Patent ID: 7518643

Claim:
A camera device for performing a shooting operation by converting image light into an electrical signal using an image pickup device, the camera device comprising: means for setting detection frames based on a division of an imaging surface of the image pickup device into a plurality of portions; means for detecting the brightness level with every set detection frame; means for calculating the ratio between the brightness level detected from the detection frame having the lowest detected brightness level and the average value of the brightness levels detected from the detection frames other than the detection frame having the lowest brightness level; integrating means for integrating the brightness level of a detection frame of an image signal produced by said image pickup device; and exposure correcting means for performing an exposure correcting operation using a peak value of said integrated brightness level; wherein, when the obtained ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a backlighted state is determined and a correcting operation is performed by limiting a high brightness component of the image signal as a function of the obtained ratio and the peak value of the integrated brightness level.