Abstract: A signal processor for reducing power consumption. The signal processor includes a first regulator for generating a first regulated voltage with a power supply voltage and supplying the first regulated voltage to a signal processing circuit. A second regulator generates a second regulated voltage with the power supply voltage and supplies the second regulated voltage to an output circuit. The second regulator shifts the second regulated voltage in accordance with a change in an input level of the external device.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes an electronic-flash charging capacitor and first and second battery storage areas separately disposed from each other so as to have the electronic-flash charging capacitor sandwiched therebetween.

Abstract: A method for generating an enhanced compressed digital image, including the steps of: capturing a digital image; generating additional information relating to the importance of photographed subject and corresponding background regions of the digital image; compressing the digital image to form a compressed digital image; associating the additional information with the compressed digital image to generate the enhanced compressed digital image; and storing the enhanced compressed digital image in a data storage device.

Abstract: A portable electronic imaging device, in performing digital zoom, exploits barrel distortion in the original digital image to produce higher quality digitally zoomed images than can be obtained by simple cropping and rescaling. Such a portable electronic imaging device may be implemented using a moderately wide-angle lens of fixed focal length.

Abstract: A programmable multifunction electronic camera uses a commercial pixel digital energy sensor to generate detector element signal digital data normally generated by expensive, custom designed, detector element energy sensors. The camera performs this function by retrieving pixel signal digital data and pixel location data from the pixel energy sensor, retrieving detector element energy sensor masks containing information regarding the size, shape, and location of detector elements included in the detector element energy sensors, mapping the pixels included in the pixel energy sensor to the energy sensor masks to identify pixels that can be combined to create “virtual detector elements” having the same size, shape, and configuration as the detector elements in the detector element energy sensors, and combining the pixel signal digital data associated with the mapped pixels to generate the detector digital data. The camera can be programmed with a number of different energy sensor masks and mapping algorithms.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image photographing system, which permits a user to easily photograph images and place, orders for printing. A digital still camera is rented to the user with a prepaid card affixed thereto, the prepaid card serving to write the number of times into the digital still camera, and an image saving area dedicated to the user is opened on an image server connected to the Internet. After the user photographs images with the digital still camera, image data for images, which the user selects, is saved in the image data saving area via a portable apparatus, and the saved images can also be browsed therewith. When the user places an order for printing one of the saved images, the corresponding image data is sent to a print finishing dealer, and a photographic print is created.

Abstract: The invention relates to an optical carrier and housing arrangement to accommodate a color-separation system as well as several image converters, in particular CCD receivers, which is based on a preferably metallic housing block with a radiation entrance opening in one of the side surfaces as well as radiation exit openings in the remaining side surfaces. In the beam path in the interior of the block attachment grooves are provided to fix in position a prefabricatable mirror/filter color-separation system that is accessible from the open cover surface of the block. Wiring-carrier modules support the bare CCD chips and a neccessary drive and evaluation electronics, such that the bare CCD chips make contact face-down above an aperture in the wiring carrier.

Abstract: CMOS imagers can possess higher levels of imager noise than their predecessors, CCDs. This noise can be of the form of temporal variation and fixed pattern. The fixed pattern component of this noise can be removed, which is known already in the art. The invention in this disclosure is that proper correction can be developed for all imager conditions (imager integration time and imager temperature) using a single FPN (fixed pattern noise) dark map, a single FPN PRNU (pixel response nonuniformity) map, imager integration time and imager temperature. Without this invention, a dark frame capture and a flat field capture (integrating sphere), are required before every image capture, a practical impossibility in typical picture taking.

Abstract: An extensive device for use with a digital camera, including a lens and a display for showing an image received via the lens, is disclosed. The extensive device includes a housing having a window thereon and a cradle for placing the digital camera therein and an optical guiding device disposed inside the housing for guiding the image received via the lens and shown on the display to the window. The window and the lens of the digital camera in the cradle substantially orient the same first direction, so that an image information is recorded via the lens and viewed via the window in the first direction.

Abstract: A three-dimensional image capturing device has a center LED and peripheral LEDs which are arranged around the center LED. The center LED and peripheral LEDs irradiate distance measuring light beams to a measurement subject. The distance measurement light beams are reflected by a surface of the measurement subject, and the reflected light beams are received by an imaging device, so that distances from the imaging device to the measurement subject are sensed in accordance with the received light amount. The irradiation timings of the center LED and the peripheral LEDs are adjusted, in such a manner that, when the measurement subject is a flat plane parallel to the light receiving surface of the imaging device, the reflected light beams from all of the LEDs are simultaneously received by the imaging device.

Abstract: There is provided an image pickup apparatus which has a plurality of photoelectric conversion regions and a plurality of reflectors disposed so as to lie around the photoelectric conversion regions when viewed from the light incident direction, and which is constructed such that each reflector reflects at least one part of the light from one of the photoelectric conversion regions towards one of the other photoelectric conversion regions adjacent to the one photoelectric conversion region.

