Patent ID: 7221392

Claim:
A color imaging apparatus, comprising: analog color imaging signal generating means for generating an analog color imaging signal; digital component signal generating means for generating a first digital component signal which indicates an image having predetermined angle of view and which has the data rate of luminance data and first and second chroma data being K×N:N:N (“K” is an integral number more than two and “N” is a natural number) from said analog color imaging signal; and converting means for converting said first digital component signal into a second digital component signal which indicates an image having the same angle of view as said first digital component signal and which has the data rate of the luminance data and the first and second chroma data being K×N/M:N:N, wherein M is a variable number dependent on the data rate control signal, and wherein the data rate control signal is changed by thinning luminance data without thinning color difference data.