Patent ID: 8908073

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device comprising: a pixel unit in which a plurality of groups of pixels are arranged in a matrix pattern, wherein n pixels are formed in each group of pixels, n is an integer greater than or equal to four, each group of pixels includes two or more pixels that share a floating diffusion portion, n pixels are classified into M groups having the same photosensitivity conditions and/or exposure time conditions, and M is an integer that is equal to or greater than two; and a driving unit that controls two or more read-out modes, changes a configuration of a frame in accordance with a change of the read-out mode, and performs read-out at a speed that is (n/M) times a speed of a normal read-out mode of the two or more read-out modes in a predetermined period of (M/n) frame, wherein at least one of the read-out modes simultaneously reads the pixel signals from two or more pixels in each group and adds the pixel signals on the floating diffusion portion.