Patent ID: 8508636

Claim:
An apparatus comprising a sensor having a plurality of pixels and a control unit configured to control the sensor, each of the plurality of pixels comprising: a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert light into an electric charge; an amplifier configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on; a transfer switch configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on; and a reset switch configured to reset the input to the amplifier when being turned on, the control unit for executing a first readout operation in which, sequentially with the transfer switch turned off and with the reset switch turned on, a first signal is output from the amplifier to an output line and a second readout operation in which, sequentially with the reset switch turned off and with the transfer switch turned on, a second signal is output from the amplifier to the output line, and the control unit for further selecting and executing a first mode in which the first readout operation and the second readout operation are executed for respective predetermined time periods to acquire an image and a second mode in which the first readout operation is executed for a time period shorter than the predetermined time period for the first mode by a short-time reading operation and the second readout operation is executed to acquire an image for light metering.