JPH11298764A - Digital still camera with composite image display function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm prior to photographing the composition ratio on a digital still camera, having an image composting function to set its composition ratio. SOLUTION: An image selected by an image selecting means 22 is read out of a storage means 23 and inputted to an image compositing means 26. An image-pickup means 24 picks up a current image and inputs it to the image compositing means 26. While the means 26 composites an image of both the images displays their composited image on a display means 27, a compositing ratio setting means 25 sets the composite ratio of the selected image and current image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital still camera with a composite image display function, and more particularly, it is possible to combine an image captured in the past and an image to be captured at a desired composition ratio. And a digital still camera capable of displaying the combined image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of a still camera, there is a case where photographing is performed to obtain a composite photograph in which a plurality of images are combined. In a conventional still camera using a film, a so-called double exposure is used. A composite photograph is obtained by superimposing a previously photographed image on an image to be photographed (a photographed image). In addition, the present applicant uses a digital still camera to provide a digital still camera having a composite photograph function of combining a previously captured image or an image recorded in a memory mountable on the camera with a captured image. Proposed (see Japanese Patent Application No. 9-160228).

[0003]

However, in any of the above-described methods of performing double exposure with a still camera and taking a composite photograph using the composite photograph function of a digital still camera, the exposure amount is not limited to the above. By changing the composition ratio, it is possible to obtain a composite photograph by changing the composition ratio, but it is not possible to check the composited image on the spot, so the composite image is synthesized while actually checking the composite image on the spot. The ratio could not be determined.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. In taking a composite photograph, the composite ratio of the composite image can be confirmed before photographing, and further, the photograph is printed on the lab side by printing at the composite ratio. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital still camera that can be ordered.

[0005]

A digital still camera according to the present invention comprises: an image synthesizing means for synthesizing a first image recorded in a storage means and a second image to be photographed; A digital still camera provided with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel for displaying the first image or the second image, wherein a combination ratio setting unit that sets a desired combination ratio between the first image and the second image is provided. The image combining means combines the first image and the second image in accordance with the combining ratio set by the combining ratio setting means, and the display means is combined by the image combining means. Characterized in that it is a camera with a composite image display function for displaying the composite image.

Here, the "storage means" may be of any type as long as it stores the first image, and may be, for example, a memory built in the camera or a memory card such as a memory card. It may be detachable. Further, the first image is not limited to an image taken by the camera itself, but may be any image such as an image taken by another camera and recorded on the memory card or an image created by a personal computer or the like. There may be.

Here, the setting of the "synthesis ratio" is not limited as long as the ratio for synthesizing the first image and the second image is set. For example, the first image 1
00% and the second image 100% are combined to a level of 200%, or the first image 50% and the second image 100%
May be set by a summing method in which respective numerical values are simply added so that the values are combined to a level of 150%, or if one is increased, the other is decreased. As a whole, a composite image having a predetermined (for example, 100%) luminance level may be obtained.

In this camera, it is desirable that the camera is provided with an image selecting means for selecting the first image from a large number of images stored in the storage means.

It is desirable that the camera is provided with output level adjusting means for adjusting the output level of the composite image.

Further, in this camera, the second image is recorded in a non-combined state, and information for designating the first image and the second image to be combined and the combination ratio setting means set the information. It is desirable to provide a combined data recording means for recording in correspondence with the combination ratio.

[0011]

According to the digital still camera with the composite image display function of the present invention, the composite image is displayed on the display means, so that the composite ratio can be set while checking the composite image before photographing. it can.

Further, if an image selecting means for selecting the first image from among a large number of images is provided, not only the image immediately before photographed by the camera but also a memory such as a memory is stored in advance. The image can be read out from the images as appropriate and displayed on the display means, and this image and the second image to be shot can be combined and shot.

Further, if the output level adjusting means is provided, the output level of the synthesized image can be adjusted independently of the setting of the synthesis ratio, so that a synthesized image having a desired output level can be easily obtained. Will be able to

Furthermore, the second image is stored separately from the composite image in a non-composite state, and information for designating the first image and the second image to be composed and the composition ratio thereof are made to correspond to each other. If the recording is performed in a lab or the like, it is possible to print a composite image according to the composition ratio in the laboratory, and it is also possible to print the second image alone. Further, even if the combination ratio is not the desired one, only the combination ratio can be separately corrected, so that a composite image according to the corrected combination ratio can be printed.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the appearance of a digital still camera 10 with a composite image display function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the camera 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 10 has a lens barrel 11 having a built-in photographing lens attached to the center of the front of the camera 10, and a finder window 12 provided at the upper right of the lens barrel 11. A release button 13 is provided on the upper surface of the camera 10. A memory card cover 14 is provided on the left side of the camera 10 via a hinge (not shown) so as to be freely opened and closed. A memory card loading chamber is formed inside the camera 10, and the memory card cover 14 is opened to open the camera.
A memory card can be inserted into or removed from the camera 10.

