Abstract: An image processing unit, electronic camera, and image processing program have low probability of failure and high probability of success in white balance adjustment. The image processing unit includes: a first setting unit setting a value of a first adjusting parameter for white balance adjustment applied to an image of a subject; a calculation unit calculating a deviation in the balance of a color signal when an area of the image detected by achromatic color detection is subjected to white balance adjustment with the first adjusting parameter; and a second setting unit setting the as-is value of the first adjusting parameter as a second adjusting parameter when the deviation is equal to or more than a threshold value, correcting the value of the first adjusting parameter in a direction of reducing the deviation and setting it as the second adjusting parameter when the deviation is less than the threshold value.

Abstract: An information collection system including an information collection apparatus, a photographing apparatus and information acquisition apparatuses. The information collection apparatus collects information on the information acquisition apparatuses and the photographing apparatus. The information collection apparatus selects at least one of the information-acquisition apparatuses based on the collected information, and collects information about a predetermined position by communicating with the selected information-acquisition apparatus.

Abstract: A method of minimizing noise in an image produced by an electronic imager comprising: determining a correction system for a range of imager integration times and a range of imager temperatures for an electronic imager which has taken a series of dark capture images and a series of flat field capture images in a calibration mode; and applying the correction system to an image produced by the electronic imager in an image capture mode.

Abstract: A digital still camera module includes a barrel (12) two lenses (10, 18), an aperture apparatus (16) having a transparent part, a filter (14) set on the transparent part of the aperture, and an image sensor (19). The lenses, the filter, the aperture apparatus and the image sensor are set in the barrel, with the image sensor being set at a bottom of the barrel, and the filter and the aperture apparatus being set below one of the lenses. Both lenses are upwardly convex. The encapsulation of the image sensor is by way of a CSP (Chip Scale Package), which includes a transparent glass cover (196). Pins extend down from a bottom of the image sensor, which enables a size of a circuit board (194) of the image sensor to be reduced. Thus the digital still camera module is relatively small and inexpensive, and has excellent optical capability.

Abstract: A mobile phone (100) includes a main body (20), a display (21) embedded in a user interface (24) of the main body, a containing space (23) spanning through to the user interface and at least one of a top surface (26) and a back (25) of the main body, and a camera assembly (30) set in the containing space. The photo-taking apparatus includes a lens module (31), a holophote (32) rotatably set opposite the lens module for reflecting or transmitting incident light rays into the lens module, and an orientation apparatus (33) including a gear (34) for adjusting the holophote. A user can conveniently change the position of the holophote by rotating the gear, so that an object or the user himself/herself can be photographed. In all cases, the user can conveniently see a preview of the photo on the display.

Abstract: A control system is disclosed for controlling an image array sensor and controlling communication between the image array sensor and a microcontroller by way of a serial communication interface. The control system is able to efficiently control various aspects of the image array sensor such as windowing, mode of operation, sensitivity as well as other parameters in order to reduce the data throughput. An important aspect of the invention relates to the fact that the control circuit can be rather easily and efficiently configured in CMOS with relatively few output pins which enables the control circuit to be rather easily and efficiently integrated with CMOS based image array sensors and even the microcontroller to reduce the part count and thus, the overall cost of the system.

Abstract: A driving method for a solid-state image sensing device having a plurality of sensor portions being disposed two-dimensionally in a horizontal and a vertical directions, and a vertical charge transfer portion being disposed between said plurality of sensor portions and being provided with transfer electrodes of a plurality of systems disposed along its disposed direction, including the steps of; selectively applying high level driving pulses to the transfer electrodes of said plurality of systems in respective sectional periods in a vertical transfer period, and transferring the signal charges read out from said plurality of sensor portions in the vertical direction, wherein a sectional period in a vertical transfer period, in which the number of systems of the transfer electrodes to be applied with high level driving pulses becomes minimum is set longer than that of the other sectional periods.

Abstract: A photographic light is spectrally separated by a spectral prism 9 provided in an image-formation area R of the photographic light whose luminous flux is adjusted by a group of lenses 1a-1d for adjusting the luminous flux so as to image-form the photographic light. Respective lights spectrally separated by the spectral prism 9 are imaged by means of the imaging elements 2. An infrared-ray element of the photographic light whose luminous flux is being adjusted is eliminated by an infrared-ray cut filter 8. The infrared-ray cut filter 8 is advanced and retreated by a mechanism unit 14a between a position in an optica path of the photographic light and a position distant from the optical path. In the foregoing constitution, the infrared-ray cut filter 8 and the mechanism unit 14a are disposed in a luminous flux convergence area R of the photographic light whose luminous flux is being adjusted by the group of lenses 1a-1d.

Abstract: The electronic camera has an imaging device that images a subject with subject reflectance R (%) with a dynamic range wider than that at displaying or printing to acquire image data and a recording device that converts the image data acquired by the imaging device with a predetermined function and records the converted image data and the information on the function as digital values (digit). Therefore, a printed image with an automatically or manually corrected density can be obtained at the displaying or the printing.

