Patent ID: 7545411

Claim:
A solid-state image pickup apparatus, comprising: an XY addressable type solid-state image pickup element in which pixels are arranged in a matrix and color filters are formed at respective pixels and which supports an all-pixel read-out mode and a thinning-out read-out mode; frequency changing means for reducing a clock frequency of a system to provide a constant frame rate for between when the all-pixel read-out mode is specified for the solid-state image pickup element, and when the thinning-out read mode is specified for the solid-state image pickup element; and driving means for selecting pixels on the basis of the clock frequency changed by the frequency changing means and in a sequence corresponding to a color coding of both a row direction and a column direction to read out pixel signals, wherein, in said thinning-out read mode, less than all of the pixels in any single column of said matrix are individually output, and less than all of the pixels in any single row of said matrix are individually output, wherein: the color coding is repeated in a unit, the unit being pixels represented by the intersection of two adjacent rows and two adjacent columns; and the driving means successively reads out an addition signal of lower left pixels corresponding to a plurality of the units, an addition signal of lower right pixels corresponding to the plurality of the units, an addition signal of upper left pixels corresponding to the plurality of units, and an addition signal of upper right pixels corresponding to the plurality of units.