Imaging apparatus, imaging processing method, and imaging control program

A method of controlling imaging, comprising the steps of:

• controlling an imaging device so that the imaging device outputs, during a unit period of time, a long-exposure-time image signal having a long-exposure-time period being a relatively long exposure time and a short-exposure-time image signal having a short-exposure-time period being a relatively short exposure time;
• clipping a part not lower than a first signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the long-exposure-time image signal;
• clipping a part not higher than a second signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the short-exposure-time image signal;
• and
• synthesizing the clipped long-exposure-time image signal and the clipped short-exposure-time image signal so that a synthesized image signal having a dynamic range wider than both of dynamic ranges of the long-exposure-time image signal and the short-exposure-time image signal is generated,
• wherein the second signal level is not lower than a signal level obtained by dividing the first signal level by a ratio in time of the long exposure time to the short exposure time.

An imaging control program for causing a computer to perform a method of controlling imaging, the imaging control program comprising the steps of:

• controlling an imaging device so that the imaging device outputs, during a unit period of time, a long-exposure-time image signal having a long-exposure-time period being a relatively long exposure time and a short-exposure-time image signal having a short-exposure-time period being a relatively short exposure time;
• clipping a part not lower than a first signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the long-exposure-time image signal;
• clipping a part not higher than a second signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the short-exposure-time image signal;
• and
• synthesizing the clipped long-exposure-time image signal and the clipped short-exposure-time image signal so that a synthesized image signal having a dynamic range wider than both of dynamic ranges of the long-exposure-time image signal and the short-exposure-time image signal is generated,
• wherein the second signal level is not lower than a signal level obtained by dividing the first signal level by a ratio in time of the long exposure time to the short exposure time.

An imaging apparatus comprising:

• an imaging device outputting, during a unit period of time, a long-exposure-time image signal having a long-exposure-time period being a relatively long exposure time and a short-exposure-time image signal having a short-exposure-time period being a relatively short exposure time;
• a first clipping processing mechanism clipping a part not lower than a first signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the long-exposure-time image signal;
• a second clipping processing mechanism clipping a part not higher than a second signal level of a luminance signal obtained from the short-exposure-time image signal;
• and
• a signal processing mechanism generating a synthesized image signal having a dynamic range wider than both of dynamic ranges of the long-exposure-time image signal and the short-exposure-time image signal by synthesizing the long-exposure-time image signal having been subjected to clipping processing by the first clipping processing mechanism and the short-exposure-time image signal having been subjected to clipping processing by the second clipping processing mechanism,
• wherein the second signal level is not lower than a signal level obtained by dividing the first signal level by a ratio in time of the long exposure time to the short exposure time.