Abstract: An automatic focusing device capable of focus detection so that the in-focus state can be adequately realized, even if the magnification changes or a camera shake occurs. The sum total of the absolute values of the differences between two pixels in an evaluation area is calculated, the sum total of the square values of the differences between the two pixels in the evaluation area is calculated, and the evaluation value is obtained based on the sum total of the absolute values of the differences and the sum total of the square values of the differences to obtain the in-focus position of the taking lens.

Abstract: An illumination reproduction apparatus and process for illuminating a subject with the illumination at a location in a scene when the subject is not in the scene. Scene illumination data is generated that specifies the illumination at the location in the scene from a plurality of spatial directions. The subject is then illuminated with the illumination at the location in the scene by driving a plurality of light sources surrounding the subject with the scene illumination data.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to compress the image sensing data of a photographed image using different image compression schemes to generate image files compressed by respective image compression schemes without decreasing the throughput in photographing operation. In order to attain the above object, a lossless encoder which compresses image sensing data by a lossless compression scheme and a lossy encoder which compresses the image sensing data by a lossy compression scheme are provided in a digital signal processing unit. With this arrangement, image sensing data can be compressed by a lossless compression scheme in the lossless encoder and at the same time can be compressed by a lossy compression scheme in the lossy encoder at one photographing operation, thereby generating compressed image files compressed by respective image compression schemes without decreasing the throughput.

Abstract: To suppress false color satisfactorily and not to suppress colors other than the false color, in a false color suppression process to a color signal generated in a color interpolation process to a color signal obtained by photographing a subject with use of an image pickup unit having a single plate solid-state image pickup element including a color filter of plural colors, a high frequency component of a brightness component is extracted from an attention color signal, hue of the attention color signal is detected, hue of peripheral signals of the attention color signal is detected and a false color suppression process is controlled according to a difference between the hue of the attention color signal and the hue of the peripheral signals and the high frequency component when the detected hue is in predetermined hue areas and the extracted high frequency component is in a high frequency area.

Abstract: An image pickup system includes photodiodes with color filters. A first color filter group includes visual light color filters, and a second color filter group includes a long red color filter at 640 nm or longer or a color filter at 580 nm and one of the visual light color filters. An infrared cut filter covers all the filters. A control circuit includes a fluorescent lamp distinguishing circuit for distinguishing a fluorescent lamp from other illuminating light sources by a ratio of an output signal from the photodiode with the long red filter to an output signal from the photodiodes with the visual light color filters; and a white balance control circuit for adjusting a white balance so as to match the illuminating light source distinguished by the fluorescent lamp distinguishing circuit.

Abstract: Image sensors and methods to construct and use image sensors are disclosed. In an example, an image sensor includes a pixel array, a data store to store data transmitted from the pixel array, an image signal processing unit to perform signal processing on the output of the data store to improve the performance of the image sensor, a defective pixel address storage unit to store an address of a defective pixel by using a fuse blowing technology, a controller for receiving address information of the defective pixels from the defective pixel address storage unit and controlling the operation of the image sensor, and a defective pixel compensation unit for receiving the address information of the defective pixels from the defective pixel address storage unit, substituting data of the defective pixels with data of normal pixels around the defective pixels, and providing the substituted data to the image signal processing unit.

Abstract: A camera has a lens portion and an imaging portion arranged on a rotating stand of a pan/tilt apparatus. The pan/tit apparatus includes a device frame; a rotating stand; a regulating device for defining two end positions of an operational range of the rotating stand, and a drive device for driving the rotating stand. The drive device has a rotor and a stator. The rotor has a permanent magnet and an output shaft for engaging an arm portion of the rotating stand. The stator includes an excitation coil for applying a rotational force to the permanent magnet when an electrical current flows in the excitation coil. An electric control device controls the electrical current.

Abstract: In a CCD sensor in which electric charges derived from a plurality of detecting elements 2 are outputted from a signal output portion 9, two diffusion portions 22A and 22B are provided in a parallel manner to each other in the signal output portion 9, and electric charges outputted from a designated detecting element 2 are accumulated into one diffusion portions 22A so as to output the accumulated electric charges. Even in such a case that signal levels derived from detecting elements are low, such a CCD sensor capable of performing a high-precision measuring operation is provided, while a dynamic range of the CCD sensor is widened.

Abstract: This invention discloses an optical apparatus including an image pickup optical unit, a light quantity adjustment unit inserted in the optical axis of the image pickup optical unit, the light quantity adjustment unit changing the aperture diameter to change the light quantity, and a controller for controlling a change of the aperture diameter by the light quantity adjustment unit. The controller changes the set value for the minimum aperture diameter of the aperture diameter of the light quantity adjustment unit in accordance with the form of the image pickup device of the image pickup apparatus on which the lens apparatus is mounted.