JP2003219346A - Image data generating apparatus, image display apparatus, image data generating method, image display method, medium for recording image data generating program, medium for recording image display program, image data generating program, and image display program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image data generating apparatus, an image display apparatus, an image data generating method, an image display method, a medium for recording an image data generating program, a medium for recording an image display program, an image data generating program, and an image display program capable of outputting image data with high resolution while suppressing the capacity of the image data. <P>SOLUTION: The image data generating apparatus generates partial image data outputted with first resolution from pixels configuring picture part of an image and main image data outputted at a resolution lower than the first resolution from pixels configuring an image greater than the prescribed part. Thus, the entire image has a low resolution to suppress the file capacity and the important prescribed part can be outputted with high resolution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image data generation device, an image display device, an image data generation method, an image display method, a medium recording an image data generation program, a medium recording an image display program, and an image data generation program. And an image display program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Image data captured by a digital camera is
It is stored in a storage device in the Exif format (Exif is a registered trademark of the boundary of the electronic information technology industry).
In storing image data in the Exif format or the like, a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image can be stored together with the main image.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional technique, when the number of pixels constituting the image data is increased in order to output the main image with high resolution, the capacity of the image data file is remarkably increased. It gets bigger. Further, in the thumbnail, since the image data is formed by thinning out the pixels of the main image, it can be used only for grasping the outline of the main image. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an image data generation device, an image display device, and an image data generation method capable of providing an image that can be output at high resolution while suppressing the volume of image data. Image display method, medium recording image data generation program, medium recording image display program,
An object is to provide an image data generation program and an image display program.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides an image data acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image with pixels in a dot matrix, and the acquired image data. To partial image data generating means for generating partial image data that can be output at a first resolution for pixels forming a predetermined portion of the image, and pixels forming an image larger than the predetermined portion from the acquired image data. Main image data generating means for generating main image data that can be output at a lower resolution than the first resolution, and image data storing means for storing the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage area There is.

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the image is obtained by the image data image data obtaining means expressing the dot matrix pixels, and the partial image data producing means and the main image data producing means are provided. The data generated in step 1 is stored in the image data storage means. The partial image data generation means generates partial image data that can be output at the first resolution for the pixels forming a predetermined portion of the image from the acquired image data. From the acquired image data, the main image data generation means generates main image data that can be output at a lower resolution than the first resolution for pixels that form an image larger than the predetermined portion.

That is, the stored image data have different output resolutions when they are output, and the partial image data can be output at a higher resolution.
Generally, the image capacity is large in order to output an image with high resolution, but in the present invention, since the partial image data can output an image with a higher resolution than the main image data, the capacity of the main image data is suppressed. Images can be partially output in high resolution.

Here, the image data acquisition means is only required to be able to acquire the image data in which the image is expressed by the dot matrix pixels, and various modes can be adopted. For example, the image data captured by the digital camera may be acquired, or the image data stored in the HDD or flash memory may be acquired by the personal computer. In the former case, the image data generating device according to the present invention can be built in the digital camera, or the digital camera is connected to the computer functioning as the image data generating device according to the present invention to acquire the image data via a predetermined cable. You can also In the latter case,
A computer that activates photo retouching software or the like that generates image data according to the present invention functions as an image data generation device.

The partial image data generating means may generate partial image data from the acquired image data for outputting an image at a first resolution, which is higher than the main image data, for pixels forming a predetermined portion of the image. I wish I could. That is, by setting the predetermined portion to high resolution, it is sufficient to prevent most of the acquired image from becoming high resolution and suppress an increase in image data capacity. The method of extracting the predetermined portion and the specific method of defining the resolution are not particularly limited, and various configuration examples described later can be adopted. The main image data generation means may be capable of generating main image data from the acquired image data, which causes the pixels forming an image larger than the predetermined portion to be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution.

That is, when storing an image, the main image data constitutes the entire image, and an image larger than a predetermined portion is formed. Larger than a predetermined portion means that the image is large. For example, in the case of a digital image of the same subject, the main image is the entire subject, and the predetermined portion is a part of the subject. Of course, it does not matter which of the main image data and the partial image data has a larger capacity. Further, the image of the main image data may be all of the images indicated by the acquired image data or may be an image after being trimmed to some extent.

In these partial image data generating means and main image data generating means, the image data may be generated on the basis of one image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, or different image data may be generated. Image data may be generated. As a mode in which both output an image with a predetermined resolution, various output modes such as display on a display and printing by a printing device can be envisioned. The image data storage means only needs to be able to store the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage capacity, and makes it possible to recognize that the image data according to the present invention is stored for later use. preferable.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2, the partial image data generating means is configured to generate the partial image data as thumbnail data. Thumbnail data is frequently used in currently popular image storage formats and image viewers. Therefore, by using the partial image data as thumbnail data, the image data stored in the present invention can be used in various situations. A conventional thumbnail is a reduced image of the entire image, but even if it is a partial image as in the present invention, if that part is an important part, it is used as a preview before reading the main image like a conventional thumbnail. It works well.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the image data storage means stores the image data in a predetermined file format for storing the thumbnail data together with the main image data as a single file. .. That is, thumbnail data can be embedded in storing main image data in various file formats, and when the present invention is applied to the file formats, the stored data according to the present invention can be used very generally. The file format can be applied to various existing formats as well as file formats developed in the future. Exif or the like exists as a specific example of the currently existing format.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the image data storage means can output position specifying data for specifying a position to which the predetermined portion corresponds in the image of the main image data and the predetermined portion with high resolution. Either or both of the data indicating that it is written to the file to be saved is written. That is, when the image data generating device according to the present invention stores image data and then reads the image data, if there is data indicating that a predetermined portion can be output with high resolution, the read data is It can be recognized that the image data is the image data according to the present invention. If location data exists,
It is possible to specify a part that can be output with high resolution in the image of the main image data.

Further, in the invention according to claim 5, the image data acquisition means is configured to acquire the image data of one image. That is, as described above, the partial image data generation means and the main image data generation means may generate image data based on the image data of one sheet acquired by the image data acquisition means, or different image data may be generated. However, according to the former, low-resolution main image data and high-resolution partial image data can be generated from the same original image data. Such a configuration is suitable to be applied to a digital camera that once acquires image data with high resolution and executes predetermined image processing when the image data is stored. In addition, since the original image data is completely the same, it is possible to easily prevent the predetermined partial image of the main image data and the image of the partial image data from being different in an image of a moving subject or the like.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6, the image data acquisition means is configured to acquire the image data for generating the partial image data and the image data for generating the main image data. That is, as described above, it is also possible to generate low-resolution main image data and high-resolution partial image data from different image data in the partial image data generating means and the main image data generating means. As an example of such a configuration, in the invention according to claim 7, a common object is included in the image of the image data for generating the partial image data and the image of the image data for generating the main image data, and the partial image data generation is performed. In the image of the image data for use in the image, the object occupies a larger proportion of the entire image than the image of the image data for generating the main image data.

That is, it is possible to employ a configuration in which the main image data and the partial image data are generated from the whole image and the partially enlarged image of a certain object. For example, image data of an image taken by a wide-angle lens in a digital camera is used as main image data, image data of an image taken by a telephoto lens is used as partial image data, or image of an image taken by a low-magnification zoom in optical and digital zoom. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the data is the main image data and the image data of the image captured by the high-magnification zoom is the partial image data.

Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 8 as an example of a configuration for generating the partial image data and the main image data from different image data, the image of the image data for generating the partial image data and the image for the main image data are generated. The image of the image data is an image of substantially the same object, and the image of the image data for generating the partial image data is data that can be output at a higher resolution than the image of the image data for generating the main image data.

That is, if two images having substantially the same object but different resolutions are prepared, partial image data is generated from the image data for high resolution output, and the main image is generated from the image data for low resolution output. Data can be generated. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which data of a large number of pixels and data of a small number of pixels are photographed for the same subject in a digital camera, and data of a large number of pixels is used as partial image data and data of a small number of pixels is used as main image data.

