Patent ID: 8866939

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device, comprising: a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor that outputs an image signal; and a black level adjustment control unit that adjusts a black level of the image signal read from the CMOS sensor, wherein the CMOS sensor includes: an effective pixel unit in which an effective pixel is arranged; an optical black (OB) pixel unit in which an OB pixel is arranged; a column analog to digital converter (ADC) circuit that digitizes a signal component read from the effective pixel based on a result of comparison with a reference voltage; and a reference voltage control unit that controls the reference voltage, wherein the black level adjustment control unit enlarges or reduces a clamp parameter that sets the black level based on a result of determining a range to which an analog gain setting an amplification factor of a pixel signal read from the effective pixel belongs, wherein the black level adjustment control unit includes: an analog gain range determining unit that determines a range to which the analog gain belongs; a clamp parameter control condition setting unit that sets a control condition of the clamp parameter based on a result of the determination by the analog gain range determining unit; and a clamp parameter control unit that controls the clamp parameter based on the control condition set by the clamp parameter control condition setting unit, wherein the clamp parameter control condition setting unit includes a feedback clamp (FBC) preset value setting unit that sets a preset value of the clamp parameter based on the result of the determination by the analog gain range determining unit, and wherein the preset value includes a preset coefficient for a normal operation and a preset coefficient for a long light exposure, the preset coefficient for a normal operation is set in response to a range of the analog gain, and the preset coefficient for a long light exposure is set to a fixed value independently of the range of the analog gain.