JP2001320612A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor that can prevent useless power consumption or giving hindrance to photographing because view of an image display section is difficult during a consecutive shot even when a quick review function to make a confirmation display of a photographed image on the image display section in the case that an optical finder is used to conduct photographing in the consecutive photographing mode. SOLUTION: In the case that an image display switch 66 is turned off, a quick review switch 68 is turned on and the consecutive shot mode is selected, display of a photographed image just after photographing on the image display section 28 is inhibited in the midst of the consecutive shot mode and only the final photographed image in the consecutive photographing mode is quickly reviewed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for capturing, recording, and reproducing a still image and a moving image, and a method of controlling the arrangement thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing apparatus such as an electronic camera for recording and reproducing a still image or a moving image using a memory card having a solid-state memory element as a recording medium is commercially available, and includes an electronic finder such as a color liquid crystal panel. Electronic cameras are also available.

According to these electronic cameras, it is possible for the user of the electronic camera to continuously determine the composition by continuously displaying images before shooting, and to reproduce and display the shot images for confirmation. .

In particular, a function (quick review) of reproducing a photographed image immediately after photographing is highly convenient and is a useful function for a user of an electronic camera.

[0005] Even during continuous shooting, an electronic camera that reproduces and displays a captured image every time one image is captured is also common.

[0006]

In such a conventional image processing apparatus such as an electronic camera, when continuous photographing is performed using an optical viewfinder, a photographed image is obtained by a quick review every time one image is photographed. Even if the image is displayed on a display device such as a color liquid crystal panel, there is a problem that a quick review image cannot be viewed because the user is looking through the optical viewfinder to check the subject.

In addition, in continuous shooting using an optical viewfinder, a color liquid crystal panel or the like near the optical viewfinder is turned on at the time of quick review. .

In addition, although it is difficult to view the quick review image, there is a problem that the battery is wasted when the display device such as a color liquid crystal panel is turned on.

In addition, there has been a problem that the interval between continuous shootings is increased by performing the quick review process.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a photographing means for photographing a still image and a continuous photographing mode for photographing one image at a time and a continuous photographing mode for photographing continuously. A first selection unit for selecting one of them, a display unit for electronically displaying an image taken by the photographing unit, and a quick display for displaying an image taken immediately after photographing by the photographing unit on the display unit for confirmation. When a single shooting mode is selected by the second selecting means for selecting use of the review function and the first selecting means and use of the quick review function is selected by the second selecting means, Immediately after, the photographed image is displayed on the display means, and the continuous shooting mode is selected by the first selecting means and the use of the quick review function is selected by the second selecting means. Of immediately after each shot without displaying the captured image, which is the last captured image immediately after the end of shooting continuous shooting mode in which and a control means for displaying on the display means.

Further, the present invention provides a photographing means for photographing a still image, a display means for displaying an image photographed by the photographing means, and a first means for selecting whether or not to use the display means.
Selecting means, a second selecting means for selecting one of a single shooting mode for taking one image at a time and a continuous shooting mode for taking a picture continuously, and automatically displaying a photographed image on the display means after photographing by the photographing means. When the quick review means to be displayed and the display means are selected not to be used by the first selecting means and the continuous shooting mode is selected by the second selecting means, during the continuous shooting mode, And control means for prohibiting the operation of the quick review means.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 shows an image processing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.
It is an example of the back view of (electronic camera). Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical finder for confirming the composition of a subject through an optical lens, and reference numeral 63 denotes a shutter button for instructing the image processing apparatus to perform a shooting operation. Reference numeral 28 denotes an image display unit such as a color liquid crystal panel, which reproduces a captured image and sequentially displays images of a subject when using an electronic finder function. Reference numeral 66 denotes an image display ON / OFF switch, by which the display of the electronic finder 28 can be turned ON / OFF. The photographer can select which of the optical viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder is used for shooting. The optical viewfinder 104 allows the photographer to compose the subject when shooting.
When looking through the camera, the color liquid crystal panel 28 cannot be seen.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image processing device.
Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having an aperture function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an image sensor.
A / D that converts the analog signal output of the
It is a converter.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an image sensor 14, an A / D converter 16, and a D / A
This is a timing generation circuit that supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an image processing circuit, which is an A / D converter 16
A predetermined pixel interpolation process or a color conversion process is performed on the data from the memory controller 22 or the data from the memory control circuit 22. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs a predetermined calculation process using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 performs an exposure control circuit 40, a distance measurement control circuit based on the calculation result by the image processing circuit 20.
TTL (through the lens) AF by controlling 42
(Auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, E
F (flash pre-emission) processing is performed.

