Patent ID: 8494357

Claim:
A dynamic auto exposure system comprising: an image sensor for capturing an image representative of a scene; a memory coupled to the image sensor; and a programmable control device communicatively coupled to the image sensor and the memory, wherein the memory includes instructions for causing the programmable control device to perform a dynamic auto exposure method on image information received from the image sensor, the method comprising: detecting one or more faces in the image information; determining that one or more of the detected faces meet a predetermined criterion; creating an exposure metering region over the one or more detected faces meeting the predetermined criterion; determining a first metering value for the scene based at least in part on a weighted average of each created exposure metering region; setting a first exposure parameter for the image sensor based at least in part on the determined first metering value; exposing the scene based at least in part on the set first exposure parameter; moving a first one of the created exposure metering regions over a detected face towards a new location of the detected face in the scene; determining a second metering value for the scene based at least in part on the new location of the first one of the created exposure metering regions; setting a second exposure parameter for the image sensor based at least in part on the determined second metering value; and exposing the scene based at least in part on the set second exposure parameter.