Patent ID: 8553119

Claim:
An imaging system comprising: a solid-state imaging device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each for outputting an image signal based on a noise component and an image signal based on the noise component and a photoelectric conversion, in that order, column amplifiers each provided corresponding to each of columns of the pixels; an output portion for outputting the image signals based on an amplification by the column amplifier; and a signal processing unit receiving the image signals, wherein the column amplifier amplifies the image signals outputted from the pixel, wherein a gain of the column amplifier is changed from a first gain to a second gain while the image signal based on the noise component is applied to the column amplifier, the image signal based on the noise component and the photoelectric conversion is applied to the column amplifier while the column amplifier maintains the second gain, the gain of the column amplifier is changed from the second gain to the first gain while the image signal based on the noise component and the photoelectric conversion is applied to the column amplifier, and the first or second gain is q which is greater than 1, and the signal processing unit amplifies, by a factor smaller than 1, the image signal based on the signal amplified by the column amplifier.