CCD, and which performs a plurality of tone conversion processes of different characteristics on the reduced image signal to calculate an information amount of the image signal and an information amount of noise; a setting unit which formulizes the relationship of the information amount of the image signal and the information amount of the noise with respect to a tone conversion characteristic on the basis of the information amounts calculated by the information amount calculation unit, and which sets a tone conversion curve maximizing an effective information amount as a tone conversion curve used in the tone conversion processing; and a tone conversion unit which performs the tone conversion processing on the image signal on the basis of the tone conversion curve set by the setting unit.

Abstract: A color signal of a primary color or a color signal of a complementary color is converted from a CCD to signals in a color space having an intensity, a hue and a chroma. Tone conversion is performed on a luminance signal. A chroma correction coefficient is calculated to be used for performing correction on a chroma signal. A first maximum chroma value is calculated with respect to the luminance signal and a hue signal and a second maximum chroma value is calculated with respect to the hue signal and the converted luminance signal. And a correction coefficient is calculated based on the first and second maximum chroma values and the chroma signal is corrected based on the correction coefficient and the chroma correction coefficient.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a photographing condition estimation unit for estimating a photographing condition of the input image based on photometric information and focal information. A Y/C separation unit separates the input image into a luminance signal and a color difference signal; a luminance correction unit extracts an edge from the luminance signal and corrects the luminance signal by a gradation conversion curve; a color difference correction unit corrects the color difference signal based on luminance signals obtained before and after the gradation correction and a theoretical limit characteristic of color reproduction; a skin color correction unit performs skin color correction depending on the photographing condition; and a Y/C synthesis unit synthesizes the luminance signal and the color difference signal obtained after the correction. Gradation correction is performed on the input image such that appropriate hue and saturation are achieved while emphasizing a main object.