Patent ID: 7423678

Claim:
An area image sensor comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in a lattice shape on an imaging face for photoelectrically converting light of a subject optical image that is focused on the imaging face via an imaging optical system into an electrical signal in each pixel and outputting the electrical signal, each pixel comprising: a photoelectric conversion element that converts light rendered through exposure by accumulating electrical charge in accordance with a received light amount into an electrical signal; a select transistor for outputting to the outside accumulated electrical charge from the photoelectric conversion element following the end of exposure; one or two or more electrical charge holding circuits provided between the photoelectric conversion element and the select transistor that comprise a capacitor for temporarily holding electrical charge that has accumulated as a result of exposure from the photoelectric conversion element and a transfer transistor for controlling the transfer of the accumulated electrical charge of the photoelectric conversion element to the capacitor; and a reset transistor provided between the select transistor and the electrical charge holding circuit for discharging residual electrical charge of the capacitor prior to the start of exposure, wherein, while determining a horizontal correction coefficient for correcting the level of a photoelectric conversion signal that is outputted from the pixels corresponding with each point located on a horizontal coordinate axis that passes through a predetermined point of the image read area in the imaging face and a vertical correction coefficient for correcting the level of a photoelectric conversion signal that is outputted from the pixels corresponding with each point located on a vertical coordinate axis that passes through a predetermined point of the image read area in the imaging face, the level of the photoelectric conversion signal of each pixel is corrected by multiplying the photoelectric conversion signal that is outputted by each pixel in the image read area by the horizontal correction coefficient corresponding with the horizontal coordinate of each pixel and by the vertical correction coefficient that corresponds with the vertical coordinate.