Patent ID: 8456555

Claim:
A method of improving a dynamic range of an image which is obtained by a sensor unit of an image capture device, the method comprising: obtaining a single initial image using the sensor unit; analyzing a plurality of separate dynamic ranges for a plurality of lines of the single initial image; setting integration times for the plurality of lines of the sensor unit to achieve different dynamic ranges for neighboring lines of the plurality of lines by using the analyzed dynamic ranges for the plurality of lines of the initial image; and creating an input image using the sensor unit which has the integration times set for the plurality of lines, wherein an individual line of the plurality of lines has a different integration time controlled individually from integration times of neighboring lines of the individual line to achieve the different dynamic ranges for the individual line and the neighboring lines; and creating an interpolated image by performing interpolation filtering on the input image by using neighboring lines of a current line of the plurality of lines which have different integration times from an integration time of the current line, wherein a line of the plurality of lines consists of a row of a plurality of pixels which have a same integration time with each other.