Auto white balance controlling method and electronic camera
US7330206B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 27, 2003 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 28, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N23/88
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Auto white balance (AWB) processing is performed immediately after an electronic camera is turned on in a motion-picture-capturing mode, and an image being captured (a through image) is displayed on a liquid crystal monitor. When an image-capturing switch is pressed and an instruction to prepare for image-capturing is entered, white balance is fixed by performing AWB processing, and a motion picture is captured in response to an instruction to start the image-capturing. During the capturing of the motion picture, periodical AWB processing is not performed, an evaluation value for AE is obtained on a regular basis, and when the evaluation value changes by more than a predetermined value, the AWB processing is performed again. Thus, a load of processing is reduced for a control unit (CPU) included in the electronic camera, which can capture a motion picture, and the cost is also reduced. Moreover, a good image can be attained by making a white balance adjustment react instantaneously to a big change in a scene being captured.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.