JP2007043502A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a live dynamic image for photographing and a live dynamic image around it when zooming. <P>SOLUTION: A light image is converted to an electronic signal through a main light reception part to generate main image data, and the light image is converted to an electronic signal through an auxiliary light reception part to generate auxiliary image data. The main image data and the auxiliary image data are stored, and then a main image and an auxiliary image based on these image data are display. In this case, an area corresponding to the main image, of the auxiliary image is emphatically displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus suitable for use when an object is magnified by an optical zoom function.

  Some conventional digital cameras have a zoom function. A digital camera having a zoom function is known in which a part of image data stored in a memory is digitally zoomed and displayed on a liquid crystal display or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-72206 A

  In the above-described technology, the live moving image enlarged and displayed on the screen of a liquid crystal display or the like provided in the image pickup apparatus is obtained by digitally zooming a part of the held image data, so that the image quality is significantly deteriorated.

  Also, with the above-described technique, it is difficult to track the subject because the landscape around the subject is not displayed in a wide range during zooming.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and provides an imaging apparatus capable of confirming the periphery of a subject over a wide range without losing the image quality of the subject during zooming. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention converts a light image into an electronic signal through a main light receiving unit to generate main image data, and converts the light image into an electronic signal through a sub light receiving unit. To generate sub-image data. Then, after storing the main image data and the sub image data, the main image and the sub image based on these image data are displayed. At this time, an area corresponding to the main image is highlighted in the sub-image.

  According to the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the main light receiving port having the shooting lens group, the live light image for shooting that includes the sub light receiving port having the single focus lens and that expands the subject using the optical zoom, and By displaying both the subject within the frame line and the live moving image displaying the landscape around the subject over a wide range, the framing of the subject during zooming is facilitated. In addition, by correcting the parallax based on the above-described two lenses during zooming, shooting can be performed without losing the image quality of the subject during zooming compared to when the subject is zoomed in by digital zoom.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the external configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described.

  As shown in the schematic front view of FIG. 1, the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment has a main light receiving unit including a photographing lens group, a shutter, and a stop combined with a variable power lens and a focusing lens on the front surface. It has a mouth 11, an optical viewfinder 12, and a built-in flash 13, and has a shutter button 14 on the upper surface. Moreover, it has the sub light-receiving opening 15 provided with the single focus lens in the front.

  Further, as shown in the schematic rear view of FIG. 2, the imaging device according to the first embodiment is a liquid crystal that displays a main image, which is a live moving image for shooting, acquired through the main light receiving port 11 on the rear surface. A sub-picture which is a live moving image acquired via the display 21, the optical viewfinder 22, the direction key 23, the enter key 24, the zoom control key 25 for instructing driving of the photographing lens group, and the sub light receiving port 15 A sub liquid crystal display 27 for displaying an image, and displays the same image as the main image in a region surrounded by the frame line 26 among the sub images displayed on the sub liquid crystal display 27.

  Next, the internal configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

  The imaging device 30 includes a main control unit 31 that controls each unit in an integrated manner, an external operation unit 32 in which an instruction is input by a user through the shutter button 14, the direction key 23, the determination key 24, and the like, and the timing of an acquired image Timing generators (TG) 33 and 34 to be controlled are provided.

  The imaging device 30 also includes a lens control unit 35 that controls the photographing lens group 11a, a shutter control unit 36 that controls the shutter 11c, an aperture control unit 37 that controls the aperture 11b, and the main light receiving port 11. A CCD 38 that converts light into an electronic signal, a conversion processing unit 39 that performs A / D conversion of the electronic signal, a first signal processing unit 40 that performs color space conversion of the A / D converted electronic signal, and a main bus 41 An SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) 42 that temporarily stores image data, and a memory control unit 43 that controls writing / reading of data to / from the SDRAM 42.

  In addition, the imaging device 30 includes a CCD 44 that converts light through the sub light receiving opening 15 including the single focus lens 15a and the diaphragm 15b into an electronic signal, a conversion processing unit 45 that performs A / D conversion of the electronic signal, and A And a second signal processing unit 46 that performs color space conversion of the / D-converted electronic signal.

  Further, the imaging device 30 is supplied to an image processing unit 47 that performs encoding of image data, a display control unit 48 that controls image display on the liquid crystal display 21 and the sub liquid crystal display 27, and a memory card 50 that stores image data. And a card control unit 49 for controlling writing / reading of the image data.

