Patent ID: 7312823

Claim:
A video camera having a video imaging frequency at which images are acquired, such image acquisition occurring over a video imaging cycle, comprising: a solid-state image pick-up device having a plurality of sensors respectively associated with a like plurality of pixels, said sensors photoelectrically converting an image into respective image charges during an exposure period; a timing generating circuit for setting a plurality of discrete exposure periods during one video imaging cycle for said solid-state image pick-up device; and a charge storage section configured to store respective image charges of said plurality of pixels for each of said discrete exposure periods, and, for each pixel, to respectively accumulate during an image cycle said image charges generated during said exposure periods before said image charges are converted to image signals; wherein, said exposure periods are discontinuous with a discharge period between adjacent exposure periods, said video imaging frequency is less than an average flicker frequency of a source of luminous flicker, said exposure periods occur at a rate greater than said average flicker frequency, a respective amount of each of said exposure periods generated during one imaging cycle is shorter than said one imaging cycle, and said charge storage section comprises a plurality of storage locations arranged along a vertical direction to which said image charges are transferred from said sensors following each shutter pulse, charges from a given sensor being additively accumulated in a respective storage location during a video imaging cycle.