Abstract: A fast-settling line driver circuit capable of high-speed operation. The line driver is particularly well-suited for operation in a high-resolution imaging system. The line driver circuit comprises a signal amplifier that is configured in a negative feedback loop and connected to a bus line through a switch network. The switch network is disposed inside the feedback loop while the line driver is transmitting a signal onto the bus line. This configuration reduces the settling time of the line driver by substantially eliminating the effect of the switch resistance on the RC time constant. The line driver also comprises offset cancellation and presettle circuits that improve the integrity of the output signal and reduce the power consumption of the system.

Abstract: An image-capturing device includes: a micro-lens array in which a plurality of micro lenses are arrayed; a light reception element array having a plurality of groups of light reception elements respectively corresponding to the plurality of micro lenses, and that receives a ray bundle from an optical system via the micro lenses and outputs a plurality of received light signals; a detection unit that detects a deviation amount of an image surface by the optical system when the received light signals were obtained; and an image creation unit that selects a portion of the plurality of received light signals on the basis of the deviation amount detected by the detection unit, and creates an image on the basis of that selected portion of the received light signals.

Abstract: A camera module of the present invention includes a wiring substrate having a connection pad, and on which an imaging device is mounted, on an upper surface side thereof, and a lens unit provided on the wiring substrate and equipped with a lens portion arranged over the imaging device, an actuator (voice coil motor) for driving the lens portion, and projected connection terminal protruding downward and connected to the actuator. The projected connection terminal of the lens unit is arranged on the connection pad of the wiring substrate, and the connection pad and the projected connection terminal are joined mutually by a conductive adhesive agent.

Abstract: When a digital camera is set to a reproduction mode, it functions as an image display apparatus. When an instruction to display thumbnails of recorded images is given to the digital camera, a thumbnail display screen is displayed on a display panel. The thumbnail display screen includes a thumbnail display section for displaying thumbnails of the recorded images and an importance degree setting section having operating members provided for individual keywords, which are previously assigned to the recorded images. The user can set the importance of each keyword at an appropriate degree by manipulating the corresponding operating member. According to the importance degree of the keyword(s) assigned to each image, the corresponding thumbnail is displayed in a variable size in the thumbnail display section.

Abstract: A photographing apparatus includes a lens array and a photoelectric conversion unit. The lens array includes a plurality of lenses that are regularly arranged on a single plane. The photoelectric conversion unit includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion areas, each including a plurality of pixels. The plurality of photoelectric conversion areas are installed on a single plane. Each photoelectric conversion area corresponds to an irradiation range of light passing through a respective one of the plurality of lenses of the lens array. The photoelectric conversion unit includes a first mode and at least one second mode. In the first mode, data is continuously read out from all pixels included in the plurality of photoelectric conversion areas. In the at least one second mode, a subset of fewer than all pixels of each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion areas are selected and used to generate a color image.

Abstract: A method and camera for electronic image capture provide an electronic image capture device, a scanning aperture shutter located to control light energy received by the image capture device, a flash unit oriented to illuminate an image scene, a photocell unit adapted for sensing visible spectrum energy and infrared spectrum energy received from the image scene, and an exposure control system responsive to the photocell unit and operatively connected to the scanning aperture shutter and the flash unit. The exposure control system is adapted to control an amount of fill flash energy received from the image scene in relation to visible ambient light energy received from the image scene during image capture by illuminating the flash unit once a predetermined amount of ambient visible spectrum energy is sensed by the photocell unit and by extinguishing the flash unit once a predetermined amount of infrared energy is sensed by the photocell unit.

Abstract: A signal processing apparatus processing a video signal and an audio signal in synchronization with the video signal includes generating means for generating information indicating a probability of a certain subject appearing in the image on the basis of the video signal that is input; determining means for determining whether the certain subject appears in the image on the basis of the information generated by the generating means; and directional characteristic varying means for, if the determining means determines that the certain subject appears in the image, varying a directional characteristic of the audio signal so as to increase the level of the audio signal collected from the direction of the subject and/or to decrease the levels of the audio signals collected from directions other than the direction of the subject.

Abstract: An image pickup system includes a display screen, an image pickup device and a positioning program. The image pickup device is used for shooting a document. The display screen is used for showing a positioning mark. When the document is moved and a pre-shot document image is aligned with the positioning mark, the image pickup device is activated by the positioning program to shoot the document, thereby obtaining a document image.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a solid-state imaging element including a pixel unit configured to include a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix and a pixel signal readout unit configured to include an analog-digital conversion unit that carries out analog-digital conversion of a pixel signal read out from the pixel unit. Each one of the pixels in the pixel unit includes a plurality of divided pixels arising from division into regions different from each other in optical sensitivity or a charge accumulation amount. The pixel signal readout unit reads out divided-pixel signals of the divided pixels in the pixel. The analog-digital conversion unit carries out analog-digital conversion of the divided-pixel signals that are read out and adds the divided-pixel signals to each other to obtain a pixel signal of one pixel.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes a first output unit configured to perform first gain processing on an analog signal corresponding to an electric charge stored in a photoelectric conversion element in a first region and output the processed signal, a second output unit configured to perform second gain processing on an analog signal corresponding to an electric charge stored in a photoelectric conversion element in a second region and output the processed signal, an instruction unit configured to instruct a gain of each gain processing in the first and second output units, a first control unit configured to control a display of an image based on an output signal from the first output unit, and a second control unit configured to control an imaging condition based on an output signal from the second output unit. The second gain processing is different from the first gain processing.