  The main control unit 31 always waits for input of a photographing signal from the external operation unit 32 such as a shutter button. In addition, when a photographing signal is input from the external operation unit 32, the main control unit 31 performs a photographing operation in order to perform a photographing operation, such as a TG 33, a TG 34, a lens control unit 35, a shutter control unit 36, and an aperture control unit 37. And overall control.

  The main light receiving port 11 includes a photographing lens group 11a, a diaphragm 11b, and a shutter 11c. When light of a subject to be a main image enters the photographing lens group 11a, the light amount is adjusted by the diaphragm 11b. . Here, the photographing lens group 11a, the shutter 11c, and the aperture 11b are controlled by a lens control unit 35, a shutter control unit 36, and an aperture control unit 37, respectively.

  The CCD 38 forms an optical image and converts the optical image into an electronic signal.

  The conversion processing unit 39 performs signal amplification, A / D conversion, and white balance control of the electronic signal supplied from the CCD 38.

  The first signal processing unit 40 performs color space conversion and noise removal of an electronic signal subjected to signal amplification, A / D conversion and white balance control, generates image data, and supplies the image data to the main bus 41 of the system. .

  The SDRAM 42 has a plurality of frame memory buffers. The memory control unit 43 stores the image data in a specific frame memory buffer in the SDRAM 42 via the main bus 41 of the system.

  On the other hand, the sub light receiving port 15 includes a single focus lens 15a and a diaphragm 15b, and the single focus lens 15a receives light of an object. The diaphragm 15b adjusts the amount of light of the subject.

  The CCD 44 forms an optical image and converts the optical image into an electronic signal.

  The conversion signal processing unit 45 performs signal amplification, A / D conversion, and white balance control of the electronic signal supplied from the CCD 44.

  The second signal processing unit 46 performs color space conversion of the electronic signal subjected to signal amplification, A / D conversion, and white balance control, generates image data, and supplies the image data to the main bus 41 of the system.

  The image processing unit 47 performs enlargement, reduction, compression encoding, expansion, and the like of image data in the SDRAM 42 via the system main bus 41.

  The display control unit 48 captures image data, live moving image data developed in a plurality of frame memories in the SDRAM 42 via the main bus 41 of the system, and an image of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) area drawn by the main control unit 31. Each data is synthesized. Further, the display control unit 48 converts each synthesized data into an external output signal, and displays an image on the liquid crystal display 21 and the sub liquid crystal display 27.

  When a signal is input from the external operation unit 32 such as the shutter button 14 to the main control unit 31, the card control unit 49 transmits the compressed image data in the SDRAM 42 to the camera body via the system main bus 41. The data is stored in the attached memory card 50.

  Subsequently, the operation of the imaging device 30 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  The main control unit 31 controls the TG 33 and the TG 34 when no signal is input from the external operation unit 32 such as the shutter 14.

  The CCD 38 and the conversion processing unit 39 controlled by the TG 33 process the light taken from the main light receiving port 11. The conversion processing unit 39 supplies an electronic signal to the first signal processing unit 40 at a constant cycle. The image data supplied from the first signal processing unit 40 to the system main bus 41 is written into the frame memory in the SDRAM 42 by the memory control unit 43.

  Since the display resolution of the liquid crystal display 21 is lower than that of the captured still image, the CCD 38 may supply the thinned electronic signal to the conversion processing unit 39. As shown in FIG. 4, the SDRAM 42 has a plurality of frame memories such as a control program memory 61, a frame memory A 62, a frame memory B 63, a GUI drawing area memory 64, and an image processing memory 65. For example, the frame memory A62 has a capacity capable of storing the image data of the thinned main image for two screens. The image data of the main image is alternately written in the two-sided buffer in the frame memory A.

  On the other hand, when the CCD 44 and the conversion processing unit 45 controlled by the TG 34 pass the light of the sub image taken from the sub light receiving port 15, the electronic signal is supplied to the second signal processing unit 46 at a constant period. The image data of the sub image supplied from the second signal processing unit 46 to the system main bus 41 is written into the frame memory B 63 in the SDRAM 42 by the memory control unit 43.

  For example, the CCD 44 supplies the thinned electronic signal to the conversion processing unit 45. The thinned image data of the sub-image is alternately written into the two buffers in the frame memory B63 shown in FIG.

  Simultaneously with the writing of imaging to the frame memory A62 and the frame memory B63, the display control unit 48 reads image data from the frame memory A62, the frame memory B63, and the GUI drawing area memory 64 by the memory control unit 43, respectively. Then, an image corresponding to the image data read from the frame memory A 62 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 21, and an image corresponding to the image data read from the frame memory B 63 and the GUI drawing area memory 64 are read on the sub liquid crystal display 27. A frame line 26 corresponding to the frame data is displayed.

