JP2002281376A - Camera apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily add effect images and effect sound to photographed video data of and to select an effect image and effect sound desired by a user via the Internet. SOLUTION: Video data from an image pickup device 2 is transmitted to a recording circuit 3 and displayed on a view finder 6. The view finder 6 also displays video data of a recording medium 4. Additional information (the effect image, the effect sound) to the video data is stored in a memory part 8 via an input/output circuit 7 to transmit/receive the video data of the recording medium 4 to external equipment. The additional information is downloaded and acquired by accessing a homepage by connecting to the Internet via the external equipment connected with the input/output circuit 7. The additional information stored in the memory part 8 is displayed on the view finder 6 by switching it by a switching part 6', selected by the user and composited with the video data by a compositing circuit 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a camera device which can easily add an effect image or sound effect desired by a user to photographed video data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional camera device of this type,
The following two methods have been used to process an effect image on captured video data. One is a method of using data that is built in the camera device as a function in advance, and the other is a method of capturing image data captured by the camera device into a personal computer and performing image processing.

[0003] Similarly, BGM (backgr
As a method of adding sound effects such as sound music), a shooting process is performed while playing back BGM at the time of shooting at a shooting location, or after recording (after-recording) that adds a sound effect to video data after shooting. .

[0004]

However, as a conventional process for processing such video data, when an effect image is first added, the type of the effect image is limited in the data incorporated in the camera device. In the case where only the set data can be used, and when image processing is performed by importing the data into a personal computer, much time is required for moving and processing the video data.

[0005] Further, as a process for adding a sound effect such as BGM, when processing is performed simultaneously with photographing, B
It is necessary to prepare a reproducing device for performing GM reproduction, and when performing post-recording, there is a problem that processing is performed while reproducing video data, and a lot of time is required.

[0006] The present invention is directed to solving the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, in which an effect image and an effect sound can be easily added to captured video data by a camera device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-performance camera device capable of selecting from among many processing programs for obtaining effect images, sound effects, and special visual effects desired by a user.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a camera device according to the present invention comprises: an image pickup means for picking up an image of an object to be picked up and converting it into video data; a recording means for writing the video data to a recording medium; Reproducing means for reading video data recorded on a recording medium, input / output means for transmitting / receiving signals to / from an external device, display means for displaying processed video data, and input of a processing instruction desired by the user. A camera device having an operation unit for performing operation and a control unit for controlling each unit, a memory unit for storing information acquired from an external device via an input / output unit and added to video data, and information from the memory unit. And synthesizing means for synthesizing with the video data,
The video data is synthesized by the synthesizing means and recorded on a recording medium.

[0008] Further, the external device is a portable telephone, and is connected to a web page on the Internet by wireless communication or wired communication via the external device connected to the input / output means to exchange information. And effect information and / or effect sound to be added to the video data as information to be transmitted / received through connection with a web page on the Internet.

The processing function assigned to each operation button is changed using one of the operation buttons provided on the operation means, and the processing function assigned to each operation button provided on the operation means is changed. And a notifying means for notifying a user that the processing function of the operation button has been changed by connection with an external device.

[0010] The present invention is characterized in that the external device and the apparatus main body are connected via a signal cable or via a connector provided in the apparatus main body.

The image processing apparatus further includes an effect unit for performing a special visual effect process on the image data by a user's selection with respect to the image data from the image pickup unit, and acquires information to be processed by the effect unit and stores the information in a memory unit. And a processing program for obtaining a special visual effect by processing video data by connecting to a homepage on the Internet as information to be processed by the effect means.

[0012] According to the above-described configuration, an effect image or sound effect stored in a web page (homepage) on the Internet is acquired, and an effect image or sound effect desired by the user is selected therefrom. Thus, it can be combined with the captured video data.

Further, operability can be improved by performing a display for notifying the user that the function assigned to the operation button of the operation means has been changed by connection with the external device.

Further, by obtaining a processing program for obtaining a special visual effect via the Internet, more various processing can be performed with a simple configuration by selecting from many processing programs.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a camera device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a camera device 1 converts an optical image into image data of an electric signal by an image pickup device 2 which is an image pickup unit for picking up an image of a subject to be photographed, and outputs the video tape via a recording circuit 3 of a recording unit. , A memory card, a CD-R / RW, or the like, and records it by performing a compression process or the like. The video data recorded on the recording medium 4 is reproduced by the reproducing circuit 5 of the reproducing means.

