Image processing architecture with pre-scaler

An apparatus, comprising:

• an image data scaler comprising an input configured to receive a stream of image data having a first resolution, the image data scaler supporting substantially freely configurable downscaling ratios and configured to scale the received stream of image data to generate scaled image data having a second resolution that is less than the first resolution, and further comprising an output configured to output the scaled image data to at least one of a viewfinder image signal processing functionality or video image signal processing functionality to create image data for at least one of display to a user or provide to a video encoder;
• and
• a memory configured to store, simultaneously with the operation of the image data scaler, the stream of image data or a subset of the stream of image data having the first resolution as a set of frames of image data to be processed immediately or afterwards,
• where there are a plurality of frames of image data stored in a plurality of frame buffers, and further comprising, responsive to an image capture signal generated by the user, storing at least one further frame of image data into at least one further frame buffer, and an image signal processor configured to process the contents of the plurality of frame buffers and the at least one further frame buffer to create a time series of still images.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a camera module that comprises an array of light sensors that generate a stream of image data having a first resolution;
• an image data scaler configurable to use a downscaling ratio that is substantially freely configurable, said image data scaler comprising an input configured to receive the stream of image data having the first resolution, the image data scaler configured to scale the received stream of image data to generate scaled image data having a second resolution that is less than the first resolution and further comprising an output;
• at least one of a viewfinder image signal processing functionality or a video image signal processing functionality having an input connected with the output of the image data scaler and configured to process the scaled image data having the second resolution;
• a memory configured to store, simultaneously with operation of the image data scaler, the stream or a subset of the stream of image data having the first resolution as a set of frames of image data;
• and
• a still image signal processing functionality having an input connected with the memory and configured to create still image data based on the stored image data having the first resolution,
• where the memory is comprised of a plurality of frame buffers, and further comprising a frame buffer control configured to selectively store frames of image data into individual ones of the frame buffers for processing by the still image signal processing functionality in response to image capture events generated by a user, and where operation of the at least one of the viewfinder image signal processing functionality or video image signal processing functionality occurs in parallel with operation of the still image signal processing functionality such that at least a viewfinder image can be displayed to the user without interruption during still image capture events.