Further, in the invention according to claim 9, the image data for generating the partial image data and the image data for generating the main image data are image data obtained as a result of being continuously imaged by a digital image acquisition device. It is as a structure. That is, it is possible to easily acquire image data including substantially the same object. As the digital image acquisition device, a scanner, a film scanner or the like can be adopted in addition to the digital camera. In a still image of a subject, partial image data and main image data can be generated by using image data obtained as a result of continuous image capturing.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to an image of a moving subject, the image data storage means is for generating partial image data obtained as a result of the continuous imaging. By detecting the movement amount and the movement direction of the same subject in the image in the image data and the image data for generating the main image data, the corresponding position of the predetermined portion in the image of the main image data is detected.

That is, since the moving subject is moving in the two images captured continuously, even if the photographer stands still and captures the two images at the same angle of view, the two images The position corresponding to the predetermined portion in the image is different. By detecting the amount of movement and the moving direction of the same subject in the two images, it is possible to know which position in the image of the main image data the predetermined portion, which is the partial image data, corresponds to. it can.

Various configurations can be adopted to detect the movement amount and the movement direction of the same subject in the image. For example, when capturing image data with a digital image acquisition device, a method of detecting a physical movement of the digital image acquisition device and predicting a change in the image based on the detection result, or comparing two image data Then, a method of detecting the movement of the subject can be adopted. As the former detection mechanism, an acceleration sensor, a vibration gyro sensor, a speed sensor or the like can be adopted. As the latter detection, a configuration in which a difference between two image data is acquired, a portion where the difference is substantially “0” is a non-moving portion, and a portion where the difference is a predetermined value or more is a moving portion and a movement vector is detected is used. Can be adopted.

Further, in the invention according to claim 11, in the partial image data generating means and the main image data generating means, the acquired image data can be subjected to a predetermined compression processing, and the main image data can be obtained. The generating means is configured to generate image data at a higher compression rate than the partial image data generating means. That is, the compression rate is changed in order to output images with different resolutions. When image data with a certain number of pixels are compressed at different compression rates,
In the image data having a high compression rate, the information of the original image is reduced as compared with the image data having a low compression rate, and the image data can be output with a relatively low resolution.

Further, in the invention according to claim 12, the partial image data is image data of an object included in the main image data, and the partial image data constitutes the object with a larger number of pixels than the main image data. ing. That is, an image composed of a larger number of pixels for the same object can output an image with higher accuracy than an image composed of a smaller number of pixels.

Various modes can be adopted for the structure for extracting the pixels of the predetermined part from the image by the partial image data generating means. As an example of the structure, in the invention according to claim 13, the partial image data is used. The pixels of the predetermined portion of the image data to be set are the predetermined number of pixels in the approximate center of the image of the acquired image data. That is, since the approximate center of an image of a normal photograph or the like is often an important part, if the pixel at the approximate center is set as a predetermined part, it is possible to easily save the image data while making the important part a high resolution. it can. The number of pixels to be acquired as the predetermined portion is not particularly limited, and it is sufficient to acquire the predetermined number at the approximate center.
A configuration that matches the number of thumbnail pixels defined in a specific file format is also possible.

Further, in the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the partial image data generating means includes a display section for displaying an image based on the acquired image data so that the user can visually recognize it, and a desired display image on the display section. A region is provided with an operation input unit that can be selected by the user, and the pixels corresponding to the region selected based on the operation input of the operation input unit are the pixels of the predetermined portion. That is, the user selects the desired portion while visually observing the actual image,
The image data can be saved so that the selected portion has high resolution.

The display unit can display the acquired image data, and the operation input unit only needs to be able to select a desired portion in the image, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, an image is displayed on a liquid crystal display device provided in a digital camera, the range can be selected by pen input, touch panel input, cross key, or the like, or an image is displayed on a display connected to a computer, such as a mouse or keyboard. It is possible to adopt a configuration or the like in which the range can be selected.

Further, in the invention according to claim 15, the partial image data generating means includes a pattern matching processing section for extracting a predetermined pattern from the acquired image data, and a predetermined pixel including the extracted pattern. Is the pixel of the predetermined portion. That is, according to the pattern matching process, various patterns can be extracted. For example, a predetermined desired pattern such as a person's face can be extracted, and image data so that a predetermined portion including the pattern has high resolution. Can be saved.

Further, in the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the image data acquisition means sets the focus of the image on the CCD with an optical system for projecting the subject on the CCD through a predetermined lens and a predetermined position of the subject as a reference. Image data of an image picked up by a digital image pickup device having an AF mechanism for matching is acquired, and the partial image data generating means has a predetermined number of pixels around the predetermined position which is a focus reference by the AF mechanism. Is the pixel of the predetermined portion.

That is, when image data is acquired using a predetermined optical system, an AF mechanism is usually used to perform image pickup while focusing on a predetermined position of a subject. The position of focusing in the image is usually the position where the highest resolution is desired or the most important position. Therefore, if the predetermined pixels around the position used as the reference for focusing are set as the predetermined portion, the image data can be stored such that the portion desired to have the highest resolution and the most important position have the high resolution.

Here, various configurations can be adopted as the AF mechanism, and the focus position is selected by using the cross key or the like while visually observing the inside of the viewfinder in the camera or the movement of human eyes is detected. The present invention can be applied to those that detect a position. Of course, when the focus position is fixed to the center, the center of the image may be set as the predetermined portion, or the periphery of the portion set as the reference position for focus by a scanner or a film scanner other than the camera may be extracted as the predetermined portion. good.

The image data saved as described above is used in various computers and the like. In the invention according to claim 17 as a preferred configuration example, the partial image data saved in a predetermined storage area and the main image data are mainly used. An image display device for displaying an image based on image data on a predetermined display unit,
The partial image data is image data that can be output at a first resolution for pixels that make up a predetermined portion of the image, and the main image data is lower than the first resolution for pixels that make up an image that is larger than the predetermined portion. Image data that can be output at a resolution, main image display means for displaying an image based on the main image data on the display unit, and the predetermined pointer on the main image data based on an operation input of a predetermined pointing device. Pointer display means for displaying a predetermined pointer on the display unit so as to move, and when the pointer reaches a position corresponding to the predetermined portion in the main image data, it is possible to display an image of the predetermined portion. A partial display indicating means for clearly indicating the effect on the display unit, and the partial image on the display unit according to a predetermined operation input. It is constituted comprising a partial image display means for displaying an image based on over data.

That is, the main image data that can be displayed at a relatively low resolution is displayed on the display unit, and when the pointer reaches the predetermined portion, it is displayed that the predetermined portion can be displayed. At this time, when the user inputs a predetermined operation, the partial image data is displayed, and the image of the predetermined portion is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to easily recognize that the high-resolution display can be executed and execute the display. C
In the display unit such as the RT and the TFT, the resolution is not dynamically changed in many cases, and in such a case, when an image based on partial image data that can be displayed at a higher resolution than the main image data is displayed, a predetermined portion is enlarged. Will be displayed. When the resolution can be dynamically changed on the display unit, enlarged display or high resolution display may be performed.

Further, in the image data generating apparatus and the image display apparatus as described above, the invention is present in the procedure at the basis of proceeding the processing according to the predetermined control procedure corresponding to the above means. It is natural. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied as a method, and
Also in the invention according to claim 8 and claim 19, the same operation is basically performed. That is, the method is not limited to a substantial device, and is effective as a method thereof. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration corresponding to claims 2 to 16.

Furthermore, since the present invention executes programs that realize the functions corresponding to the above means, the invention can be understood as a medium in which these programs are recorded or the program itself. Therefore, claim 20 to claim 2
In the invention according to the third aspect, basically, the same operation is performed. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration corresponding to claims 2 to 16. Here, the computer-readable recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium or a magneto-optical recording medium, and any recording medium developed in the future can be considered in exactly the same manner. In addition, the duplication stage of the primary duplication product, the secondary duplication product, and the like is absolutely the same. Further, although different from the above-mentioned medium, if the communication method is used as a supply method, the communication line serves as a transmission medium and the present invention is used.

