JP2001333324A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device that can generate an image on which the intention of a photographer is reflected in the case of generating a full focus image or a blur control image from images with different focuses. SOLUTION: When a photographer uses an object instruction means 104 to instruct an object with which a focus is matched, an instruction contents discrimination means 401 discriminates the contents of the instruction, a synthesis processing control means 403 selects generating processing of a full focus image or generating processing of a blur control image depending on the result and allows a synthesis means 43 to execute the selected generating processing. Thus, the full focus image or the blur control image on the basis of an object image intended by the photographer can be obtained independently of the restriction of the number of photographed sheets.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an imaging device such as a digital camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a digital camera, for example, a plurality of images having different focal lengths focused on a foreground and a background, respectively, are taken, and from these plurality of images, an all-focus image in which a plurality of subjects are focused on each other, Some have a function of creating a blur control image in which the degree of blur of a subject such as a foreground or a background is adjusted.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-108057 discloses a configuration in which a plurality of images are taken by focusing on an entire range specified by subject distance information, and these images are combined to create an all-focus image. Is disclosed.

[0004] A method of creating a blur control image is also known.

[0005]

However, in order to obtain an omnifocal image or a blur control image as described above,
It is necessary to secure multiple shot images, but in reality,
The number of shots is often limited by the capacity of the image memory, shooting intervals, processing time, and the like. In this case, for example, in the omnifocal image creation processing, the digital camera automatically creates an image focused on the near view and the main subject even though the photographer pays attention to the main subject and the distant view. In this case, an image different from the photographer's intention is created.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an image reflecting the intention of a photographer when obtaining an all-focus image or a blur control image from a plurality of images having different focal lengths. It is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging device capable of performing the following.

[0007]

An object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup means for acquiring a plurality of images having different focal lengths, and a process of creating an all-focus image or a process of creating a blur control image from a plurality of images taken by the image pickup means. Synthesizing processing means for performing, and subject instructing means capable of indicating a subject to be focused,
An instruction content judging means for judging the content of the instruction of the object by the object instruction means, and selection control of the omnifocal image creation processing or the blur control image creation processing by the combination processing means in accordance with the determination result by the instruction content identification means. And a synthesizing process control unit.

According to this imaging apparatus, when a plurality of images having different focal lengths are acquired by the imaging means, one omnifocal image or a blur control image is created from these images by the synthesis processing means. At this time, if the photographer indicates a subject to be focused in the finder image or the like by the subject designating means, the content of the designation is determined by the content determining means. The combining processing control means selects either the omnifocal image creation processing or the blur control image creation processing in accordance with the determination result, so that the selected processing is executed by the image processing means.

[0009] This makes it possible to acquire an all-focus image and a blur control image based on the subject image intended by the photographer, regardless of the restriction on the number of photographed images.

[0010] Further, the instruction content is the number of instructions of the subject, and the synthesizing processing control means includes:
When it is determined that the subject pointing number is plural, the omnifocal image creation process is executed, and when it is determined that the subject pointing number is singular, the blur control image creating process is executed. The user can select the omnifocal image creation process or the blur control image creation process by a simple operation that simply changes the number of designated objects.

[0011] Further, the object is to provide a photographing means for acquiring a plurality of images having different focal lengths, and a synthesizing processing for producing an omnifocal image or a blur control image from a plurality of images photographed by the imaging means. Means, object instructing means capable of instructing an object to be focused, instruction content judging means for judging the content of a subject instruction by the object instructing means, and an imaging operation by the imaging means in accordance with the result of the instruction content judging means The present invention is also solved by an imaging apparatus characterized by comprising an imaging operation control means for controlling.

According to this imaging apparatus, for example, when it is determined that the subject is a moving object, control is performed so that imaging by the imaging means is not performed. In addition, it is possible to prevent an unintended subject from being photographed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are an external perspective view and a rear view showing a digital camera to which an image pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a digital camera, which is provided with a photographic lens 2, a finder window 5 and a distance measuring window 101 on the front of a camera body 1A. A CCD 3 as an image sensor for photoelectrically converting the obtained optical image is provided on the optical path of the photographing lens 2. Further, on an upper surface of the camera body 1A, a release (shutter) button 4, a shooting mode setting key 8, a liquid crystal display panel 9, and the like are provided.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a recording medium for storing image data, and reference numeral 7 denotes a recording medium insertion opening formed on a side surface of the camera body 1A.