Further, in the image processing circuit 20, predetermined arithmetic processing is performed using the captured image data, and TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing is also performed based on the obtained arithmetic result.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a memory control circuit, which is an A / D converter
16, timing generation circuit 18, image processing circuit 20, image display memory 24, D / A converter 26, memory 30, compression / decompression circuit
Controls 32. The data of the A / D converter 16 is an image processing circuit
20, via the memory control circuit 22 or the A / D converter 16
Is directly written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the memory control circuit 22.

24 is an image display memory, 26 is a D / A converter,
Reference numeral 28 denotes an image display unit composed of a TFT LCD or the like. The display image data written in the image display memory 24 is displayed by the image display unit 28 via the D / A converter 26. If image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, an electronic finder function can be realized. The image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and turn off the display.
In this case, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be significantly reduced.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, which has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and moving images for a predetermined time. Accordingly, even in the case of continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, it is possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed. Further, the memory 30 can also be used as a work area of the system control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit for compressing / decompressing image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like. The compression / decompression circuit 32 reads an image stored in the memory 30 and performs compression or decompression processing. Is written to the memory 30.

An exposure control circuit 40 controls the shutter 12 having an aperture function, and also has a flash dimming function in cooperation with the flash 48.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measurement control circuit that controls focusing of the photographing lens 10, 44 denotes a zoom control circuit that controls zooming of the photographing lens 10, and 46 denotes a barrier control circuit that controls the operation of a protection member 102 that is a lens barrier. is there. Reference numeral 48 denotes a flash, which also has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash dimming function.

The exposure control circuit 40 and the distance measurement control circuit 42 are controlled by using the TTL method. The system control circuit controls the photographed image data based on the calculation result by the image processing circuit 20.
50 controls the exposure control circuit 40 and the distance measurement control circuit 42.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit for controlling the entire image processing apparatus 100, and reference numeral 52 denotes a memory for storing constants, variables, programs, and the like for operating the system control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker for displaying an operating state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with the execution of the program by the system control circuit 50. A single or multiple locations are installed at easy-to-view locations near 100 operating units, such as LCD and L
It is composed of a combination of an ED, a sound element, and the like. In addition, the display unit 54 has a part of its function as the optical viewfinder 10.
It is installed in 4. Among the display contents of the display unit 54, the LCD
For example, single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression ratio display, number of recorded pixels, number of recorded images, remaining number of images, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure compensation display , Flash display, red-eye reduction display, macro shooting display, buzzer setting display, battery level display for clock, battery level display, error display,
There are information display using a plurality of digits, display of the detached state of the recording media 200 and 210, communication I / F operation display, date / time display, and the like. Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, those displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 include an in-focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory, for example, an EEPROM or the like.

Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, and 70 denote operating means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, such as switches, dials, touch panels, pointing by eye-gaze detection, voice recognition devices, and the like. , Or a combination of a plurality of these.

Here, these operation members will be specifically described. Numeral 60 is a mode dial switch, which can switch and set various function modes such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panorama shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, and PC connection mode.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned on when a shutter button (not shown) is pressed by a predetermined amount, and instructs the start of operations such as AF processing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the pressing operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and
Exposure processing for writing image data to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22 with the signal read from the memory 12; development processing using arithmetic operations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22; , And instructs the start of a series of processes of a recording process of writing image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 by performing compression by the compression / decompression circuit 32.

Reference numeral 66 denotes an image display ON / OFF switch for setting display / non-display of the image display unit 28. With this function, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to an image display unit such as a TFT LCD when taking a picture using the optical viewfinder 104.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch.
Sets / cancels the quick review function that automatically plays back image data shot immediately after shooting. In this embodiment, a function for setting a quick review function when the image display unit 28 is turned off is provided.

