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Image pickup apparatus having auto day-night function, control method therefor, and storage medium storing control program therefor

Inactive Publication Date: 2019-11-28
CANON KK
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a camera system and method for controlling it that can prevent the camera from tilting too much and switch between "day mode" and "night mode" at the best time. This allows for higher quality photos to be taken at a lower cost.

Problems solved by technology

However, when the light in the near-infrared range passes, color balance collapses, which requires the image pickup apparatus to switch a photographing mode to a monochrome image mode (night mode) from a color image mode (day mode).
However, when this method is used, the cost of the image pickup apparatus rises due to addition of the optical sensor.
However, the image pickup apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned publication does not determine that the light in the range from 650 nm to 800 nm, which differentiates the sensitivities of the sensor elements for the respective colors, is the infrared light.

Method used

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  • Image pickup apparatus having auto day-night function, control method therefor, and storage medium storing control program therefor
  • Image pickup apparatus having auto day-night function, control method therefor, and storage medium storing control program therefor
  • Image pickup apparatus having auto day-night function, control method therefor, and storage medium storing control program therefor

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Experimental program
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Effect test

first embodiment

[0027]FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an example of an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention.

[0028]The illustrated image pickup apparatus is a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as a “camera” simply), for example, and has an overall controller (a CPU) 11. The overall controller 11 develops a program stored in a nonvolatile memory (ROM) 12 to a volatile memory (RAM) 13 and runs the program to control the entire camera. It should be noted that the RAM 13 is used also as a work area of the overall controller 11.

[0029]Object light that enters through an image pickup optical system 1 forms an optical image on an image sensor 3. Then, the image sensor 3 outputs an image signal corresponding to the optical image. The image signal concerned is output to an exposure controller 4 and an image processing unit 100. An infrared cut filter 2 provided with an attenuation area that reduces intensity of light in a wavelength range correspon...

second embodiment

[0086]FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing an example of the auto day-night process performed by the camera according to the present invention. It should be noted that the steps in FIG. 4 that are the same as the steps in the flowchart in FIG. 3 are indicated by the same reference numbers and their descriptions are omitted.

[0087]When it is determined that there is much infrared light (YES in the step S508), the day-night switching determination unit 7 turns ON an infrared flag (validates infrared information) in step S601. Furthermore, this infrared flag is used for storing the determination result of the process in the step S508. Then, the day-night switching determination unit 7 proceeds with the process to the step S510.

[0088]In the meantime, when there is little infrared light (NO in the step S508), the day-night switching determination unit 7 turns OFF the infrared flag (invalidates the infrared information) in step S602. Then, the day-night switching determination unit 7 proce...

third embodiment

[0096]Subsequently, one example of a camera according to the present invention will be described.

[0097]FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of the example of the camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to components in FIG. 5 that are the same as the components of the camera shown in FIG. 1.

[0098]The illustrated camera has an infrared-light illumination device 701, infrared illumination setting unit 702, and infrared illumination controller 703. Then, the infrared illumination controller 703 is controlled by the overall controller 11. The illustrated camera irradiates the object with the infrared light using the infrared-light illumination device 701 and is able to photograph brightly in the night mode even in a low illumination state.

[0099]A user selects whether to use the infrared-light illumination device 701 through the infrared illumination setting unit 702. Th...

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Abstract

An image pickup apparatus that is capable of preventing hunching certainly at low cost and of switching between the day mode and the night mode at an optimal timing. An image sensor outputs an image signal depending on an optical image formed through an image pickup optical system. A mode setting unit sets a photographing mode for photographing using the image sensor from among a day mode and a night mode in which sensitivity for a wavelength range corresponding to infrared light is higher than that in the day mode. An obtaining unit obtains ratio information about the ratios of the infrared light and visible light based on the image signal in the night mode. A condition setting unit sets a determination condition that is used for switching the photographing mode to the day mode from the night mode based on the ratio information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention[0001]The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, a control method therefor, and a storage medium storing a control program therefor, and in particular, relates to an image pickup apparatus that has an auto day-night function.Description of the Related Art[0002]Generally an image sensor used for an image pickup apparatus like a digital camera has sensitivity in a visible wavelength range from 380 nm to 780 nm. In the meantime, a human eye hardly has sensitivity in a long wavelength range beyond 700 nm. Accordingly, an image pickup apparatus like a digital camera employs an infrared cut filter for correcting a visual sensitivity in front of an image sensor. The infrared cut filter blocks out light in a near-infrared range so as to adjust color reproducibility to human visual sensitivity.[0003]Such an image pickup apparatus can extract the infrared cut filter from an optical path to allow the light in the near-infrared r...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): H04N5/235G02B5/20
CPCH04N23/54H04N23/667H04N5/33H04N23/55H04N23/71H04N23/74G02B5/208G02B7/006H04N23/72H04N23/10
Inventor KAWASAKI, RYO
Owner CANON KK
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