JP2003244507A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a load on control operations at image reproduction by preparing compressed image data formed as image data to be used for reproducing, when applying a raw image record control function for recording photographed image data into a record media as raw image data together with the application of a compressed image record control function. <P>SOLUTION: A display image block area 70, having the same constitution as a memory card 58 for storing data in a JPEG file format, is provided in a part of area of CCD-raw file format to be utilized as image data only used for reproducing by a LCD28, when photograph is made by a recording mode set as the raw image record control function CCD-raw. Therefore, a signal processing unit 104 does not need a process for reading CCD-raw data (raw image data) in each reproducing operation for displaying by the LCD28, and enables rapid reproduction. This leads then to reducing the load on control operations. <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 pickup function of obtaining an analog image data by photoelectrically converting the image by a solid-state image pickup device and a recording medium for analog-digital conversion of the analog image data to create digital image data. The present invention relates to a digital camera having a digital image data recording function for recording in.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a digital camera, a CCD (Ch
When a still image or the like is photographed using an arge Coupled Device), the image data is converted from analog to digital and then recorded in a recording medium such as a memory card in a state of being compressed by a preset compression format (for example, JPEG). And save.

Image data compressed and stored (hereinafter referred to as JPE
G data) is decompressed and displayed during reproduction on a liquid crystal monitor on a digital camera. Further, when displaying an index image or the like, a thumbnail image is prepared in advance separately from the JPEG compressed image, and the thumbnail image is read out to shorten the read processing time.

The digital camera can be easily connected to an external control device (personal computer), and the image data recorded on the recording medium is taken into the personal computer and printed out in various states. It has become popular rapidly in recent years.

Here, especially for professional use, an image taken by a digital camera is often applied as a business. In this case, once an image shot with high image quality is compressed, the image quality and the like may deteriorate as compared with the image data originally taken, though depending on the compression rate.

Therefore, conventionally, in addition to the compressed image recording control function, a photographed image is recorded as it is, that is, raw image data (hereinafter, CCD-raw data) is recorded on a recording medium, and the CCD is displayed on a personal computer. A digital camera having a raw image recording control function has been proposed so as to be able to capture -raw (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-9043).
No. 5, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-261933).

As disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art, C
Unlike normal JPEG data, CD-raw data is not processed necessary for playback and display on the LCD monitor of a digital camera, so interpolation AE, AWB, gamma adjustment, etc. are required when playing CCD-raw data. It is time consuming to perform all of these processes. Therefore, reproduction and frame advance on the digital camera cannot be performed comfortably, which gives the user discomfort.

In order to solve this, a dedicated thumbnail image is generated from the CCD-raw data, and the original CCD-
Although it has been proposed to record the raw data on a recording medium, the process for generating the sim nails complicates the control of the digital camera, and the processing speed is additionally burdened.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above facts, the present invention applies a compressed image recording control function when a raw image recording control function of recording photographed image data as raw image data on a recording medium is applied. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a digital camera capable of reducing the control load at the time of image reproduction by applying the above and creating compressed image data for image data at the time of reproduction.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup function of picking up an image by a solid-state image pickup device and performing photoelectric conversion to obtain analog image data, and a digital image obtained by analog-digital converting the analog image data. A digital camera having a digital image data recording function for creating image data and recording the image data on a recording medium, the compressed image recording control recording the digital image data on the recording medium in a compressed state in a predetermined compression format. Means for recording the digital image data on the recording medium in an unprocessed state by using the raw image recording control means for recording the digital image data on the recording medium in an unprocessed state, and the raw image recording control means In addition, the compressed image data obtained by using the compressed image recording control means and compressed in the predetermined compression format is exclusively used for monitor reproduction. A reproduction image recording control means for recording,
have.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when unprocessed digital image data is used for monitor reproduction, processing for monitor reproduction (interpolation AE, AWB, gamma adjustment, etc.) is required. However, if compressed image data is recorded exclusively for monitor reproduction together with the unprocessed digital image data, reproduction can be carried out in a short time without burdening the control.

The unprocessed digital image data as used herein means that after the correlated double sampling, the sensitivity of the color filter is corrected in analog, and the data recorded after A / D and the dark (black) data are corrected. At least one of the recorded data and the data recorded with the arrangement state of the color filters after white balance is included.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the compressed image data dedicated to monitor reproduction recorded by the reproduction image recording control means is recorded by the raw image recording control means. It is characterized in that the created unprocessed digital image data is recorded in a part of the area set for recording.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when image data is recorded on the recording medium, it is general to provide an area for each captured image. At this time, if the compressed image data dedicated to monitor reproduction is stored in a part of the area provided for recording the unprocessed digital image data, there is no need to build it as a separate file.
There is no problem that the image becomes confusing when the image is taken into a PC (personal computer) or the like and the relationship is broken.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the compressed image data dedicated to the monitor reproduction is compressed by the number of pixels having the lowest resolution. There is.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the compressed image data dedicated to the monitor reproduction need only be confirmed on the monitor, and since the monitor size is generally small, the compression of the pixel number with the lowest resolution is performed. As a result, the control load can be reduced without impairing the visibility on the monitor.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a control system in a digital camera 10 according to this embodiment. The digital camera 10 is provided with an image pickup section 18. Imaging unit 1
The lens 8 has a lens 18A, a mechanical shutter, and a diaphragm (not shown), and allows light incident from the lens 18A to enter the CCD 18B through the diaphragm when the mechanical shutter is open. is there.

