JP2001057650A - Delivery method for image processing parameter, image input device, image input system and storage medium storing image processing parameter delivery program for information processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily revise an image processing parameter that is once set. SOLUTION: The electronic camera 2 and a computer 4 mutually deliver data of a lookup table referred to obtain image data after correction processing corresponding to image data before the correction processing together with control point information that is referred when a characteristic curve to define the conversion characteristic of the lookup table is generated by an interpolation arithmetic operation. In the case of revising the conversion characteristic of the lookup table of the electronic camera 2, the computer 4 reads the control point information and the data of the lookup table from the electronic camera 2. A CPU generates a characteristic curve on the basis of the read control point information and displays it on a display device 6. A user operates a mouse 10 to correct this characteristic curve. An EEPROM of the electronic camera 2 stores the control point information together with the data of the lookup table generated on the basis of the corrected characteristic curve.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for transferring image processing parameters, an image input device, an image input system,
And a storage medium storing an image processing parameter transfer program of the information processing apparatus, and more specifically, a lookup table referred to in order to obtain a value of image data after correction corresponding to a value of image data before correction. The present invention relates to a method of transferring image processing parameters for transferring data, an image input device, an image input system, and a storage medium storing an image processing parameter transfer program of an information processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to correct the contrast of image data obtained by photographing with an electronic camera, a look-up table for gradation correction (hereinafter, the look-up table is referred to as "LUT" in this specification). There is a device that corrects image data by using. The gradation correction LUT is a data table that is referred to for obtaining a gradation value after the correction processing with respect to the gradation value of the image data before the correction processing.

Further, there is an electronic camera capable of changing the contents of the LUT for gradation correction described above. When changing the LUT, a computer is connected to an electronic camera, for example. A so-called tone curve is displayed on the screen of the computer to set the gradation correction characteristics. The photographer changes the tone curve into a desired shape using a mouse or the like. The computer generates the tone correction LUT based on the tone curve generated as described above, that is, the characteristic curve for tone correction. This LUT is output from the computer to the electronic camera and stored in a non-volatile memory in the electronic camera. In this way, it is possible to change the gradation characteristics of an image obtained by photographing with the electronic camera according to the user's preference.

[0004]

However, when an attempt is made to change the gradation conversion characteristics of the LUT stored in the electronic camera, it is difficult to make the desired change for the reasons described below. was there.

Generally, a user plots a plurality of points (usually several points) on rectangular coordinates by operating a mouse or the like, so that a spline curve is formed between the plurality of points. Generated by interpolation. That is, a spline function representing a curve passing through the plurality of points, that is, the control points, is generated, and the shape of the tone curve is defined by this function. On the other hand, the LUT is generated based on the tone curve, and is referred to for obtaining the value of the image data after the correction process corresponding to the value (gradation value) of the image data before the correction process. It is a table. For example, when the image data has 8-bit gradation, a data table including 256 data corresponding to the 0th to 255th gradations is stored in the electronic camera.

When a change is made to the gradation conversion characteristic of the LUT stored in the electronic camera, data of the LUT stored in the electronic camera is input to a computer, and the data is changed. If the data of this LUT is plotted and displayed on the above-described orthogonal coordinates, it becomes possible to visualize the gradation conversion characteristics of the LUT stored in the electronic camera. However, what is displayed here is one in which points based on 256 data are plotted and interpolation is performed between these points. That is, since the information of the control points described above is lost, it is not known how many points (control points) are set by the user on the coordinates and where the original tone curve is generated. It is very difficult to determine the number and position of the control points from the LUT data.

For the reasons described above, even if the user performs a tone curve shape changing operation on the tone curve generated based on the LUT data read from the electronic camera, a new tone curve obtained is obtained. The shape has a problem that it is significantly different from what the user expects.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described method of transferring image processing parameters, such as a tone curve, capable of easily changing image processing parameters once set. An input device, an image input system, and a storage medium storing an image processing parameter transfer program of an information processing device.