The photographing mode setting key 8 is used when the photographer sets exposure conditions such as aperture priority and shutter speed priority, switches macro photography, and further sets zoom while looking at the liquid crystal display panel 9. .

An image processing mode setting key 102, a liquid crystal monitor 103 as a viewfinder, a menu selection key 104, and the like are provided on the back of the camera body 1A. An image processing mode setting key 102 is used when the photographer sets a combined image mode for creating an all-in-focus image or a blur control image, which will be described later, and sets a blur level while watching the liquid crystal monitor 103. You. The menu selection key 104 is used not only for menu selection but also for the photographer to move the subject indication marker 34 (FIG. 6) displayed on the viewfinder image of the liquid crystal monitor 103. , And constitutes a subject instructing means.

The digital camera 1 can record image data captured by the CCD 3 on a recording medium 6 in the same manner as a normal camera, and also has a function of creating an all-focus image from a plurality of images having different focal lengths. It has a function to create a blur control image.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 1. The thin arrows indicate the flow of control data.
Thick arrows indicate the flow of image data.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a CPU, which stores the photographing conditions when the release button 4 is pressed, the setting state of the image processing mode setting key 8, and the like, and displays the exposure conditions on the liquid crystal panel 9. Further, the CPU 40 determines the distance measuring unit 1.
On the basis of the distance measurement result from 01, the photographing lens 2 is driven via the photographing lens driving unit 46 so as to focus on an appropriate subject, and the diaphragm 48 is controlled via the diaphragm driving unit 47. The imaging unit 20 (shown in FIG. 4) includes the photographing lens 2, the CCD 3, and the aperture 48.

An analog image signal from the CCD 3 is converted into digital image data by an A / D converter 41 and temporarily stored in an image memory (RAM) 42. C
The PU 40 stores the image data read from the RAM 42 on the recording medium 6.

The synthesizing section 43 creates an image corresponding to the content of a subject instruction from an all-focus image and a blur control image from a plurality of images having different focal lengths.

As shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 40 performs an instruction content discriminating section 401 and an omnifocal image creation process by the synthesizing processing section 43 and a blur control image according to the instruction content discriminating result of the instruction content discriminating section 401. A synthesis processing control unit 402 for selectively controlling the creation processing; and an imaging operation control unit 4 for controlling the imaging unit 20 in accordance with the result of the instruction content determination.
03.

An instruction content determination unit 401 determines the content of the instruction of the subject by the menu selection key 104, specifically, the number of the subject instructions designated by the photographer, and further, determines whether or not the designated subject is a moving object. It has a function to do.

When the instruction content discriminating section 401 determines that the number of subject indications is, for example, a plurality, the synthesizing control section 402 creates an omnifocal image and determines that the number of subject indications is singular. When the processing is performed, the combining processing section 43 is controlled so as to create a blur control image.

An image pickup operation control unit 403 controls the image pickup unit 20 so that it does not focus (do not perform image pickup) when the instruction content determination unit 401 determines that the indicated subject is a moving object. At the same time, a warning message is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 103.

Next, the image creation processing in the composite image mode will be described.

FIG. 5 shows a so-called perspective conflict scene in which subjects 10 and 11 are present on the P plane and the Q plane, respectively. For simplicity of description, the subjects 10 and 11 are shown as planar charts. Reference numeral 12 denotes an image focused and imaged on the P surface, in which a circle in the chart 10 as the foreground is clearly shown and a star in the chart 11 as the background is blurred. On the other hand, reference numeral 13 denotes an image obtained by focusing on the Q plane, in which the circle of the chart 10 as the foreground is blurred and the star of the chart 11 as the background is clearly shown.

In the multiplex image processing mode, images 14 and 15 are created from these two images 12 and 13. Reference numeral 14 denotes an image in which both the subjects 10 and 11 are focused, that is, a so-called all-focus image. Reference numeral 15 denotes the degree of blurring of the chart 10 as the foreground while being focused on the chart 11 as the background.
12 is a blur control image that is more emphasized than image 13.