  Further, the main control unit 31 determines the range of the same image as the main image in the sub image displayed on the sub liquid crystal display 27 from the difference in image quality between the CCD 38 and the CCD 44 and the zoom magnification set in the lens group 11a. Is calculated. Further, the main control unit 31 displays the frame line 26 based on the frame line data in the GUI drawing area memory 64 on the SDRAM 42.

  As described above, the imaging device 30 can acquire the main image through the main light receiving port 11 and can acquire the sub image through the sub light receiving port 15. The imaging device 30 also displays the main image surrounded by the frame line 26 on the sub liquid crystal display 27 and the image around the subject that is the main image, thereby tracking the subject during zoom shooting. Can be performed more easily.

  Here, a method of displaying the frame line 26 on the sub liquid crystal display 27 performed by the main control unit 31 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The main control unit 31 is always in a state of waiting for a zoom control input from the external operation unit 32 (key input acceptance state) (step S71).

  In step S72, the main control unit 31 determines whether or not there has been a zoom control input from the external operation unit 32. If there is a zoom control input, the main control unit 31 proceeds to step S73 and performs zoom lens control. On the other hand, if there is no zoom control input, the process returns to the key input acceptance state (step S71).

  The main control unit 31 controls the zoom lens in step S73, and as a result, acquires the zoom magnification n (step S74).

  In step S75, the main control unit 31 compares the zoom magnification n with the previous zoom magnification. If the zoom magnification n varies compared to the previous zoom magnification, the process proceeds to step S76. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S75 that no further zooming is possible, the zoom magnification n does not vary compared to the previous zoom magnification, and the process returns to the key input acceptance state (step S71).

  In step S76, the main control unit 31 determines whether or not the zoom magnification is greater than 1. When the zoom magnification is larger than 1, the process proceeds to step S77 in order to display the frame line 26. On the other hand, when the zoom magnification is 1, it is not necessary to display the frame line 26. Therefore, the frame line 26 is deleted in step S80, and the process returns to the key input acceptance state in step S71.

  The main control unit 31 calculates the vertical and horizontal lengths of the frame line 26 in step S77. Here, the vertical and horizontal lengths of the frame line 26 and the vertical and horizontal lengths of the sub liquid crystal display 27 are set such that the vertical and horizontal lengths of the sub liquid crystal display 27 are H and W, respectively. When the vertical and horizontal lengths are Hs and Ws, respectively, Hs = H / n and Ws = W / n. In other words, the display area of the liquid crystal display 21 in the sub-image displayed on the sub liquid crystal display 27 can be changed by changing the size of the frame line 26 corresponding to the zoom magnification n.

  Since the parallax occurs between the main image and the sub-image, the main control unit 31 calculates a parallax correction value in step S78.

  When the parallax correction value has a magnitude that affects the display resolution, the main control unit 31 corrects the parallax between the main image displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 and the sub-image displayed on the sub liquid crystal display 27. The frame line 26 is displayed. On the other hand, when the parallax correction value has a size that does not affect the display resolution, the frame line 26 is displayed without correcting the parallax (step S79). Thereafter, the main control unit 31 returns to the key input acceptance state (step S71).

  Here, a method in which the main control unit 31 calculates the parallax correction value in step S78 will be described with reference to FIG.

The main control unit 31 calculates a parallax correction value using Df, θ ₁ , θ ₂ , Dm, and Ds acquired from the lens control unit 35, the shutter control unit 36, and the aperture control unit 37.

Df is the focus distance of the optical system 1 corresponding to the subject distance, and fluctuates during zooming. Θ ₁ is the angle of view of the optical system 1 and fluctuates during zooming. Θ ₂ is the angle of view of the optical system 2 and does not vary. Dm is a deviation between the first principal point of the optical system 1 and the first principal point of the optical system 2 and fluctuates during zooming. Ds is the distance between the centers of the two lenses, and is a fixed value determined when the camera housing is designed.

First, the main control unit 31 calculates the width W _{1 of} the subject viewed from the optical system ₁ by the following equation (1).

_{W 1 = Df × tan (θ} 1/2) × 2 ··· (1)
Further, the main control unit 31 calculates the width W2 of the subject viewed from the optical system ₂ by the following equation (2).

