Patent ID: 7911518

Claim:
A method of capturing an image of a scene using an image capture device having an array of pixels, wherein the array of pixels includes pixels of different colors, the method comprising: for a first duration, capturing the scene with a first plurality of the pixels of a first color; and for a second duration, capturing the scene with a second plurality of the pixels of a second color; wherein the first plurality of pixels and second plurality of pixels are different pixels, the first plurality of pixels are associated with only the first color, the second plurality of pixels are associated with only the second color, the first and second durations are different, the first and second durations are chosen, at least in part, to improve the signal to noise ratio of the image capture device, and the first and second durations are chosen separately for the first plurality of pixels and the second plurality of pixels, respectively, according to respective colors of the first and second pluralities of pixels, and wherein capturing the scene for the first duration includes sending a first reset pulse to a first reset transistor and concurrently sending a first transfer pulse to a first transfer transistor, capturing the scene for the second duration includes sending a second reset pulse to the first reset transistor and concurrently sending a second transfer pulse to a second transfer transistor, timing of the first reset and transfer pulses are different from timing of the second reset and transfer pulses, timing of the first reset and transfer pulses correspond to the first color, and timing of the second reset and transfer pulses correspond to the second color, the first reset transistor being shared by at least two adjacent pixels from among the array of pixels, the first and second transfer transistor each corresponding to a different one of the at least two adjacent pixels, the at least two adjacent pixels including both a pixel from among the first plurality of pixels of the first color and a pixel from among the second plurality of pixels of the second color.