[0036]

As described above, claim 1, claim 1
According to the eighth, twenty, and twenty-second aspects of the present invention, an image data generation device, an image data generation method, and an image that can output an image with a high resolution partially while suppressing the capacity of the main image data It is possible to provide a medium recording a data generation program and an image data generation program. According to the invention of claim 2, the image data stored in the present invention can be used in various situations. Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the stored data according to the present invention can be used very versatilely.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4,
It is possible to recognize that the read data is the image data according to the present invention, and to specify the part that can be output at high resolution in the image of the main image data. Further, according to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to generate low-resolution main image data and high-resolution partial image data from image data of the same origin. Further, according to the invention of claim 6, low-resolution main image data and high-resolution partial image data can be generated from different image data. Further, according to the invention of claim 7, main image data and partial image data can be respectively generated from the entire image and the partially enlarged image of the object.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8,
Partial image data and main image data can be generated from two images with different resolutions. Further, according to the invention of claim 9, image data including substantially the same object can be easily acquired. Further, claim 10
According to the invention described above, it is possible to grasp which position in the image of the main image data the predetermined portion which is the partial image data corresponds to. Further, according to the invention of claim 11, images with different resolutions can be obtained by changing the compression rate.

Further, according to the twelfth aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain images having different resolutions depending on the difference in the number of pixels of the image data representing the same object. further,
According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily store the image data while making the important portion have high resolution.
Further, according to the invention of claim 14, it is possible to select a desired portion while visually recognizing an actual image and save the image data so that the selected portion has high resolution.

Further, according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the image data can be stored such that a predetermined portion including a predetermined desired pattern such as a person's face has a high resolution. Further, according to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to store the image data such that the portion desired to have the highest resolution and the most important position have the high resolution.
Further, according to the inventions according to claim 17, claim 19, claim 21, and claim 23, it is possible to easily recognize that high-resolution display can be executed and execute the display. A display device, an image display method, a medium recording an image display program, and an image display program can be provided.

[0041]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described here in the following order. (1) Configuration of digital still camera: (2) Configuration related to image data generation: (3) Photographing process and operation: (4) Second embodiment: (5) Modifications of the first and second embodiments: 6) Third Embodiment: (7) Fourth Embodiment: (8) Other Embodiments:

(1) Structure of Digital Still Camera: FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic structure of a digital still camera to which the image data generating apparatus of the present invention is applied. In the figure, the digital still camera 10 is
It is composed of an optical unit 20 and a control unit 30 having a CPU 32 as a core. The optical unit 20 includes an optical lens system 21, an autofocus mechanism 22a, a distance measuring unit 22b, a zoom mechanism 23, and an optical system controller 24, and the optical system controller 24 detects the distance measuring unit 22b based on a control signal from the controller 25. While measuring the distance to the subject, the optical lens system 21 is driven by the autofocus mechanism 22a to focus. This autofocus mechanism 22a
In the above, a plurality of distance measuring positions can be displayed on a viewfinder (not shown) of the digital still camera 10, and the focus can be focused on any of the plurality of distance measuring positions.

The optical lens system 21 is provided with a plurality of lenses and is configured to be relatively movable in the optical axis direction, and the zoom mechanism 23 controls each lens position based on a control signal from the controller 25. Adjust the corners. A subject image is formed by the optical lens system 21 on an image pickup surface of a CCD 26 as an image pickup element, and the CCD 26 is composed of a single plate having many pixels. Since it is composed of a single plate, green (G), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and cyan (C) color filters are sequentially formed for 2 × 2 pixels. Of course, the color filter may have three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), or each color component may be received by a separate CCD. The shutter is provided with a mechanical shutter as well as an electronic shutter, but the mechanical shutter is not shown.

In addition to this, the optical section 20 is also provided with a strobe 27, and emits a predetermined amount of light and a predetermined number of times in response to a drive signal from the controller 25. This allows
It realizes shooting such as red-eye prevention and slow sync.
The optical unit 20 has an auto gain controller (AG) that amplifies the analog electric signal output from the CCD 26.
C) 28 is provided, and an A / D converter 29 that converts the amplified analog electric signal into a digital value and outputs the digital value is provided. Of course, for the above optical unit 20,
It goes without saying that this is merely an example of a general configuration of the digital still camera 10 and that various modifications can be made.

The control unit 30 has a bus 31, and the bus 31 includes a CPU 32, a ROM 33, and a RAM 3.
4 and the A / D converter 29 are connected. CP
The U 32 executes the firmware written in the ROM 33 to execute control of the optical unit 20, calculation of image processing, storage processing of image data according to the present invention, and the RAM 34 stores image data at this time. Image area 3
Work area 3 for functioning as 4a and processing
It functions as 4b. When the CPU 32 controls the optical unit 20, it outputs a control signal to the controller 25, and the controller 25 generates and outputs an appropriate control signal for each component circuit and the like.

The control unit 30 also has a function as a man-machine interface, and is provided with an operation panel 35 on which operation buttons, zoom buttons, etc. are arranged, and an LCD panel 36 for displaying photographed images, operation instructions, etc. CPU
Reference numeral 32 monitors the operation of the operation panel 35, and appropriately executes the corresponding control while receiving the operation. Thereby, the angle of view can be adjusted by the zoom mechanism and the distance measuring position can be determined. Of course, the determination of the distance measuring position by the operation button is not essential, and it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the distance measuring position is determined by detecting the movement of the eyes that visually recognize the finder.

The display on the LCD panel 36 is RAM
When the CPU 32 writes predetermined data to the video RAM area 34c assigned to the L.
A display controller provided in the CD panel 36 reads the same data and displays it. Then, the image data captured and generated through the predetermined image processing is I
The data is stored in the flash memory card 37b, which is an external memory, via the / O 37a, and is read from the flash memory card 37b as necessary. When saving to the flash memory card 37b, the above-mentioned CCD2
It is possible to store the image data in the number of 6 pixels, or to perform image processing such as thinning out pixels, data compression processing, etc.

The processing according to the present invention can be carried out in the storage of the image data, and the main image data of low resolution is generated from the image data photographed at a wide angle in the zoom mechanism, and is photographed at the telephoto in the zoom mechanism. It is possible to generate the above-described partial image data of high resolution from the image data and save it as an Exif file in which thumbnail data as partial image data is added to the main image data. The size of the object per unit number of pixels of the CCD is different between the case of shooting the same subject at the telephoto position and the case of shooting at the wide-angle position. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the captured image data by the telephoto has a high resolution and the captured image data by the wide angle has a low resolution. Of course, the telephoto and the wide-angle are relative comparisons of two captured images, and the telephoto and the wide-angle are not absolutely defined in the state of the zoom mechanism. Further, the file format is not limited to the Exif format, and it is not necessary to limit the number of pixels of thumbnail data to a predetermined number.

The configuration of the control unit 30 is also a typical example of this type of digital still camera 10, and various changes can be made. For example, the type of the external memory can be easily replaced with another type, and even if the interface with the removable memory is not provided, the U
The image data may be output to the computer via the SB interface. LCD as display
An information display LCD may be attached to the panel,
The CPU 32 may include a plurality of CPUs having different control targets.

(2) Structure for generating image data: FIG.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the CPU 32, showing main functions involved in image data generation according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the CPU 32 includes an image data acquisition unit 32a.
And an image data storage unit 32b, and the image data storage unit 32b further includes an attention area selection / cutout unit 32c.
And a position detector 32d and an Exif file creator 32e. The CPU 32 exchanges data between the A / D converter 29, the RAM 34, and the flash memory card 37b via the bus 31 under the control of each unit, and exchanges control signals with the controller 25 via a predetermined signal line. To do.

The image data acquisition section 32a acquires the image data via the A / D converter 29, and the RAM 34
Image area 34a. In this embodiment, as described above, two pieces of image data photographed at the telephoto and the wide angle are acquired, and the image photographed at the telephoto is saved as the high-resolution image data 34a1 and photographed at the wide angle. The image is saved as low resolution image data 34a2. The image data storage unit 32b stores the high resolution image data 34a1 and the low resolution image data 34a2 as one Exif file in association with each other.

That is, a predetermined portion is selected and cut out from the high resolution image data 34a1 and saved as a thumbnail attached to the low resolution image data. Here, the image of the high resolution image data 34a1 and the image of the low resolution image data 34a2 are captured images of a common subject,
The predetermined portion of the high resolution image data 34a1 also corresponds to the predetermined portion of the low resolution image data 34a2. The attention area selection / cutout unit 32c controls the selection / cutout of the predetermined portion, receives a signal indicating the focus detection position in the autofocus mechanism from the controller 25, and outputs the periphery of the focus detection position. Select a predetermined pixel of and cut out for thumbnail data.

