Patent ID: 8144214
Filing Date: 2012-03-27
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An imaging apparatus, comprising: an optical system operable to adjust an exposure light amount; an A/D converter operable to receive an analogue signal obtained by the optical system, and convert the analogue signal that is obtained by the optical system to a digital signal; a dynamic-range increasing unit operable to increase an output value of the digital signal with a dynamic range magnification ratio; a control unit operable to generate control signals, one for decreasing the exposure light amount and another for increasing the dynamic range magnification ratio; a dynamic-range compression unit operable to compress the increased value of the digital signal so as to output a value that is within a predetermined range; and a representative value detection unit operable to detect a representative value of a predetermined portion of image data that is formed using the digital signal, wherein the dynamic-range compression unit compresses the increased value of the digital signal in a manner that a peak value is converted to be a maximum value of the predetermined range, and the control unit generates, in accordance with the maximum value, the signal for decreasing the exposure light amount, which is a signal for adjusting the exposure light amount according to the representative value, and the signal for increasing the dynamic range magnification ratio.