An operation unit 70 includes various buttons, a touch panel, etc., and includes a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single-shot / continuous-shot / self-timer switching button, and a menu shift + (Plus) button, menu navigation-(minus)
Button, playback image move + (plus) button, playback image-
There are a (minus) button, a shooting quality selection button, an exposure compensation button, a date / time setting button, and the like.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control circuit, which includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-D
It consists of a C converter, a switch circuit that switches the block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence or absence of a battery, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Based on the detection result and the instruction of the system control circuit 50, the DC-DC The converter is controlled to supply a required voltage to each unit including the recording medium for a required period.

Reference numerals 82 and 84 denote connectors, and reference numeral 86 denotes a power supply including a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, and an AC adapter.

Reference numerals 90 and 94 denote interfaces with recording media such as memory cards and hard disks, reference numerals 92 and 96 denote connectors for connecting to recording media such as memory cards and hard disks, and reference numeral 98 denotes recording media 200 or 210 to connectors 92 and / or 96. Is a recording-medium attachment / detachment detection circuit for detecting whether or not is attached.

In this embodiment, the description has been made assuming that there are two interfaces and connectors for attaching a recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or plural number of systems. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which interfaces and connectors of different standards are provided in combination. The interface and the connector may be configured using a standard such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card.

Further, when the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96 are configured using a standard such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash) card, a LAN card, a modem card, a USB card, an IEEE13
By connecting various communication cards such as a 94 card, P1284 card, SCSI card, PHS and other communication cards, image data and management information attached to the image data can be exchanged with peripheral devices such as other computers and printers. You can transfer each other.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a protection member which is a barrier that covers the imaging unit including the lens 10 of the image processing apparatus 100 to prevent the imaging unit from being stained or damaged. Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical finder, which can perform photographing using only the optical finder without using the electronic finder function of the image display unit 28. The optical viewfinder 104
Inside the device, elements for performing some functions of the display unit 54, for example, an in-focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are provided.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a communication circuit, which includes RS232C, USB, and IEEE139.
4. Has various communication functions such as P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, wireless communication, etc. 112 is the image processing device 10 from the communication circuit 110
0 is a connector for connecting to another device. In the case of wireless communication, an antenna is used.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 including a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, and the image processing apparatus 100.
Interface 204, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100. 210 is a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 210 includes a recording unit 212 including a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, and the like.
An interface 214 with the image processing apparatus 100 and a connector 216 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100 are provided.

The operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 show flowcharts of the main routine of the image processing apparatus 100, and the operation of the image processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to these flowcharts.

When the power is turned on such as when the battery is replaced, the system control circuit 50 initializes flags, control variables, and the like (S101), and initializes the image display of the image display unit 28 to the OFF state (S102).
The system control circuit 50 determines the setting position of the mode dial 60 (S103), and if the mode dial 60 is set to the power OFF state, changes the display of each display unit to the end state, and sets the barrier of the protection member 102. To protect the imaging unit, record necessary parameters and setting values including flags and control variables, and setting modes in the non-volatile memory 56, and use the power supply control circuit 80 to control the components of the image processing apparatus 100 including the image display unit 28. Predetermined termination processing such as shutting off unnecessary power supply is performed (S105), and then S1
Return to 03.

If the mode dial 60 has been set to the photographing mode, the flow proceeds to S106. If the mode dial 60 is set to another mode, the system control circuit 5
0 executes the process according to the selected mode (S104), and returns to S103 when the process is completed.

The system control circuit 50 uses the power supply control circuit 80 to determine whether the remaining capacity of the power supply 86 or the operating condition has a problem in the operation of the image processing apparatus 100 (S106). A predetermined warning is displayed by using an image or a sound using 54 (S108), and the process returns to S103.

If there is no problem with the power supply 86, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 has a problem in the operation of the image processing apparatus 100, particularly, in the operation of recording and reproducing image data on the recording medium. Is determined (S107), and if there is a problem, a predetermined warning is displayed by image or sound using the display unit 54 (S108), and the process returns to S103.