Abstract: The digital camera includes a photographing unit which picks-up image data, a storage control unit which stores the image data, a reconstruction control unit which reconstructs the stored image data, an image data processing unit which combines the picked-up image data and the reconstructed image data, and stores the produced image data into the recording medium, a display control unit makes a display unit simultaneously display the picked-up image data for monitoring and the reconstructed image data, or makes the display unit display the image data generated by the image data processing unit.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for parallel data processing, a DSP. The device according to the invention comprises a processor matrix (100) in which processors (103) are arranged in rows (101) and columns (102). Furthermore, the device (100) comprises first and second external data ports (107, 108). The rows (101) arranged in a stepwise manner and the columns are arranged in a stepwise manner. The processors (103) have a first processor data port (104), which is connected with one of the first external data ports (107) by means of first essentially straight connection. The processors (103) further comprise a second processor data port (105), which is connected with one of the second external data ports (108) by means of an essentially straight second connection (110). The first connection (107) and the second connection (108) are oriented substantially orthogonal to each other.

Abstract: An image sensor includes at least first and second photo-sensitive regions; a color filter array having at least two different colors that selectively absorb specific bands of wavelengths, and the two colors respectively span portions of predetermined photo-sensitive regions; and wherein the two photo sensitive regions are doped so that electrons that are released at two different depths in the substrate are collected in two separate regions of the photo sensitive regions so that, when wavelengths of light pass through the color filter array, light is absorbed by the photo sensitive regions which photo sensitive regions consequently releases electrons at two different depths of the photo sensitive regions and are stored in first and second separate regions; at least two charge-coupled devices adjacent the first photo sensitive regions; and a first transfer gate associated with the first photo sensitive region that selectively passes charge at first and second levels which, when at the first level, causes the

Abstract: For clamping a reset voltage within an image sensor, an active pixel generates a first reset voltage, and an optical black pixel generates a second reset voltage. In addition, a reset voltage selector selects one of the first and second reset voltages as a selected reset voltage. Such a selected reset voltage is generated separately for each column of the array of pixels in the image sensor for more accurately and flexibly accounting for fabrication variations.

Abstract: Provided is a method of controlling a digital camera to enlarge part of an object included in a captured image and display the enlarged part of the captured image on a screen so that the user determines sharpness of the image, which includes determining whether a human face is included in the captured image, selecting the human face in the captured image as a region to be enlarged, dividing the captured image into at least two regions and selecting one of the regions having the largest amount of edge information as a region to be enlarged, enlarging the region selected in the selection step or the dividing and selection steps, and displaying the image enlarged in the enlargement step on a screen.

Abstract: A mobile communication terminal comprises a camera unit (34) and a main CPU. In the camera unit (34), a processing system including a color conversion circuit (66) and an image compression circuit (68) generates high-resolution compressed still image data based on interpolated image data of a photographed object. Also, a processing system including an image decompression circuit (74), a color conversion circuit (72), and a thinning-out circuit (70) generates low-resolution decompressed still image data based on the high-resolution compressed still image data. The main CPU activates an image compression circuit (68) when a release key is operated, and activates an image decompression circuit (74) when generation of the compressed still image data is completed. The low-resolution decompressed image data generated by activation of the image decompression circuit (74) is obtained by the main CPU from the camera unit and written into a VRAM. As a result, a decompressed image is displayed on an LCD.

Abstract: A color image sensor has imaging elements each structured to form, at an image plane, an image of a subject having a respective magnification. Ones of the imaging elements forming respective ones of the images with the same magnification in light of mutually different colors constitute a set characterized by the magnification of the images. The sets having mutually-different magnifications. The color image sensor additionally has a light sensor located in the image plane and comprising a region of sensor elements disposed opposite each of the imaging elements. The regions of sensor elements opposite each of the sets of imaging elements are operable to generate, in response to light incident thereon, a respective color image signal representing the image of the subject at the respective magnification.

Abstract: Since cable external equipment has the advantage over radio external equipment, data is transferred through a cable when active cable external equipment exists, and data is automatically transferred to radio external equipment when active cable external equipment does not exist.

Abstract: A photographing device comprising: an imaging device for imaging an object image in accordance with a photographing command; a reading device for reading a picture data recorded in a recording medium in accordance with a reproduction command; a display device for reproducing and displaying the picture data read by the reading device; an identifying data acquisition device for reading unique information attached in a medium and acquiring identifying data unique to the medium; a management information generation device for generating information indicating that an imaged picture data is a picture data corresponding to an identifying data acquired by the identifying data acquisition device when the identifying data are acquired by the identifying data acquisition device after the picture is imaged by the imaging device; a management information storing device for storing information generated as a management information by the management information generation device; and a reproduction control device for reprod

Abstract: An image-taking apparatus is disclosed which achieves focusing in a reduce time with higher accuracy of an in-focus position search in a TV-AF method to minimize occurrence of unnatural focus changes. The image-taking apparatus includes an image-taking element, a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element, a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal, and a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for an in-focus position search of the focus lens based on the focus evaluation value signal. The controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position based on the detection signal from the second detector, and performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between the information from the first processing and the information obtained from the second processing.

Abstract: The subject invention provides a system and/or method that facilitates encoding a source image associated with a motion vector by employing at least one step image, wherein such step image provides a reduction in the amount of stored video. A step image component determines the maximum step image size and appropriate number of step images to simulate a smooth motion based upon an input component receiving data such as, but not limited to, a motion parameter and a computer environment parameter. Moreover, the step image component can utilize a motion controller component that facilitates the visual perception of smooth video during a zoom motion. Additionally, the step image component can utilize an encoder component providing specialized techniques in encoding with step images.