Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a gradation correction unit configured to perform gradation correction upon a subject image to be processed to generate a corrected image, the gradation correction including processing for lowering contrast in the subject image; a gradation information acquisition unit configured to acquire gradation information indicating relative balance of brightness in each portion of the subject image; and an adjustment unit configured to adjust brightness of the corrected image on a pixel basis based on the gradation information.

Abstract: A fluoroscopy apparatus includes an illumination portion irradiating an observation target with illumination light; a fluorescence image acquisition device acquires fluorescence emitted from an observation target to acquire a fluorescence image; a fluorescence image-acquisition optical system forms an image of the observation target using the fluorescence; a reference-light image acquisition device acquires returning light from the observation region to acquire a reference image; a reference-light image-acquisition optical system forms an image using the returning light; and an image correction section corrects the fluorescence image by the reference image, wherein the product of an pixel density of the reference-light image acquisition device and the image-forming magnification of the reference-light image-acquisition optical system is less than the product of the pixel density of the fluorescence image acquisition device and the image-forming magnification of the fluorescence image-acquisition optical syste

Abstract: A sensing device includes: a video imager to obtain video of an area; a processing unit to receive and process the video from the video imager to identify one of an event or a datum of interest; and a communication channel to output a non-imagery signal representing the event or datum.

Abstract: Plural areas defined by contours in a through image (live view image) are previously set as object segments whose luminance levels are to be altered. When a user touches a point within an object segment seen in the through image displayed on a touch panel LCD 12, a gamma curve is changed to alter a luminance level of the object segment including the touched point. This arrangement allows the user to make more bright the whole of the object segment simply by touching a point within the object segment, and also to select any segment of an object as the object segment whose luminance level is to be altered.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus including a half mirror, a phase difference detecting AF sensor, an image pickup device, and a display is provided. The half mirror is provided so as to be movable between a first position on an optical path of the subject image light from the photographing optical system and a second position to which the half mirror is evacuated from the optical path of the subject image light. When the half mirror is in the second position, the image pickup device generates an actual photographing image on the basis of the subject image light reaching the image pickup device from the photographing optical system without passing through the half mirror.

Abstract: An imaging method is provided. The method includes the steps of: amplifying an imaging signal obtained from an image sensor for converting imaging light into an imaging signal; carrying out nonlinear processing on the amplified signal; adding a predetermined plurality of frames of the imaging signal subjected to the nonlinear processing per frame; and carrying out the variable setting of amplification gain of each frame on the basis of a signal accumulation period of each frame in the plurality of frames subjected to the addition.

Abstract: A thin camera having sub-pixel resolution includes an array of micro-cameras. Each micro-camera includes a lens, a plurality of sensors of size p, and a plurality of macro-pixels of size d having a feature of size q. The feature size q smaller than p and provides a resolution for the micro-camera greater than p. The smallest feature in the micro-cameras determines the resolution of the thin camera. Each macro-pixel may have any array of m features of size q, where q=d/m. Additional micro-cameras may be included to increase power.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image search apparatus including a control unit configured to, when a search key image is set, perform an obtaining process of obtaining at least either of feature amounts of the search key image, a generation process of generating a plurality of search conditions different from each other from the at least either of the feature amounts and the image capturing conditions, a search process of searching the plurality of images except the search key image for an image matching or similar to the search condition for each of the plurality of search conditions, the display control process of displaying a plurality of images that are images found for the plurality of search conditions, a selection process of selecting one image from the plurality of images, and a setting process of setting, as a new search key image, the image selected.

Abstract: An exemplary image stabilizer includes a stationary supporting frame, a moveable frame, a driving assembly and a resilient assembly. The moveable frame is moveably received in the stationary supporting frame and spaced from the stationary supporting frame. The driving assembly includes a first magnetic member and a second magnetic member. The first magnetic member is positioned on the stationary supporting frame. The second magnetic member is positioned on the moveable frame. The driving assembly is configured for driving the moveable frame to rotate relative to the stationary supporting frame through interaction between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member. The resilient assembly interconnects the stationary supporting frame and the moveable frame and is configured for counter-rotating the moveable frame relative to the stationary supporting frame.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus connectable to an external device includes a recording instruction module which instructs a recording, an imaging module which generates an image signal from an optical image, a memory module which stores the image signal generated by the imaging module, a connecting module which enables connection of the imaging apparatus to the external device, and a control module which controls wiring into the memory module and effects control of an operation of the recording instruction module or an operation responsive thereto.

