Patent ID: 8670041
Filing Date: 2014-03-11
Classification: G03B,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of taking a picture of a scene with an electronic device, the electronic device including a camera module having an image scanning element and a flash source, the camera module being operable in an ambient light mode in which the image scanning element is controlled to capture and white balance a succession of images, and in a flash illumination mode in which the image scanning element is controlled to capture and white balance a single image, the camera module having stored therein a predetermined white-balance routine that includes an initial limit region of a chromaticity chart, the initial limit region of the chromaticity chart overlying a portion of a blackbody radiation curve, the flash source having an optical spectrum lying outside the initial limit region of the chromaticity chart, the method comprising: a) detecting that the flash source will illuminate the scene; b) modifying the initial limit region as a function of the optical spectrum of the flash source, to obtain a modified limit region; c) defining a reference white region within the modified limit region, the reference white region excluding any portion of the black body radiation curve; and d) operating the camera module in the ambient light mode by: