JP2002325222A - Data recorder, program, recording medium and digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data recorder capable of additionally recording photographed image data even when no deletable image exists among already existing image data recorded in a memory or even when a memory capacity is insufficient. SOLUTION: The data recorder is provided with a calculation means 105 for calculating the size of input data and the residual capacity of a recording medium in the data recorder for storing data obtained from an input device to the recording medium, a selection means 102 for selecting the data of the recording medium or input data, a size conversion means 103 for modifying the data size of the selected data, and a writing means 107 for writing the input data to the recording medium. When the size of the input data is larger than the residual capacity of the recording medium, the input data is written after the size of the data selected from the data of the recording medium is modified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a data recording apparatus,
The present invention relates to a program for executing the function of a data recording device, a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, and a digital camera. In particular, it eliminates a shortage of recording medium capacity when recording data such as images and sounds. Related to technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic camera that records a photographed image as digital data in a memory, the number of photographs that can be taken depends on the capacity of the memory. In particular, when an electronic camera with a built-in memory becomes full, unless the image data in the memory is erased after transferring the image data to a personal computer or printing out the data, Cannot be performed, or image data in the memory is lost. For this reason, many electronic cameras have a function of switching the recording mode of an image according to the purpose of photographing so that the memory can be used as efficiently as possible. For example, many cameras have a plurality of recording modes, such as a high image quality (high resolution) mode and a compression mode, depending on the resolution of an image or the presence or absence of compression. On the other hand, at the time of shooting, the purpose of use of the shot image is often unclear. For example, in order to print out a photographed image, it is necessary to take a photograph in a high image quality (high resolution) mode. However, whether or not to print is not always determined before photographing. Often it is decided by looking at the results. In such a case, since there is a possibility that all the shot images can be printed out at the time of shooting, the recording mode should be set to the high image quality mode even for the images which may be in the compression mode (no printing). Many users did. That is, even if a conventional electronic camera has an image recording function in a plurality of types of recording modes, it cannot be said that the function is necessarily utilized effectively. In order to solve the above problem, the electronic camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-191873 displays the captured image data on a monitor attached to the camera before recording the image data, and looks at the displayed image. ,
The user specifies the optimal recording format for the purpose of use or the camera automatically determines it, converts the captured image data into that format, and records it in memory, and optimizes all image data individually. An electronic camera that records in a simple recording mode and effectively uses a limited amount of memory is provided.

[0003]

However, in an electronic camera as typified by JP-A-11-191873, the size of image data already recorded in a memory cannot be changed. If the remaining capacity is insufficient, it is impossible to additionally record an image. This can be solved by deleting the image data in the memory, but it cannot be solved if the image data is necessary and cannot be all deleted. For this reason, there is a method of securing the free space by transferring the image data to another recording medium or the like, but it cannot be said that there is always a recording medium for transferring the data when going out.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem.
Even if there is no image that can be deleted from the existing image data recorded in the memory or if the memory capacity is insufficient, the data recording device and the function of the data recording device that can additionally record the captured image data An object of the present invention is to provide a program to be executed, a computer-readable recording medium recording the program, and a digital camera. Further, for example, if image data in the memory is to be printed out and the image quality is not to be reduced, but unnecessary portions in the image may be deleted by trimming, or the image is intended only for monitor display. For example, the resolution may be slightly reduced. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to enable a method of selectively converting image data to be determined according to the use of the image data. Another object of the present invention is to secure a necessary capacity for image data, to perform image conversion on the same shooting conditions and image data for shooting purposes, and to prevent undesired changes due to image conversion. An object of the present invention is to provide an interface so that the entire operation can be performed efficiently.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data recording apparatus for storing data obtained from an input device in a recording medium. Calculating means for calculating the size of the data and the remaining capacity of the recording medium, selecting means for selecting data in the recording medium or input data, and size converting means for changing the data size of the selected data And writing means for writing the input data to the recording medium, and when the size of the input data is larger than the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the size of the data selected from the data in the recording medium. And then writing the input data. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the data recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the size conversion means changes a data compression ratio. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the data recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the size conversion means changes a resolution. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the size conversion means changes a trimming range. Also, claim 5 of the present invention is directed to any one of claims 1 to 4
The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion method selection unit that selects a conversion method of the data in the recording medium or the input data, wherein the size conversion unit selects the size conversion by the conversion method selection unit. The method is characterized in that data can be converted according to the purpose of use. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the data recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the data recording apparatus further includes a required capacity input unit for inputting a size of data to be recorded, and Calculating the remaining capacity of the recording medium necessary for recording, and securing the free capacity by the size conversion means.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data recording apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the selecting means selects a plurality of data simultaneously.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the data recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, further comprising protection setting means for setting permission or non-permission of data change. It is characterized in that unintentional change of data is prevented. A program according to a ninth aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as the data recording device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects. A computer-readable recording medium according to a tenth aspect of the present invention has recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to function as the data recording apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects. The digital camera according to claim 11 of the present invention is
In a digital camera that stores photographed image data in a recording medium, calculating means for calculating the size of the photographed image data and the remaining capacity of the recording medium, and selecting image data in the recording medium or photographed image data Selecting means for changing the data size of the selected image data, and writing means for writing the photographed image data to the recording medium, wherein the size of the photographed image data is recorded in the recording medium. When the remaining capacity is larger than the remaining capacity of the medium, the size of the image data selected from the image data in the recording medium is changed, and then the photographed image data is written. According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the eleventh aspect, the size converting means changes an image compression ratio. According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the eleventh aspect, the size conversion means changes a resolution. Claim 14 of the present invention is claim 11
Wherein the size conversion means changes a trimming range. Also,
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the eleventh aspect, the size conversion means changes the number or gradation of colors used in the image.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration and operation of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment when a data recording device of the present invention is applied to a digital camera. In FIG. 1, a digital camera 10 includes an image input unit 11 including an image pickup device (CCD) such as a charge-coupled device, a lens, and the like for converting an input image into an electric signal (analog image data); The noise of the image signal input from 11 is reduced by a CDS (correlation double sampling) circuit, and the reduced image signal is converted at an optimum sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal). A signal processing unit 12 for converting the digital image data into specified digital image data, a temporary storage memory (RAM) 13 for temporarily storing the digital image data, and a compression / decompression of the digital image data An image conversion unit 14 that performs image conversion such as processing, resolution change, trimming processing, and gradation change, and an external interface (external I / O). ) 15, a D / A converter 16 for converting digital data to analog for displaying image data on a monitor or the like, an arithmetic unit 17 for controlling a series of signal processing, and an external instruction Operation unit 18
It is composed of Further, a recording medium 20 for recording image data provided outside is inserted into a card slot of the digital camera 10, and the recording medium 20 and the digital camera 10 are connected by an external I / F 15. Examples of the recording medium include a PC card, a smart media, a compact flash (registered trademark) card, a CD-R, and a CD-R.
Media such as RW, DVD-RAM, MD, and MO can be considered. In the present embodiment, the recording medium is an external recording medium, but may be an internal memory such as a flash ROM in a digital camera.

As a normal operation of the digital camera, when the release button on the operation unit 18 is pressed, the image input unit 1
In step 1, an image of a subject is formed on a CCD through a lens to generate an analog image signal. The signal processing unit 12 reduces the noise of the analog image signal by a CDS (correlation double sampling) circuit, and converts the noise-reduced video signal to an optimal sampling frequency (for example, NTSC).
After converting the digital image data into digital data at an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the signal), the obtained digital image data is temporarily stored in the temporary storage memory 13 while being divided into color difference (Cb, Cr) and luminance (Y). Let it. When performing monitor output, the digital image data is converted into an analog image signal such as NTSC by the D / A conversion unit 16 and is displayed on the display unit 30.
Output to When the image data is stored in the recording medium 20 as digital image data, the image data recorded in the temporary storage memory 13 is subjected to various processing, correction, and data processing for image compression / decompression by the image conversion unit 14.
After temporarily storing the result in the temporary storage memory 13 again, the result is written to the recording medium 20 through the external I / F 15. For example, in the compression processing of image data performed by the image conversion unit 14, DCT (Discrete Cosine Transf
orm) and a coder (Huffman Encoder / Decoder) to perform orthogonal transformation, which is a process of JPEG-compliant image compression and decompression, and Huffman encoding and decoding, which is a process of JPEG-compliant image compression and decompression. .

