Methods and apparatus for vignette and out-of-focus correction

1. An imaging apparatus with an aperture and capable of capturing a plurality of images, comprising:

a lens capable of moving from a first position to a new position;

an image sensor positioned substantially parallel to the lens, wherein: the image sensor and the lens are separated by a distance; and the image sensor generates a first image comprising a first total number of pixel data and a second image comprising a second total number of pixel data, each image having a dimension R×C and comprising a plurality of corners;

an actuator coupled to the lens and capable of repositioning the lens from the first position to the new position;

wherein:

the first position and the new position are in a same plane that is parallel to the image sensor; and

the image sensor remains in a fixed position relative to the lens and the distance between the image sensor and the lens is maintained; and

an image signal processor coupled to the image sensor and configured to selectively remove a first set of pixel data from the first total number of pixel data and replace the first set of pixel data with a second set of pixel data from the second total number of pixel data;

wherein:

the first set of pixel data is located in one outer corner from the plurality of outer corners of the first image; and

the second set of pixel data is located in a non-corner area of the second image, the non-corner area defined as an area offset from the plurality of outer corners of the second image.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:

the image sensor comprises a first center point;

the lens comprises a second center point; and

the imaging apparatus captures:

at least one image wherein the first and second center points are aligned along a center axis; and

at least one image wherein the second center point is positioned away from the center axis.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the new position is determined according to a diameter of the lens and the distance.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the new position is also determined according to an area of the aperture.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:

the imaging apparatus captures the first image and the second image in series; and

the first set of pixel data corresponds to a region in the first image that exhibits vignetting.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the image sensor comprises rows and columns of pixels, and the second set of pixel data corresponds to a set of pixels based on a location of the lens relative to the image sensor.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein:

the image sensor comprises a first center point;

the lens comprises a second center point;

the first and second center points are aligned along a center axis when the imaging apparatus captures the first image; and

the second center point is positioned away from the center axis when the imaging apparatus captures the second image.

8. A method for correcting image vignettes, comprising:

capturing main image data with an imaging apparatus, comprising:

an aperture;

a lens having a first center point;

an image sensor having a second center point; and

an actuator coupled to the lens and capable of positioning the lens;

saving at least a portion of the main image data to a storage device;

repositioning the lens to a new position along a plane parallel to the image sensor;

capturing sub-image data with the imaging apparatus;

saving at least a portion of the sub-image data to the storage device; and

substituting a subset of the main image data with a subset of the sub-image data to form a corrected image;

wherein:

the main image data forms a first image comprising a first plurality of corners;

the sub-image data forms a second image comprising a second plurality of corners;

the subset of the main image data is located in one outer corner from the first plurality of outer corners of the first image; and

the subset of the sub-image data is located in a non-corner area of the second image, the non-corner area defined as an area offset from the second plurality of outer corners of the second image.

9. The method for correcting image vignettes according to claim 8 , wherein repositioning the lens to the new position is based on at least one of:

a diameter of the lens;

a distance separating the lens and the image sensor; and

an area of the aperture.

10. The method for correcting image vignettes according to claim 8 , wherein the first and second images exhibit vignetting and the corrected image is substantially free of vignetting.

11. The method for correcting image vignettes according to claim 8 , further comprising:

aligning, the first center point and the second center point along a common axis when capturing the main image data.

12. The method for correcting image vignettes according to claim 11 , wherein repositioning the lens comprises moving the first center point away from the common axis.

13. An imaging system capable of photographing an object, comprising:

a camera module, comprising:

a lens;

an image sensor positioned substantially parallel to the lens, wherein the image sensor and the lens are separated by a distance;

an actuator coupled to and capable of repositioning the lens to a new position along a plane that is parallel to the image sensor;

wherein the camera module captures a first image comprising main image data and a second image comprising sub-image data;

a driver circuit communicatively coupled to the actuator; and

a image signal processor coupled to the camera module and the driver circuit,

wherein the image signal processor:

transmits a signal to the actuator via the driver circuit, wherein the signal represents a magnitude and a direction for repositioning the lens;

stores the main image data and sub-image data; and

substitutes a first set of the main image data with a second set of the sub-image data to form a corrected image;

wherein:

the first image comprises a first plurality of corners;

the second image comprises a second plurality of corners;

the first set of the main pixel data is located in one outer corner from the plurality of outer corners of the first image; and

the second set of pixel data is located in a non-corner area of the second image, the non-corner area defined as an area offset from the second plurality of outer corners of the second image.

14. The imaging system according to claim 13 , further comprising an aperture, and wherein the new position is determined according to an area of the aperture.

15. The imaging system according to claim 13 , wherein:

the camera module captures the first image and the second image consecutively.

16. The imaging system according to claim 13 , wherein:

the image sensor comprises a plurality of pixels;

the first set of the main image data corresponds to a first set of pixels from the plurality of pixels;

the first set of main image data corresponds to a region in a first image capture that exhibits vignetting; and

the second set of the sub-image data corresponds to a second set of pixels from the plurality of pixels.

17. The imaging system according to claim 13 , wherein the lens focuses a first region of the object in the first image, and the lens focuses a second region of the object in the second image.

18. The imaging system according to claim 13 , wherein the new position is determined according to a diameter of the lens and the distance.

19. The imaging system according to claim 18 , wherein:

the image sensor comprises a first center point;

the lens comprises a second center point;

the first and second center points are aligned along a center axis when the imaging system captures the main image data; and

the second center point is positioned away from the center axis when the imaging system captures the sub-image data.