An image pickup apparatus comprising: a plurality of pixels each with a photodiode, a logarithmic converter including a logarithmic-converting MOS transistor for converting an output of the photodiode into an electric signal proportional to a logarithmic value of an amount of incident light on the photodiode, and an integration circuit for accumulating an output from the logarithmic converter; a voltage controller for control of a voltage to be applied to the transistor; and an output circuit for receiving signals from the pixels and outputting processed signals. The voltage controller realizes a moving object extraction image pickup state in which an image pickup signal is generated for displaying at least a part of the moving object existing in an image picked-up region at a density different from that of a static background part.
An image capturing apparatus comprises a solid image pickup element having pixels for outputting signals, which are logarithmically varied with respect to an incident light intensity, and a voltage controller. Each of the pixels includes an photoelectric conversion element, and a MOS transistor for logarithmic transformation, in which an output from the photoelectric conversion element is input into a drain. The voltage controller can apply, to a source, a reset voltage for resetting the transistor in such a manner that the photoelectric conversion element is operated in a moving object extraction image pickup mode. Furthermore, the voltage controller applies, to the source, the reset voltage for resetting the transistor to a level selected from a plurality of reset levels for moving object extraction image pickup.
