Patent ID: 8040403
Filing Date: 2011-10-18
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image capturing apparatus having a shutter for making an image capturing element enter into one of a light-shielded state and a light-unshielded state, the apparatus comprising: an image capturing condition storing unit which stores a plurality of image capturing conditions; a dark-time image data storing unit which stores a plurality of pieces of dark-time image data respectively captured under the plurality of image capturing conditions with the image capturing element in the light-shielded state; a bright-time image data storing unit which stores bright-time image data captured with the image capturing element in the light-unshielded state; a dark-time image data extracting unit which extracts from among the plurality of pieces of dark-time image data stored in the dark-time image data storing unit, dark-time image data captured under an image capturing condition corresponding to an image capturing condition under which the bright-time image is captured; a correcting unit which corrects the bright-time image data based on the dark-time image data extracted by the dark-time image data extracting unit; and a dark-time image data generating unit which executes an interpolation process using the dark-time image data stored in the dark-time image data storing unit, wherein based on the interpolation process, the dark-time image data generating unit generates: (i) a given image capturing condition, which is not included in the plurality of image capturing conditions stored in the image capturing condition storing unit, and (ii) dark-time image data which corresponds to the given image capturing condition.