If there is no problem in the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 (S107), various setting states of the image processing apparatus 100 are displayed on the display unit 54 using images and sounds (S109).
If the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to ON, various setting states of the image processing apparatus 100 are displayed by the image and the sound using the image display unit 28 as well.

Next, the system control circuit 50 checks the setting state of the quick review ON / OFF switch 68 (S110), and if it is set to the quick review ON, sets a quick review flag (S111) and turns off the quick review. Release the quick review flag if set to (S11
2). The state of the quick review flag is stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52.

Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 displays an image.
Check the setting of the ON / OFF switch 66 (S113) and turn on the image display.
If the image display flag has been set, the image display flag is set (S114), and the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to the ON state.
(S115), and a through display state for sequentially displaying captured image data is set (S116), and the process proceeds to S119. In the through display state, the image display memory is controlled via the image sensor 12, the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22.
The data sequentially written to the memory control circuit 22, the memory control circuit 22, D /
An electronic viewfinder function is realized by successively displaying images on the image display unit 28 via the A converter 26.

When the image display ON / OFF switch 66 is turned off, the image display is turned off.
If the image display flag has been set, the image display flag is cleared (S117), the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to the OFF state (S118), and the process proceeds to S119. When the image display is OFF, the photographing is performed using the optical viewfinder 104 without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. In this case, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the image display unit 28, the D / A converter 26, and the like that consume a large amount of power.

The state of the image display flag is stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52.

Next, it is determined whether or not the shutter switch SW1 has been pressed (S119), and if not, the flow returns to S103. When the shutter switch SW1 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S
120), if the image display flag is set, the display state of the image display unit 28 is set to the freeze display state (S121),
Proceed to S122. In the freeze display state, the image sensor 1
2, A / D converter 16, image processing circuit 20, memory control circuit 2
2 prevents the rewriting of the image data in the image display memory 24 via the
22, the frozen image is displayed on the electronic viewfinder by being displayed on the image display unit 28 via the D / A converter 26. If the image display flag has been released, the process proceeds to S122.

The system control circuit 50 performs a distance measuring process to focus the photographing lens 10 on the subject, and performs a photometric process to determine an aperture value and a shutter time (S122). In the photometry processing, the flash setting is also performed if necessary. The details of the distance measurement / photometry processing S122 will be described later.

When the distance measurement / photometry processing (S122) is completed, the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50 (S123), and displays the image. If the flag is set, the display state of the image display unit 28 is set to the through display state (S12
4), proceed to S125. The through display state in S124 is S1
This is the same operation state as the through state at 16.

Next, it is determined whether or not the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S125). If the shutter switch SW2 is not pressed, it is further determined whether or not the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S126). Shutter switch
If SW1 has also been released, the process returns to S103.

When the shutter switch SW2 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S127), and the image display flag is set. The display state of the image display unit 28 to the fixed color display state
(S128), the process proceeds to S129.

In the fixed color display state, the image pickup device 12,
Instead of the captured image data written to the image display memory 24 via the A / D converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, and the memory control circuit 22, the replaced fixed color image data is stored in the memory control circuit 22, D / A The fixed-color image is displayed on the electronic finder by displaying the image on the image display unit 28 via the converter 26. If the image display flag has been released, the process proceeds to S129.

The system control circuit 50 includes the image pickup device 12, A /
Exposure processing and memory control circuit 22 for writing photographed image data into memory 30 via D converter 16, image processing circuit 20, memory control circuit 22 or directly from A / D converter 16 via memory control circuit 22; Image processing circuit 20 as required
The image data written in the memory 30 is read out by using the image processing, and a photographing process including a developing process of performing various processes is executed.
(S129). Details of the photographing process S129 will be described later.

After the photographing processing, the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is determined (S130), and if the image display flag is set, quick review display is performed (S134). . In this case, the image display unit 28 is always displayed as an electronic finder even during shooting, and quick review display immediately after shooting is performed regardless of the state of the quick review flag. If the image display flag has been cleared, the system control circuit
The state of the continuous shooting flag stored in the internal memory 50 or the memory 52 is determined (S131). If continuous shooting is being performed in S131, the process proceeds to S135 while the image display unit 28 is OFF. In this case, even after photographing, the image display section 28 remains off, and quick review display is not performed.