In the position detecting section 32d, the image of the selected / cut out predetermined portion is the low resolution image data 34.
It detects which position in a2 it corresponds to.
That is, since the image cut out for thumbnail data and a part of the image of the low resolution image data 34a2 are common, the common part is detected. In this detection,
Various methods such as known pattern matching can be adopted. When the position detecting unit 32d specifies which position of the low resolution image data 34a2, the position specifying data capable of specifying the position is output to the Exif file creating unit 32e.

The Exif file creating section 32e
An Exif file can be created by adding a specific header while having a module capable of G compression. That is, the low-resolution image data 34a2 is acquired, JPEG compression is performed as necessary based on the user's setting, main image data described in the Exif file is generated, and the attention area selection / cutout unit 32c is generated. The Exif file is created by describing the thumbnail data cut out by the above in a predetermined position of the header and describing the position specifying data output by the position detecting unit 32d in the header. The created Exif file is stored in the flash memory card 37b. In the present embodiment, the Exif file creation unit 32e can perform compression, so that the resolutions of the main image data and the partial image data can be adjusted here as well.

(3) Photographing process and operation: Next, the photographing process and operation of the digital still camera 10 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 3 shows a digital still camera 10.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a photographing process when the image data is saved according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an operation example showing a photographing operation together with an image example. When storing the image data according to the present invention, first, in step S100, an arbitrary subject is photographed by telephoto. At this time, first, the operation button is operated to bring the zoom mechanism into the telephoto state. In the example of the image shown on the left in the center of FIG. 4, a person occupies most of the image by telephoto.

As shown in the image example, in the digital still camera 10 according to the present embodiment, there are five distance measuring positions 40.
An arbitrary position can be selected from a to 40e, and the user operates the operation button to select a desired distance measurement position and also performs photographing by the shutter (not shown).
Of course, the number of distance measuring positions may be 5 or more or 5 or less. The image example shown in FIG. 4 shows a state in which the distance measuring position 40b is focused and photographed.

After shooting by telephoto, step S110 follows.
Take the same subject in wide angle. Of course, the same subject does not mean that the images are the same, but that there is a common part in the images. At this time,
The operation button is operated to bring the zoom mechanism into a wide-angle state. Then, as shown in the lower left of the center of FIG. 4, although it has a common portion with the subject in the telephoto state, it has a wider range, that is, has a captured image by the above-mentioned telephoto as a predetermined portion and captures a larger image. To do. The image data based on the photographing in steps S100 and S110 are stored in the RAM 34 as the high resolution image data 34a1 and the low resolution image data 34a2 by the image data acquisition unit 32a. Of course, step S10
The processing order of 0 and S110 may be reversed.

Next, in step S120, the attention area selection / cutout unit 32c acquires the distance measuring position selected by the user in step S100, and selects a predetermined portion around the distance measuring position as the attention area. In step S130, the pixels in the selected area are cut out. As a result, as shown in the upper right of the center of FIG. 4, thumbnail data is generated for the image of the focused portion. In step S140, the position detector 32d
Detects which position of the image of the low resolution image data 34a2 the image of the thumbnail data corresponds to, and the Exif file creation unit 32 as position specifying data.
Notify e.

In step S150, the Exif file creation unit 32e applies JPEG compression to the low resolution image data 34a2 as needed, and creates an Exif file using the low resolution image data 34a2 as main image data. To do. In step S160, the created E
The thumbnail data is embedded in the xif file, and the position specifying data is added to the Exif file in step S170.
Describe in the file header. Further, step S1
In 80, Exif indicates that the thumbnail is a high resolution image.
Describe in the header of the file. FIG. 4 shows an outline of the Exif file structure created in this way, and the information described in the header in steps S170 and S180 is the thumbnail information shown in FIG. The Exif file created in this way has a step S190.
Is stored in the flash memory card 37b.

The Exi created and saved as described above
In the f file, thumbnail data is data that can be output with higher resolution than main image data. Also,
Since the image of thumbnail data is a part of the image of main image data, the thumbnail data has a smaller capacity than the main image data, and it is necessary to be able to output at a predetermined resolution with the main image data that makes up the entire image. It is possible to prevent the above increase in storage capacity. Also, important parts can be output in high resolution by using thumbnail data. Therefore, it is possible to enable high-resolution output while suppressing the volume of image data.

(4) Second Embodiment: In the above embodiment, the digital still camera 10 capable of focusing on a plurality of distance measuring positions captures two images, a telephoto image and a wide-angle image, to reduce the file capacity. While the images are stored so that they can be output in high resolution, it goes without saying that the number of original images, the configuration of the distance measuring position, and the method of selecting a predetermined portion are not limited to the above configuration. For example, one piece of high-resolution image data may be taken and the high-resolution image data may be compressed to be used as data for the main image, or an arbitrary portion may be selected as the predetermined portion by a pointing device or the like. good.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a digital still camera 100 according to the second embodiment which realizes this example. In the figure, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. still,
In the second embodiment, since the high resolution image data and the low resolution image data are generated from one image, the zoom mechanism is not indispensable as in the first embodiment, and the digital image shown in FIG. Although the still camera 100 does not have a zoom mechanism, it is needless to say that the present embodiment may have a zoom mechanism.

The other structure is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but in the second embodiment, an input operation via the pen input device 500 can be performed for extracting a predetermined portion. That is, the transparent pressure-sensitive panel 510 is overlaid on the screen of the LCD panel 36, and the LCD panel 3
An image can be displayed via 6 and an input can be performed via the pressure sensitive panel 510 at the same time. The pressure-sensitive panel 510 outputs a predetermined control signal when the tip of the pen input device 500 is pressed, and the control signal is I / O.
It is sent to the bus 31 via 510a.

The CPU 32 can detect the tip pressing position of the pen input device 500 based on the control signal. Therefore, by detecting the control signal from the pressure sensitive panel 510 in the situation where a predetermined image is displayed on the LCD panel 36, it is possible to detect which position of the image is selected. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the CPU 32 according to the second embodiment. The function of the CPU 32 is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but in the second embodiment, a high resolution image is acquired instead of acquiring two types of image data of high resolution image data and low resolution image data. Image image data is compressed to obtain low-resolution image data, and the image compression unit 321 that executes the compression is performed.
a.

The image data acquisition unit 32 according to the present embodiment
0a acquires the high-resolution image data 34a1 via the A / D converter 29, and the image area 34 of the RAM 34
Save in a. The image compression unit 321a acquires and compresses the high-resolution image data 34a1 to obtain the low-resolution image data 34a1.
It is saved in the image area 34a of the RAM 34 as 0a2. Of course, various image compression methods can be used here, and a predetermined thinning process may be performed. The attention area selection / cutout portion 320c is the pressure-sensitive panel 5 as described above.
A region of interest is selected and cut out based on a control signal from 10.

That is, the high resolution image data 34a1
Alternatively, the compressed image data is transferred to the video RAM area 34c and displayed on the LCD panel 36 as a target area selection target, and an input of a control signal from the pressure sensitive panel 510 is accepted. When the user selects a predetermined portion of the image with the pen input device 500 via the pressure sensitive panel 510, a signal indicating that effect is output from the pressure sensitive panel 510, and the attention area selection / cutout unit 320c is displayed.
Is the selected area and cuts out the corresponding pixel in the high resolution image data 34a1. This data becomes thumbnail data.

In the present embodiment, the high resolution image data 34
Since the a1 and the low-resolution image data 340a2 are originally the same image, the position detection unit 32d only obtains the information on the selected position from the attention area selection / cutout unit 320c to identify the position of the cutout predetermined portion. You can get information. Of course, low resolution image data 3
A process of detecting which position the predetermined portion is located in 40a2 may be performed.

