An endoscope apparatus, comprising: an image pickup device; a detection device that detects whether or not an image region at which a part of an object region is edged along a direction parallel to the scan lines in a state that is different to a case where a plurality of the scan lines are simultaneously exposed exists in a frame image due to differences of exposure timings for each of the scan lines based on an image feature amount in the frame image that is obtained from the image data for each of the scan lines that is outputted from the image pickup device; and an exposure control device that lengthens an exposure time of each of the scan lines by the image pickup device in comparison to a case where the detection device does not detect the image region, if the detection device detects the image region.

A solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements, a plurality of second photoelectric conversion elements different from the plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements, a plurality of storage units, and a control unit. The plurality of storage units store signal charges output only from the plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements. The control unit controls operations of a first mode of outputting first signals based on signal charges output only from the plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements and stored in the plurality of storage units and a second mode of outputting second signals based on signal charges output from the plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements and the plurality of second photoelectric conversion elements without passing through the plurality of storage units.

An imaging device that reliably images an object flashing at a period closely analogous to an output period of a moving image within a certain period is provided. A first common frame image, which is synthesized from pixel signals produced by photoelectric conversion elements arranged in row selection lines from a second start row selection line to an end row selection line, is extracted from a first frame image synthesized by an image sensor starting at a first start row selection line. As a moving image, a sequence of the first common frame images and second frame images synthesized by the image sensor starting at the second start row selection line is produced. Due to the phase difference between an imaging period of the first common frame image and an imaging period of the second frame image, a flashing object is captured in any of the frame images.

An image sensor includes first conductive patterns on a first surface of a substrate, and second conductive patterns between the first conductive patterns and the first surface, in which at least one of the first conductive patterns or the second conductive patterns includes a time constant adjustment pattern and neighboring conductive patterns, in which the time constant adjustment pattern extends in a first direction that is parallel to the first surface and the neighboring conductive patterns extend in the first direction and are most adjacent to the time constant adjustment pattern. The time constant adjustment pattern includes one or more time constant adjustment portions that protrude in a second direction that is parallel to the first surface and is perpendicular to the first direction, and the one or more time constant adjustment portions do not overlap the neighboring conductive patterns in the second direction.

Embodiments of the present application disclose various image capture control methods and apparatuses, wherein one of the methods comprises: acquiring motion information of an object during the process of image capture by an image sensor; determining, according to the motion information, a relative displacement of a sub-image that corresponds to the object on the image sensor within a first exposure duration; determining, in the image sensor, a first imaging region that corresponds to the relative displacement and that has not performed any image capture; adjusting an image capture control parameter of the first imaging region to shorten an exposure duration of the first imaging region; and performing, according to the image capture control parameter after being adjusted, image capture on the first imaging region. In the embodiments of the present application, overall quality of an image captured by an image sensor is improved.

A system mountable in a motor vehicle. The system includes a camera and a processor configured to receive image data from the camera. The camera includes a rolling shutter configured to capture the image data during a frame period and to scan and to read the image data into multiple image frames. A near infra-red illuminator may be configured to provide a near infra-red illumination cone in the field of view of the camera. The near infra-red illumination oscillates with an illumination period. A synchronization mechanism may be configured to synchronize the illumination period to the frame period of the rolling shutter. The frame period may be selected so that the synchronization mechanism provides a spatial profile of the near infra-red illumination cone which may be substantially aligned vertically to a specific region, e.g. near the center of the image frame.

An image processing apparatus includes an intermediate image generating unit configured to input an image which has been shot with differing exposure times set by region, generates a plurality of exposure pattern images corresponding to differing exposure times based on the input image, and generates a plurality of timing images which are difference images of the plurality of exposure pattern images; and a distortion correction processing unit configured to generate a corrected image equivalent to an exposure processing image at a predetermined exposure time by synthesizing processing of the plurality of timing images.

There are provided an image capture portion, a luminance acquisition section, a luminance estimation section, and a capture mode setup section. The image capture portion cyclically captures a vehicle compartment. The luminance acquisition section acquires the luminance of a captured image captured by the image capture portion. The luminance estimation section estimates a cyclic change in the luminance of captured images to be captured subsequently. The capture mode setup section settles a capture mode for the image capture portion based on a result of estimating the cyclic change in the luminance of captured images.

The disclosure discloses a global shutter CMOS image sensor, which adopts non-uniform storage diffusion region doping to reduce the junction leakage at storage points, so as to ensure that with the increase of the depth of photodiodes and the increase of pixels, all carriers in rows read subsequently can be transferred to storage diffusion regions, the loss of the carriers in the storage diffusion regions is not caused when a global shutter transistor is turned on, and the carriers can be completely transferred from the storage diffusion regions to floating diffusion regions through second transfer transistors even if the number of rows of pixel units increases during reading-out row by row. The disclosure further discloses a method for making the global shutter CMOS image sensor.

An image processing apparatus for processing images captured by an image capturing apparatus includes an image input unit to receive a plurality of image frames of a subject captured by the image capturing apparatus along the time line; a tracking area setting unit to set a target tracking area on the plurality of image frames; a tracking unit to track the target tracking area on the plurality image frames; a subject condition prediction unit to predict a condition of the subject at a time point delayed from a time point when the most recent image frame of the plurality of image frames is captured based on a tracking result of the target tracking area; and a parameter setting unit to set a parameter to be used for an image capturing of the subject based on the predicted condition of the subject to the image capturing apparatus.