Abstract: A method performed by a digital camera includes calculating brightness of image data captured by an imaging device; determining whether the brightness of the image data is within a valid range for controlling a set exposure value of the imaging device; changing the set exposure value for each frame until the brightness of the image data becomes within the valid range, based on a difference between a first exposure value corresponding to a lower limit of the valid range and a second exposure value corresponding to an upper limit of the valid range; and after the brightness of the image data becomes within the valid range, controlling the set exposure value based on the brightness of the image data within the valid range and a valid exposure value corresponding to the brightness of the image data within the valid range.

Abstract: An image capturing apparatus comprises a photometry unit which detects a luminance of an object; a determining unit which determines, based on a result of photometry at a first exposure, whether to perform autoexposure bracketing that captures a plurality of images at different exposures; a calculating unit which calculates an exposure change amount that is different from the first exposure used when performing the autoexposure bracketing; a correcting unit which corrects the calculated exposure change amount based on a result of photometry at a second exposure that is different from the first exposure; and a shooting control unit which shoots an image at the exposure change amount calculated by the calculating unit or the exposure change amount corrected by the correcting unit.

Abstract: An apparatus for acquiring and evaluating an image of a predetermined extract of a printed product removes the effects of scattered light to improve the accuracy of image evaluation. The apparatus uses a camera that has an electronic image sensor with a two-dimensional arrangement of sensor elements. An aperture stop is arranged in the beam path of the camera for shadowing a predetermined part of the image sensor. When an acquired image is read from a part of the image sensor that is not shadowed, corresponding readings from the shadowed portion of the sensor are subtracted from the acquired image to obtain intensity signals corrected for scattered light.

Abstract: When a release button is pressed halfway after setting a digital still camera in a sequential shooting mode, photometric elements measure brightness values from sixteen photometric divisions (V1 to V16) of an image shooting field, to obtain brightness distribution of the image shooting field. The brightness distribution is compared with the latitude of an image sensor. If the brightness distribution is wider than the latitude, the number of shoots to be made at one sequential shooting is determined by the ratio of the brightness distribution to the latitude. According to the number of shoots, differences in exposure amount between the exposures are determined. Then exposure conditions such as the aperture size and the exposure time are determined according to the different exposure amounts for the respective exposures. Upon the release button being fully pressed, the given number of shoots are made in continuous succession under the different exposure conditions.

Abstract: A cartridge information reading part determines whether a film loaded in a camera is a negative film or a positive film. If the film is the negative film whose latitude is large, then an electronic flash is used even when an appropriate exposure can be obtained without the light of the electronic flash. The exposure by the electronic flash is added to an exposure by the external light, and the shooting is performed with a high exposure. Meanwhile, if the film is the positive film whose latitude is small, then the exposure by the electronic flash added to the exposure by the external light is reduced, or the light-emission of the electronic flash is prohibited, and thus a photograph of a good quality can be taken.