Patent ID: 8203632

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: a focus lens for adjusting focus; an imaging device operable to convert an optical image input through the focus lens into electric signals in each of RGB colors; a luminance signal generator operable to generate a luminance signal based on the electric signal output from the imaging device; a low-frequency filter operable to weaken signal components of the luminance signal output from the luminance signal generator, each of which has a frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency; a high-frequency filter operable to weaken signal components of the luminance signal output from the luminance signal generator, each of which has a frequency equal to or lower than a predetermined frequency; a determiner operable to determine whether focusing is influenced by a subject with high luminance based on a signal level of each of RGB colors; a processor operable to detect a focal point based on an output of the high-frequency filter when the determiner determines that focusing is influenced by the subject with high luminance, and to detect a focal point based on an output of the low-frequency filter and then detect a focal point based on an output of the high-frequency filter when the determiner determines that focusing is not influenced by the subject with high luminance; a dark portion pixel counter operable to count the pixels of which brightness is equal to or darker than a predetermined brightness in each of RGB colors; and a light portion pixel counter operable to count the pixels of which brightness is equal to or brighter than a predetermined brightness in each of RGB colors, wherein the determiner determines that focusing is influenced by the subject with high luminance when a ratio of a count by the light portion pixel counter to a count by the dark portion pixel counter is equal to or less than a predetermined value in at least one of RGB colors, and determines that focusing is not influenced by the subject with high luminance when a ratio of the count by the light portion pixel counter to the count by the dark portion pixel counter is larger than the predetermined value.