[0009]

(1) An image processing parameter transfer method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 showing an embodiment. The characteristic curve for defining the conversion characteristic of the lookup table together with the data of the lookup table in FIG. 3B, which is referred to for obtaining the value of the image data after the correction processing corresponding to the value of The above-described object is achieved by transferring the control point information of FIG. 3A which is referred to at the time of generation. The following invention will be described in association with FIGS. 2 and 3 showing one embodiment. (2) The image input device 2 capable of inputting / outputting a lookup table referred to for obtaining a value of image data after correction corresponding to a value of image data before correction. Applied to Then, together with the data of the lookup table of FIG. 3B, the control point information of FIG. 3A which is referred to when generating a characteristic curve for defining the conversion characteristic of the lookup table by interpolation calculation is input. It outputs at least the control point information of FIG. 3A among the data of the lookup table of FIG. 3B and the control point information of FIG. 3A. (3) The invention according to claim 3 generates the look-up table of FIG. 3B which is referred to for obtaining the value of the image data after the correction process corresponding to the value of the image data before the correction process. Image input device 2 for performing information processing on image data obtained by inputting an image with reference to a look-up table in FIG. 3B. Applies to the system. Then, from the information processing apparatuses 4, 6, 8, and 10, FIG.
The control point information of FIG. 3A, which is referred to when generating a characteristic curve for defining the conversion characteristic of the look-up table by an interpolation operation, together with the data of the lookup table, is output to the image input device 2; Input device 2
From among the data of the lookup table of FIG. 3B and the control point information of FIG. 3A, at least the control point information is output to the information processing apparatuses 4, 6, 8, and 10. (4) The invention according to claim 4 is applied to a storage medium storing an image processing parameter transfer program of information processing apparatuses 4, 6, 8, and 10 capable of transferring image processing parameters to and from image input apparatus 2. Is done. Then, in order to define the lookup table data of FIG. 3B and the conversion characteristics of the lookup table, which are referred to for obtaining the value of the image data after the correction process corresponding to the value of the image data before the correction process. A parameter input procedure of inputting at least the control point information of FIG. 3A from the image input device 2 among the control point information of FIG. 3A referred to when the characteristic curve of FIG. A characteristic curve generation procedure for generating a characteristic curve by interpolation based on control point information input in the processing parameter input procedure; a characteristic curve change input procedure for inputting a change in the shape of the characteristic curve; A modified lookup table generation procedure for generating a new lookup table based on the new characteristic curve input in the input procedure, and a new lookup table The table of data is obtained by storing the parameter output procedure for output to the image input device 2 with a new control point information corresponding to the new characteristic curve.

In the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which explains the configuration of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention are used for easy understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a state in which an electronic camera is connected to an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A display 6, a keyboard 8, and a mouse 10 are connected to the computer 4. In FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured by a computer 4, a display 6, a keyboard 8, and a mouse 10, and the information processing apparatus and the electronic camera 2 form an image according to the embodiment of the present invention. An input system is configured. The camera 2 and the computer 4 are connected via a cable 2A as required.

Image data generated by photographing with the electronic camera 2 is output to the computer 4 via the cable 2A. The user can check the image on the display 6. The image data input to the computer 4 is
Processing such as color adjustment and an unsharp mask filter is performed as necessary, and output to a storage device such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or hard disk, or an MO (magneto-optical recording medium) drive, and stored.

When the user operates the computer 4, the image processing parameters stored in the electronic camera 2 (image processing parameters will be described in detail later) are read into the computer 4, corrected, and re-input. It can be output to the camera 2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4. The connector 37 is connected to the electronic camera 2 and the connector 3 is connected to the computer 4.
8 are provided. One end of the cable 2A is detachably connected to the connector 37, and the other end is connected to the connector 38, respectively.

The configuration of the electronic camera 2 will be described. A photographing lens 12 is detachably attached to the electronic camera 2. In addition, a card-shaped flash memory 36 as a nonvolatile storage device is detachably connected to the electronic camera 2 via a connector 34. Instead of the flash memory 36, a card-like ultra-small hard disk drive or a RAM card backed up by a built-in battery can be mounted.

Focusing of the lens 12 is controlled by the CPU 28 via the lens control unit 14. The aperture unit 16 incorporated in the lens 12 is also controlled by the control unit 14 through the CP.
It is controlled by U28. Open / close operation of shutter 18 is also C
It is controlled by the PU 28 and is opened when the CCD 20 receives the subject light transmitted through the photographing lens 12.

The switch 24 is a collective illustration of a plurality of switches.
It is composed of a playback changeover switch, a shooting mode changeover switch, an exposure compensation switch, and a release switch.