On the other hand, when the continuous shooting is not being performed in S131, that is, in the single shooting mode, the state of the quick review flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is determined (S131). If the quick review flag has been set, turn on the image display of the image display unit 28
State (S132) and perform quick review display (S13
Four).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when performing continuous photographing using the optical viewfinder 104, the user keeps looking through the optical viewfinder 104 to determine the composition of the subject. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which quick reviews are displayed one after another on the image display unit 28 despite the difficulty in performing. In addition, when performing continuous shooting using the optical viewfinder 104, the image display unit 28 near the optical viewfinder 104 that is being viewed is turned on to perform a quick review. This makes it possible to avoid such a situation. At the same time, from the viewpoint of power saving, it is very useful not to perform a quick review when performing continuous shooting using the optical viewfinder 104.

As described above, since the photographing is performed using the optical viewfinder 104 for the purpose of power saving, the electronic viewfinder function is unnecessary, so that the image display of the image display unit 28 is performed.
Even if it is set to OFF, if the quick review function is set by the quick review switch, it is possible to automatically play back the captured image on the image display unit 28 immediately after shooting during single shot shooting Thus, it is possible to provide a power-saving and convenient function for confirming a captured image.

System control circuit 50 after quick review
Reads out the captured image data written in the memory 30 and reads the captured image data into the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit.
After performing various image processing using 20, and performing image compression processing according to the mode set using the compression / decompression circuit 32,
A recording process for writing image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 is executed (S135). Details of this recording process will be described later.

When the recording process is completed, it is determined whether or not the shutter switch SW2 has been pressed (S136). If the shutter switch SW2 has been pressed, the system control circuit 50 stores it in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or in the memory 52. Determine the state of the continuous shooting flag to be performed (S137), if the continuous shooting flag is set,
The process returns to S129 to perform continuous shooting, and the next shooting is performed. If the continuous shooting flag is not set, the current process is repeated until the shutter switch SW2 is released (S136).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the operation setting state in which the quick review display is performed immediately after shooting, if the shutter switch SW2 is pressed when the recording process is completed, Shutter switch SW2
Until is released, the quick review display on the image display unit 28 can be continued, and the captured image can be carefully checked. The shutter switch SW2 was released when the recording process was completed, or the shutter switch SW2 was released after pressing and holding the shutter switch SW2 to continue the quick review display and confirm the captured image If so, the process proceeds to S139 after a predetermined minimum review time has elapsed (S138). The details of the minimum review time processing will be described later.

As described above, by continuing the quick review display on the image display section 28 for a predetermined time, it is possible to surely confirm the photographed image and to continue the quick review display for an unnecessarily long time. Thus, it is possible to prevent the next shooting opportunity from being lost.

It should be noted that the minimum review time may be set by any method such as a fixed value or arbitrarily set by the user, or arbitrarily set or selected by the user within a predetermined range.

After the minimum review time has elapsed, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the image display flag is set (S139), and if so, sets the display state of the image display unit 28 to the through display state. Then (S140), the process proceeds to S142. In this case, after a captured image is confirmed by the quick review display on the image display unit 28, a through display state in which image data captured for the next capturing is sequentially displayed can be provided. If the image display flag has been released, the image display of the image display unit 28 is turned off (S141), and the process proceeds to S142. In this case, after confirming the captured image by the quick review display on the image display unit 28, the function of the image display unit 28 is stopped to save power, and the image display unit 28 with large power consumption and the D / A conversion It is possible to reduce the power consumption of the device 26 and the like.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S142). If the shutter switch SW1 is kept pressed, the system control circuit 50 returns to S125 and prepares for the next photographing. If the shutter switch SW1 has been released, the system control circuit 50 ends a series of shooting operations and returns to S103.

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the distance measurement / photometry processing in S122 of FIG. The details of the distance measurement / photometry processing will be described below.

