Patent ID: 7352391

Claim:
A method of controlling an electronic still camera having a solid state imaging device including a plurality of adjacent horizontal scanning lines of individual pixels intersected by a plurality of adjacent color filters, each of a distinct color, forming columns in the solid state imaging device so that individual pixels of the plurality of adjacent horizontal scanning lines within a particular color filter detect a same color, an electronic view finder for displaying a moving picture of a photographic subject by interlace-scanning, and a recording device for recording a still picture of the photographic subject as digital data on a recording medium in response to a shutter release operation, comprising: obtaining field image signals of an odd field by adding a signal charge stored in each of those pixels aligned in even horizontal scanning lines to a signal charge stored in one of those pixels detecting the same color in one of two adjacent odd horizontal scanning lines, each of those pixels in the even and adjacent odd scanning lines vertically aligned within the same color filter; obtaining field image signals of an even field by adding the signal charge of each pixel of the even horizontal scanning lines to a signal charge stored in one of those pixels detecting the same color in the other of two adjacent odd horizontal scanning lines; subjecting a white balance process to said field image signals consisting of separated red, blue and green signals in a white balance circuit, the white balance process adjusting the signal levels of a blue image signal and a red image signal to a signal level of a green image signal so that a ratio of blue to green and a ratio of red to green is maintained constant; subjecting an output of the white balance circuit to a gradation correction in a γ-circuit; outputting integrated values of said field images from said white balance circuit in an integrated circuit; displaying a frame of the moving picture based on the field image signals for the odd and even fields which are outputted from said γ-circuit; detecting signal levels of the field image signals based on said integrated values; starting, in response to the shutter release operation, to read signal charges stored in the individual pixels by sequential scanning each horizontal scanning line, to provide image signals of one frame to record; and determining signal levels of the image signals to record based on the signal levels of the field image signals.