Abstract: An image capture apparatus comprises a shake detection unit which detects a shake of the image capture apparatus; a motion vector detection unit which detects a motion vector indicating a movement of an image; a first calculation unit which calculates a first shake correction amount; a second calculation unit which calculates a second shake correction amount; a shake correction unit which optically corrects a blur of a captured image; a panning determination unit which determines that the image capture apparatus performs a panning operation; a determination unit which determines whether or not the image capture apparatus is in a constant point capturing state; and a control change unit which changes the first threshold to a second threshold and amplifies the second shake correction amount when the determination unit determines the constant point capturing state.

Abstract: Various embodiments are directed to techniques to automatically focus a digital camera. In one or more embodiments, a mobile electronics device may comprise a digital camera having a lens component and lens position component. A display may be coupled to the digital camera to reproduce an image with a first focal point. The digital camera may also include a focal point selection module coupled to the display to select a second focal point for the image and a focus control module coupled to the focal point selection module and the lens position component to provide focus control signals to the lens position component to focus the lens component on the second focal point. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Imaging devices including a novel imaging system wherein a 2-dimensional pixel array has a diagonal dimension larger than the diameter measurement of the image circle, thereby being capable of handling rectangular images with multiple aspect ratios. These new imaging devices can be used in various electronic imaging apparatus with or without a lens system.

Abstract: Photographing having a wide dynamic range is performed by adjusting a discharging time for discharging charges accumulated in an image pickup device. A photographing apparatus comprises an image pickup device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form and photographs a subject by exposing the image pickup device to light, and also includes: a detector that detects a photographing state of the subject; an operation controller that controls an operation of a curtain body traveling to block light to the image pickup device; and a scan controller that controls an exposure start scanning of the image pickup device by discharging charges accumulated in the image pickup device before the traveling of the curtain body, wherein the scan controller adjusts a discharging time for discharging the charges accumulated in the image pickup device according to the photographing state of the subject.

Abstract: A digital camera is provided with a focusing function and a focal length varying function of a main lens. The digital camera includes a main imaging unit configured to generate a main image by performing a photoelectric conversion from a subject obtained via the main lens, a sub-imaging unit configured to generate a sub-image by performing a photoelectric conversion from the subject obtained via a sub-lens, a focal length acquiring unit configured to acquire the focal length of the main lens, a magnification setting unit configured to set a level of magnification on the basis of the focal length, a composite image generating unit configured to generate a composite image by combining the main image and the sub-image, after at least one of the main image and the sub-image is magnified at the level of magnification, and an image display unit configured to display the composite image.

Abstract: A camera with a focusing function is provided. The camera includes a first imaging unit configured to generate a first image by a photoelectric conversion from an image of a subject obtained via a first lens, a second imaging unit configured to generate a second image by a photoelectric conversion from an image of the subject obtained via a second lens, where the second imaging unit being different from the first imaging unit, an focusing amount acquiring unit configured to acquire amount of focusing, a composite image generating unit configured to set a cutout position on the second image, to cut out an partial image at the cutout position, on the basis of the operation amount and a predetermined cutout rule, and to generate a composite image by superimposing the partial image on the first image, and an image display unit configured to display the composite image.

Abstract: A camera device is provided with an imager that outputs a long exposure signal and a short exposure signal within one field period; a knee processor that compresses a long exposure signal having the luminance level of a knee point or higher at a compression rate (i.e., decreases an inclination of an incident light amount-luminance level line, representing a variation in a luminance level with an amount of incident light); and a knee controller that adjusts the knee point and the compression rate according to a luminance level of a synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the long exposure signal and the short exposure signal. In this knee control, the knee point decreases with an increase in the luminance level of the synthesized signal, and the inclination is adjusted to approach an original inclination thereof.

Abstract: Provided is a digital image processing apparatus that realizes an out-focusing effect by tilting a photographing device about a plane that is perpendicular to an optical axis of a lens. The digital image processing apparatus includes a lens and a photographing device configured to generate data about an image from light which has passed through the lens. The photographing device is configured to be tilted about a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens. The photographing device is tilted about the plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens so as to control a range of a focus area formed on the photographing device.

Abstract: The image processing method converts an input image to a transformed image. The method includes segmenting the transformed image into multiple blocks each having multiple pixels including multiple vertex pixels; providing a memory storing at least one coordinate in the transformed image for each vertex pixel, wherein plural coordinates are stored for at least one of the vertex pixels of at least one of the blocks; determining a coordinate in the input image corresponding to a vertex pixel of a focused block by reference to the memory, wherein when plural coordinates are stored for the vertex pixel, one of the coordinates is selected; repeating the determining step for all the blocks to determine coordinates in the input image corresponding to the vertex pixels; and determining coordinates in the input image for all the pixels of the multiple blocks by performing an interpolation processing using the coordinate values determined.

Abstract: A pixel circuit includes a photosensor and a floating diffusion node. A circuit is coupled to the floating diffusion node, for selectively providing a pixel output signal to a column line. A reset circuit, which resets the floating diffusion node, is configured to be activated by the column line. A pullup circuit is included for controlling the reset circuit through a signal on the column line. A discharge circuit, which is separate from the reset circuit, is used for discharging the pixel output signal on the column line. The discharge circuit includes a transistor having a first source/drain terminal coupled to the column line and a second source/drain terminal coupled to a fixed voltage level. The gate of the transistor activates the discharging of the column line.