Automotive imaging system including an electronic image sensor having a sparse color filter array

An automobile imaging system comprising a camera 100 including a lens 110 and an image sensor having a sparse colour filter array (SFCA), where the camera is configured to generate image data based on light incident on the sensor, the lens having an f-stop higher than f/2.4. The imager also comprises a controller 20 configured to generate an image and a display device 30 for displaying the picture. The SFCA may have different combinations of pixel numbers and diverse integration times or f-number values may be used. The lens may be a fish-eye lens and the sparse CFA may include a repeating mosaic of colour filters arranged in a pattern (Fig. 3C) such that the mosaics are more highly concentrated towards a centre of the image sensor, rather than close to its edges.