Smart shutter in low light
AssigneeGoPro, Inc.
InventorCamden Ramsay
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is disclosed for improving the quality of photographs taken in low-light conditions by adjustment of shutter speed and digital gain based on a shutter prioritization value. Using a network of sensor, a digital camera processes various parameters, such as luminance of the scene and movement of the camera or of subjects within the scene, to compute a shutter prioritization value. The value is then used to select the most appropriate shutter speed and digital gain combination from a constant exposure curve. Higher prioritization values correspond to faster shutter speeds and higher digital gain. Lower prioritization values correspond to lower shutter speeds and lower digital gain. In further embodiments, the shutter prioritization value may be manually customized by a user in order to produce artistic effects.
Claims20
A method for controlling shutter speed and digital gain of a digital camera, comprising:
- detecting, by a camera controller, if a luminance level of light entering the digital camera is below a predefined luminance threshold;
- detecting, by a camera controller, if motion meeting a predefined motion criteria is present in image frames captured by the digital camera;
- responsive to detecting that the luminance level is not below the predefined luminance threshold or determining that the motion meeting the predefined motion criteria is not present in the image frames, controlling, by the camera controller, the digital camera to operate with a default shutter speed and a default digital gain;
- responsive to detecting that the motion meeting the one or more predefined motion criteria is present in the images frames captured by the digital camera, controlling, by the camera controller, the digital camera to operate with an adjusted shutter speed and an adjusted digital gain, the adjusted shutter speed adjusted in a first direction from the default shutter speed and the adjusted digital gain adjusted in a second direction from the default digital gain, the second direction opposite the first direction.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for controlling shutter speed and digital gain of a digital camera, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to perform steps including:
- detecting if a luminance level of light entering the digital camera is below a predefined luminance threshold;
- detecting if motion meeting a predefined motion criteria is present in image frames captured by the digital camera;
- responsive to determining that the luminance level is not below the predefined luminance threshold or detecting that the motion meeting the predefined motion criteria is not present in the image frames, controlling the digital camera to operate with a default shutter speed and a default digital gain;
- responsive to detecting that the motion meeting the one or more predefined motion criteria is present in the images frames captured by the digital camera, controlling the digital camera to operate with an adjusted shutter speed and an adjusted digital gain, the adjusted shutter speed adjusted in a first direction from the default shutter speed and the adjusted digital gain adjusted in a second direction from the default digital gain, the second direction opposite the first direction.
A camera comprising:
- an image sensor to capture image frames from light entering the camera;
- a lens assembly to direct the light entering the camera to the image sensor;
- a shutter controllable to pass the light to the lens assembly when the shutter is open and to block the light from entering the lens assembly when the shutter is closed;
- a processor;
- and
- a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform steps including:
- detecting if a luminance level of the light entering the camera is below a predefined luminance threshold;
- detecting if motion meeting a predefined motion criteria is present in the image frames captured by the image sensor;
- responsive to determining that the luminance level is not below the predefined luminance threshold or detecting that the motion meeting the predefined motion criteria is not present in the image frames, controlling the shutter to operate with a default shutter speed and controlling the image sensor to apply a default digital gain;
- responsive to detecting that the motion meeting the one or more predefined motion criteria is present in the images frames captured by the image sensor, controlling the shutter to operate with an adjusted shutter speed and controlling the image sensor to apply an adjusted digital gain, the adjusted shutter speed adjusted in a first direction from the default shutter speed and the adjusted digital gain adjusted in a second direction from the default digital gain, the second direction opposite the first direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.