Patent ID: 7787026

Claim:
A digital camera, comprising: image capture means for capturing a sequence of at least twenty images and for outputting a stream of sensor data, wherein each image is output by the image capture means as a set of at least five million sensor data values, wherein the image capture means outputs the sensor data values of the stream of sensor data at a sustained average rate of at least three of the sets per second; nonvolatile storage; and pipeline processing means for receiving the stream of sensor data at the sustained average rate of at least three of the sets per second and for performing color interpolation, gamma correction, color space conversion, zooming, and compression on the sensor data values of the stream of sensor data at the sustained average rate of at least three of the sets per second, generating processed sensor data values of a stream of processed sensor data and thereby outputting a stream of at least twenty files of processed sensor data values of the stream of processed sensor data, wherein each of the files corresponds with a respective one of the at least twenty images in the sequence captured by the image capture means, wherein the pipeline processing means performs zooming on some of the sensor data values of the set of at least five million sensor data values before color space conversion has been performed on all of the sensor data values of the set of at least five million sensor data values, and wherein the pipeline processing means is also for storing the stream of files in the nonvolatile storage at a sustained average rate of at least three files per second.