_{W 2 = (Df + Dm)} × tan (θ 2/2) × 2 ··· (2)
Next, the main control part 31 calculates the parallax distance Dp by the following formula | equation (3) using Formula (1) and Formula (2).

Dp = Ds + W ₂ / 2-W _1/2 (3)
The ratio between the parallax distance Dp calculated by the equation (3) and the width W _{2 of} the subject viewed from the optical system 2 is defined as a parallax correction factor N.

N = Dp / W ₂ (4)
When the display resolution of the liquid crystal display is width Wd × height Hd, the main control unit 31 calculates a parallax correction value by the following equation (5).

Parallax correction value = Wd × N (5)
When the parallax correction value calculated by the equation (5) is larger than 1, correction is performed, and when the parallax correction value is 1 or less, correction is not performed.

  FIG. 6 shown here is a diagram in the case of calculating the parallax correction value of the horizontal position between the lenses. For the correction value of the vertical position between the lenses, the same formula is used by replacing the value of Ds. That's fine.

  The main control unit 31 corrects the parallax generated between the images taken between the two lenses using the parallax correction value calculated by the above-described procedure, thereby improving the image quality of the subject during zooming. Is possible.

  In the first embodiment described above, the liquid crystal display 21 that displays the main image and the sub liquid crystal display 27 that displays the sub image are provided on the back surface of the imaging device 30, but as a second embodiment, It is also possible to provide an imaging device that has the same basic structure as the imaging device 30 and displays the main image and the sub-image on the same liquid crystal display as shown in FIG. At this time, the display control unit 48 uses the memory control unit 43 to write image data from the frame memory A 62, the frame memory B 63, and the GUI drawing area memory 64 at the same time as the image writing to the frame memory A 62 and the frame memory B 63. The three image data are mixed and displayed on the liquid crystal display 21. Various methods are conceivable for mixing image data. As the simplest method, there is a method in which the frame memory A 62, the frame memory B 63, and the GUI drawing area memory 64 are superimposed and displayed in this order.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the zoom control key 25 is installed on the back surface of the imaging device 30 for controlling the magnification of the optical zoom, but on the side surface of the photographing lens group 11a provided on the front surface of the imaging device. A zoom ring that can be moved manually may be installed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the single focus lens 15a is installed in the sub light receiving port 15. However, not only the single focus lens 15a but also a fisheye lens capable of capturing an image at a wider angle may be installed. In this case, the size of the frame 26 is determined by performing a comparative calculation of the size of the image captured by the fisheye lens and the image captured by the main light receiving opening 11.

It is a front schematic diagram of the imaging device in the present embodiment. It is a back surface schematic diagram of the imaging device in this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the imaging device in this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the some frame memory which SDRAM has. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the display of the frame line which a main control part performs. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of two optical systems and a to-be-photographed object. It is a back surface schematic diagram of the imaging device in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Main light-receiving opening, 11a Shooting lens group, 11b Aperture, 11c Shutter, 12 Optical finder, 13 Built-in flash, 14 Shutter button, 15 Sub-light-receiving opening, 15a Single focus lens, 15b Aperture, 21 Liquid crystal display, 22 Optical finder, 23 Direction key, 24 Enter key, 25 Zoom control key, 26 Frame line, 27 Sub liquid crystal display, 30 Imaging device, 31 Main control unit, 32 External operation unit, 33 TG, 34 TG, 35 Lens control unit, 36 Shutter control 37, aperture control unit, 38 CCD, 39 conversion processing unit, 40 first signal processing unit, 41 main bus, 42 SDRAM, 43 memory control unit, 44 CCD, 45 conversion processing unit, 46 second signal processing unit, 47 Image processing unit, 48 display control unit, 49 card control unit, 50 meg Memory card, 61 control program memory, 62 frame memory A, 63 frame memory B, 64 GUI drawing area memory, 65 image processing memory

Claims (3)

An imaging apparatus comprising a main light receiving unit having a zoom lens and a sub light receiving unit having a single focus lens,
A first image generating means for converting a light image into an electronic signal through the main light receiving unit and generating main image data;
A second image generating means for converting a light image into an electronic signal via the sub light receiving unit and generating sub image data;
Storage means for storing the main image data and the sub-image data;
Display means for displaying a main image based on the main image data stored in the storage means and a sub image based on the sub image data;
The image pickup apparatus, wherein the display means highlights an area corresponding to the main image in the sub-image.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the main image and the sub-image on separate display units.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the main image and the sub-image on the same display unit.

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