As described above, the same scene is focused on the focal plane (position).
It is possible to obtain an omnifocal image and a blur control image in which the degree of blur of the foreground or background is arbitrarily changed from the two images photographed while changing the image. The principle of creating an all-in-focus image is described in Japanese Patent No. 2883648 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-108.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-200508 discloses a method of controlling the degree of blurring. Further, Kubota and Aizawa: "Registration in consideration of rotation of a multifocal image and registration of an arbitrary focal image. High-speed Reconstruction by Inverse Filter Method ", IEICE, IE99-25 (1999)
-07), which are publicly known, and the description thereof is omitted here. In the above description, the distance distribution of the subject is two in the foreground and the background, and the number of captured images is two. However, the distance distribution may be three in the foreground, the background, and the middle, or four or more. You may.

To use the function of creating an all-focus image or a blur control image, an image processing mode setting key 102 is used.
Can be set by the following two types of setting methods.

First, when the composite image mode is set by the image processing mode setting key 102 and the degree of blur is operated, the amount of blur is displayed on the LCD monitor 103 as “foreground focus, background blur large”, “foreground focus, Small background blur, "large foreground blur,
“Focus on background”, “Small foreground blur, Focus on background”, and “All focus” are displayed, and the photographer can select a desired setting from the menu selection key 10.
4 can be selected. The CPU 40 automatically calculates parameters according to the settings of the photographer, and the combining processing unit 43 creates a predetermined image.

For example, to obtain the image 14, the "all focus"
In order to obtain the image 15, "foreground blur large, background in-focus" may be set. This setting method is advantageous in that the operation is simple.

As described above, the number of images shot by the digital camera 1 is often limited as described above, such as the storage capacity of the RAM 42, the shooting interval, and the time required for processing. In such a case, an image different from the photographer's intention may be created.

Now, a case where the number of photographed images is limited to, for example, two will be described with reference to a finder image on the liquid crystal monitor 103 shown in FIG. This image is a scene with four subjects. For the main subject 30, a distant view 31, a subject 32 between the main subject 30 and the distant view 31, a main subject 30
A closer view 33 exists within one screen.

In such a case, when "all focus" is selected in the blur condition setting by the image processing mode setting key 102,
The synthesis processing unit 43 creates an image focused on the foreground and the background, for example, the foreground 33 and the main subject 30. In this case, the distant view 31 is blurred depending on the depth of field. But,
The photographer may be paying attention to the main subject 30 and the distant view 31. Now, it is assumed that the number of shots is limited to two. However, even if the number of shots is larger, if the number of subjects on the screen is large, an image different from the photographer's intention is similarly May be created. Therefore, in that case, the following second operation may be performed.

The second operation is an operation in which the photographer designates a subject while viewing a finder image on the liquid crystal monitor 103.

While the photographer displays the marker 34 on the liquid crystal monitor 103 with the image processing mode setting key 102, the marker 34 is moved with the menu selection key 102 to match the subject to be focused. Here, the marker 34 is aligned with the main subject 30 and the distant view 31.

When taking a picture in this state, the digital camera 1
Captures two images, an image focused on the main subject 30 and an image focused on the distant view 31, and creates one omnifocal image focused on the main subject 30 and the distant view 34.

When three subjects are designated, three images focused on each of the three subjects are photographed to create one image. Alternatively, the depth of field may be calculated, and when at least two of the specified subjects fall within the depth of field, the number of shots may be reduced.

When the photographer points the marker 34 at only one subject, for example, only the main subject 30, the digital camera 1 creates a blur control image in which the degree of blurring other than the main subject 30 is emphasized. . As described above, by adding the operation of instructing the subject by the photographer, the photographing that reflects the intention of the photographer can be performed.

Further, if the photographer inadvertently designates the subject to be moved by the marker 34, the subject moves and deviates from the marker 34 at the time of photographing, and an image different from the subject intended by the photographer is created. Will be done. In this case, the CPU 40 compares the subject distance at the time of setting the marker 34 with the subject distance at the time of photographing, and if the distance is different, ignores the marker 34 so as not to photograph a subject not intended by the photographer.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.

In the following description and drawings, steps are abbreviated as S.

In S1, when the release button 4 is pressed,
In S2, the CPU 40 reads and stores the photographing conditions and image processing mode settings at that time. And in S3,
The subject distance is measured by the distance measuring unit 101.

