Patent ID: 7932927

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: means for converting light incident on an imaging device having a plurality of pixels into charge; means for determining, for each pixel of the imaging device, whether an accumulated charge of the pixel reaches a threshold charge within a shutter period elapsed from a shutter period start point when entrance of light incident on the imaging device is started to a shutter period end point when the entrance of incident light is terminated; means for measuring, for each pixel of the imaging device, a threshold arrival period, the threshold arrival period being a time period elapsed from the shutter period start point to a threshold arrival point, the threshold arrival point corresponding to a time at which the charge of the pixel reaches the threshold charge; means for storing, for each pixel for which the means for determining determines that the accumulated charge of the pixel reaches the threshold charge, at least the threshold arrival period of the pixel; means for calculating, for each pixel for which the means for determining determines that the accumulated charge of the pixel reaches the threshold charge, a charge to be accumulated by the pixel from incident light during the shutter period on the basis of the threshold arrival period of the pixel stored in the means for storing and the threshold charge; and means for generating, for each pixel for which the means for determining determines that the accumulated charge of the pixel reaches the threshold charge, an imaging signal using a value corresponding to the charge calculated for the pixel by the means for calculating as a pixel value of the pixel.