The digital camera 10 has a strobe 1
2 is provided, and if necessary, the flash control unit 14 controls the light to be emitted manually or automatically.

The control devices including the image pickup section 18 and the strobe control section 14 of the digital camera 10 are connected by a bus 16 and their operations are controlled by the CPU 20. Each control device is a battery 2
Power is supplied from 2 and it is operable.

The bus 16 has a system memory (RAM or ROM) 24 and a non-volatile memory 2 as control devices.
6, a timer function unit 28, and a calendar / clock function unit 30 are connected to each other.

An I / O port 32 is connected to the bus 16, and an I / O port 32 is operated by an operation / display system 36 attached to a housing 34 (see FIG. 2) of the digital camera 10. Signals are input and output.

As shown in FIG. 2, the digital camera 10
A liquid crystal monitor (LCD) 38 is provided on the rear surface side of the housing 34 (the side opposite to the side on which the imaging unit 18 is provided). A frame number display section 40, which is a part of the operation / display system, is provided on the upper portion of the LCD 38.
The 7-segment liquid crystal display allows the frame number to be displayed.

As an operation / display system, on the right side of the LCD 38 on the back side of the housing 34, there are circular up / down / left / right keys 42 used for frame switching of images displayed on the LCD 38, item selection, and the like. It is arranged. By tilting the axis of the circular up / down / left / right key 42 up / down / left / right, contact points of different switches are switched when tilted, and the switching signal is input to the I / O 32 (see FIG. 1). It has become.

Below the up / down / left / right keys 42, a menu button 44, an execute button 46, and a cancel button 48 are arranged vertically from the top. A release button 50 and a mode setting dial 52 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 34.

When the mode setting dial 52 and the menu button 44 are operated, a setup screen 54 for making various settings is displayed on the LCD 38 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. .

The execute button 46 is operated when the function is selected by the up / down / left / right keys 42 on the setup screen 54, and the cancel button 48 is operated when the selected function is canceled.

As shown in FIG. 1, a memory card slot 60 to which a memory card 58 as a recording medium can be attached / detached is connected to the bus 16 via a card I / F 56. The image data taken by the image pickup unit 18 is recorded in the memory card 58 loaded in the memory card slot 60.

Here, in the present embodiment, as a recording mode of the image data to the memory card 58, a JPEG recording control function for recording the JPEG data compressed in the JPEG format and a raw image data (CCD) which is not compressed. -Ra
A CCD-raw recording control function for recording w data) is set.

The file structure recorded in the memory card 58 by the JPEG recording control function is classified into a Tag information area 62, a thumbnail area 64, and a main image area 66, as shown in FIG. The above-mentioned areas have the same structure as a general JPEG file structure, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the file structure recorded in the memory card 58 by the CCD-raw recording control function is, as shown in FIG. 5, a header block area 68, a display image block area 70, and a CCD-raw image block. The area 74 is classified.

The header block area 68 includes a manufacturer identifier storage section 76, a format identifier storage section 78, a format version storage section 80, and a compatibility code storage section 8.
2, model identifier storage unit 84, model version storage unit 8
6, display data offset storage unit 88, display image data length storage unit 90, reproduction parameter set offset storage unit 92, reproduction parameter set length storage unit 94, CCD-r
It is classified into an aw data offset storage unit 96 and a CCD-raw data length storage unit 98.

In the display image block area 70, the J
The PEG file structure is stored as it is, and the details thereof are classified into a Tag information area 62, a thumbnail area 64, and a display image area 66.

That is, the LCD 3 of the digital camera 10
8 when reproducing and displaying an image, the JPEG image data (in this case, VGA (640 × 480 pixels)) or thumbnail image data stored in the display image block area 70 can be read out. ing. Further, the CCD-raw image block area 74 is classified into a reproduction parameter set storage unit 100 and a CCD-raw data storage unit 102. The image data stored in the CCD-raw data storage unit 102 becomes the captured raw image data.

The signal input to the image pickup section 18 is sent to the signal processing section 104, subjected to noise reduction processing such as correlated double sampling, gain control, and sent to the A / D conversion section 106. To be done.

The image data A / D converted by the A / D conversion unit 106 is sent to the compression / decompression unit 108 and subjected to compression processing (JPEG) in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 20, or is left as it is. In this state, it is sent to the memory card slot 60 via the card I / F 56.

The image data recorded in the memory card 58 is read out based on a reproduction display instruction from the CPU 20, stored in the frame memory 110, and the LCD control unit 1
It is displayed on the LCD 12 under the control of 12. At this time, on the LCD 112, characters, character data, and the like are superimposed and displayed together with the image display based on the image data controlled by the OSD (on-screen display unit 114).