The Exfi file creating section 32e has a module capable of JPEG compression as in the above case, and can create an Exif file by adding a specific header. That is, the low-resolution image data 34a2 is acquired, and JPEG is used as necessary based on the user's settings.
The Exif file is created by performing compression and fusing with the thumbnail data cut out by the attention area selection / cutout unit 320c. Of course, similar to the above, the position specifying data output by the position detecting unit 32d and the data indicating that the thumbnail data have high resolution are described in the header.
The created Exif file is stored in the flash memory card 37b. Further, various configurations can be adopted for the specific configuration of the selection of the predetermined portion by the pen input device 500, and two points are selected, and a rectangular image having the two points as the vertices of diagonal positions is acquired, It is possible to adopt a configuration in which an image of the rectangle is acquired when the rectangle locus is designated.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a photographing process when the image data according to the present invention is stored in the digital still camera 100, and FIG. 8 is a digital still camera 1.
00 is a rear view of 00, showing how a predetermined portion is selected on the LCD panel 36. FIG. In storing an image, first, in step S200, an arbitrary subject is photographed in high resolution. At this time, it is not essential to obtain the data at the highest resolution as the image data obtained by the digital still camera 100, but since the relatively low resolution image data is obtained by compression later, the image quality of the thumbnail image is pursued. In this sense, it is preferable to obtain high resolution data as much as possible. Of course, if the user determines the resolution and the number of pixels of the thumbnail data in advance, the image data can be obtained according to the resolution. If the resolution and the number of pixels of the main image data are determined in advance, the It suffices to acquire data that can be output in a relatively high resolution and image data having a large number of pixels.

When photographing is performed, the image data acquisition unit 320
a is the high resolution image data 34a1 in the image area 34a.
To save. Then, in step S210, the image compression unit 321a causes the stored high-resolution image data 34a to be stored.
1 is obtained, compression processing is performed, and the result is stored in the image area 34a as low-resolution image data 340a2. In step S220, the attention area selection / cutout unit 320c receives the control signal from the pressure-sensitive panel 510, thereby receiving the area selection by the pen input device 500. FIG. 8 shows area selection by the pen input device 500. Since the transparent pressure-sensitive panel 510 is superposed on the upper surface of the LCD panel 36 in the digital still camera 100, the user can select the area as shown in FIG. Region selection can be performed with the tip of the pen input device 500 while visually recognizing the image.

In the figure, in a configuration in which two points in the image are selected to select a rectangular area, the point in the image selected first and the point in the image selected later are the vertices at the diagonal position. The rectangle is displayed with a broken line so that the rectangular area can be easily and clearly selected. The area selected in this way is the area of interest selection / cutout unit 3 described above.
20c, the pixels corresponding to the selected area are set to the high resolution image data 34 in step S230.
Cut out from a1. As a result, thumbnail data of the broken line partial image shown in FIG. 8 is generated. Further, since the selected area is already known, the position detection unit 32d notifies the Exif file creation unit 32e of the position identification data indicating the position of the selected area.

In step S240, the Exif file creation unit 32e subjects the low resolution image data 340a2 to JPEG compression as necessary, and uses the low resolution image data 340a2 as main image data.
Create a file. In step S250, the thumbnail data is embedded in the created Exif file, and in step S260, the position specifying data is added to the E file.
Describe in the header of the xif file. Further, in step S270, E indicates that the thumbnail is a high resolution image.
Described in the header of the xif file. Exi created
The f file is stored in the flash memory card 37b in step S280.

The image on the LCD panel 36 shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the image example shown in FIG. 4, and the area selected by the pen input device 500 is the portion acquired as thumbnail data in FIG. Is the same as Therefore, the Exif file saved in the flash memory card 37b in step S280 has the same file structure as that shown in FIG. Of course, in this embodiment, since the area is selected by the pen input device 500, it can be said that the arbitrariness of the area selection is higher. Also, the configuration for selecting the area is not necessarily the configuration using the pen input device 500, and a mode using a cross key or the like is also possible.

(5) Modifications of First and Second Embodiments: In the first embodiment, in the digital still camera 10 capable of focusing on a plurality of distance measuring positions, the second embodiment
In the embodiment, in the digital still camera 100 capable of selecting a predetermined portion with the pen input device, the image is stored so as to be output in high resolution while suppressing the file size. The method of selecting a part is not limited to the above configuration. For example, a predetermined portion having high resolution may be extracted from the center of the image. Such a configuration is suitable for application to an inexpensive digital still camera whose center is fixed at the distance measuring position.

This structure can be realized by a structure similar to that of the hardware shown in FIG. 1, but since the distance measuring position is fixed at the center, the structure of the autofocus mechanism 22a and the distance measuring section 22b is the same as the above-mentioned structure. It can be simpler than the first embodiment. Further, since a pen input device or the like is not essential, it can be made simpler than the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an operation example showing a shooting operation in such a configuration together with an image example.

As shown in the image example, in the digital still camera 101 according to the present embodiment, the distance measuring position is fixed at the center, and at the time of shooting, shooting is performed at the high resolution required for thumbnail data. At this time, since the center of the image is in focus, in the example shown in the center left of FIG. 9, a broken-line rectangular image is selected and the pixels forming the image are cut out to be thumbnail data. On the other hand, for the main image, the image data at the time of shooting is thinned out or compressed to generate main image data that can be output at a lower resolution, and is used as the main image data of the Exif file. Further, similar to the above, the thumbnail data is embedded in the Exif file, and the position specifying data and the data indicating that the thumbnail is a high resolution image are used as the Exif information as the Exif file.
Describe in the header of the file.

Also in this example, it is possible to create an image file in which the important part in the center of the image can be output with high resolution and the volume of the image data is suppressed. still,
Various configurations other than the above example can be adopted, and even a digital still camera whose center is fixed at the distance measuring position can be configured so that an arbitrary position of an image can have high resolution. For example, viewfinder or LCD panel 3
In a configuration in which an arbitrary subject is focused by half-pressing the shutter while visually recognizing 6 and the like, and the composition is determined after the focusing, the movement of the digital still camera 101 at the time of determining the composition is detected. After shooting, the position where focus is achieved in the captured image is detected from the detected motion, and by extracting the predetermined pixels around the focus position, the image at any focus position is made into high resolution data. be able to. Of course, when the focus is adjusted by pressing the shutter halfway, the predetermined pixels around it may be acquired as the high resolution image data.

(6) Third Embodiment: Although the image data generating device is applied to the digital still camera in the above-described embodiments, it can be applied to various image-related devices other than the digital still camera. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a computer capable of handling image data, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the computer functions as the image data generation device and the image display device according to the present invention. Is.

In the figure, the present invention is a computer 10
This is realized by executing the image processing APL 240 in 2. The computer 102 is provided with a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, which are not shown, which form the center of the arithmetic processing.
The PU can execute software by appropriately accessing the ROM and the RAM. A hard disk drive (HDD) 122 as an external storage device is connected to the system bus, and data is read and written under the control of the OS 200. Of course, reading and writing of data may be performed by a flexible disk drive, a CD-R drive, or the like.

Further, the computer 102 is connected with operation input devices such as a keyboard 160 and a mouse 165 via a serial communication I / O 112a, and a display 150 for display is also connected via a video board (not shown). ing. Further, the parallel communication I / O 112
The printer 170 can be connected via b. Although the configuration of the computer 102 is described in a simplified manner, a computer having a general configuration can be adopted as a personal computer. Of course, the computer to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a personal computer. Although this embodiment is a so-called desktop computer, it may be a laptop computer or a mobile computer. Also, computer 1
The connection interface between the printer 02 and the printer 170 does not have to be limited to the one described above, but may be a serial interface or SCS.
Various connection modes such as I and USB connection can be adopted, and the same applies to any connection modes developed in the future.

In this example, each program type is the HDD 12
However, the recording medium is not limited to this. For example, it may be a flexible disk or a CD-ROM (CD-R). The programs recorded on these recording media are read by the computer 102 via the flexible disk drive or the CD-R drive and installed in the HDD 122. Then, it is read into the RAM via the HDD 122 and controls the computer. The recording medium is not limited to this, and may be a magneto-optical disk or the like. It is also possible to use a non-volatile memory such as a flash card as a semiconductor device,
When the external file server is accessed and downloaded via a modem or a communication line, the communication line serves as a transmission medium to utilize the present invention.

In the computer 102 according to the present embodiment, a printer driver (P
RTDRV) 210 and input device driver (DRV) 22
0 and the display driver (DRV) 230 are OS2
It is incorporated in the 00. The display DRV 230 is a driver that controls the display of image data and the like on the display 150, and the input device DRV 220 receives a code signal from the keyboard 160 or the mouse 165 that is input via the serial communication I / O 112 a and determines a predetermined value. It is a driver that receives an input operation.

