Patent ID: 7714919

Claim:
A solid-state image pickup device comprising: a plurality of pixels which are arranged two-dimensionally and output pixel signals derived by photoelectric conversion; and a plurality of output lines each of which output an output signal per the plurality of pixels arranged in one line, the solid-state image pickup device operating in a first mode of reading the output signal for every pixel, and a second mode of adding and reading output signals from the plurality of pixels; variable gain amplifying means, at least one of which is connected to each of the plurality of output lines; and a first set of coupling capacitors, wherein the gain at the time of readout in the second mode is made to be higher than the gain at the time of readout in the first mode by the variable gain amplifying means, wherein each output line is connected to one of the variable gain amplifying means through one of the coupling capacitors of the first set, each of which removes noise of the pixel signal or signals received thereby from the output line connected thereto by clamping the pixel signal or signals, wherein each variable gain amplifying means is a feedback-type amplifier and has a second set of coupling capacitors comprising two coupling capacitors, each of which performs capacity coupling of an output terminal and an input terminal of its feedback-type amplifier, whereby said device comprises a plurality of feedback-type amplifiers, wherein the gain at the time of readout of a first output line of the plurality of output lines connected to a first feedback-type amplifier of the plurality of feedback-type amplifiers in the first mode is determined by the ratio of the capacitance of a coupling capacitor of the first set connecting the first output line with the first feedback-type amplifier and the capacitance of one of the two coupling capacitors of the second set of the first feedback-type amplifier, wherein the gain at the time of readout of the first output line in the second mode is determined by a ratio of the capacitance of the coupling capacitor of the first set connecting the first output line with the first feedback-type amplifier and the capacitance of the other of the two coupling capacitors of the second set of the first feedback-type amplifier, and wherein the plurality of pixels are provided with color filters, such that, in the second mode, the output signals read out from the pixels having the color filter of the same color are added.