US Patent 7536098 Imaging apparatus and imaging method

An apparatus suitably detects a recording trigger even in a low-brightness or low-light-intensity environment, and acquires, from a recorded image, a high-quality image from which a person or the like can be easily recongized. When a recording trigger is to be detected, this apparatus disables an infrared reduction filter, so a recording trigger can be suitably detected even in an environment in which the brightness or light inensity is low. When an image is to be recorded, this apparatus records a color image by enabling the infrared reduction filter.