The image processing APL 240 is an application program capable of executing retouching of a color image and the like and capable of executing generation and display of image data according to the present invention. Under the execution of the image processing APL 240, the user can operate the above-mentioned operation input device to create / store image data according to the present invention, display it on the display 150, and execute image printing on the printer 170. . That is, the image processing APL 240 reads the high resolution image data 122a recorded in the HDD 122 into the RAM according to the user's instruction, and displays it on the display DRV2.
An image based on the high resolution image data 122 a is displayed on the display 150 via 30. When the user operates the input device, the contents of the operation are the input device DRV2.
The image processing APL 240 is adapted to be acquired via 20 and interpreted, and the image processing APL 240 performs various processes such as a print instruction and retouching according to the operation content.

When a print instruction is issued by the image processing APL 240, the PRTDRV 210 is driven and the PRTDR V 210 is driven.
The V210 generates print data for printing an image for which a print instruction has been given, and outputs the print data to the printer 170 via the parallel communication I / O 112b. The printer 170 executes printing based on the print data. In the image processing APL 240, the image data acquisition module 241 for executing the processing according to the present invention.
And an image data storage unit 242 and a display module 243.

The image data storage unit 242 further includes an attention area selection / cutout module 242a and an Exif file creation module 242b. The image data acquisition module 241 acquires the high resolution image data 122a stored in the HDD 122, transfers it to the RAM, and causes the display DRV 230 to display the image of the high resolution image data 122a on the display 150. In the image data acquisition module 241, the high resolution image data 1 stored in the HDD 122 is stored.
It is also possible to acquire 22a via a CD-R drive or a predetermined communication cable. In the present embodiment, the acquired image data can be output at high resolution, low-resolution image data is created from this data, and an Exif file in which the image data is the main image data is created / saved.

For this reason, the attention area selection / cutout module 242a accepts the operation of the keyboard 160 and the mouse 165 performed by the user via the input device DRV220. The upper rectangular area is selected. That is, while the image is displayed on the display 150 based on the high-resolution image data 122a as described above, while the pointer is present at a certain position on the image, the button of the mouse 165 is clicked while the pointer is present. When the mouse 165 is moved and the click of the mouse 165 is released in a state where the pointer is located at another position on the image, a rectangular area having diagonal vertices at the two positions is selected.

The attention area selection / cutout section 320c cuts out the pixels included in the selected area and stores them in the RAM as thumbnail data. In addition, the Exif file creation module 242b is notified of position specifying data that can specify the clipped area. That is, since the selection of the cutout area is performed by the operation input of the mouse 165, the attention area selection / cutout unit 320c grasps the area and determines the position of the cutout area as in the first embodiment. No need to detect.

Exif file creation module 242b
Has a module (not shown) capable of JPEG compression and adds Exif by adding a specific header.
Files can be created. That is, the high-resolution image data 122a is JPEG-compressed to generate main image data, the thumbnail data is embedded, and position identification data and data indicating that the thumbnail is high-resolution are described in the header as thumbnail information. Exi
Create f-file. The created Exif file is stored in the HDD 122 as an Exif file 122b. As described above, in this embodiment, the computer 102 has the same operational feeling as the partial selection shown in FIG.
This is realized and the area can be selected by operating the mouse 165, and the image data of the selected area can be saved while the image of the selected area has a high resolution.

In the present embodiment, since the Exif file 122b is stored in the Exif format, the Exif file 122b can be generally used in computers and image devices other than the computer 102 according to the present embodiment. In the form, the Exif file 12
A suitable configuration is adopted for the display of 2b. That is, the image processing APL 240 uses the display module 243.
The display module 243 can explicitly indicate that a high-resolution image can be displayed in a situation where an image based on the main image data of the Exif file 122b is displayed. This module controls the display of high-resolution images.

The display module 243 reads the Exif file 122b, and reads the Exif file 122b.
Write the data in RAM to RAM and display DR
The V230 is instructed to display the image. Usually E
The main image data in the xif file 122b is read out and displayed on the display 150. At this time, operation input of the mouse 165 or the like is possible, and the display module 24
3 includes a pointer detection unit 243a that detects the position of the mouse pointer that is moved based on this operation input.

The pointer detection unit 243a reads out the position specifying data from the header of the Exif file 122b, and the mouse pointer is on the image displayed on the display 150 at a position corresponding to the cut-out selection area. It is detected whether or not. When the mouse pointer is present at the position corresponding to the selected area, the shape of the mouse pointer is changed and the fact that the mouse pointer can be enlarged is explicitly displayed. That is, the user can grasp that the image can be enlarged and the position where the image can be enlarged by operating the mouse 165.

When the mouse 165 is clicked while the fact that enlargement is possible is clearly indicated by the mouse pointer, the display module 243 displays the Exif file 12
The thumbnail data is read from 2b, the thumbnail data is stored in the RAM, and the display DRV 230 is instructed to display the image by the thumbnail data.
Further, the display module generates print data based on the thumbnail data, the main image data, and the image data generated by pasting the thumbnail data at a corresponding position of the main image data according to a user's operation input, PR
It can also be delivered to the TDRV 210.

As a result, it is possible to print an image based on the thumbnail data, the main image data, and the image data generated from both. In the image data generated from both of them, at the time of printing, either or both of the thumbnail data and the main image data are interpolated so that both are adjusted to have the same resolution (dpi), and the entire range of the image is the same. Printed at resolution. But,
Originally, the thumbnail data is data that can be output at a higher resolution, so that the image of the thumbnail data is printed with high image quality. Although the display module is applied to the computer in the present embodiment, it goes without saying that the digital still camera can also function as the image display device according to the present invention.

Next, the image display processing flow and operation in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 shows the display module 24.
3 is an image display processing flow executed by No. 3, and FIG. When the icon of the Exif file 122b is double-clicked under the control of the OS 200 to display the image of the Exif file 122b, the display module 243 is activated and the process is started according to FIG.

In step S300, the thumbnail information is acquired by referring to the header of the Exif file 122b. In step S310, it is determined whether or not the thumbnail of the Exif file 122b to be displayed has a high resolution by referring to the acquired thumbnail information. If it is not determined in step S310 that the thumbnail has a high resolution, the file to be displayed is a normal Exif file, and the process for the normal Exif file is performed instead of the process according to the present invention.

When it is determined in step S310 that the thumbnail has a high resolution, the thumbnail information acquired above is further referred to in step S320, and the position of the thumbnail image is specified from the position specifying data. To do. Then, in step S330, the Exif
The main image data is read from the file 122b and displayed on the display 150. The screen shown on the left side of FIG. 12 shows a display example in which the main image is displayed. At this time, on the display 150, the mouse 1 is controlled by the OS 200.
The mouse pointer of 65 is also displayed superimposed. In the normal state, the mouse pointer is the arrow pointer 165a shown in FIG.
Is.

In step S340, the pointer detection unit 243a specifies the position of the mouse pointer on the screen,
In step S350, whether or not the mouse pointer exists in the area specified in step S320, that is, whether or not the mouse pointer corresponds to a predetermined portion which is a part of the main image and has data as a thumbnail image. To determine.
If it is not determined in step S350 that the mouse pointer is present in the specified area, step S3
The processing after 40 is repeated.

When it is determined in step S350 that the mouse pointer exists in the specified area, the shape of the mouse pointer is changed from the arrow pointer 165a to the expandable pointer 165b and displayed in step S360. The magnifying pointer 165b has a magnifying glass shape, and visually indicates that magnifying is possible. Further, in step S370, it is determined whether or not the button of the mouse 165 is clicked while the mouse pointer is the expandable pointer 165b, and in step S370, the mouse 165 is clicked.
The processing from step S340 onward is repeated until it is determined that the button has been clicked.

If it is determined in step S370 that the button of the mouse 165 has been clicked, then step S370
At 380, thumbnail data is read from the Exif file 122b and a high resolution image is displayed on the display 150. The screen shown on the right side of FIG. 12 shows a state in which the thumbnail data is displayed. In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the resolution of the display 150 itself is not dynamically changed. Therefore, when a thumbnail image which is a high resolution image is displayed, the image of a predetermined portion of the main image data is enlarged.

