Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging device; a lens optical system including a focus lens for condensing light toward the imaging device; a driving section configured to driving one of the imaging device and the focus lens to change a position to which a focus is adjusted on an object side; a shutter provided at at least one of the imaging device and a position between the lens optical system and the imaging device; and a control unit configured to control the shutter and the driving section, wherein the control unit drives the imaging device or the focus lens such that a focus is adjusted to each of first to third focusing positions of different object distances and controls the shutter and the driving section such that image signals of first to third object images at the first to third focusing positions are obtained by the imaging device.

Abstract: Provided are an image processing program and an image processing apparatus that support imaging setting in an imaging apparatus. In a focus value display window, temporal change of a focus value (index value) in an input image is outputted. A user operates the imaging apparatus with reference to graph display in the focus value display window to adjust the focus. The focus value displayed in the focus value display window indicates a relatively high value in a “focused” state to a subject such as a work. In the focus value display window, a maximum focus value indicating bar is displayed in association with a focus value indication. The user adjusts the focus state in the imaging apparatus so that the focus value indication “approaches” or “exceeds” this maximum focus value indicating bar as much as possible.

Abstract: An image capturing module for reducing assembly tilt includes an image sensing unit, a housing frame and an actuator structure. The image sensing unit includes a carrier substrate and an image sensing chip disposed on the carrier substrate and electrically connected to the carrier substrate. The housing frame is disposed on the carrier substrate to surround the image sensing chip and downwardly contacts the image sensing chip. The actuator structure is disposed on the housing frame and above the image sensing chip. The actuator structure includes a lens holder disposed on the housing frame and a lens assembly disposed inside the lens holder and downwardly contacting the housing frame. Whereby, the image sensing chip, the housing frame and the lens assembly are sequentially stacked on top of one another for reducing the assembly tilt of the lens assembly relative to the image sensing chip.

Abstract: The zoom lens includes: a positive first lens unit; a positive second lens unit disposed in an image side of the first lens unit, at least a part of the second lens unit constituting an image stabilizing lens unit configured to move with a component perpendicular to an optical axis; the zoom lens being configured to change an interval between neighboring lens units during zooming; and an aperture stop arranged in the image side of the first lens unit, wherein a focal length of the first lens unit, a focal length of the image stabilizing lens unit, a focal length at a wide angle end of an optical system Lr arranged on the image side of the image stabilizing lens unit, and a focal length of an entire system at the wide angle end are appropriately set.

Abstract: An input rescale module that performs cross-color correlated downscaling of sensor data in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. The module may perform a first-pass demosaic of sensor data, apply horizontal and vertical scalers to resample and downsize the data in the horizontal and vertical dimensions, and then remosaic the data to provide horizontally and vertically downscaled sensor data as output for additional image processing. The module may, for example, act as a front end scaler for an image signal processor (ISP). The demosaic performed by the module may be a relatively simple demosaic, for example a demosaic function that works on 3×3 blocks of pixels. The front end of module may receive and process sensor data at two pixels per clock (ppc); the horizontal filter component reduces the sensor data down to one ppc for downstream components of the input rescale module and for the ISP pipeline.

Abstract: The image processing method includes acquiring an input image produced by an image pickup system including at least one imaging optical system and causing light rays from a same point in an object space to respectively enter different image pickup pixels depending on light ray passing areas of a pupil through which the respective light rays pass, performing a shaping process including at least one of an image restoration process to restore a degraded image and a luminance estimation process to estimate a luminance of a saturated area, a reconstruction process to reconstruct a new image different from the input image, and performing a blur addition process to add an image blur component to an addition target image. The method performs the shaping process before the reconstruction process and the blur addition process.

Abstract: Imaging systems may be provided with stacked-chip image sensors. A stacked-chip image sensor may include a vertical chip stack that includes an array of image pixels, control circuitry and storage and processing circuitry. The image pixel array may be coupled to the control circuitry using vertical metal interconnects. The control circuitry may provide digital image data to the storage and processing circuitry over additional vertical conductive. The stacked-chip image sensor may be configured to capture image frames at a capture frame rate and to output processed image frames at an output frame rate that is lower that the capture frame rate. The storage and processing circuitry may be configured to process image frames concurrently with image capture operations. Processing image frames concurrently with image capture operations may include adjusting the positions of moving objects and by adjusting the pixel brightness values of regions of image frames that have changing brightness.

Abstract: A computing device is connected to a measurement device including a projector, a left camera and a right camera. The projector is controlled to project gratings with a number M of frequencies on an object. The left camera captures a number N of left grating images, and the right camera captures a number N of right grating images of the gratings with each of the frequencies. A luminous intensity of each pixel in each of the left grating images and the right grating images is computed. According to the luminous intensity of each pixel in each of the left grating images, a first phase grayscale image is obtained. According to the luminous intensity of each pixel in each of the right grating images, a second phase grayscale image is obtained. A matched image is obtained by matching the first phase grayscale image and the second phase grayscale image.

Abstract: An imaging device that images a subject includes a focus lens group that collects a light beam from the subject and forms an image of the subject, a focus motor that drives the focus lens group in the optical axis direction, and an imaging element that performs photoelectric conversion of the light beam and outputs a video signal. The imaging device further includes a contrast signal generator that generates and outputs a lower-frequency contrast signal from a luminance component of the video signal, an AF processor that employs the lower-frequency contrast signal as an auto focus evaluation value and moves the focus lens group to the in-focus position with wobbling the focus lens group, and a histogram signal generator that generates and outputs a high-luminance pixel count of the video signal. The AF processor varies the amplitude of the wobbling of the focus lens group based on the high-luminance pixel count.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a solid state imaging device includes an image CDS processing unit that outputs a pixel signal based on a difference between a pixel voltage read from a pixel during a reset period and a pixel voltage read from the pixel during a signal read period, a temperature sensor that outputs a diode voltage when a diode current is changed, a temperature CDS processing unit that outputs a temperature measurement value based on a difference of the diode voltage at the time when the diode current is changed, and a timing generator that controls the reset period, the signal read period, and timing of changing the diode current of the temperature sensor.