The EEPROM 25 records adjustment constants at the time of manufacturing the electronic camera 2, status information at the time of using the electronic camera 2, or image processing parameters. Note that instead of the EEPROM 25, an SRAM
Or the like, and a structure may be used in which a backup battery is connected to the volatile memory. In this case, power for storing data is supplied to the volatile memory from a battery or the like mounted on the electronic camera 2. When a battery is not mounted on the electronic camera 2, power for storage and storage is supplied from the backup battery to the volatile memory, and the adjustment constants and the like are stored and held.

The mode display LCD 30 displays a photographing mode set by the switch 24, an exposure correction amount, an exposure value such as a shutter speed and an aperture value, and a remaining battery level. The monitor LCD 32 can reproduce a captured image, display a histogram of image data, and the like.

When the release operation is performed by the photographer,
The shutter 18 opens and closes. At this time, the subject light transmitted through the photographing lens 12 forms a subject image on the light receiving surface of the CCD 20. The CCD 20 outputs an image signal based on the subject image to the ASIC 22. ASIC 22 has RAM
26 are connected. This RAM 26 has a CPU 28
And is accessible from the CPU 28 as well. The ASIC 22 processes the image signal to generate image data, and temporarily stores the image data in the RAM 26.
The ASIC 22 performs a predetermined process on the image data and records the image data in the flash memory 36. Or,
The image data processed by the ASIC 22 can be output to the computer 4. In addition, the processing of the image data may be performed by the CPU 28 instead of the ASIC 22.
The processes may be performed in a distributed manner.

In processing the above-described image data, EEP
The image processing parameters recorded in the ROM 25 are referred to. At this time, since the access speed of the EEPROM is generally slow, the image processing parameters are set in advance in the EEPROM.
It is desirable that the data is read out from the memory 25 and recorded in the RAM 26.

The configuration of the computer 4 will be described.
The CPU 40 which is the center of the computer 4 has a RAM 4
2 and the ROM 44 are connected. The CPU 40 is also provided with a CD-ROM through an interface (I / F) 46.
ROM drive 53, hard disk drive (HD
D) 52, floppy disk drive (FDD) 5
0, an MO drive 48 and the like are connected.

The CPU 40 receives an image signal output from the electronic camera 2 and temporarily records the image signal in a temporary area of the RAM 42 or the HDD 52, and displays a thumbnail image, a detailed image, and the detailed image on the display 6 as described later. Display related information related to. By operating the mouse 10 and the keyboard 8, the photographer adjusts the color tone and contrast of the image data, or performs processing such as an unsharp mask filter. Image data finally obtained after the processing is output to and stored in a storage device such as the HDD 52, the FDD 50, or the MO drive 48.

The computer 4 displays, processes, and saves image data output from the electronic camera 2 as described above. In addition, the computer 4 reads out, modifies, and reads image processing parameters recorded in the EEPROM 25 of the electronic camera 2 as described in detail below.
Rewriting to the electronic camera 2 can be performed.

In the following, the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4
As image processing parameters mutually exchanged between
An example in which an LUT for correcting the gradation characteristics of an image (hereinafter, referred to as a “gradation LUT” in this specification) will be described.

The gradation LUT is an LUT that is referred to when obtaining a gradation value of image data after correction corresponding to a gradation value of image data before correction. This gradation LUT is
For example, it has a data structure as shown in FIG. 3B, and corresponds to the gradation values 0, 1, 2, 3,... Before the correction processing (input) and the gradation after the correction processing (output). When the tones are 0, 0, 1,
1 etc. are recorded. This gradation LUT is usually recorded in the EEPROM 25 of the electronic camera 2 shown in FIG. When the power of the electronic camera 2 is turned on, the CPU 28 reads this gradation LUT from the EEPROM 25 and
Record temporarily in M26. The ASIC 22 is a CCD2
The image signal output from 0 is subjected to a process such as interpolation to generate image data, and is temporarily recorded in the RAM 26. AS
The IC 22 performs a gradation correction process on the image data with reference to the gradation LUT recorded in the RAM 26.

As described above, the gradation LUT can be read from the electronic camera 2 into the computer 4, corrected by the user, and written into the electronic camera 2 again. When the user corrects the gradation LUT, even if the data arrangement as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed on the display 6, this gradation LUT has any gradation correction characteristics. It is hard to understand intuitively. for that reason,
The gradation correction characteristics of the gradation LUT are graphically displayed on the display 6 as shown in FIG.

The "Edit Camera C" shown in FIG.
windows "(hereinafter, simply referred to as" window 100 ").
Alternatively, it is displayed on the display 6 by operating the mouse 10. In the following description, the operation of operating the mouse 10 to move the cursor to the position of the object displayed in the window 100 and pressing the left button of the mouse 10 once is referred to as "clicking". The operation of moving the mouse 10 in a predetermined direction on the mouse pad while positioning the cursor and pressing the left button of the mouse 10 is referred to as “drag”.

The curve 126 in the graph 101 shown on the left side of FIG. 4 is called a tone curve. This curve 126
The user can intuitively grasp the characteristics of the gradation LUT by looking at the shape of. A sample image 136 is displayed on the right side of the window 100 for grasping in advance what the image gradation-corrected based on the tone curve will be. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a gradation pattern is drawn, but the display content of this sample image can be freely changed by the user.

The curve 126 has points 128, 130
a, 130b, 130c, and 132 are obtained by interpolating with spline curves. Points 128, 13
The plot positions of 0a, 130b, 130c and 132 are
As described below, it can be defined by the user. In the graph indicated by the curve 126, the input value (gradation value before correction) is plotted on the horizontal axis (X axis), and the output value (gradation value after correction) is plotted on the vertical axis (Y axis). . When the gradation correction is not performed, the curve 126 is a straight line of Y = X. Hereinafter, the gradation value before correction is referred to as “input value”, and the gradation value after correction is referred to as “output value”. Also, in FIG. 4, an example in which the image data has 8-bit gradation, that is, 256 gradations will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where the image data has a gradation of less than 256 or exceeding 256. It is.

A box 10 whose setting can be changed with the keyboard 8 or the mouse 10 is provided around the graph.
6, 110, 120, 122, 124, slider 10
8, 112, 114, 116 and 118 are arranged. By operating the mouse 10 and dragging the slider 108 along the Y axis, the user can set the upper limit of the output value. The upper limit of the output value is set in box 106
After clicking, the value can also be determined by operating the keyboard 8 and inputting a numerical value. The setting of the lower limit of the output value is the same as described above. That is, the slider 112 is dragged along the Y axis, or
After clicking 0, the user may operate the keyboard 8 to input a numerical value. These upper and lower limits are set so that an image printed by DTP or the like is not excessively overexposed or underexposed.

The sliders 114 and 118 on the X axis side are
This is for setting which of the gradation values of the image data before correction is determined as shadow or highlight. The user can determine the shadow level by dragging the slider 114 along the X axis, or by clicking on the box 120 and operating the keyboard 8 to enter a numerical value. The user can determine the highlight level by dragging the slider 118 along the X axis or by clicking the box 124 and operating the keyboard 8 to input a numerical value. Slider 1
Reference numeral 16 is for determining the gamma of the image. By dragging the slider 116 along the X axis, or by clicking on the box 122 and operating the keyboard 8 to enter a numerical value, the user can adjust the gamma characteristic of the halftone portion of the image to a relatively steep slope. Or a relatively gentle inclination.

The adjustment of highlight, shadow, and halftone described above can also be performed by clicking a predetermined one of the five objects 134 shown in FIG.

Points 128 and 1 in graph 101
32 is automatically plotted on the basis of the above-described upper and lower limits of the output value and the settings of highlight and shadow of the input value. The remaining three points 130a, 1
Regarding 30b and 130c, less than three or more than three points can be set according to the user's preference. In addition, the position of each point can be arbitrarily moved in the vertical and horizontal directions in FIG. 4 by a drag operation.

To increase the number of points, the cursor may be moved to a position where a new point is to be set and a click operation may be performed. Conversely, to delete a point, place the cursor on the point to be deleted and drag the point as if it were pulled out of the graph 101.

As described above, as the number of points displayed in the graph is increased or decreased, a curve 126 obtained by interpolating between these points with a spline curve is displayed. In this state, as the user performs a drag operation to move the position of the point, the shape of the curve 126 changes and the gradation characteristic also changes. The tone of the sample image 136 also changes according to the changed tone characteristic. The user repeatedly increases and decreases the points and adjusts the positions of the points while watching the sample image 136. Based on the processing result described above, a gradation LUT according to the user's preference is generated by spline interpolation. Note that graph 1 in FIG.
The bar graph lightly displayed as 01 is the sample image 1
36 is a histogram of 36 gradations. The user can perform the above operation with reference to the histogram.