In step S390, the mouse 16 is again used.
It is determined whether or not the button 5 is clicked, and if it is not determined in step S390 that the button of the mouse 165 is clicked, the processing from step S380 is repeated. Mouse 165 in step S390
When it is determined that the button is clicked, the processing from step S330 is repeated. The flow shown in FIG. 11 is a flow for displaying the main image and the thumbnail image, but it goes without saying that other retouching processing and printing processing can be executed in parallel, and in that case, a routine other than the flow is executed. Execute as appropriate. Of course, the example shown in FIG. 12 is an example of an image, and the relative size relationship between the main image and the thumbnail image is not limited to that shown in FIG.

(7) Fourth Embodiment: In the above-described embodiment, images taken at telephoto and wide-angle are used as partial image data and main image data, or these image data are generated from one image. However, of course, it is also possible to take two consecutive images and use them as the partial image data and the main image data. In this case, the subject may be slightly shifted in the two images due to various causes. To compensate for the shift, it is necessary to determine which position of the main image the image of the partial image data corresponds to. Need to judge. Various configurations can be adopted for this determination. In FIG. 13, an image of partial image data is obtained by detecting the movement of the digital still camera at the time of imaging by the acceleration sensor and detecting the movement of the subject in the image. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration for determining which position in the main image corresponds to, that is, recognizing a predetermined portion of the image.

The digital still camera 103 shown in FIG.
Has a configuration similar to that of the digital still camera 10 described above, but includes an acceleration sensor 250 for detecting blurring during image capturing. The same components as those of the digital still camera 10 are designated by the same reference numerals. Acceleration sensor 25
Reference numeral 0 denotes a device that detects vibration of the digital still camera 103, that is, shake, and outputs a predetermined signal corresponding to the vibration. The controller 25 outputs the predetermined signal.
Output to. The controller 25 receives the predetermined signal and outputs a signal indicating the vibration of the digital still camera 103 to the CPU 32. Therefore, the CPU 32 can grasp how the digital still camera 103 vibrates at the time of image capturing, and in which direction and how much the subject continuously imaged from the vibration has moved in the image. can do.

The configuration of the control system in this embodiment can also be realized by a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 2, but the high resolution image data 34a1 and the low resolution image data 34a2 are continuous. The position detection unit 32d detects the attention area while compensating for the shift amount based on the signal output from the controller 25, as well as the images captured by the controller 25d. That is,
When the attention area selection / cutout unit 32c detects a focused position in the image of the high-resolution image data 34a1 obtained by the previous image pickup, the position detection unit 32d compensates for the grasped movement amount of the subject. As a result, the position corresponding to the focusing position in the image of the low resolution image data 34a2 is detected.

As a result, the position detection unit 32d can generate the position specifying data, and the Exif according to the present invention can be generated.
It becomes possible to create a file. FIG. 14 is an operation example showing a shooting operation in the present embodiment together with an image example. When imaging is performed in the present embodiment, the high resolution image data 34a1 and the low resolution image data 34a2 are continuously acquired. When the image of the first high-resolution image data 34a1 is shot, the focused position (distance measuring position 40b in FIG. 14) is grasped from the distance measuring positions 40a to 40e as in the first embodiment. Then, a predetermined portion around the position is used as thumbnail data.

In the second low-resolution image data 34a2, the position detecting section 32d detects the amount of movement of the subject, and based on the amount of movement, the predetermined portion in which the first image is in focus. To detect. The predetermined part is shown in FIG.
In Fig. 4, the image on the left below the center is indicated by a dashed rectangle. Since the predetermined portion corresponds to the rectangular portion used as the thumbnail data, the information for specifying the position is the thumbnail information in the Exif file. Since the thumbnail data, the thumbnail information, and the main image data (= low-resolution image data 34a2) are generated as described above, an important part of these data is the high-resolution thumbnail data and the capacity of the image data is increased. You can create an Exif file while keeping it suppressed.

The above-described fourth embodiment is an example in which image data is obtained by continuously shooting with a digital still camera, and various other modified examples can be adopted.
For example, the imaging order of the high-resolution image data 34a1 and the low-resolution image data 34a2 may be reversed, and the acceleration sensor 250 is not a dedicated sensor for detecting the amount of subject movement in the image. Instead, it is possible to use a camera shake detection sensor for physically correcting the camera shake by physically moving the optical lens system.

Further, in the case of using two consecutive picked-up images, when the subject moves, the position of the subject shifts in the image more than the movement of the subject based on the vibration of the digital still camera at the time of photographing. It will be. Therefore, a region of interest is selected / cut out between two captured images obtained by continuously capturing such a moving subject, and the difference between the two images is calculated in order to detect the position corresponding to the region of interest. However, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the moving subject is determined based on the difference and which position in the image of the main image data the predetermined portion in the image extracted as the partial image data corresponds to is determined. .

As the discrimination using the difference, for example, the difference between the pixel values of the two pieces of image data is calculated, and the pixel of which the difference is substantially "0" is discriminated as the background or the non-moving portion, and the difference is detected. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the movement of the object is determined as a moving portion for pixels having a predetermined value or more. If it is possible to determine the movement of the subject, it is possible to specify the movement vector of the subject, and by performing compensation for the movement vector for a predetermined portion in the high resolution data, the image of the partial image data can be used as the main image. It is possible to determine whether or not the position corresponds to. Of course, in this case, the acceleration sensor 250 may detect the vibration of the digital still camera and compensate for the vibration.

(8) Other Embodiments: In the above embodiment, the focus position by AF, the pen input device 500, etc. were used to extract a predetermined portion, but needless to say, the present invention is not limited to these configurations. Various configurations can be adopted. For example, when a pen tablet type input device is connected to a digital still camera or a computer and the tip of the pen-shaped input device is moved while pressing the tablet, a predetermined pointer is displayed on the LCD panel of the digital still camera or the display of the computer. It is possible to move and select a rectangular area or the like. Of course, a pen tablet can be used as an input device for moving a pointer when implementing the image display device according to the present invention.

Further, it is possible to automatically extract a predetermined portion. For example, for high-resolution data acquired by the digital still camera or computer,
It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a pattern matching process is performed to extract a specific pattern and the peripheral pixels of the extracted pattern are the pixels of the predetermined portion. Various patterns such as a person's face or a building having a specific shape can be adopted as the specific pattern.

As described above, in the present invention, partial image data that can be output at the first resolution for the pixels forming the predetermined portion of the image and the first resolution for the pixels forming the image larger than the predetermined portion. And main image data that can be output at a lower resolution. Therefore, the resolution of the entire image becomes low and the file capacity is suppressed, and it becomes possible to output the important predetermined portion at high resolution.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a CPU.

FIG. 3 is a photographing processing flowchart.

FIG. 4 is an operation example diagram showing a shooting operation together with an image example.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a CPU.

FIG. 7 is a photographing processing flowchart.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the digital still camera.

FIG. 9 is an operation example diagram showing a shooting operation together with image examples.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer.

FIG. 11 is an image display processing flowchart.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a display.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera.

FIG. 14 is an operation example diagram showing a shooting operation together with an image example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Digital still camera 20 ... Optics 21 ... Optical lens system 22a ... Auto focus mechanism 22b ... Distance measuring unit 23 ... Zoom mechanism 24 ... Optical system controller 25 ... Controller 26 ... CCD 27 ... Strobe 28 ... AGC 29 ... A / D converter 30 ... Control unit 31 ... Bus 32 ... CPU 32a ... Image data acquisition unit 32b ... Image data storage unit 32c ... Region of interest selection / cutout unit 32d ... Position detection unit 32e ... Exif file creation unit 33 ... ROM 34 ... RAM 34a ... Image area 34a1 ... High resolution image data 34a2 ... Low resolution image data 34b ... work area 34c ... Video RAM area 35 ... Operation panel 36 ... LCD panel 37b ... Flash memory card 40a to 40e ... Distance measuring position

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/387 101 G09G 5/36 520L 5/765 520F 5/92 520P // H04N 101: 00 H04N 5 / 92 H 5/91 L F Term (Reference) 5B050 AA09 BA06 BA10 EA12 FA02 FA05 GA08 5C053 FA08 FA27 GB05 GB36 KA01 KA24 LA01 5C076 AA02 AA13 AA21 AA22 BB06 BB32 CA02 CA10 5C082 AA00 AA01 BA12 BB03 BB25 BB15 BB25 BB15 BB25 BB15 BB25 BB15 BB15 BB25 CB06 DA22 DA53 DA63 DA73 DA86 MM04 MM10 (54) [Title of Invention] Image data generation device, image display device, image data generation method, image display method, medium recording image data generation program, image recording program recorded Medium, image data generation program and image display program

