Systems and methods for estimating depth and visibility from a reference viewpoint for pixels in a set of images captured from different viewpoints

An array camera, comprising:

• a plurality of cameras;
• a processor;
• memory containing an image processing application and calibration data;
• wherein the processor is configured by the image processing application to produce an image by:
• directing the plurality of cameras to capture a plurality of images including a reference image and at least one alternate view image;
• retrieving the calibration data from memory;
• rectifying the plurality of captured images using the calibration data;
• performing a calibration process;
• determining a range of disparities to search based upon characteristics of at least one of the plurality of images;
• measuring similarity of corresponding pixels in the plurality of images at a plurality of disparities;
• generating an initial depth map;
• and
• refocusing the reference image using the initial depth map;
• wherein the processor is configured by the image processing application to measure similarity of corresponding pixels in the plurality of images at the plurality of disparities using a cost function.