Hereinafter, the data structure of the image processing parameters generated as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 3A and 3B conceptually show an example of the data structure of image processing parameters mutually input and output between the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4.
The data structure of the image processing parameters is such that the header information shown in FIG. 3A and the LUT shown in FIG. 3B are integrated. The header information shown in FIG.
It is composed of the number of points and coordinate values plotted on the graph 101 in FIG. That is, it is configured by information related to the control point information referred to when the characteristic curve shown by the graph 101 is generated by the interpolation calculation. The LUT shown in FIG. 3B is an aggregate of data generated by the CPU 40 of the computer 4 based on the control point information described above. The data shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B are both recorded as image processing parameters in the EEPROM 25 of the electronic camera 2.

Image processing parameters recorded in the EEPROM 25 of the electronic camera 2 are read into the computer 4, the parameters are corrected on the computer 4, and the processing flow from writing to the EEPROM of the electronic camera 2 again is shown in FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 5 and 6 show only the graph 101 of the characteristic curve displayed in the window 100 of FIG.

With the electronic camera 2 connected to the computer 4, the user activates the window 100 shown in FIG. 4 and clicks a “Load” button 102. Then, the image processing parameters recorded in the EEPROM 25 of the electronic camera 2 are output to the computer 4, and
It is temporarily stored in the RAM 42. Based on the image processing parameters, for example, a graph 101A shown in FIG.
Points 139, 140, 142, 1 as shown in
43 and a curve 144 are displayed. The user can intuitively grasp what characteristic curve the image processing parameter set in the electronic camera 2 has from the graph 101A. Here, the curve 144 drawn in the graph 101A is obtained by spline interpolation based on the above-described header information. That is,
The LUT data shown in FIG. 3B is not plotted.

When modifying the profile of the characteristic curve shown in FIG. 5A, the user operates the mouse 10. For example, when the position of point 142 is moved to the position of point 142A as shown in FIG. 5B, the shape of the tone curve changes from that shown by curve 144 to that shown by curve 144A. As described above, since the control point information before the change is recorded in the electronic camera 2, it is very easy to reproduce the characteristic curve before the change and finely modify the characteristic curve. In this regard, as described in the related art, if the header information (control point information) shown in FIG. 3A is not recorded in the electronic camera 2, the characteristic curve must be reproduced based on the LUT data. Absent. FIG. 6A and FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6A shows an example where the curve 140B is reproduced based on the data of the LUT. in this case,
Control points 139, 140, 142, and 14 shown in FIG.
Information of 3 is lost. This curve 140B is reproduced based on the LUT data as described above. In other words, it is reproduced based on the 256 pieces of control point information. In spline interpolation, an interpolation curve is determined so as to pass through all control points. For this reason, FIG.
5B, the shape of the curve 140B is fixed at the other 255 control points even if the same operation as that described with reference to FIG. 5B is performed. As shown in FIG. 6B, the result is completely different. Curve 14 in FIG.
0C shows that only a part of the shape of the curve 140B changes when the same operation as described with reference to FIG. 5B is performed on the curve 140B shown in FIG. Is shown.

When the above operation is completed, the user operates the “Save” button 104 in the window 100 shown in FIG.
Click. Then, a new LUT is generated in the computer 4 based on the new control point information. Then, new control point information is output from the computer 4 to the electronic camera 2 together with the new LUT data, and the EEPR
Recorded in OM25.

In the above description, the case where the image processing parameters are output from the computer 4 to the electronic camera 2 and the case where the image processing parameters are output from the electronic camera 2 to the computer 4 are such that the control point information is transferred together with the LUT. explained. On the other hand, when the image processing parameters are output from the electronic camera 2 to the computer 4, only the control point information may be transferred. By doing so, the electronic camera 2
The communication time between the computer and the computer 4 can be reduced.

Further, only the control point information is exchanged between the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4, and both the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4 perform an interpolation operation based on the control point information to generate an LUT. It is also possible. However, since the electronic camera 2 has many restrictions on resources such as a memory for storing a program, the above-described interpolation calculation is performed and LU
Generating T is often difficult. Therefore, as described above, it is practical to mutually exchange header information (control point information) together with LUT data.

Output of the image processing parameters from the electronic camera 2 to the computer 4 described above,
With reference to FIG. 7, a description will be given of an image processing parameter transfer processing procedure executed by the CPU 40 of the computer 4 when the image processing parameters are corrected and the computer 4 outputs the image processing parameters to the electronic camera 2.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart for explaining an image processing parameter transfer program executed by the CPU 40 in the computer 4 when performing the above-described processing. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk, and is usually installed in the hard disk drive 52 before execution by the CPU 40. Alternatively, this information processing program is R
The information may be written in the OM 44 or an EEPROM (not shown). Further, a part or all of the information processing program may be loaded from another computer or the like connected via a communication line or a network,
Part or all of the information processing program may be downloaded via the Internet or the like.

The image processing parameter transfer program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. The image processing parameter transfer program inputs image data output from the electronic camera 2 in FIG.
The execution is started when the user selects a menu related to updating of the image processing parameters during the execution of the program for saving in D52 or the like.

CPU 40 displays a sub-window, that is, window 100 shown in FIG. 4, on display 6 in step S100. In step S101, the CPU 40 determines whether or not there is an image processing parameter input instruction. That is, the “Load” button 1 in FIG.
It is determined whether or not 02 has been clicked. If this determination is denied, the process branches to step S104, while if affirmed, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the CPU 40 inputs image processing parameters from the electronic camera 2. That is, the header information shown in FIG. 3A and the data of the LUT shown in FIG. 3B are input.

Based on the control point information, the CPU 40
In step S103, the characteristic curve 126 is generated by spline interpolation and displayed on the graph 101 in FIG. 4, and then the process returns to step S101.

In step S104, which is the branch destination when the determination in step S101 is negative, the CPU 40
Determines whether there is an image processing parameter change instruction. That is, the drag operation of the sliders 108, 112, 114, 116, and 118 displayed around the graph 101 in FIG. 4 and the points (control points) 130a, 130b, and 130
The CPU 40 determines whether there is a drag operation of c or an operation of adding a new control point. If the determination in step S104 is negative, the CPU 40 branches to step S107, while if affirmative, the process proceeds to step S105.

In step S105, the CPU 40
The image processing parameters are changed in accordance with the above-mentioned operation contents by the user, and in a succeeding step S106, an interpolation operation based on the new control point information is performed to generate a new LUT. Upon completion of the above processing, the CPU 40 returns to step S101.

In step S107, which is the branch destination when the determination in step S104 is negative, the CPU 40
Determines whether there is an image processing parameter output instruction. That is, the CPU 40 operates the “Save” button 104 in FIG.
Is determined, and if this determination is denied, the process branches to step S109, while if affirmed, the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the CPU 40
Performs output processing of image processing parameters. That is, C
The PU 40 outputs new LUT data to the electronic camera 2 together with new header information. Upon completion of the processing in step S108, the CPU 40 returns to step S101.

In step S109, which is the branch destination when the determination in step S107 is negative, the CPU 4
0 determines whether there is an instruction to end the image processing parameter correction processing. That is, it is determined whether or not the “OK” button 138 in FIG. 4 has been clicked. If this determination is denied, the process returns to S101, while if affirmed, the process proceeds to step S110 to end the display of the window 100 in FIG. Then, the processing of the image processing parameter transfer program ends.

In the above embodiment, an example in which a tone curve is handled as an image processing parameter has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where a parameter other than the tone curve is handled.
Further, not only image processing parameters but also control parameters such as a combination of a shutter speed and an aperture determined according to a subject luminance obtained by a photometric operation of the electronic camera 2, that is, a control parameter such as a program curve of an automatic exposure. Applicable.

The image input device connected to the computer 4 may be not only an electronic camera but also a scanner or the like. The electronic camera may be a movie camera as well as a still camera. Furthermore, as a device connected to the computer 4, an audio device or a measuring device that inputs or outputs a voice signal or another electric signal may be used. For example, when an audio device or the like is connected to the computer 4, processing parameters relating to the equalizer characteristics and the like of the voice input device can be exchanged between the computer 4 and the voice input device.

The image processing parameters described in the above embodiment may be recorded in the HDD 52 of the computer 4 or the like. For example, a plurality of image processing parameters are recorded in the HDD 52 or the like, and one or a plurality of sets of the plurality of image processing parameters are output to the electronic camera 2 according to the purpose of photographing. By recording a plurality of image processing parameters in the electronic camera 2, the image processing parameters can be changed without the computer 4.

In the above, the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4
Has been described with an example in which is connected by the cable 2A,
A wireless connection by light or radio may be used. Further, the image processing parameters generated on the computer 4 are recorded on a flash memory card mounted on a flash memory adapter (not shown) connected to the computer 4, and the flash memory card is mounted on the electronic camera 2. It may be. Even with such a method, the image processing parameters can be exchanged between the electronic camera 2 and the computer 4.

In the above, an example has been described in which a characteristic curve for defining a conversion characteristic of a look-up table is determined by a spline function based on a predetermined number of control point information. However, in the present invention, it is also possible to use other functions such as Bezier, Nerves and the like.

In the correspondence between the above-described embodiment and the claims, the electronic camera 2 controls the image input device by the computer 4, the display 6, the keyboard 8, and the mouse 10.
Is an information processing apparatus, and the processing procedure of step S102 in the flowchart shown in FIG.
The processing procedure of step S103 is a characteristic curve generation procedure, the processing procedure of step S105 is a characteristic curve change input procedure,
The processing procedure of step S106 constitutes a modified lookup table generation procedure, and the processing procedure of step S108 constitutes a parameter output procedure.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, together with the data of the look-up table, the control points referred to when generating the characteristic curve for defining the conversion characteristics of the look-up table by the interpolation operation. By passing the information, the characteristic curve of the look-up table can be easily reproduced. For this reason, it becomes very easy to make subtle modifications to the conversion characteristics of the lookup table.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an electronic camera as an image input device is connected to an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of an electronic camera and an information processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of image processing parameters mutually transmitted and received between the information processing apparatus and the electronic camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sub-window displayed on the information processing apparatus when displaying and changing image processing parameters.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating how the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention displays and changes image processing parameters input from an electronic camera.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an image processing parameter cannot be changed as desired in an information processing apparatus according to the related art.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing parameter transfer program executed by a CPU incorporated in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... electronic camera 4 ... computer 6 ... display 8 ... keyboard 10 ... mouse 26 ... RAM 36 ... flash memory 40 ... CPU 100 ... windows 101, 101A, 101B, 101C ... graphs 108, 112, 114, 116, 118 ... slider 106 , 110, 120, 122, 124 ... Boxes 128, 130a, 130b, 130c, 132, 13
9, 140, 142, 142B, 142A, 143 ...
Point (control point) 126, 140B, 144, 144A ... Curve (characteristic curve) 140C ... Part of the characteristic curve changed by changing the point position

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A characteristic for defining conversion characteristics of the look-up table together with data of a look-up table referred to for obtaining a value of image data after the correction corresponding to a value of image data before the correction. An image processing parameter transfer method, wherein control point information referred to when a curve is generated by interpolation calculation is transferred. 2. An image input device capable of inputting / outputting a lookup table referred to for obtaining a value of image data after correction corresponding to a value of image data before correction, comprising: And input control point information referred to when generating a characteristic curve for defining a conversion characteristic of the look-up table by an interpolation operation, and at least the control point data of the look-up table and the control point information. An image input device for outputting point information. 3. An information processing apparatus for generating a lookup table referred to for obtaining a value of image data after correction corresponding to a value of image data before correction, and an image obtained by inputting an image. An image input system comprising: an image input device that performs a correction process on image data by referring to the look-up table. The information processing device outputs the conversion characteristics of the look-up table together with the data of the look-up table. Control point information referred to when a characteristic curve for defining is generated by interpolation calculation is output to the image input device.From the image input device, at least the data of the lookup table and the control point information. An image input system, wherein the control point information is output to the information processing device. 4. A storage medium storing an image processing parameter transfer program of an information processing apparatus capable of transferring image processing parameters to and from an image input apparatus, the correction processing corresponding to the value of the image data before the correction processing. Of the control point information referred to when generating a characteristic curve for defining the conversion characteristic of the lookup table by interpolation calculation, the data of the lookup table referred to to determine the value of the subsequent image data, A parameter inputting step of inputting at least the control point information from the image input device; and a characteristic curve generating step of generating the characteristic curve by the interpolation operation based on the control point information input in the image processing parameter inputting step. A characteristic curve change inputting step of inputting a change in the shape of the characteristic curve; A modified look-up table generation procedure for generating a new look-up table based on the new characteristic curve input in the line change input procedure; and A parameter output procedure for outputting to the image input device together with control point information.