Patent ID: 7912319

Claim:
An image acquisition system comprising: a camera comprising: an image capture device within the camera, the image capture device configured to capture images; a camera lens; and a camera housing; a memory for storing a sequential set of images with respect to a particular subject, each image taken with a different set of focal attributes; and a positioning mechanism configured to move one of the camera, the image capture device within the camera, or the camera lens between a plurality of positions relative to the particular subject to capture a composite view of the subject that is wider than any individual image of the subject captured by the camera, wherein the positioning mechanism is further configured to reposition either the camera, the image capture device within the camera, or the camera lens in synchronization with a frame speed of the camera, such that the camera, the image capture device, or the camera lens is repositioned in an amount of time which is less than or equal to a time interval determined by subtracting an amount of time required by the camera to acquire one image of the subject from an inverse of the camera's frame speed, thereby resulting in an effective frame speed for capturing the composite view that is less than an actual frame speed of the camera.