Next, in S4, it is determined whether or not the composite image mode is set as the image processing mode, and if the composite image mode is set (the determination in S4 is YE
S), and the process proceeds to S12 of FIG. If the composite image mode is not set (NO in S4), the function of the composite processing unit 43 is set to OFF (image data passes without any processing) in S5.

Subsequently, in S6, based on the distance measurement result,
The photographic lens 2 is driven to focus on an appropriate subject via the photographic lens driving unit 46, and then the aperture is set to an appropriate value via the iris driving unit 47 in S7.

Then, in S8, the CCD 3 is integrated and S
At 9, the image data is read. The read image data is converted into digital data by an A / D converter 41 by a pipeline method, and is temporarily stored in a RAM 42.
In S10, the CPU 40 reads out the image data in the RAM 42, records it on the medium 6, and executes S10 in order to proceed to the next shooting.
Return to 1.

If the result of determination in S4 is that the composite image mode has been set (YES in S4), S12 in FIG.
Then, it is determined whether or not the blur condition setting is selected. If the blur condition setting is selected (the determination in S12 is YE
S), and proceeds to S30 of FIG. If the blur condition setting is not selected (NO in S12), it means that the photographer gives a marker instruction (subject instruction) to a subject whose focal length is to be adjusted as shown in FIG. , S1
At 3, it is determined whether or not the number of marker instructions (the number of object instructions) is plural. If there are a plurality of marker instructions (S1
3 is YES), the process proceeds to S50 of FIG.

If there is only one marker instruction (NO in S13), the flow proceeds to S14. In this case, the background is regarded as infinity. In S14, the blur amount in the blur control process is set for the combination processing unit 43. Then, in S15, the aperture is set to an appropriate value via the aperture drive unit 47. In S16, the photographing lens 2 is driven via the photographing lens driving unit 47 so that the marker is focused on the subject, and the subject distance at the time of the marker instruction setting and the subject distance at the time of this photographing are set. Are determined to be the same.

If the subject distance at the time of setting the marker instruction is different from the subject distance at the time of shooting (NO in S16), it means that the instructed subject is moving. Is displayed as a warning, and the process returns to S1 in FIG. 7 for the next photographing. If the subject distance at the time of setting the marker instruction is the same as the subject distance at the time of shooting (YES in S16), the CCD 3 is integrated in S17, and the image data is read out in S18. The read image data is transferred to the A / D converter 4 by a pipeline method.
The data is converted into digital data by 1 and temporarily stored in the RAM 42.

Next, in S19, the photographic lens 2 is driven via the photographic lens drive unit 46 so as to focus on infinity. In S20, the CCD 3 is integrated.
Read image data. The read image data is converted into digital data by an A / D converter 41 by a pipeline method, and is temporarily stored in a RAM 42. And
In S22, the CPU 40 reads out the image data in the RAM 42, executes the blur control process in the synthesizing processing unit 43, records the data on the medium 6 in S23, and returns to S1 to move to the next shooting.

If the setting of the degree of blur is selected in S12, a parameter corresponding to the selected degree of blur is set in the combining processing unit 43 in S30 of FIG. Next, in S31, the aperture is set to an appropriate value via the aperture drive unit 47. Then, in S32, after the photographic lens 2 is driven via the photographic lens driving unit 46 so as to focus on the subject, the CCD 3 is integrated in S33, and the image data is read out in S34. The read image data is converted into digital data by an A / D converter 41 by a pipeline method, and is temporarily stored in a RAM 42.

Next, in S35, it is determined whether or not there is another subject. If there is another subject (YES in S35,
S), returning to S32, and repeating the operations of S32 to S35. This repetitive operation is performed until there is no photographing subject determined based on the distance distribution of the subject.

If there is no other subject (NO in S35), the CPU 40 reads out the image data in the RAM 42 in S36, and the synthesizing processing unit 43 executes the blur control image creation processing or the blur control image processing corresponding to the selected degree of blur. The omnifocal image creation processing is performed, and then the media 6
After that, the process returns to S1 to move to the next shooting.

In the above description, the image to be photographed is determined based on the distance distribution of the object. However, for simplification, the image of the main object and the image of infinity are always photographed. A method of photographing a focused image at the center area and a focused image at infinity can also be considered.

If there are a plurality of marker settings in S13 of FIG. 8, the omnifocal image creation processing corresponding to the plurality of marker settings is set in the combination processing section 43 in S50 of FIG. Next, in S51, the aperture is set to an appropriate value via the aperture drive unit 47. Then, in S52, the photographing lens 2 is driven via the photographing lens drive unit 46 so as to focus on the subject designated by the marker.

