To suppress a malfunction of an infrared cut filter even under any illuminance environment.

For deciding whether to insert an infrared cut filter, an illuminance difference discrimination section 42 discriminates whether a difference between present object illuminance and a reference value that is an average value of object illuminance in several frames of a state where the infrared cut filter is extracted, is equal with or greater than a threshold value Th2 or not. Furthermore, a high illuminance discrimination section 43 discriminates whether the present object illuminance is equal with or greater than a threshold value Th3 or not, in parallel with the discrimination by the illuminance difference discrimination section 42. In accordance with a result of the discrimination by the illuminance difference discrimination section 42 or the high illuminance discrimination section 43, a switching control section 31 inserts the infrared cut filter into an incident light path to an imaging device. The present invention may be applicable to a monitoring camera which images an object constantly regardless of object illuminance and acquires the picked-up image.

COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT