JP2000295579A - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an electronic still camera where the processing time can be reduced by saving man-hours for a processing independently of a purpose of use of image data in the case of processing the image data in a recording medium and image data with high image quality can easily be obtained even when a picture with high quality compatible with a photograph is required. SOLUTION: A memory card 7 or 8 connected externally to the electronic still camera is selected, a video signal obtained from a lens 1 and a CCD 2 configuring an image pickup device is converted into image data suitable for a purpose of use, image data with a maximum number of pixels obtained from number of pixels of the image pickup device and image data with a lower number of pixels are stored and transferred to the selected memory card at the same time. Thus, the image data with a higher number of pixels and the image data with a lower number of pixels are individually processed and the image data on purpose can immediately be used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic still camera for recording a still image obtained from a subject on a recording medium, for example, in the form of image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of pixels of an electronic still camera has rapidly increased due to the high image quality comparable to the image quality of a silver halide camera, and the image data amount for one still image has reached 1 Mbyte. It has become The use of image data shot by such an electronic still camera includes not only enjoying a printed image as a substitute for a photograph, but also attaching an image as a part of data to a report or the like, It is also widely used for attaching images to mails and websites.

[0003] As a recording method of the electronic still camera described above, a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-47177 is known. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one configuration example for explaining a recording method of a conventional electronic still camera. As shown in FIG. 3, this electronic still camera 13
Has a memory 40 and an external connection device 11 as recording media. When the recording area of the memory 40 as a recording medium becomes full due to the recording of the image data digitally processed by the signal processing device 30 with respect to the video signal corresponding to the subject output from the CCD 2 via the lens 1,
The switch circuit 12 is switched by the control from the signal processing device 30, and the image data output from the signal processing device 30 is sequentially recorded in the external connection device 11 through the interface circuit 9 and the connection unit (including the connection cable) 10. It is something to go.

[0004]

However, in the conventional electronic still camera 13 described above, the digitally processed image data is sequentially recorded on the recording medium (the memory 40 and the external connection device 11). If the image data to be recorded is, for example, 1 Mbytes of image data, a print time for outputting the image data to a recording sheet based on the image data, an image data for performing image processing on the photographed image, A large amount of communication time is required for transferring the image data to a computer, and a large amount of time is required for file development when digitally processing the image data by an external device, the memory capacity of a hard disk, and the like.

[0005] On the other hand, as image data handled in reports, E-MAIL, websites, etc.,
In consideration of the print time, communication time, file development time, and the like as described above, image data for high image quality of 1 Mbyte is not necessary, and an image of, for example, VGA size is sufficient. When used for such purposes, depending on the purpose of use, image data recorded on a recording medium may be converted to low-pixel image data by a personal computer or the like as an external device.
For example, it is necessary to convert the image into a VGA size image, and there is a problem that much labor and processing time are required for the operation.

If a low-pixel image data is recorded on a recording medium from the beginning, if an image instead of a photograph is required, high-quality image data for printing such an image can be obtained. There was also a problem that there was no.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. When performing data processing on image data recorded on a recording medium according to a use, regardless of the purpose of use, it saves labor and reduces processing time. And an electronic still camera that can easily obtain high-quality image data for printing out such an image even when a high-quality image instead of a photograph is required. .

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an electronic still camera according to the present invention selectively switches at least two or more connected recording media and converts a video signal obtained from an image pickup device. At least two or more pieces of image data are converted into image data suitable for the purpose of use, and are stored on the selected recording medium as maximum pixel image data obtained from the maximum number of pixels of the imaging device and low pixel image data corresponding to each application. By simultaneously storing and transferring data,
It is characterized in that it is possible to individually handle each of the high pixel image data to the low pixel image data having the maximum number of pixels, and to immediately use the image data according to the purpose.

As described above, when performing data processing on image data recorded on a recording medium in accordance with the intended use, it is possible to save labor and shorten the processing time irrespective of the purpose of use, and to reduce the time required for photographing. Even when a high-quality image is required instead, high-quality image data for printing out such an image can be easily obtained.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electronic still camera according to a first aspect of the present invention is an imaging device that digitizes a video signal representing a still image of a subject captured by an imaging device and outputs image data corresponding to the still image. Means for converting the image data from the imaging means into image data suitable for the purpose of use, and storing the plurality of recording media for storing the image data or a plurality of digital devices for digitally processing the image data. A plurality of connection means for enabling connection, and a means for selectively switching the plurality of recording media or digital devices and transmitting the image data through the connection means, wherein the image data for the purpose of use is Multiple types of image data from the maximum number of pixels obtained based on the number of pixels of the imaging device to the low number of pixels for each application The data transmitted through the connecting means, configured to perform simultaneous storage or data transfer to the digital device to the recording medium.