In S53, it is determined whether or not the subject distance at the time of setting the marker instruction and the subject distance at the time of this photographing are the same. If the subject distance at the time of setting the marker instruction is the same as the subject distance at the time of shooting (YES in S52), it is determined that the subject is not a moving object,
In S54, the CCD 3 is integrated, and in S55, image data is read. The read image data is converted into digital data by an A / D converter 41 by a pipeline method,
It is temporarily stored in the AM 42.

Next, in S56, it is determined whether or not there is another subject designated by the marker.
56 is YES), the process returns to S52 and S52 to S56.
Is repeated. This repetitive operation is performed until there is no longer any subject designated by the marker.

If the subject distance at the time of setting the marker instruction is different from the subject distance at the time of this photographing (NO at S53), it is determined at S60 whether or not there is a subject designated by the next marker. If there is a subject designated by the next marker (YES in S60), the process returns to S52 and repeats the same operation. If there is no subject for which the next marker is specified (NO in S60), the flow proceeds to S57.

In S57, it is determined whether or not there is an actually photographed image. If there is an actually photographed image (YES in S57), the CPU 40 reads out the image data in the RAM 42, performs the omnifocal image creation processing in the synthesizing processing unit 43 in S58, and transfers the image data to the medium 6 in S59. Recording is performed, and the process returns to S1 to move to the next photographing.

If the subject indicated by the marker is only a moving object and there is no actually photographed image (S57)
Is NO), a warning message is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 103 in S61, and the process returns to S1 for the next photographing.

In the above embodiment, the omnifocal image creation process or the blur control image creation process is selected according to the number of subject instructions as the subject instruction content. Such an image creation process may be selected.

[0064]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when one image is created by the combining processing means from a plurality of images having different focuses, the photographer designates a subject to be focused in a finder image or the like. If the instruction is given by the means, the instruction content is determined by the instruction content determining means, and a selection is made between the creation processing of the omnifocal image and the creation processing of the blur control image according to the result, so that the selected image processing is executed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an all-focus image and a blur control image based on the subject image intended by the photographer, regardless of the restriction on the number of photographed images.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the instruction content is the number of subject instructions, and when the combining process control means determines that the number of subject instructions to the combining means is plural, When the omnifocal image creation process is executed and the number of designated object points is determined to be singular, the process of creating a blur control image is executed. The user can select an omnifocal image creation process or a blur control image creation process.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the subject is a moving object, it is possible to control so that the image pickup means does not perform the image pickup. Thus, it is possible to prevent an unintended subject from being photographed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital camera to which an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the same digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the digital camera.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an image synthesis process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a scene in which a photographer specifies a subject.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the digital camera.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing subsequent to C in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing subsequent to E in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing subsequent to F in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Imaging device 3... CCD 20... Imaging unit 43... Synthesis processing unit 104. Selection key (subject instructing means) 401... Instruction content discriminating unit 402... Synthesis processing control unit 403.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An imaging unit for acquiring a plurality of images having different focal lengths, and a synthesizing processing unit for performing an omnifocal image creation process or a blur control image creation process from the plurality of images taken by the imaging unit. Object instructing means capable of instructing a subject to be focused; instruction content determining means for determining the content of the subject instruction by the object instructing means; and omnifocal image creation by the synthesizing processing means according to the determination result by the instruction content determining means And a synthesizing process control means for selectively controlling a process or a process of creating a blur control image. 2. The content of the subject instruction is the number of instructions of the subject, and the combining processing control means, when determining that the number of subject instructions is plural, to the combining processing means.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a process of creating an all-in-focus image is executed, and when it is determined that the number of designated objects is singular, a process of creating a blur control image is executed. 3. An image capturing means for acquiring a plurality of images having different focal lengths, and an image processing means for performing an omnifocal image creation process or a blur control image creation process from the plurality of images taken by the image sensing unit. A subject instructing means capable of designating a subject to be focused; an instruction content determining means for determining the content of a subject instruction by the subject instruction means; and an imaging operation for controlling an imaging operation by the imaging means in accordance with a determination result by the instruction content determining means An imaging device comprising: a control unit.