As a memory card, for example, a PC card or a smart media (SSFD) compatible with a PC card by a PC card adapter can be used.
C) is used. This memory card is removable from the camera 10 and can be inserted into a notebook computer or a PC card reader having a PC card slot,
Image data created by various devices can be
By recording images taken with this camera 10, it is possible to bring a memory card to the lab and order prints, and to print image data created by the camera 10 on various devices. Can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 15 is provided on the back of the camera 10, and the photographed image and an image read out from a memory card to be described later (hereinafter referred to as a "selected image"). ) Or the setting states of various buttons described later are displayed. On the left side of the LCD 15, a menu button 16 and a selection button 17 including an up button 17a and a down button 17b are provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the synthesizing function of the camera 10. Select button shown in FIG.
The image signal S1 synthesized according to the instruction of the image selection unit 22 corresponding to 17 is read out from the storage unit 23 such as a memory card and input to the image synthesis unit 26. Further, an image captured into the camera 10 via the photographing lens is captured by an image capturing unit 24 such as a CCD image sensor, and the image signal S2 is also input to the image combining unit 26. Storage means 23 and imaging means 24
Are also connected to a display means 27 corresponding to the LCD 14 of FIG. 1 so that an image based on the image signal S1 output from the storage means 23 or the image signal S2 output from the imaging means 24 is displayed. Has become.

The image synthesizing means 26 synthesizes the image signal S1 and the image signal S2 according to the synthesizing ratio D1 set by the synthesizing ratio setting means 25 corresponding to the selection button 17 shown in FIG. This image synthesizing method is as follows, for example, when the image signal S1 output from the storage unit 23 is set to 60% and the image signal S2 output from the imaging unit 24 is set to 40%. RGB image signals are synthesized according to the following equation. The image based on the synthesized signal S3 obtained in this manner is an image similar to an image of a synthesized photograph taken by double exposure with a still camera using a conventional film.

[0021]

(Equation 1)

The synthesized signal synthesized by the image synthesizing means 26
S3 is input to the display means 27, and the display means 27 can also display a composite image based on the composite signal S3. The image signal S2 output from the image pickup means 24 is converted into digital image data by an A / D converter (not shown), and further compressed as necessary to store the data.
23, and the image data is recorded on a memory card or the like.

The camera is provided with a file creating means 28 which is an embodiment of a synthetic data recording means for creating an order file to be described later. An image signal S1 to be synthesized, that is, an image selected by the image selecting means 22 is provided. And imaging means 24
An order file is created in which the information specifying the captured image and the combination ratio D1 set by the combination ratio setting unit 25 are created, and the order file is stored in the storage unit 23.
And recorded on a memory card or the like.

The operation of the digital still camera having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In this flowchart, the step numbers are indicated with ST marks, and the LCD is indicated by a dotted line in the figure.
The following is an overview of the 15 display contents.

When the power of the camera 10 is turned on, the camera 10 first enters a normal photographing mode. As in the conventional camera, an image currently taken by the camera 10 is displayed on the LCD 15 through the lens 11, and when the release button 13 is pressed, the image is displayed. Is taken,
The data is recorded on the memory card loaded in the camera 10 (ST10).

FIG. 6 schematically shows an image recorded on a memory card. For example, an image obtained by photographing fireworks is recorded at an n-th frame number, and an image obtained by photographing a mountain is represented by n +
First recorded.

When the menu button 16 is pressed, the mode shifts to the menu mode, and the menu corresponding to the number is displayed on the LCD 15 along with the number, such as "1: composition ratio setting". At this time, the predetermined menu is highlighted ( ST12). In this menu mode, pressing the down button 17a or the up button 17b (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "selection button 17") switches the highlighted menu, and pressing the release button 13 causes the inverted menu to be displayed. The mode is switched to the current menu. Pressing the selection button 17 selects a menu, and pressing the release button 13 shifts to the menu mode. The same applies to the selection of a selected image and the setting of the composition ratio in the submenu selection described later. is there.

Then, the selection button 17 is pressed to select "1: composition ratio setting", and the release button 13 is pressed to shift to the composition ratio setting mode (ST14). When the mode shifts to the combination ratio setting mode, the display screen is switched to the combination ratio setting mode display screen, and submenus “1: composite image selection”, “2: combination ratio setting”, and “3: shooting” are displayed on the LCD 15 and , A predetermined submenu is highlighted (ST16).

The mode is shifted to the composite image selection mode in which the selection button 17 can be pressed to select the selected image (ST1).
8 "1: Select composite image"). Then, LCD15
At the top, an image of a predetermined frame already recorded on the memory card is displayed. Press select button 17 and L
The image displayed on the CD 15 is switched, and a selected image to be combined is selected (ST30).

When the release button 13 is pressed, the image displayed at that time is selected as a selected image, and a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the selected image and the current image to be captured is displayed on the LCD 15, After a predetermined wait time has elapsed, the flow returns to step 16 and the above-described submenu is displayed on the LCD 15.
It is displayed above (ST32). In this example, it is assumed that the n-th image is selected.