The image data obtained by the image pickup device 2 is sent to the recording circuit 3 and the photographing state of the subject to be photographed displayed on the viewfinder 6 as a display means, or the image data recorded on the recording medium 4. Is displayed to enable visual confirmation. Further, additional information to the video data (for example, frame frames, characters, speech balloons, etc., superimposed on the video data) acquired via the input / output circuit 7 of the means for transmitting / receiving the video data recorded on the recording medium 4 to / from an external device. A memory unit 8 for storing effect images or BGM sound effects) is provided.

The additional information stored in the memory unit 8 is obtained through an external device connected to the input / output circuit 7. For example, by using a wireless device such as a mobile phone as an external device, or a device having a modem connected by a wire (for example, a personal computer), the user connects to the Internet and accesses a homepage having each additional information to acquire additional information. I do. If the additional information is an effect image or sound created in consideration of combining with the video data in the camera device, a function is assigned to recognize the connection between the camera device and the external device and acquire the additional information. By pressing the operation button, a URL (Uniform Resource Locators) of a homepage which is a connection destination registered in advance can be accessed to acquire additional information and store it in the memory unit 8.

As a specific method of acquiring additional information and synthesizing it with video data, a connection is made to the Internet via a mobile phone, and from an accessed homepage via an input / output circuit 7 to a memory unit 8 of the camera device 1. Download and store the frame information as additional information. Further, a frame frame desired by the user is selected from a plurality of frame frames stored in the memory unit 8.

The frame frame stored in the memory unit 8 is switched by the switching unit 6 'to be displayed on the viewfinder 6, and selection is made by the user's eyes. In order to make this selection, the frame frames stored in the memory unit 8 are sequentially displayed on the viewfinder 6 (see FIG. 2A), or the screen of the viewfinder 6 is divided into a plurality of frames, and different frames are placed in the respective divided areas. A frame may be displayed (see FIG. 2B).

As another example, the viewfinder 6
May display the above-described homepage, select a frame from the homepage, and download the frame to the memory unit 8 of the camera device 1. In this case, a function for selecting a desired frame is added. However, it is not necessary to store information on a plurality of frame frames in the memory unit 8.

As an example of a process on a screen for acquiring additional information from a home page displayed on the viewfinder 6, a mouse cursor similar to a pointing device (for example, a mouse) used in an ordinary personal computer is displayed. Then, the mouse cursor is moved up, down, left, and right by the operation button A as shown in FIG.
By pressing one of the operation buttons B and C at the same time as the operation button D, the user may move to the next screen / previous screen between homepages.

The operation buttons A, B, C, and D are provided for performing processing such as setting of the apparatus main body in the ordinary camera apparatus 1, and any of the operation buttons provided on the camera apparatus 1 are provided. By pressing the operation button of
Alternatively, the operation function originally assigned by the connection between the input / output circuit 7 and the external device is changed to have the above-described function.

When the operation function is changed and set, the LED provided on the operation button is turned on, or the color of the lighted LED is changed from "green" to "yellow". In addition, in the case of the operation buttons arranged in the peripheral portion of the viewfinder 6, a display area of the operation function name is provided near each operation button in the viewfinder 6, and displayed, and the user can change the operation function name. Notification means for notifying the status is provided.

When an external device connected to the camera device 1 is a mobile phone, a character such as a title is added to the video data instead of a frame frame according to the character input method used for mail processing in the current mobile phone. It is also possible to perform the same processing as the frame frame by displaying the frame frame of the memory section 8 as a partial area for storing the frame section as the title creation area on the viewfinder 6 and executing it.

Further, in the first embodiment, the additional information has been described as an example of the frame frame. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to download not only the effect image but also the sound effect for BGM. In the case of a sound effect, the title is displayed on the viewfinder 6 or a small loudspeaker, an earphone terminal or the like is provided and the selected tune is reproduced for confirmation.

The additional information obtained as described above is output from the memory unit 8 to the recording circuit 3 when the photographed video data is recorded on the recording medium 4, and the synthesizing circuit 9 is used especially for sound effects. The image data may be passed through and recorded on the recording medium 4 at the same time. In the case of an effect image, the reproduction circuit 5 reproduces the video data recorded on the recording medium 4 and
, The output from the memory unit 8 and the reproduced video data are combined and recorded on the recording medium 4 by the recording circuit 3 again. Further, an effect image can be displayed on a part of the image data displayed on the viewfinder 6 of the camera device or superimposed on the image data, and can be recorded simultaneously with the effect sound. Can be recorded simultaneously.

As a connection mode for recognizing the connection with the camera device and connecting to the Internet and acquiring additional information, a connection mode between a camera device and an external device including a mobile phone by a signal cable, a camera device When a connection connector portion with an external device is provided in the housing of the camera device and the camera is in a connected state, the camera device is integrated with the camera device, or a wireless device for performing wireless connection is built in the main body of the camera device and the like. .

