US Patent 7564016 Solid-state imaging device and method for driving the same

A shutter row and a selecting row in an image pixel portion 104 are sequentially shifted by vertically (V) selecting means 106. Then, in pixels constituting the shutter row, signal charges of photoelectric conversion elements (photodiodes) are transferred to FD portions after the reset of the FD portions. Subsequently, in the pixels constituting the selecting row, signal charges of the photoelectric conversion elements are transferred to the FD portions before the reset of the FD portions. As a result, it is possible to output a signal having a knee point which is sensitive in the dark and insensitive in the light, thereby enabling an image with wider dynamic range to be picked up with a simple construction having a single output system, even if the amount of saturated electric charges of the photoelectric conversion elements is small.