Abstract: An imaging device is provided with an imaging element. The imaging element has a sensitive wavelength region including an infrared wavelength region, and selectively including a visible wavelength region, and is composed of at least three types of pixels having spectral sensitivities different from each other. The imaging device generates a color image, based on a luminance signal including an infrared wavelength component, and based on a color-difference signal that has been generated based on a visible wavelength component in original image data. The luminance signal including an infrared wavelength component is generated, based on a signal obtained by compressing the dynamic range of original image data including at least three types of original image components acquired by an imaging operation of the imaging element.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a corrector for performing an optical correction of correcting a distortion of an image by interpolating image data of the distorted picked-up image resulting from an optical characteristic of an image pickup section, and locally changing a resolution of the image; and a compressor for performing a dynamic range compression of compressing a dynamic range of the image data by extracting an illumination component from the image data based on a space frequency of the image, and compressing the extracted illumination component, wherein the compressor performs the dynamic range compression with respect to image data of an after-correction-image to be obtained after the optical correction is performed by the corrector.

Abstract: A luminance signal and a color information signal having high S/N ratios are generated by combining a visible luminance image component and an infrared image component at an appropriate ratio according to brightness of a subject such as brightness on a sunny day or brightness in darkness. An image pickup element 3 picks up a ye image component Dye, an R image component DR, an infrared image component DBlk and a luminance image component DW. An evaluation value calculator 41 calculates an evaluation value eDW and an evaluation value eDBlk by adding pixel values of the luminance image component DW and pixel values of the infrared image component DBlk in a local area, and calculates an evaluation value e (=eDW?eDBlk). A factor determiner 51 determines weighting factors k, kw from the evaluation value e.

Abstract: Provided is an image inputting apparatus wherein luminance signals having a high S/N ratio can be generated even during nighttime with a small quantity of photons. An imaging element images image components. A color signal generating section generates color signals from the image components. A color space conversion section converts the color signals into a color space that includes luminance signals and color difference signals. The color space conversion section calculates a luminance signal obtained by adding the image components, as the luminance signal of the color space to be converted.

Abstract: To convert a pixel value obtained from a non-reference photoelectric conversion characteristic into a pixel value obtained from a reference photoelectric conversion characteristic without variation, and to prevent generation of fixed pattern noise in an image. An image sensor 3 is constituted of pixels having photoelectric conversion characteristics, in which a linear characteristic is on the low luminance side with respect to an inflection point, and a logarithmic characteristic is on the high luminance side with respect to the inflection point. A conversion information storage 68 stores, as conversion information, coefficients “c”, “d”, “e”, and “f” of two kinds of linear functions (y=c·log(x)+d, and y=e·log(x)+f), which are approximation equations expressing the logarithmic characteristic of each of the pixels, where y designates a pixel value, and x designates a luminance value of incident light.

Abstract: An imaging device is provided with an imaging element. The imaging element has a sensitive wavelength region including an infrared wavelength region, and selectively including a visible wavelength region, and is composed of at least three types of pixels having spectral sensitivities different from each other. The imaging device generates a color image, based on a luminance signal including an infrared wavelength component, and based on a color-difference signal that has been generated based on a visible wavelength component in original image data. The luminance signal including an infrared wavelength component is generated, based on a signal obtained by compressing the dynamic range of original image data including at least three types of original image components acquired by an imaging operation of the imaging element.

Abstract: An image sensing apparatus includes: an image sensor which generates an electrical signal commensurate with an amount of incident light, and has a photoelectric conversion characteristic comprised of a linear characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being linearly converted in relation to the amount of incident light, and a logarithmic characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being logarithmically converted in relation to the amount of incident light; an exposure evaluation value detector which detects an exposure evaluation value based on luminance information acquired from a subject in sensing an image of the subject; and an exposure controller which acquires a setting value for exposure based on the exposure evaluation value detected by the exposure evaluation value detector to control exposure of the image sensing apparatus, wherein the exposure controller determines a subject luminance for exposure setting based on the exposure evaluation value, and con

Abstract: An imaging device is provided with an imaging element. The imaging element has a sensitive wavelength region including an infrared wavelength region, and selectively including a visible wavelength region, and is composed of at least three types of pixels having spectral sensitivities different from each other. The imaging device generates a luminance signal including an infrared wavelength component, a color-difference signal including a visible wavelength component, and a visible luminance signal as a luminance signal in the visible wavelength region, from original image data including at least three types of original image components obtained by an imaging operation by the imaging element; and generates a color image based on a low frequency component in the luminance signal and in the color-difference signal, and based on a low frequency component in the visible luminance signal.

Abstract: In an image processing device, an image processing method, and an image pickup apparatus according to an aspect of the invention, a compression characteristic is generated based on one of multiple smoothed images to be generated based on an input image, and a compressed base component image having a smaller dynamic range than the dynamic range of a base component image is generated by using the compression characteristic. The image processing device, the image processing method, and the image pickup apparatus enable to more advantageously define a proper compression characteristic, and compress the dynamic range of the input image in a simplified manner and with high quality, as compared with the background art.

Abstract: In a solid-state image sensing device, a method for driving the solid-state image sensing device, and an image sensing system incorporated with the solid-state image sensing device of the invention, pixel signals having two or more different photoelectric conversion characteristics to be outputted from a pixel section are amplified by using an analog gain with respect to each of the photoelectric conversion characteristics for outputting the amplified pixel signals. This enables to reproduce an image having a wide dynamic range while suppressing lowering of the frame rate.