(2) Main Functional Configuration in Embodiment FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main functional configuration in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, main functional configurations in the embodiment include a control unit 101, a selection unit 102,
Size conversion unit 103 (image conversion unit 14), conversion method selection unit 104, calculation unit 105, required capacity input unit 10
6, a writing means 107 and a protection setting means 108. The calculating unit 105 calculates the data size of the image recorded in the temporary storage memory 13 and the free space of the recording medium 20. When the remaining capacity of the recording medium 20 is insufficient, the selection unit 102 selects an object whose size is to be reduced among the image data in the recording medium 20. For example, the display unit 3 displays thumbnails of image data existing in the recording medium 20.
0, and the user is caused to select the target image data to be converted as follows. A message as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 30. When the user sees this and selects “re-convert existing data” using the operation unit 18 (see FIG. 4), thumbnails of the image data in the recording medium 20 are displayed as shown in FIG. . By selecting a file to be subjected to image conversion from among these using the cursor (see FIG. 4) of the operation unit 18 and pressing the OK button,
The target image data to be converted is selected. At this time, the photographed image data may be selectable, and the designated image data may be recorded after being reduced in size. Further, when the protected image data is selected, a message notifying the user that the image data cannot be changed is displayed on the display unit 30, so that the image data can be protected from an inadvertent operation error of the user. Also,
Instead of a message indicating that the protection setting cannot be changed, a confirmation message indicating whether the protection setting may be released may be displayed, and the image whose protection setting has been released may be subjected to image conversion. When a thumbnail of the image data in the recording medium 20 is displayed, a plurality of image files may be selected instead of one image file.

[0010] The conversion method selection means 104 selects an image conversion method as follows. When a file to be subjected to image conversion is selected by the selection unit 102, a data conversion method selection screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. still,
When a plurality of image files are selected by the selection unit 102, the selected images are subjected to the image conversion specified on the subsequently displayed screen of FIG. At this time, instead of performing the same image conversion on the selected plurality of images, different types of image conversion may be performed. When "change compression ratio" is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, the compression ratio is selected from four levels of the highest image quality to the lowest image quality as shown in FIG. that time,
The current data size and the converted data size are displayed on the screen, so that the user can grasp the compression effect. In the present embodiment, the compression ratio is selected from among four predetermined levels, but the user may input an arbitrary compression ratio value. When “resolution change” is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, a resolution change screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the user inputs an arbitrary resolution value using the keys of the operation unit 18. I do. In addition, by displaying the width and height of the image when the resolution is changed, it is possible to know how the actual image size changes by changing the resolution. When “change trimming range” is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, a screen for changing the trimming range shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and the user uses the keys of the operation unit 18 to set the margin and cutout range of the image. And enter. When “change number of colors (gradation)” is selected on the screen of FIG.
Is displayed, the user can select “16 colors”, “256 colors”, “High Color”,
Select from 4 levels of "Full Color". In the present embodiment, the number of colors is selected from among four predetermined levels, but the user may be allowed to input a value of an arbitrary number of colors.

The size conversion means 103 performs image processing on the image data in the temporary storage memory 13 to reduce the image data size, and returns the image data to the temporary storage memory 13. In this image processing, the image data size is reduced by the method specified by the user with the conversion method selection unit 104. -Perform image compression. This increases the compression ratio by increasing the scale factor applied to the quantization table used for compression.・ Change the resolution. -Change the trimming range. -Change the number or gradation of colors used in the image. The required capacity input means 106 increases the free space of the recording medium 20 by allowing the user to input the number of images to be shot before shooting. For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the display unit 30, and the user is allowed to input the number of images to be shot from now on. Is calculated. If the capacity is insufficient, the user is advised to reduce the size of the existing image data by image conversion. As a result, if the capacity is further insufficient, a message indicating the insufficient capacity as shown in FIG. , And further image conversion is performed to secure free space. The writing unit 107 records the captured image data or the image-converted data temporarily stored in the temporary storage memory 13 in the storage medium 20. The protection setting unit 108 sets whether to protect image data in the storage medium 20. That is, immediately after the photographing is completed, a message asking whether to perform protection setting of the image is displayed on the display unit 30 simultaneously with the preview image as shown in FIG.
When “Yes” is selected, the setting is performed by recording the protection setting information together with the image data via the writing unit 107 in the storage medium 20.