An electronic still camera according to a second aspect is configured such that each of the plurality of recording media or the digital devices according to the first aspect is dedicated to each image data for each purpose of use. According to these configurations, at least two or more connected recording media are selectively switched, a video signal obtained from an imaging device is converted into image data suitable for a purpose of use, and an image is recorded on the selected recording medium. By simultaneously storing and transferring at least two or more image data as the maximum pixel image data obtained from the maximum pixel number of the device and the low pixel image data corresponding to each application, the maximum pixel image data can be obtained from the maximum pixel image data. It is possible to handle each of the image data up to the low pixel image data individually, so that the image data can be immediately used as image data according to the purpose.

Hereinafter, an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic still camera according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a signal processing device according to the embodiment. 1 and 2, an image pickup means is constituted by a lens 1, a CCD 2, an AGC 3, and an A / D converter 4.
A still image of a subject formed on the CCD 2 (the lens 1 and the CCD 2 are used as an imaging device) via the lens 1 that is controlled in focus by a control signal from the system control 52 in the signal processing device 5 is electrically controlled by the CCD 2 The signal is converted into a video signal by the AGC 3 and input to the A / D converter 4. A digital signal obtained by A / D conversion by the A / D converter 4 is converted to a signal processing device 5
, A Y signal and a C signal are generated by a Y / C process 51. The DCT unit 53 and the encoding unit 54 perform DCT and encoding processing on the Y and C signals, create high pixel data 61 and low pixel data 62 in the RAM 6, and store high pixel JPEG image data and low pixel JPEG image data. Create image data.

As the JPEG image data created in this way, high pixel image data and low pixel image data are
The high pixel image data is recorded on the memory card (1) 7 and the low pixel image data is recorded on the memory card (2) 8 through the connecting means, or in the memory card (1) 7 through the connecting means. . In the above embodiment, for example, an external device (not shown) such as a digital device may be connected in place of the memory card (2) 8 to transfer, for example, image data of low pixels.

As described above, for example, two recording media (memory card (1) 7) connected to the electronic still camera
And the memory card (2) 8) is selectively switched to convert the video signal obtained from the imaging device including the lens 1 and the CCD 2 into image data suitable for the intended use, and store the image data of the imaging device in the selected recording medium. As maximum pixel image data obtained from the number of pixels and low pixel image data corresponding to each application, for example, by simultaneously storing and transferring two image data, from high pixel image data of the maximum number of pixels to low pixel image data Can be individually handled, and can be immediately used as image data according to the purpose.

As a result, it is apparent that the image data having the high image quality of the electronic still camera can be stored, and the low-pixel image data suitable for the purpose can be utilized efficiently and in a short time. is there.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least two or more connected recording media are selectively switched,
The video signal obtained from the imaging device is converted into image data suitable for the purpose of use, and on the selected recording medium, the maximum pixel image data obtained from the maximum number of pixels of the imaging device and the low pixel image data corresponding to each application By simultaneously storing and transferring at least two or more pieces of image data, it is possible to handle each of the maximum pixel number of high pixel image data to low pixel image data individually, Can be immediately used as image data.

[0016] Therefore, when performing data processing on image data recorded on a recording medium according to the purpose, regardless of the purpose of use, it is possible to save labor and shorten the processing time, and to substitute for a photograph. Even when a high-quality image is required, high-quality image data for printing out such an image can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a signal processing device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional electronic still camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 lens 2 CCD 3 AGC 4 A / D converter 5 signal processing device 6 RAM 7 memory card (1) 8 memory card (2) 9 interface circuit 10 connection unit 11 external connection device 12 switch circuit 13 electronic still camera

Claims (2)

[Claims] An image pickup means for digitizing a video signal representing a still image of a subject picked up by an image pickup device and outputting image data corresponding to the still image, and using the image data from the image pickup means for a purpose of use. Means for converting the image data into image data, accumulating the image data, a plurality of recording media for accumulating the image data, or a plurality of connection means for connecting a plurality of digital devices for digitally processing the image data, Means for selectively switching the recording medium or digital device and sending out through the connection means, the image data suitable for the intended use is obtained from the maximum number of pixels obtained based on the number of pixels of the imaging device. A plurality of types of image data up to a low number of pixels according to an application, and the image data is transmitted through the connection means; An electronic still camera characterized in that it is configured to simultaneously store data in a digital camera or transfer data to the digital device. 2. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of recording media or the digital devices is configured to be dedicated to each image data for each purpose of use.