Abstract: A fixed pattern noise removal method for an image sensor includes steps of calculating each compensation value corresponding to each pixel column according to a plurality of compensation pixel values of the each pixel column; and sampling a plurality of active pixel values in an active pixel area and compensating the plurality of active pixel values according to the each compensation value of the each pixel column, to generate a plurality of compensated active pixel values. A plurality of active pixels sense light to generate the plurality of active pixel values.

Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling the parameters of groups of focal planes as focal plane groups in an array camera are described. One embodiment includes a plurality of focal planes, and control circuitry configured to control the capture of image data by the pixels within the focal planes. In addition, the control circuitry includes: a plurality of parameter registers, where a given parameter register is associated with one of the focal planes and contains configuration data for the associated focal plane; and a focal plane group register that contains data identifying focal planes that belong to a focal plane group. Furthermore, the control circuitry is configured to control the imaging parameters of the focal planes in the focal plane groups by mapping instructions that address virtual register addresses to the addresses of the parameter registers associated with focal planes within specific focal plane groups.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a sensor-integrated chip for a CCD camera in which a CCD sensor, an H/V driver for driving the CCD sensor, and an ISP (Image Signal Process) chip, which inputs a control signal for driving the CCD sensor to the H/V driver and allows a video to be displayed on a monitor (not shown) in response to an output signal from the CCD sensor, are stacked and connected with each other by inter-pad wire bonding into one IC package to be one chip, by an SIP (system In Package) method.

Abstract: A focus detection apparatus for performing phase difference detection type focus detection includes sensor units each configured to generate a signal used for detecting a phase difference, a setting unit configured to set one or more sensor units as determination targets, a determination unit configured to sequentially select a sensor unit from the determination targets, and repeatedly determine whether a signal generated by the selected sensor unit satisfies a termination condition of having a peak value greater than a threshold, and a detection unit configured to perform focus detection using the signal that satisfies the termination condition. The apparatus operates in a first mode and then shift to a second mode. The setting unit includes, in the determination targets in the second mode, a sensor unit that is not included in the determination targets in the first mode.

Abstract: The image in an electronic viewfinder is made larger than the image in an optical viewfinder. Specifically, a finder unit is provided with a region that displays a portion of the display screen of an electronic viewfinder alongside a region that displays the optical image of a subject. When the camera has been set to an optical/electronic hybrid viewfinder, the optically formed optical image of a subject is displayed in the region and a portion of the image of the subject captured by a solid-state electronic image sensing device is displayed in the region. When the camera has been set to the electronic viewfinder, a landscape-oriented image of the subject captured by the solid-state electronic image sensing device is displayed across both of the regions.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to methods and devices for mounting an image capture device to an optical viewing instrument such as a microscope, telescope, or binocular. More specifically, some embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for mounting a smart phone to an observation tube of microscope. The optical viewing instrument may have an observation tube and an ocular attached thereto. The adapter may include an observation tube ring mount configured to be installed on the observation tube. An observation tube mount may be configured to engage with the installed ring mount. An image capture device holder may be configured to couple with the observation tube mount and configured to receive an image capture device. The image capture device may be a common device such as a smart phone. Optionally, a window may be included in the observation tube mount to facilitate viewing of ocular indicia.

Abstract: By utilizing scene metrics in an image processing system (such as night vision goggles or a camera), a setpoint controller can set a setpoint used by a gain controller. Using the setpoint and an average video level of a frame, the gain controller can set gain control signals sent to an image sensor and/or a high voltage power supply to adaptively adjust for higher and lower light scenarios. Scene metrics can include an amount of saturation in a frame, a number or percentage of pixels above a first threshold and a number or percentage of pixels below a second threshold.

Abstract: A digital imaging sensor includes an array of pixels. A subset of the pixels in the array has reduced photosensitivity in comparison to other pixels in said array. A controller operates to control an integration time of the array of pixels such that a first integration time of the subset of pixels is longer than a second integration time of the other pixels in the array. Such an image sensor is particularly useful for sensing light sources that are not illuminated continuously.

Abstract: A digital camera system (1) is disclosed, comprising at least one pixel (3); a shutter means (4) for the pixel (3), whereby the shutter means (4) is adapted to generate at least one shutter pulse Stmax, Stmin during a frame period t for the pixel (3), whereby the pixel (3) is switched from a non-sensitive state to a sensitive state during the at least one shutter pulse t; and a memory means (5) for storing light information collected by the pixel (3) in the sensitive state during the frame period t; whereby the shutter means (4) is adapted to generate at least two shutter pulses for the pixel (3) during the frame period t.

Abstract: Provided is a signal processing circuit including an image processing unit that performs, at an early stage, a process common to first image signals input using a predetermined number of signal lines in correspondence with first image sensors having a first pixel array and second image signals input using a number of signal lines and commonly used to input the first image signals in correspondence with second image sensors having a second pixel array, and performs specific processes specific to the first and second image signals at a later stage, a conversion unit that converts the second image signals subjected to the specific process according to a format of the first image signals, and a selection unit that selects one of the first image signals subjected to the specific process and the converted second image signals and outputs the selected image signals using the predetermined number of signal lines.