The system control circuit 50 reads out the charge signal from the image sensor 14 and sequentially reads the captured image data into the image processing circuit 20 via the A / D converter 16 (S201). Using the sequentially read image data, the image processing circuit 20
L (through the lens) AE (auto exposure) processing, E
Predetermined calculations used for F (flash pre-emission) processing and AF (auto focus) processing are performed. In each process, a specific portion of the total number of photographed pixels, which is necessary, is extracted by cutting out necessary portions, and is used for calculation. As a result, in each of the TTL-type AE, EF, AWB, and AF processing, it is possible to perform an optimal calculation for each mode such as a center-weighted metering mode, an average metering mode, and an evaluation metering mode.

Using the calculation result of the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 determines whether the exposure (AE) is appropriate or not.
(S202), AE control is performed using the exposure control circuit 40 (S203).
Using the measurement data obtained by the AE control, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not flash emission is necessary (S204), sets a flash flag if flash is required, and charges the flash 48 (S205). .

If the exposure is determined to be appropriate in S202, the measured data and / or the set parameters are transferred to the system control circuit.
It is stored in the internal memory 50 or the memory 52.

Next, the system control circuit 50 is used by using the calculation result in the image processing circuit 20 and the measurement data obtained by the AE control.
Until the white balance (AWB) is judged to be appropriate (S2
06), AWB control is performed by adjusting the color processing parameters using the image processing circuit 20 (S207). White balance (AWB)
Is determined to be appropriate, the measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

Next, using the measurement data obtained by the AE control and the AWB control, the system control circuit 50 uses the distance measurement control circuit 42 until it is determined that the distance measurement (AF) is in focus (S208). AF control is performed (S209). When the subject is in focus, the measurement data and / or the set parameters are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50, and the distance measurement / photometry processing routine S122 ends.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of the photographing process in S129 of FIG. Hereinafter, details of the photographing process will be described.

The system control circuit 50 is a system control circuit.
In accordance with the photometric data stored in the internal memory 50 or the memory 52, the exposure control circuit 40 opens the shutter 12 having the aperture function according to the aperture value to expose the image sensor 10 (S301, S302). Next, it is determined based on the flash flag whether or not the flash 48 needs to be emitted (S303). If necessary, the flash is emitted (S304).

The system control circuit 50 waits for the end of exposure of the image sensor 12 in accordance with the photometric data (S305). If the exposure is completed, the shutter 12 is closed (S306), and a charge signal is read from the image sensor 14, and the A / D The data of the captured image is written to the memory 30 via the converter 16, the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter 16 via the memory control circuit 22 (S307).

In accordance with the set photographing mode, it is determined whether or not frame processing needs to be performed (S308). If necessary, the system control circuit 50 controls the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit. Using 20, the image data written in the memory 30 is read out, vertical addition processing and color processing are sequentially performed, and then the processed image data is written in the memory 30 (S 309, S 310). After that, the system control circuit 50
The image data is read from the memory 30 and the memory control circuit 22
Then, the display image data is transferred to the image display memory 24 via the interface (S311). When a series of processing is completed, the photographing processing routine S129 ends.

FIG. 6 is a detailed flowchart of the recording process in S134 of FIG. Hereinafter, details of the recording process will be described.

The system control circuit 50 includes the memory control circuit 22
Then, the memory 30 is used by using the image processing circuit 20 as necessary.
The captured image data written to the image sensor is read out, pixel square processing for interpolating the vertical / horizontal pixel ratio of the image sensor to 1: 1 is performed, and the processed image data is written to the memory 30 (S40).
1). Then, the image data written in the memory 30 is read, and the image compression processing corresponding to the set mode is compressed / compressed.
Performed by the decompression circuit 32 (S402), and the interface 90 or 9
4. Write the compressed image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 such as a memory card or a compact flash card via the connector 92 or 96 (S403). When the writing to the recording medium is completed, the recording processing routine S134 ends.

FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart of the minimum review time lapse processing in S138 of FIG. The details of the minimum review time lapse process will be described below.

