Exposure control apparatus and image pickup apparatus

An image pickup apparatus for capturing an image using a solid-state image pickup device, the image pickup apparatus comprising:

• face detecting means for detecting a face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of an image signal captured by the solid-state image pickup device;
• histogram data determining means for determining histogram data by setting a face detection region in the captured image according to detection information obtained by the face detecting means and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the captured image signal;
• target brightness setting means for setting a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• exposure control amount determining means for, when the face detecting means detects a face, determining an amount of control for an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An image processing apparatus for correcting for a brightness component of an input image signal, the image processing apparatus comprising:

• face detecting means for detecting a face of a person appearing in an image on the basis of the image signal;
• histogram data determining means for determining histogram data by setting a face detection region in the image according to detection information obtained by the face detecting means and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the image signal;
• target brightness setting means for setting a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• brightness correction amount determining means for, when the face detecting means detects a face, determining an amount of correction for the brightness component on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An exposure control method for controlling an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of an image signal captured by a solid-state image pickup device, the exposure control method comprising the steps of:

• detecting a face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of the captured image signal;
• determining histogram data by setting a face detection region in the captured image according to detection information concerning the detected face and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the captured image signal;
• setting a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• when a face is detected, determining an amount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An image processing method for correcting for a brightness component of an input image signal, the image processing method comprising the steps of:

• detecting a face of a person appearing in an image on the basis of the image signal;
• determining histogram data by setting a face detection region in the image according to detection information concerning the detected face and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the image signal;
• setting a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• when a face is detected, determining an amount of correction for the brightness component on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An exposure control apparatus for controlling an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of an image signal captured by a solid-state image pickup device, the exposure control apparatus comprising:

• a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of the captured image signal;
• a histogram data determining unit configured to determine histogram data by setting a face detection region in the captured image according to detection information obtained by the face detecting unit and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the captured image signal;
• a target brightness setting unit configured to set a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• an exposure control amount determining unit configured to, when the face detecting mean detects a face, determine an amount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An image pickup apparatus for capturing an image using a solid-state image pickup device, the image pickup apparatus comprising:

• a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of an image signal captured by the solid-state image pickup device;
• a histogram data determining unit configured to determine histogram data by setting a face detection region in the captured image according to detection information obtained by the face detecting unit and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the captured image signal;
• a target brightness setting unit configured to set a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• an exposure control amount determining unit configured to, when the face detecting unit detects a face, determine an amount of control for an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

An image processing apparatus for correcting for a brightness component of an input image signal, the image processing apparatus comprising:

• a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a person appearing in an image on the basis of the image signal;
• a histogram data determining unit configured to determine histogram data by setting a face detection region in the image according to detection information obtained by the face detecting unit and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the image signal;
• a target brightness setting unit configured to set a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face;
• and
• a brightness correction amount determining unit configured to, when the face detecting unit detects a face, determine an amount of correction for the brightness component on the basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.