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. An image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data in which an image is represented by pixels in a dot matrix form, and pixels capable of forming a predetermined portion of the image from the acquired image data can be output at a first resolution. Partial image data generating means for generating partial image data, and a main image for generating main image data capable of outputting a lower resolution than the first resolution for pixels forming an image larger than the predetermined portion from the acquired image data. An image data generating apparatus comprising: a data generating unit; and an image data storing unit that stores the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage area. 2. The image data generating device according to claim 1, wherein the partial image data generating means generates the partial image data as thumbnail data. 3. The image data storage means according to claim 2, wherein the image data storage means stores the image data in a predetermined file format for storing the thumbnail data together with the main image data as a single file. Image data generator. 4. The image data storage means stores position specifying data for specifying a position to which the predetermined portion corresponds in an image of the main image data and data indicating that the predetermined portion can be output with high resolution. The image data generating device according to claim 3, wherein either or both of them are written in the file to be stored. 5. The image data acquisition means acquires image data of one image, according to claim 1.
The image data generation device according to claim 4. 6. The image data acquiring means acquires the image data for generating the partial image data and the image data for generating the main image data, according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An image data generation device according to claim 1. 7. The image of the image data for generating the partial image data and the image of the image data for generating the main image data include a common object, and the image of the image data for generating the partial image data has a main object. The image data generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the object occupies a larger proportion of the entire image than the image of the image data for generating the image data. 8. The image of the image data for generating the partial image data and the image of the image data for generating the main image data are images of substantially the same object, and the image of the image data for generating the partial image data is the main image. 8. The image data generation device according to claim 6, wherein the image data for data generation is data that can be output at a higher resolution than an image. 9. The image data for generating the partial image data and the image data for generating the main image data are image data obtained as a result of continuous imaging by a digital image acquisition device. Claims 6 to 8
The image data generation device according to any one of 1. 10. The image data storage means includes a movement amount of the same subject in an image in the image data for generating partial image data and the image data for generating main image data, which are obtained as a result of the continuous imaging, and The image data generating device according to claim 9, wherein the corresponding position of the predetermined portion in the image of the main image data is detected by detecting the moving direction. 11. The partial image data generation unit and the main image data generation unit can perform a predetermined compression process on the acquired image data, and the main image data generation unit generates the partial image data. The image data generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the image data is generated at a compression rate higher than that of the means. 12. The partial image data is image data of an object included in the main image data, and the partial image data constitutes the object with a larger number of pixels than the main image data. Claim 1
The image data generation device according to claim 11. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pixels of a predetermined portion of the image data to be the partial image data are a predetermined number of pixels in the approximate center of the image of the acquired image data. The image data generation device according to any one of 1. 14. The partial image data generating means includes a display unit for displaying an image based on the acquired image data so that the user can visually recognize the image, and the user can select a desired portion of the display image on the display unit. Equipped with an operation input section,
The image data generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a pixel corresponding to a portion selected based on an operation input of the operation input unit is a pixel of the predetermined portion. 15. The partial image data generation means includes a pattern matching processing unit for extracting a predetermined pattern from the acquired image data, and a predetermined pixel including the extracted pattern is set as a pixel of the predetermined portion. The image data generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that 16. The digital image pickup device, wherein the image data acquisition means includes an optical system for projecting a subject on a CCD through a predetermined lens and an AF mechanism for focusing an image on the CCD with a predetermined position of the subject as a reference. Image data of an image captured by a container is acquired, and the partial image data generation means sets a predetermined number of pixels around the predetermined position, which is a reference for focusing by the AF mechanism, as pixels of the predetermined portion. The image data generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that 17. An image display device for displaying an image based on partial image data and main image data stored in a predetermined storage area on a predetermined display unit, wherein the partial image data constitutes a predetermined portion of the image. Image data that can be output at a first resolution with respect to the pixels, and the main image data is image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for pixels that form an image larger than the predetermined portion. Main image display means for displaying an image based on the main image data on a display unit, and a predetermined image on the display unit so that the predetermined pointer moves on the main image data based on an operation input of a predetermined pointing device. Pointer display means for displaying a pointer, and the pointer reaches a position corresponding to the predetermined portion in the main image data And a part for displaying an image based on the partial image data on the display part in response to a predetermined operation input. An image display device comprising: an image display means. 18. An image data acquisition step of acquiring image data in which an image is represented by pixels in a dot matrix shape, and pixels for forming a predetermined portion of the image can be output at a first resolution from the acquired image data. A partial image data generating step of generating partial image data; and a main image for generating main image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for the pixels forming an image larger than the predetermined portion from the acquired image data. An image data generating method comprising: a data generating step; and an image data storing step of storing the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage area. 19. An image display method for displaying an image based on partial image data and main image data stored in a predetermined storage area on a predetermined display unit, wherein the partial image data constitutes a predetermined portion of the image. Image data that can be output at a first resolution with respect to the pixels, and the main image data is image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for pixels that form an image larger than the predetermined portion. A main image display step of displaying an image based on the main image data on the display unit, and a predetermined image on the display unit so that the predetermined pointer moves on the main image data based on an operation input of a predetermined pointing device. Pointer display step of displaying the pointer, and the pointer reaches the position corresponding to the predetermined portion in the main image data In this case, a partial display demonstrating step of clearly indicating that the image of the predetermined portion can be displayed on the display unit, and a portion of displaying an image based on the partial image data on the display unit according to a predetermined operation input An image display method comprising: an image display step. 20. A medium having recorded therein an image data generation program for generating at least two image data including a common portion in an image, and an image data acquisition function for acquiring image data in which the image is represented by pixels in a dot matrix form. A partial image data generation function for generating partial image data that can be output at a first resolution for pixels that form a predetermined portion of the image from the acquired image data; and a partial image data larger than the predetermined portion from the acquired image data. Main image data generation function for generating main image data that can be output at a lower resolution than the first resolution for pixels forming an image, and image data for storing the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage area A medium having an image data generation program recorded thereon, which causes a computer to realize a storage function. 21. A medium recording an image display program for displaying an image based on partial image data and main image data stored in a predetermined storage area on a predetermined display unit, wherein the partial image data is an image. The main image data is image data that can be output at a first resolution for pixels that form a predetermined portion, and the main image data is image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for pixels that make up an image that is larger than the predetermined portion. A main image display function for displaying an image based on the main image data on the display unit, and the display so that the predetermined pointer moves on the main image data based on an operation input of a predetermined pointing device. Pointer display function to display a specified pointer on the part, and the pointer corresponds to the specified part in the main image data. When the position is reached, the partial display clarification function that clearly shows that the image of the predetermined portion can be displayed on the display unit, and an image based on the partial image data on the display unit according to a predetermined operation input A medium having an image display program recorded thereon, which allows a computer to realize a partial image display function for displaying. 22. An image data generation program for generating at least two pieces of image data including a common portion in an image, the image data acquisition function acquiring image data in which the image is represented by pixels in a dot matrix shape, and the same acquisition. A partial image data generation function for generating partial image data that can be output at the first resolution for the pixels forming the predetermined portion of the image from the obtained image data; and forming an image larger than the predetermined portion from the acquired image data. A main image data generation function for generating main image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for pixels, and an image data storage function for storing the partial image data and the main image data in a predetermined storage area are provided. An image data generation program characterized by being realized by a computer. 23. An image display program for displaying an image based on partial image data and main image data stored in a predetermined storage area on a predetermined display unit, wherein the partial image data constitutes a predetermined portion of the image. Image data that can be output at a first resolution with respect to the pixels, and the main image data is image data that can be output at a resolution lower than the first resolution for pixels that form an image larger than the predetermined portion. A main image display function of displaying an image based on the main image data on the display unit, and a predetermined image on the display unit so that the predetermined pointer moves on the main image data based on an operation input of a predetermined pointing device. The pointer display function to display the pointer, and the pointer reaches the position corresponding to the predetermined part in the main image data. When the image is displayed, the partial display clarification function that clearly shows that the image of the predetermined portion can be displayed on the display unit, and the partial image that displays an image based on the partial image data on the display unit according to a predetermined operation input An image display program characterized by causing a computer to realize a display function.