The system control circuit 50 determines the image display flag (S801). If the image display flag is set, the review is started for a predetermined period of time after the quick review is started in S131. (S80
Four). If the image display flag has not been set, the process proceeds to S802. In S802, it is determined whether or not the mode is the continuous shooting mode, and nothing is performed in the continuous shooting mode. If the mode is the single shooting mode in S802, the flow advances to S803 to determine the quick review flag. If the quick review flag has been set, the review is displayed for a predetermined period of time after the quick review is started in S131 (S804). On the other hand, if the quick review flag has been released, nothing is done. After starting the quick review in S131, S136
If the time until the shutter switch SW2 is opened exceeds the minimum review time (the predetermined time), the quick review ends immediately after the shutter switch SW2 is opened.

In the description of the above embodiment, when the image display unit 28 is turned off, all the elements constituting the image display unit 28 are turned off. It is of course no problem to turn off part of.
Even in this case, it is possible to provide a function for both confirming a captured image and saving power. For example, when the image display unit 28 includes an LCD and a backlight, a function can be provided for confirming a captured image and saving power even if only the backlight is turned off while the LCD is on.

Although the image display ON / OFF switch 66 and the quick review ON / OFF switch 68 have been described as being independent from each other, the image display ON / OFF switch 66 and the quick review ON / OFF switch 68 are used as one. Combined as switches, image display ON / Quick review only image display O
Of course, there is no problem even with a configuration having three positions of N / image display OFF.

Then, it has been described that when the instruction to end the quick review display by the image display unit 28 is issued, the minimum review time for continuing the quick review display for the minimum time is determined, but the minimum review time is not set. Of course, there is no problem. In this case, the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 may be such that the processing for judging the elapse of the minimum review time in S137 is removed.

Further, as a configuration having dedicated image display sections for performing a through display and a quick review display,
The ON / OFF of these display units may be performed according to the settings of the image display ON / OFF switch and the quick review ON / OFF switch. Also in this case, it is possible to provide a function for both confirming a captured image and saving power.

In the above description, when the image display ON / OFF switch is ON, quick review display immediately after shooting is performed regardless of the setting of the quick review ON / OFF switch. In the case of ON, whether or not to perform quick review display may be determined according to the setting of the quick review ON / OFF switch.

Further, in the description of the above-described embodiment, the configuration having the quick review ON / OFF switch is described. However, the configuration without the quick review ON / OFF switch does not matter. Quick Review ON / O
In the case of a configuration without an FF switch, in FIG. 2, the quick review SW determination (S110), the quick review flag setting (S111), the quick review flag release (S112), and the quick review flag determination (S112) in FIGS. S13
2, S803) may be removed from the flowchart. In this case, the quick review after shooting is not displayed only when continuous shooting is performed using the optical viewfinder. During single-shot shooting and when using the electronic viewfinder, a quick review is displayed after shooting.

The recording media 200 and 210 include not only a memory card such as a PCMCIA card or a compact flash, a hard disk, but also a micro DAT, a magneto-optical disk,
Of course, there is no problem even if it is composed of an optical disk such as a DR or CD-WR, or a phase change optical disk such as a DVD. Also, there is no problem even if it is a composite medium in which a memory card and a hard disk are integrated. Further, there is no problem if a part of the composite medium is detachable.

In the above description of the embodiment, the recording media 200 and 210 have been described as being separated from the image processing apparatus 100 and can be arbitrarily connected. Of course, there is no problem even if it is fixed to the image processing apparatus 100.

The recording medium 200 or 210 may be connected to the image processing apparatus 100 singly or plurally. The recording medium itself may be singly or plurally combined. Of course, there is no problem.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention, the quick review function for reproducing and displaying the image of the photographed subject immediately after photographing and the continuous shooting mode for continuously photographing the image of the subject are selected. In this case, the quick review is not performed immediately after each shooting in the continuous shooting mode, so it is difficult to see the color LCD panel etc. while looking through the optical viewfinder to determine the composition of the subject No meaningless quick review is displayed each time a single shot is completed.

When performing continuous shooting using the optical viewfinder, the quick review is not displayed, so that the color liquid crystal panel near the optical viewfinder that is being viewed does not turn on and the light from the liquid crystal panel or the like does not enter the eyes. To
It is possible to concentrate on shooting.

When performing continuous shooting using an optical viewfinder, by not displaying a quick review, power saving can be achieved and continuous shooting can be performed at higher speed.

