Exposure control methods and apparatus

A camera device, comprising:

• a touch sensitive screen for receiving user input identifying a portion of a scene to be used in controlling image capture;
• and
• an exposure control module for performing an exposure control operation based on the user selected portion of the scene and a depth map, wherein performing an exposure control operation includes:
• determining a depth to which the user identified portion of the scene corresponds;
• and
• determining an exposure time to be used in capturing a new image based on pixel values of a first image of said scene corresponding to said depth to which the user identified portion of the scene corresponds while excluding from consideration pixel values in said first image which do not correspond to said depth or giving pixel values in said first image which do not correspond to said depth less weight when determining the exposure time than pixel values in said first image corresponding to said depth.

A camera device, comprising:

• a user input for receiving user input identifying a portion of a scene to be used in controlling image capture;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• determine a depth to which the user identified portion of the scene corresponds;
• and
• perform an exposure control operation based on the user selected portion of the scene and a depth map, performing an exposure control operation including determining an exposure time to be used in capturing a new image based on pixel values of a first image of said scene corresponding to said depth to which the user identified portion of the scene corresponds while excluding from consideration pixel values in said first image which do not correspond to said depth or giving pixel values in said first image which do not correspond to said depth less weight when determining the exposure time than pixel values in said first image corresponding to said depth.