Patent ID: 7349016
Filing Date: 2008-03-25
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid-state color imaging apparatus comprising: a solid-state imaging device including a plurality of photoelectric converters arranged in an array and color filters attached to front faces of the respective photoelectric converters, the color filters being repeatedly arranged in two dimensions, p×q pixels (where p is a natural number and q is a natural number) in the solid-state imaging device in which p pixels are arranged in a horizontal direction and q pixels are arranged in a vertical direction forming a basic unit of a pixel adding area; means configured to have an arrangement in which all the basic units of the pixel adding area are repeatedly arranged in two dimensions, being shifted from each other in the horizontal and vertical directions and overlapping with each other; and means for adding together all the pixels corresponding to part of the color filters for the same color in each of the basic units of the pixel adding area, wherein the color filters are repeatedly arranged in two dimensions such that two rows and two columns constitute one unit of the color filter arrangement, p×q pixels (where p=4n+1, n is a natural number, q=4m+1 and m is a natural number) in the solid-state imaging device form a basic unit of the pixel adding area, all the basic units of the pixel adding area are repeatedly arranged in two dimensions, being shifted from each other by (p+1)/2 pixels in the horizontal direction and by (q+1)/2 pixels in the vertical direction and overlapping with each other, and a pixel corresponding to one of the color filters located at the center of each of the basic units in both the horizontal and vertical directions and pixels corresponding to part of the color filters for the same color located apart from the color filter located at the center by even numbers of rows and columns are added together in each of the basic units of the pixel adding area.