On the other hand, when performing single-shot shooting using an optical viewfinder or shooting using an electronic viewfinder, an image processing apparatus that displays a quick review and reproduces and displays the shot image immediately after shooting is provided. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a main routine illustrating an operation of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a main routine illustrating an operation of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a distance measurement / photometry routine.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a shooting routine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a recording routine.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of a housing of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a minimum review display routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 photographing lens 12 shutter 14 image sensor 20 image processing circuit 22 memory control circuit 24 image display memory 28 image display unit 30 memory 32 image compression / decompression circuit 40 exposure control circuit 42 ranging control circuit 50 system control circuit 52 memory 54 display unit 56 Non-volatile memory 60 Mode dial switch 62 Shutter switch SW1 63 Shutter switch 64 Shutter switch SW2 66 Image display ON / OFF switch 68 Quick review ON / OFF switch 70 Operation unit 80 Power control circuit 86 Power supply 100 Image processing device 104 Optical finder

Claims (8)

[Claims] A photographing means for photographing a still image; a first selecting means for selecting one of a single photographing mode for photographing one image at a time and a continuous photographing mode for photographing continuously; Display means for electronically displaying the captured image; second selection means for selecting use of a quick review function for displaying an image taken immediately after image capturing by the image capturing means on the display means for confirmation; When the single shooting mode is selected by the first selection means and the use of the quick review function is selected by the second selection means, a shot image is displayed on the display means immediately after each shooting, and the first image is displayed. When the continuous shooting mode is selected by the selection means and the use of the quick review function is selected by the second selection means, the captured image is not displayed immediately after each shooting in the continuous shooting mode, The image processing apparatus characterized by having a control means for displaying on the display means the last photographed image immediately after the end of shooting shooting mode. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: third selection means for selecting whether or not to use the display means, wherein when the use of the display means is selected by the third selection means, 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls to automatically use the quick review function regardless of a selection state of the second selection unit. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means terminates said quick review a predetermined time after starting said quick review. 4. A memory for temporarily storing a photographed image,
4. The image processing method according to claim 3, further comprising a switch for instructing the memory to store a captured image, wherein the control unit maintains the quick review after the start of the quick review until the switch is opened. apparatus. 5. A photographing means for photographing a still image, a display means for displaying an image photographed by the photographing means, a first selecting means for selecting whether or not to use the display means, Second selection means for selecting one of a single shooting mode in which shooting is performed at a time and a continuous shooting mode in which shooting is performed continuously, and a quick review means for automatically displaying a shot image on the display means after shooting by the shooting means When the first selecting means selects not to use the display means and the second selecting means selects the continuous shooting mode, the operation of the quick review means is performed during the continuous shooting mode. An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for prohibiting the image processing. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said control means activates said quick review means for the last photographed image in said continuous shooting mode. 7. A control method for an image processing apparatus having a quick review function for automatically displaying a photographed image on an image display unit immediately after photographing a still image, comprising: A first selection step of selecting one of continuous shooting modes for performing a quick review function, a second selection step of selecting use of a quick review function, a photographing step of photographing a still image, and a single photographing in the first selection step. Mode is selected and the second
When the use of the quick review function is selected in the selecting step, the photographed image is displayed on the display unit immediately after each photographing, and the continuous photographing mode is selected in the first selecting step, and the second selecting When the use of the quick review function is selected in the process, the captured image is not displayed immediately after each shooting in the continuous shooting mode, and the last captured image is displayed on the display unit immediately after the last shooting in the continuous shooting mode. And a control step of displaying the image. 8. A control method for an image processing apparatus having a quick review function of automatically displaying a captured image on a display unit after capturing, a first selection step of selecting whether to use the display unit, A second selection step of selecting one of a single shooting mode in which the image is taken one by one and a continuous shooting mode in which the shooting is continuously performed; a shooting step of shooting a still image; and the display section in the first selection step. It is selected not to use, and when the continuous shooting mode is selected in the second selection step, a prohibition step of prohibiting the operation of the quick review function during the continuous shooting mode, Control method of an image processing apparatus.