Patent ID: 8508618

Claim:
A restoration gain data generation method for generating a piece of restoration gain data corresponding to a predetermined kernel size to be stored in a storage device of an image pickup apparatus, comprising the steps of: providing an image pickup apparatus that includes an imaging lens configured to perform a phase modulation function to extend a depth of field, a color image pickup element configured to convert an optical image which passes through the imaging lens and is formed on the image pickup element into an electric signal, the image pickup element having primary filters of three primary colors arranged for respective pixels in a predetermined pattern, and a restoration processing device configured to perform filtering processing using a single restoration filter on color signals corresponding to the primary filters of the three primary colors outputted from the color image pickup element, the restoration filter being an inverse function of a point spread function obtained when the phase modulation is performed by the imaging lens, the restoration processing device including a storage device configured to store the restoration filter having a piece of restoration gain data corresponding to a predetermined kernel size, and the restoration processing device configured to perform a convolution calculation of a color signal at a pixel of interest to be processed and a color signal at a pixel having a same color as that of the pixel of interest, within a predetermined area centered on the pixel of interest with the piece of restoration gain data stored in the storage device at the time of restoration processing of color signals at respective pixels outputted from the color image pickup element, and to replace the color signal at the pixel of interest with a value obtained by the convolution calculation, the piece of restoration gain data corresponding to the predetermined kernel size stored in the storage device being rotationally symmetric about a kernel center; picking up a point image by the imaging lens and one of the color image pickup element and a color image pickup element for inspection corresponding to the color image pickup element; calculating a point spread function based on actual measurement values of color signals of one color or a plurality of colors corresponding to primary filters of three primary colors obtained from the color image pickup element; calculating an inverse function of the point spread function based on a mean value of the calculated point spread function corresponding to the one color or the plurality of colors; and generating the piece of restoration gain data corresponding to the calculated inverse function based on the inverse function, wherein, in the step of picking up the point image, the point image is picked up such that a center of the point image is at a 30 percent image height of an image pickup screen.