The control means 101 controls the above-described respective means from photographing to recording this image data on a recording medium. First, after the photographed image data is recorded in the temporary storage memory 13, the control means 101 activates the calculating means 105 and determines the size of the photographed image data in the temporary memory 13 and the free space of the recording medium 20. Let me calculate. From the calculation result, when the free space on the recording medium 20 is larger than the size of the image data in the temporary storage memory 13, the writing unit 107 is activated, and the image data in the temporary storage memory 13 is recorded on the storage medium 20 as it is. On the other hand, when the free space of the recording medium 20 is smaller than the size of the photographed image data on the temporary storage
2 is activated, a target image whose size is to be reduced is selected, and an image conversion method for reducing the size is selected by a conversion method selecting unit 1.
04, and the size of the target image data is reduced by activating the size conversion means 103 by that method. After reducing the image data designated by the user, when the free space in the storage medium 20 increases and exceeds the size of the captured image data, the data is written to the recording medium 20, but the free space is still insufficient. , The thumbnail of the image data existing on the recording medium 20 is displayed again, and the same processing is performed on the designated image data. This is repeated until the free space becomes sufficient. However, even after the above-described repetition, the free space is insufficient, and when the image file to be re-converted no longer exists in the recording medium 20, a display for notifying the user that writing is not possible is displayed on the display unit 30. Output to Further, the control unit 101 inputs the number of images to be photographed in advance using the necessary capacity input unit 106 in accordance with an instruction from the user, and causes the free space of the recording medium 20 to be increased. Further, after photographing, the protection setting means 108
And asks if the image data should be protected.

(3) Operation of Main Functional Configuration of Embodiment of the Present Invention FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main functional configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. The photographing is executed by pressing the release button (see FIG. 4) on the operation unit 18 and the arithmetic unit 17 instructing the image input unit 11 of the imaging timing. The image input unit 11 forms an image of a subject on a CCD through a lens and generates an analog image signal. The signal processing unit 12 converts the noise of the analog image signal into a CDS (correlated double sampling).
After the video signal reduced by the circuit and reduced in noise is converted into digital data at an optimal sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal), the obtained digital image data is subjected to color difference ( C
b, Cr) and luminance (Y) are temporarily stored in the temporary storage memory 13 (step S10). Immediately after the photographing is completed, a message asking whether to perform protection setting of the preview image as shown in FIG. 13 may be displayed on the display unit 30 at the same time. Here, if “Yes” is selected, protection setting information is also written together with image data when recording on the storage medium 20.
In the case of such a configuration, the user (photographer) indicates that the data cannot be changed at the time when the data is selected as image conversion target data.
Can be displayed on the display unit 30. As a result, image data can be protected from inadvertent operation errors by the user. Further, instead of the message indicating that the protection setting cannot be changed, a confirmation message as to whether the protection setting may be released may be displayed, and the image whose protection setting has been released may be subjected to image conversion. .

Calculate the data size of the image recorded in the temporary storage memory 13 (this size is assumed to be A).
(Step S20). Next, the free space of the recording medium 20 is calculated (this size is B) (step S3).
0). The size (A) of the captured image data calculated in steps S20 and S30 is compared with the free space (B) of the recording medium 20 (step S40). If the free space (B) on the recording medium 20 is larger than the size (A) of the image data in the temporary storage memory 13, the image data in the temporary storage memory 13 is recorded on the storage medium 20 as it is (step S50). On the other hand, when the free space (B) of the recording medium 20 is smaller than the size (A) of the photographed image data in the temporary storage memory, the thumbnail of the image data existing in the recording medium 20 is displayed on the display unit 30, Is selected (step S)
60). For example, if the remaining capacity of the recording medium 20 is insufficient,
A message as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 30. The user who has seen this uses the operation unit 18 (see FIG. 4) to
When "re-convert existing data" is selected, thumbnails of image data in the recording medium 20 are displayed as shown in FIG. A file to be subjected to image conversion is selected from the files by using the cursor (see FIG. 4) of the operation unit 18 and an OK button is pressed, thereby selecting target image data to be converted. Alternatively, the photographed image data may be selected so that the size of the designated image data is reduced before recording. When a thumbnail of the image data in the recording medium 20 is displayed, a plurality of image files may be selected instead of selecting one image file. It is checked whether there is an image file to be re-converted in the recording medium 20 (step S70), and if not, a display for notifying the user that writing is impossible is output to the display unit 30 (step S80). . In step S70, if there is image data to be re-converted, the image data is read from the storage medium 20 through the external I / F 15 and moved to the temporary storage memory 13 (step S90). For the image data moved to the temporary storage memory 13 in this manner,
The image conversion unit 14 performs image processing for reducing the image data size, and returns the image data to the temporary storage memory 13 (step S100). In this image processing, the user selects one of the following methods to reduce the image data size. -Perform image compression. This increases the compression factor by increasing the scale factor applied to the quantization table used for compression.・ Change the resolution. -Change the trimming range. -Change the number or gradation of colors used in the image.