In the above description, a mobile telephone connected wirelessly is taken as an example. However, a wireless device wirelessly connected using Bluetooth (specification of short-range wireless transmission technology) or the like may be used, or a wired telephone may be used. It is also conceivable to connect to the Internet by a personal computer via a modem. Furthermore, in such a case,
The additional information can be connected to the Internet in advance and stored in a personal computer, and the additional information can be obtained from the personal computer. In addition, by acquiring the additional information in the personal computer in advance, it is possible to add a unique change to the additional information that is more suitable for the shooting plan.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a camera device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. here,
Components having substantially the same functions as those described in FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment and having substantially the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 4, the present embodiment 2 is a video effect circuit of effect means for processing a special visual effect on video data output from the image pickup device 2 and photographed in the configuration of the first embodiment. 12 and a switching unit 12 'for switching the output of the video data. The special visual effects include image contrast, edge enhancement, color tone (monochrome, sepia, etc.), contour, mosaic,
Processing such as negative / positive inversion, gamma correction, tone curve correction, mirror (up / down, left / right), tiles, etc., is performed by the video effect circuit 12.

As processing of the video effect circuit 12, a DSP
(Digital Signal Processor) or other processing circuit, but the necessary processing program described above may be acquired and stored in the memory unit 8, and the CP provided in the control unit 11 may be used.
The processing based on the program may be performed by U. In this case, the CPU requires a high-performance processing capability. However, by downloading the selected processing program as needed, The capacity of the memory unit 8 can be reduced, more processing can be performed, and the configuration of the camera device can be simplified.

In the camera apparatuses according to the first and second embodiments, an example has been described in which the additional information and the processing program are downloaded via the Internet. It is also possible to upload the video data that has been downloaded by the reverse process of downloading.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An effect image or sound effect desired by the user can be easily added to the photographed video data, and a multifunctional camera device can be realized with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a camera device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) sequentially displays frame frames stored in a memory unit in a viewfinder on a viewfinder according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) divides the viewfinder screen into a plurality of screens and different areas. Diagram showing a state in which a frame frame is displayed

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a viewfinder and operation buttons of an operation unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a camera device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera apparatus 2 Image sensor 3 Recording circuit 4 Recording medium 5 Reproduction circuit 6 Viewfinder 6 ', 12' Switching part 7 Input / output circuit 8 Memory part 9 Synthesis circuit 10 Operation part 11 Control part 12 Video effect circuit

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AB68 AC03 AC42 AC69 5C053 FA08 FA27 FA29 GB21 JA21 KA04 KA24 LA01 LA11 LA14 5C054 AA02 AA05 CA04 CC02 CD04 DA09 EH01 EH07 FA04 FE14 GA04 GB02 GB14 HA24 5C012 AA01 AB03

Claims (10)

[Claims] An image capturing unit that captures an image of an object to be captured and converts the image data into video data; a recording unit that writes the video data on a recording medium; a reproducing unit that reads out the video data recorded on the recording medium; Input / output means for exchanging signals between the display means, display means for displaying processed video data,
What is claimed is: 1. A camera device comprising: an operation unit for inputting a processing instruction desired by a user; and a control unit for controlling each of the units. The camera device acquires from the external device via the input / output unit and adds the acquired image data to the video data. A camera comprising: a memory unit for storing information; and a synthesizing unit for synthesizing information from the memory unit with the video data, wherein the synthesizing unit synthesizes video data and records the video data on the recording medium. apparatus. 2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the external device is a mobile phone. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted and received by connecting to a web page on the Internet by wireless communication or wired communication via an external device which transmits and receives information by connecting to the input / output means. 2. The camera device according to 1. 4. The camera device according to claim 3, wherein an effect image and / or an effect sound to be added to the video data are acquired as information transmitted / received by connecting to a web page on the Internet. 5. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein a processing function assigned to each operation button is changed using one of the operation buttons provided on the operation unit. 6. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein a processing function assigned to each operation button provided in said operation means is changed by connection with an external device. 7. The camera device according to claim 5, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a user that a processing function of the operation button has been changed. 8. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the external device and the device main body are connected via a signal cable or a connector provided on the device main body. . 9. An image processing apparatus comprising: an effect unit for performing a special visual effect process on the video data by a user's selection with respect to the video data from the imaging unit; The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the camera device is stored in a unit. 10. A processing program for obtaining a special visual effect by processing video data by connecting to a web page on the Internet as information to be processed by the effect means. The camera device according to any one of the preceding claims.