Patent ID: 8520106

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device comprising: a photoelectric conversion section configured to generate signal charge corresponding to the intensity of irradiation light; a first circuit configured to read signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section; a second circuit configured to detect that the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section has overflowed the photoelectric conversion section; and a third circuit configured to generate a signal corresponding to an elapsed time after the generation of the signal charge is started in the photoelectric conversion section, and hold and read the signal at a timing at which the overflow is detected by the second circuit; wherein the third circuit comprises a fourth circuit configured to output an analog signal equivalent to an elapsed time after the generation of the signal charge is started in the photoelectric conversion section; and a fifth circuit configured to hold the analog signal output from the fourth circuit at a timing at which an overflow of the signal charge is detected by the second circuit.