Patent ID: 8055097
Filing Date: 2011-11-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image pick-up apparatus comprising: a first detector configured to detect focus fluctuations during the successive image pick-up operations of a first plurality of images; a second detector configured to detect an object distance; an image pick-up controller configured to perform a plurality of image pick-up operations to produce the first plurality of images and configured to perform focus adjustment operation based on an output from the first detector before each of the image pick-up operations, the output from the first detector including a displacement amount and a displacement direction in a focus direction; an information producer configured to produce information on an image magnification of each of the first plurality of image by using the object distance detected by the second detector, and the focus fluctuations during the successive image-pickup operations of the plurality of images detected by the first detector; an image producer configured to produce, from the first plurality of images based on the information on the image magnification, a second plurality of images having matched image magnifications; and an image combiner configured to combine the second plurality of images to produce a single image, wherein the first plurality of images include a first image and a second image having an image magnification different from an image magnification of the first image, wherein the image producer produces a third image from the second image, the third image having an image magnification identical to the image magnification of the first image, and wherein the second plurality of images include the first image and the third image.