Patent ID: 7978239
Filing Date: 2011-07-12
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An electronic camera comprising: a frame rate control for selecting high and normal frame rate options; a first image sensor for generating a first sensor output wherein when the normal frame rate option is selected the first sensor output comprises a first sequence of motion image frames for providing smooth rendition at normal playback speeds; a second image sensor for generating a second sensor output wherein when the normal frame rate option is selected the second sensor output comprises a second sequence of motion image frames for providing sharper images at slow playback speeds; one or more lenses for forming images of a scene on the first and second image sensors; a timing generator for controlling the exposure period of the first image sensor and the exposure period of the second image sensor, wherein the exposure period of the first image sensor is longer than the exposure period of the second image sensor when the normal frame rate option is selected and the exposure period of the first image sensor is adjusted to match the exposure period of the second image sensor when high frame rate is selected; and a digital memory for storing the first and second sensor outputs wherein when the high frame rate option is selected, a single sequence of motion image frames is formed by interleaving the frames of the first and second sensor outputs, and wherein when the normal frame rate option is selected, two separate sequences of motion image frames are recorded substantially simultaneously in the digital memory and the two separate sequences include a first sequence which provides smooth motion rendition at normal playback speeds and a second sequence which provides sharper images at slow playback speeds.