Here, the selection button 17 is pressed to shift to a combination ratio setting mode in which the combination ratio between the selected image and the current image can be set ("2: Set combination ratio" in ST18).

When the mode is shifted to the combination ratio setting mode, the LCD
A ratio bar on which a square mark indicating a combination ratio is displayed in addition to the combination image on ST15 (ST20), so that the selection button 17 can be pressed to set the combination ratio between the current image and the selection image n. (ST22). Therefore, LC
While checking the composite image displayed on D15, the composite ratio can be set before photographing. In this example, if one of the selected image or the current image is increased so that the other is decreased so that the output level of the composite image is always constant, each output level itself is not limited to this. May be set.
Further, in this example, the respective synthesis levels are displayed as bars. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each of the synthesis levels may be displayed as a number.

When the desired combination ratio is reached, the user presses the release button 13 to confirm the setting and returns to step 16. Now that the shooting preparation has been completed, "3: shooting" is selected from the above-described submenu displayed on the LCD 15, and the mode is shifted to the shooting mode (ST18).

When the release button 13 is pressed, shooting is performed in the state set as described above (ST40). When this photographing is completed, only the current image is recorded on the memory card at the m-th position shown in FIG. 6 described above, and an order describing the combination destination file name indicating the selected image n and the combination ratio data indicating the combination ratio. File is created automatically,
The order file is recorded at a predetermined address of the same memory card so as to correspond to the m-th image. With this, if the memory card is taken out of the camera 10 and brought into the lab, and the print order of the m-th image is ordered, the device for reading the order file provided in the lab is used.
The selected image n to be combined and the combination ratio data are read from the order file corresponding to the th image, and the read selected image n and the current image recorded at the mth position are read from the memory card, and according to the combination ratio. Selected image n
And the m-th image are combined and printed. By recording only the m-th current image in this way, it is possible to have only the m-th current image printed without performing image synthesis. The m-th image to be recorded on the memory card may be not only the current image but also a composite image itself synthesized by the camera 10. Then, the composite image can be printed without referring to the order file, and the lab does not need to have a special device for reading the order file.

The above explanation is based on the selection button for setting the combination ratio.
Although the description has been made with reference to FIG. 17, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a combination ratio setting lever 30 as shown in FIG. 7A is provided in the camera 10, and the combination ratio is set by sliding the lever 30. You may do so. FIG.
As shown in (B), there are provided a selected image level setting lever 31 for setting the output level of the selected image and a current image level setting lever 32 for setting the output level of the current image. May be individually set, and the images may be combined at the set level.

The above description has been made on the case where no means for adjusting the output level of the composite image is provided. Therefore, in the above-described camera 10, the output level of the synthesized image cannot be adjusted unless the output levels of the selected image and the current image are individually set and the images are synthesized at the set level. Was.

The digital still camera according to the present invention may further include output level adjusting means. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, if an output level adjusting unit 40 is provided between the image synthesizing unit 26 and the display unit 27, and the level of the output signal S3 of the image synthesizing unit 26 is adjusted,
The output level of the composite image can be easily adjusted. And for this adjustment, for example, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the same composition ratio setting lever as in FIG.
An output level adjustment lever 33 may be provided next to 30 and a mode for adjusting the output level of the composite image may be added in step 18 in the above example.

The output level adjusting means 41 is provided between the synthesizing ratio setting means 25 and the image synthesizing means 26 as shown in FIG. 9 without being limited to the example shown in FIG. After the adjusting unit 41 further adjusts the set combining ratio of each image, the adjusted combining ratio may be input to the image combining unit 26.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic external perspective view of a digital still camera with a composite image display function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the camera.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a synthesizing function of the camera.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the camera.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera (continued).

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image recorded on a memory card.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the setting of the combination ratio.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a synthesizing function of a camera including an output level adjusting unit.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating another synthesizing function of the camera including the output level adjusting unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Digital still camera 11 Lens barrel 12 Viewfinder window 13 Release button 14 Memory card cover 15 LCD (display means) 16 Menu button 17 Select button 22 Image selection means 23 Storage means 24 Imaging means 25 Composition ratio setting means 26 Image composition means 27 Display Means 28 File creation means 40, 41 Output level adjustment means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image synthesizing means for synthesizing a first image recorded in a storage means and a second image to be photographed, and displaying the first image or the second image. A digital still camera including a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel, comprising: a combination ratio setting unit configured to set a desired combination ratio of the first image and the second image; The first image and the second image are combined according to a combination ratio set by a combination ratio setting unit, and the display unit displays the combined image combined by the image combination unit. A digital still camera with a composite image display function, characterized in that it is possible. 2. The digital still camera according to claim 1, further comprising an image selecting unit that selects the first image from a large number of images stored in a storage unit. . 3. The digital still camera with an image synthesizing display function according to claim 1, further comprising an output level adjusting means for adjusting an output level of the synthesized image. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second image is recorded in a non-combined state, and the first image and the second image are combined.
4. A combined image display according to claim 1, further comprising a combined data recording means for recording the information specifying the image and the combination ratio set by the combination ratio setting means. Digital still camera with functions.