Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method

An image pickup apparatus, comprising:

• an image pickup device including a plurality of pixels which have a plurality of different photoelectric conversion characteristics different from each other on each side of respective inflection points of the plurality of pixels:
• an image pickup control section for controlling an image pickup operation of the image pickup device, the image pickup control section having a reset mode which includes a first reset step in which the image pickup control section resets the pixels of the image pickup device to a first predetermined potential to inject electric charge into the pixels, a second reset step in which the image pickup control section resets the pixels to a second predetermined potential different from the first predetermined potential to partially discharge the injected electric charge, and an output step in which the image pickup control section outputs imaged data;
• and
• an inflection point correction section for generating an inflection point data which indicates inflection points of the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the pixels of the image pickup device based on the imaged data outputted in the reset mode and executing a correction operation for correcting differences between an inflection point of a standard photoelectric conversion characteristic and the inflection points of the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the pixels of the image pickup device based on the inflection point data.

A method for image pickup using an image pickup device including a plurality of pixels which have a plurality of different photoelectric conversion characteristics different from each other on each side of respective inflection points of the plurality of pixels, the method comprising the steps of:

• executing a reset mode which includes a first reset step in which the pixels of the image pickup device are reset to a first predetermined potential to inject electric charge into the pixels and a second reset step in which the pixels are reset to a second predetermined potential different from the first predetermined potential to partially discharge the injected electric charge with the pixels of the image pickup device shaded, and thereafter outputting imaged data;
• generating inflection point data based on the imaged data outputted in the reset mode, the inflection point data indicating the inflection points of the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the pixels of the image pickup device;
• and
• correcting an error between an inflection point of a standard photoelectric conversion characteristic and the inflection points of the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the pixels of the image pickup device based on the inflection point data.