An external I / F 116 is connected to the bus 16 and can be directly connected to an external control device (hereinafter referred to as a PC 120) such as a personal computer via a connector 118. The image data recorded in the memory card 58 can be transmitted.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

Before taking a picture with the digital camera 10,
Operate the mode setting dial 52 to set up screen 5
4 is displayed on the LCD 38.

Shooting conditions are set on the setup screen. First, the recording mode can be selected by selecting (highlighting) the recording mode with the up / down / left / right keys 42 and operating the execute button. In the item of recording mode,
As shown in, JPEG / FINE, JPEG / BA
The modes of SIC and CCD-raw are set.

In FIG. 3, JPEG / FINE, JPEG /
BASIC and CCD-raw are displayed, the recording mode to be selected is selected (highlighted) by the up / down / left / right keys 42, and the execute button 46 is operated.

Similarly, the number of JPEG pixels, sharpness,
Select the beeper item as necessary and set it.

In the photographing mode, the image pickup unit 1 is displayed on the LCD 38.
The preview taken in 8 is displayed, and when the predetermined angle of view is determined, the release button 50 is operated and the shooting is executed.

The recording mode is JPEG / FINE or JP
In the case of EG / BASIC, the data imaged by the imaging unit 18 is sent to the signal processing unit 104, subjected to noise reduction processing by correlation 2 Die sampling, gain control, etc., and then A / D converted. Generate digital image data.

Thereafter, the compression / expansion unit 108 compresses the digital image data and records it on the memory card 58.

On the other hand, when the recording mode is CCD-raw, the data picked up by the image pickup unit 18 is the signal processing unit 10.
After the correlated double sampling in 4, the color filter sensitivity is corrected in analog and only the A / D conversion is performed in the A / D conversion unit 106, that is, the raw image data is recorded in the memory card 58.

In addition, in the case of this CCD-raw recording mode, the JPEG / FINE, JPEG
Processing similar to that of / BASIC is executed, compressed image data (VGA) is generated as reproduction-only image data for reproduction on the LCD 38, and is stored in a part of the storage area of the CCD-raw (FIG. 5). (See image block area for display 70).

In the reproduction mode, when the index mode is selected, the thumbnail image is read from the thumbnail image area 64 of each image area recorded in the memory card 58 regardless of the recording mode. , The captured images are displayed in a matrix on the LCD as index images.

At this time, in the CCD-raw file format, the thumbnail image is read from the thumbnail image area provided as a part of the display image block area 70.

Even when the one-image reproduction mode is selected, if the image data is recorded in the JPEG file format, the compressed image data is read from the main image area 66 and the compression / expansion unit 108. After being expanded and expanded in the frame memory 110, it is displayed on the LCD 38. On the other hand, when the image is recorded in the CCD-raw file format, the compressed image data is read from the reproduced image area 66 of the display image block area 70,
The data is expanded in the compression / expansion unit 108, expanded in the frame memory 110, and then displayed on the LCD 38.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
When shooting in CCD-raw as the recording mode, C
A display image block area 70 having a structure similar to that of recording on the memory card 58 in the JPEG file format is provided in a partial area of the CD-raw file format.
Since it is used as image data exclusively for reproduction display on the LCD 28, every time reproduction display is performed on the LCD 28, the CCD-ra
It is not necessary to read the w data (raw image data) and perform the processing to be executed by the signal processing unit 104, and the reproduction can be performed quickly. In addition, the control load is correspondingly reduced.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the raw image recording control function for recording photographed image data as raw image data on the recording medium is applied, the compressed image recording control function is also applied for compression. By creating the image data for the image data at the time of reproduction, there is an excellent effect that the control load at the time of image reproduction can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the digital camera as seen from the back side.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a setup screen.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a file structure of JPEG data.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a file structure of CCD-raw data.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 digital camera 16 bus 18 Imaging unit 18B CCD 20 CPU 38 LCD 54 Setup screen 58 Memory card (recording medium) 68 Header block area 70 Display image block area 74 CCD-raw image block area 102 CCD-raw data storage unit 104 signal processing unit 106 A / D converter 108 compression / decompression section

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AC69                 5C052 AA17 DD04 GA02 GC05 GE08                 5C053 FA08 FA27 GA11 GB36 LA01

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup function for picking up an image by a solid-state image pickup device and photoelectrically converting it to obtain analog image data, and digital image data for analog-digital converting the analog image data to create digital image data and recording it on a recording medium. A digital camera having a recording function, wherein compressed image recording control means records the digital image data in the recording medium in a compressed state in a predetermined compression format, and the digital image data in an unprocessed state. A raw image recording control means for recording on a recording medium, and when the raw image recording control means is used to record digital image data in an unprocessed state on the recording medium, the compressed image recording control means is also used. Reproduction image recording control means for recording the obtained compressed image data compressed in the predetermined compression format only for monitor reproduction. Digital camera. 2. The compressed image data dedicated to monitor reproduction recorded by the reproduction image recording control means is set for recording unprocessed digital image data created by the raw image recording control means. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the data is recorded in a part of the area. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the compressed image data dedicated to the monitor reproduction is compressed with the number of pixels having the lowest resolution.