Method and apparatus for enhanced automatic adjustment of focus, exposure and white balance in digital photography

An apparatus, comprising:

• an input configured to receive signals from a camera unit having an image sensor with a plurality of image detectors, the signals comprising first signals received from first pixel detectors corresponding to a first image area and second signals received from second pixel detectors corresponding to a second image area surrounding the first image area;
• at least one processor configured to:
• receive the first and second signals from the input;
• automatically control camera settings of a setting group comprising at least one of focus control, exposure control and white balance control, based on the first signals;
• predict changes in the setting group based on the second signals;
• and
• detect a change in the first image area and to use the predicted changes to adapt the automatic control of the camera settings of the settings group;
• and an output configured to output to the camera unit control signals configured to control the camera settings of the settings group.