Systems and methods for a digital image sensor

1. A camera, comprising:

circuitry configured to:

set one or more exposure parameters for an image stack;

receive a capture command;

initialize a pixel array within an image sensor of the camera;

sample a first ambient image within at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the first ambient image occurs within a first duration;

sample a second ambient image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the second ambient image occurs within the first duration and a second duration; and

sample a first strobe image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, using a strobe unit, wherein the sample of the first strobe image occurs within a third duration which commences after the second duration ends.

2. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the image stack comprises a third ambient image stored in a first analog storage plane of the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, and a second strobe image stored in a second analog storage plane of the at least one corresponding analog storage plane.

3. The camera of claim 1 , wherein to set the one or more exposure parameters, the circuitry is configured to at least write one or more registers within the image sensor that specifies exposure time for each of the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, or write one or more registers within the image sensor that specifies exposure sensitivity for each of the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, or write one or more registers within the image sensor that specifies exposure time and exposure sensitivity for at least one of the at least one corresponding analog storage plane.

4. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the camera is implemented within at least one of a digital camera, or a mobile device.

5. The camera of claim 1 , wherein to initialize the pixel array, the circuitry is configured to drive voltages on internal nodes of photo-sensitive cells within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane to a reference voltage.

6. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to directly enable the strobe unit.

7. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to detect that the strobe unit has been enabled.

8. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the camera is configured to store both the first ambient image, the second ambient image and the first strobe image concurrently within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane.

9. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the camera is configured to offload at least one of the first ambient image or the second ambient image prior to sampling the first strobe image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane.

10. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to enable simultaneous integration of a photographic scene for at least two corresponding analog storage planes.

11. The camera of claim 10 , wherein two or more analog sampling circuits within the at least two corresponding analog storage planes each integrate a respective image during a sampling interval.

12. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

enable integration to proceed during a first sampling interval for at least two different analog storage planes;

disable integration for at least one analog storage plane of the at least two different analog storage planes; and

enable integration to proceed during a second sampling interval for at least one analog storage plane of the at least two different analog storage planes.

13. The camera of claim 12 , wherein the camera is configured to transmit image data corresponding to each of the at least two different analog storage planes to a processing unit.

14. The camera of claim 13 , wherein the processing unit is configured to generate the one or more exposure parameters.

15. The camera of claim 1 , wherein sample the first ambient image or the second ambient image includes configuring the circuitry to:

enable integration of a first signal from an associated photodiode on a first analog sampling circuit to generate an ambient sample comprising at least one ambient image of the first ambient image or the second ambient image; and

disable integration of the first signal within the first analog sampling circuit.

16. The camera of claim 15 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to reset the photodiode after disabling integration of the signal on the first analog sampling circuit.

17. The camera of claim 1 , wherein sample the first strobe image includes configuring the circuitry to:

enable integration of a first signal from an associated photodiode within a first analog sampling circuit;

disable integration of the first signal on the first analog sampling circuit;

enable integration of a second signal from the associated photodiode on a second analog sampling circuit;

disable integration of the second signal on the second analog sampling circuit; and

enable integration of the first signal on the first analog sampling circuit,

wherein a strobe enable signal is asserted between two different sampling intervals for a same ambient image.

18. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the first ambient image and the second ambient image are blended to form a first combined ambient image, and the first combined ambient image is blended with the first strobe image to form a first synthetic image.

19. A system, comprising:

a camera, configured to sample a photographic scene;

a processing unit, coupled to the camera, and configured to:

configure one or more exposure parameters for the image stack;

receive a capture command;

initialize a pixel array within an image sensor of the camera;

sample a first ambient image within at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the first ambient image occurs within a first duration;

sample a second ambient image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the second ambient image occurs within the first duration and a second duration; and

sample a first strobe image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, using a strobe unit, wherein the sample of the first strobe image occurs within a third duration which commences after the second duration ends.

20. A method, comprising:

configuring one or more exposure parameters for an image stack;

receiving a capture command;

initializing a pixel array within an image sensor of a camera;

sampling a first ambient image within at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the first ambient image occurs within a first duration;

sampling a second ambient image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, wherein the sample of the second ambient image occurs within the first duration and a second duration; and

sampling a first strobe image within the at least one corresponding analog storage plane, using a strobe unit, wherein the sample of the first strobe image occurs within a third duration which commences after the second duration ends.