Patent ID: 8115860

Claim:
An image recording apparatus comprising: an image sensor which, when operable, converts an optical image into image data using image sensor sampling parameters; a solid state light emitting device, which, when operable, illuminates a scene being the subject of the optical image; a photoelectric converter that is distinct from the image sensor and which, when operable, converts light reflected from the scene illuminated with the solid state light emitting device into a reflected light level signal that represents intensity of light reflected from the scene; an exposure control circuit which, when operable, controls one or more exposure settings used for recording an image with the image sensor, the one or more exposure settings comprising at least one illumination setting defining a luminous flux to be emitted by the solid state light emitting device; and a drive circuit which, when operable, drives the solid state light emitting device in accordance with the at least one illumination setting provided by the exposure control circuit, wherein the exposure control circuit in operation compares the reflected light level signal to a reference signal to selectively adjust the luminous flux that is output by the solid state light emitting device if the reflected light level signal is different from the reference signal, while the solid state light emitting device continues to illuminate the scene and while the image sensor simultaneously performs image sampling.