Abstract: An image sensing apparatus includes: an image sensor which generates an electrical signal commensurate with an amount of incident light, and has a photoelectric conversion characteristic comprised of a linear characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being linearly converted in relation to the amount of incident light, and a logarithmic characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being logarithmically converted in relation to the amount of incident light; an exposure evaluation value detector which detects an exposure evaluation value based on luminance information acquired from a subject in sensing an image of the subject; and an exposure controller which acquires a setting value for exposure based on the exposure evaluation value detected by the exposure evaluation value detector to control exposure of the image sensing apparatus, wherein the exposure controller determines a subject luminance for exposure setting based on the exposure evaluation value, and con

Abstract: An image sensing apparatus includes: an image sensor which generates an electrical signal commensurate with an amount of incident light, and has a photoelectric conversion characteristic comprised of a linear characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being linearly converted in relation to the amount of incident light, and a logarithmic characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being logarithmically converted in relation to the amount of incident light; an exposure evaluation value detector which detects an exposure evaluation value based on luminance information acquired from a subject in sensing an image of the subject; and an exposure controller which acquires a setting value for exposure based on the exposure evaluation value detected by the exposure evaluation value detector to control exposure of the image sensing apparatus, wherein the exposure controller determines a subject luminance for exposure setting based on the exposure evaluation value, and con

Abstract: An image sensing apparatus includes: an image sensing section for sensing an image of a subject; a detector for detecting a luminance of the subject; a compressor for compressing a dynamic range of the subject image; and a controller for controlling a compression characteristic to be used in compressing the dynamic range based on a detection result of the detector.

Abstract: An image sensing apparatus including an image sensor having a first area and a second area and a gradation converter for applying a gradation conversion to an image signal is provided with a gradation conversion LUT storage storing at least two kinds of gradation conversion information. The image sensing apparatus is also provided with a gradation conversion information rewriting section for rewriting the gradation conversion information into new gradation conversion information. There can be provided an image sensing apparatus capable of carrying out a precise gradation conversion even in the case that the inflection point between the first area and the second area of the image sensor constantly changes.

Abstract: An inflection point variation correction unit 641 executes a predetermined characteristic conversion processing on pixel data read by each pixel, so as to unify the photoelectric conversion characteristic of each pixel data into a linear characteristic. When the flexure start level S of a target pixel, which is one of a plurality of pixels, is greater than a predetermined inflection point threshold, and when, at the same time, the pixel value d of the pixel data read by the target pixel is greater than a predetermined pixel threshold, then an inflection point interpolation unit 642 outputs not a pixel value d? obtained by the above mentioned characteristic conversion processing, but a pixel value d? obtained by an interpolation processing using a pixel data read by a neighbor pixel located near the target pixel, whereby the photoelectric conversion characteristic of the pixel data read by the target pixel is converted into the linear characteristic.

Abstract: An inflection point variation correction unit 641 executes a predetermined characteristic conversion processing on pixel data read by each pixel, so as to unify the photoelectric conversion characteristic of each pixel data into a linear characteristic. When the flexure start level S1 of a target pixel is smaller than an inflection point threshold Sth, and when, at the same time, a pixel value d of the pixel data read by the target pixel is smaller than a predetermined pixel threshold Dth, then an inflection point interpolation unit 642 outputs not the pixel value d? obtained in the above mentioned characteristic conversion processing, but a pixel value d? obtained in an interpolation processing using a pixel data read by a neighbor pixel located near the target pixel, thereby the photoelectric conversion characteristic of the pixel data read by the target pixel is converted into the linear characteristic.

Abstract: An illumination component extractor is operable to extract an illumination component from input image data by: performing a smoothing process a certain number of times to generate a plurality of smooth image data having resolutions different from one another from the input image data, the smoothing process including an operation of filtering the input image data with use of a low-pass filter having a predetermined size and an operation of downsampling the filtered input image data; and performing an inverse-smoothing process a certain number of times, the inverse-smoothing process including an operation of replacing an edge portion of a smooth image data having a lower resolution with a smooth image data having a higher resolution, and an operation of upsampling the replaced smooth image data. The input image data is color image data which has been obtained by an image sensor including a number of pixels having different spectral sensitivities.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a corrector for performing an optical correction of correcting a distortion of an image by interpolating image data of the distorted picked-up image resulting from an optical characteristic of an image pickup section, and locally changing a resolution of the image; and a compressor for performing a dynamic range compression of compressing a dynamic range of the image data by extracting an illumination component from the image data based on a space frequency of the image, and compressing the extracted illumination component, wherein the compressor performs the dynamic range compression with respect to image data of an after-correction-image to be obtained after the optical correction is performed by the corrector.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a corrector for performing an optical correction of correcting a distortion of an image by interpolating image data of the distorted picked-up image resulting from an optical characteristic of an image pickup section, and locally changing a resolution of the image; and a compressor for performing a dynamic range compression of compressing a dynamic range of the image data by extracting an illumination component from the image data based on a space frequency of the image, and compressing the extracted illumination component, wherein the compressor performs the dynamic range compression with respect to image data of an after-correction-image to be obtained after the optical correction is performed by the corrector.

Abstract: Provided is an image inputting apparatus wherein luminance signals having a high S/N ratio can be generated even during nighttime with a small quantity of photons. An imaging element images image components. A color signal generating section generates color signals from the image components. A color space conversion section converts the color signals into a color space that includes luminance signals and color difference signals. The color space conversion section calculates a luminance signal obtained by adding the image components, as the luminance signal of the color space to be converted.