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: A photographic apparatus comprises a monitor, a face detector, and an electronic zoom controller. The monitor displays a first through-image based on image data. The face detector performs face detection on an image of an area displayed on the monitor, based on the image data. The electronic zoom controller performs first electronic zoom control that enlarges and displays a second through-image corresponding to a predetermined area including a face area detected by the face detector, to the size of a display area of the first through-image, on the monitor. The electronic zoom controller performs second electronic zoom control that enlarges and displays an intermediate through-image corresponding to an intermediate area including the predetermined area and larger than the predetermined area, to the size of the display area of the first through-image, on the monitor, before performing the first electronic zoom control.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and method for monitoring connection performance within a network. In one embodiment, the invention is implemented by analyzing an array of status bits outputted by an analog to digital video decoder. By storing and statistically analyzing an array of status information units, the person monitoring the network can quickly and efficiently be notified of a connection problem, such as a degrading connection resulting in an intermittent signal. In another embodiment, the system and method are implemented by analyzing an array of time stamps outputted when processing frames of video from an analog video camera.

Abstract: An apparatus takes in a plurality of still image frames, to generate an interpolated image frame. Next, moving addition of the still image frame and an interpolated image frame is performed in time-axis direction, to generate a superimposed image frame. At this time, high spatial frequency components in the superimposed image frame are suppressed strongly as alienation of motion between the still image frames becomes larger. Movie is reproduced by sandwiching these superimposed image frames between the still image frames. As a result of this, the movie reproduction with smooth motion is made possible even from a group of the still images photographed by an electronics still camera and the like.

Abstract: The image processing apparatus includes an extracting part extracting feature points in each of plural images sequentially generated by an image pickup apparatus, a calculating part calculating motion vectors at the feature points in each of the plural images, a clustering part performing clustering processing on the motion vectors calculated at the feature points, a determining part determining, among plural clusters, a specific cluster including a motion vector indicating motion of the image pickup apparatus. The apparatus further includes an estimation detecting part detecting, by using an estimation method which uses information relating to the specific cluster of a first image, the specific cluster of a second image generated after generation of the first image, and a processing part performing image stabilization processing on the second image based on the motion vector included in the specific cluster of the second image.

Abstract: The present invention relates to improved imaging devices having high dynamic range and to monitoring and automatic control systems incorporating the improved imaging devices.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensing apparatus with a wide dynamic range, and a high performance, and further, a small size, and a low cost and its driving method are provided. A timing generator, before it supplies a reset pulse (134) to a reset gate (128), has a sample hold circuit (2) held an output voltage of a buffer circuit (130). In this reset stage, in case that the amount of incident light to a photo diode (122) is large, electric charges which the photo diode (122) generated overflow from the photo diode (122) and flow into an FD part (123), and further, overflow also in the FD part (124) and flow out to an electric source Vdd. At this time, a voltage of the FD part (124) is determined by a size of a current due to electric charges which flow out to the electric source, but since a current flowing in a channel is small and the reset gate (128) operates in a sub-threshold region, a voltage of the FD part (124) becomes a value which corresponded to logarithm of a current value.

Abstract: In an image pickup apparatus in which image stabilization is performed based on shake sensor and movement-vector-obtaining method which can perform accurate blur correction since shake components difficult to be detected by shake sensor can be detected by the movement-vector-obtaining method, the image blur due to high frequency vibration such as vehicle vibration cannot be corrected by the movement vector in low-frame-rate shooting since the detectable frequency band narrows in high frequency. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the combination of blur information from the angular velocity sensor and from the movement vector, according to the frequency band detectable by the movement vector depending on change in frame rate. The combination ratio of blur correction based on blur information from angular velocity sensor, acceleration sensor and blur correction based on movement vector is determined depending on frequency detectable by the movement vector which inevitably changes depending on frame rate.

Abstract: A method of improving a video image by removing the effects of camera vibration comprising the steps of, obtaining a reference frame, receiving an incoming frame, determining the frame translation vector for the incoming frame, translating the incoming frame to generate a realigned frame, performing low pass filtering in the spatial domain on pixels in the realigned frame, performing low pass filtering in the spatial domain on pixels in the reference frame, determining the absolute difference between the filtered pixels in the reference frame and the filtered pixels in the realigned frame, performing low pass filtering in the temporal domain on the pixels in the realigned frame to generate the output frame if the absolute difference is less than a predetermined threshold, and providing the realigned frame as the output frame if the absolute difference is greater than the predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A stand for a camera-equipped wireless communications device comprises an adjustable terminal support configured to be mounted to a base. The adjustable terminal support includes a system plug at one end that connects to a system interface on the camera-equipped wireless communications device. The adjustable terminal support may include a cradle having a pair of arms that clamp on to the camera-equipped wireless communications device. At least one of the pair of arms is movable.