Patent ID: 7911502

Claim:
A digital camera, comprising: a solid-state image pickup device which includes a two-dimensional matrix of unit cells arranged in two directions and can selectively read out electric charges accumulated in said unit cells, each of said unit cells including a photoelectric conversion element; a focal plane shutter including a shutter leading curtain and a shutter trailing curtain which move in one of said two directions; a timer which measures an exposure time; a shutter controller which commences measurement of an exposure time via said timer when said shutter leading curtain starts traveling, and drives said shutter trailing curtain upon said timer completing said measurement of said exposure time; a charge readout controller which reads out electric charges accumulated by each unit cell of said solid-state image pickup device during said exposure time at least twice to obtain two images including a first image before said shutter trailing curtain commences traveling upon said shutter leading curtain commencing traveling and a second image upon said shutter trailing curtain commencing traveling; and an image synthesizing device which synthesizes the first image of said first accumulated charge with the second image of said second accumulated charge; wherein said charge readout controller carries out said electric charge readout for said first image, before said shutter trailing curtain commences traveling, at a scanning speed which is in synchronization with a travel speed of said shutter leading curtain in a same direction of said traveling shutter leading curtain, wherein a first exposure time, in said first reading-out of said electric charges before said shutter trailing curtain commences traveling upon said shutter leading curtain commencing traveling, is different from a second exposure time in said second reading-out of said electric charges upon said trailing curtain commencing traveling.