The selection of the image conversion method is performed, for example, as follows. When a file for image conversion is selected, a screen for selecting an image data conversion method as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. When a plurality of image files are selected as described above, each of the selected images may be subjected to the image conversion specified on the subsequently displayed screen of FIG. At this time, instead of performing the same image conversion on the selected plurality of images, different types of image conversion may be performed. When "change compression ratio" is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, the compression ratio is selected from four levels of the highest image quality to the lowest image quality as shown in FIG. At this time, the current data size and the converted data size are displayed on the screen, so that the user can understand how much compression effect is obtained. still,
In the present embodiment, the compression ratio is selected from among four predetermined levels, but the user may input an arbitrary compression ratio value. When “resolution change” is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, a resolution change screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the user inputs an arbitrary resolution value using the keys of the operation unit 18. I do. Also, by displaying the width and height of the image when the resolution is changed,
It is possible to know how the actual image size changes by changing the resolution. When “change trimming range” is selected on the screen of FIG. 6, a screen for changing the trimming range shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and the user uses the keys of the operation unit 18 to set the margin and cutout range of the image. And enter. "Change the number of colors (gradation)" on the screen in Fig. 6
When is selected, the color number (gradation) change screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, and the user can select “16 colors” or “25”.
Select from four levels: 6 colors, High Color, and Full Color. In the present embodiment, the number of colors is selected from among four predetermined levels, but the user may be allowed to input a value of an arbitrary number of colors.

The image data converted in step 100 is temporarily stored in the temporary storage memory 13 again.
Writing is performed on the recording medium 20 via the external I / F 15 (step S110), and the process returns to step S30. As a result, when the free space on the recording medium 20 becomes larger than the size of the image data to be recorded,
Recording is performed as it is (step S50). On the other hand, if the free space is still insufficient, the thumbnails of the image data existing on the recording medium 20 are displayed again, and the same processing is performed on the specified image data. This is repeated until the free space becomes sufficient. As a modification of the above-described embodiment, the free space of the recording medium 20 can be increased by the following method. Before the user takes a picture, FIG.
A screen for inputting the number of images to be shot as shown in FIG. 1 is displayed on the display unit 30, and the insufficient capacity is calculated from the capacity to be secured based on the input number of images and the current free space of the recording medium 20. If there is a shortage, the user is advised to reduce the size of the existing image data by image conversion. As a result, if there is a further shortage of capacity,
A message indicating the insufficient capacity as shown in FIG.
, And further image conversion is performed to secure free space.

Therefore, the following effects can be achieved by configuring as in the present embodiment.・ Even if the free space on the recording medium is insufficient,
Further, image data can be recorded additionally. The following various conversion methods can be selected for existing image data, so that the data size can be changed to reflect the purpose of use of the image data, and free space can be secured. Increase the compression ratio Decrease the resolution Decrease the image size Decrease the number of colors or the number of gradations ・ If the total size of the image data to be recorded is known in advance, secure the necessary capacity in advance. It is efficient and hassle-free. In particular, by selecting a plurality of image data to be subjected to image conversion at the same time for image data having the same shooting condition and shooting purpose, similar processing can be collectively instructed, so that work is saved. be able to. -Since protection settings can be made for captured image data, image conversion such as image compression, resolution change, trimming range change, and number of colors (gradation) change or change of conditions may result in accidental corruption of image data. Can be prevented. Since the size can be changed even for the captured image data, the possibility that the captured data can be recorded even when the recording medium becomes full increases. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the case of image data of a digital camera has been described. However, the present invention may be similarly applied to the case of image data of a personal computer, a video camera, or the like. Further, data to be recorded is not limited to image data, and audio data and the like can be used, and the present invention can be applied to various data recording devices. In the above embodiments, the recording medium is described as a memory, but various recording media such as a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, and a semiconductor memory may be used as the recording medium.

<Embodiment by Software>
A storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is mounted on a computer, and the CPU (Central Processing Uniform) of the computer is installed.
It is needless to say that the object of the present invention can be attained by reading out and executing the program code stored in the storage medium by t) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code and the storage medium storing the code constitute the present invention. Note that as a recording medium for supplying the program code, a semiconductor medium (for example, ROM, nonvolatile memory card, etc.), an optical medium (for example, DVD, MO, MD, CD-R, etc.), a magnetic medium (for example, Magnetic disk, magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.).

<Use of Program of the Present Invention> A program code of software for realizing the function of the data recording apparatus of the present invention is stored in a server computer having a storage device such as a magnetic disk, and the server computer and a user terminal are stored. Can be connected to a user's terminal and downloaded to the user's terminal, or distributed from the server computer to the terminal. This network is a transmission path for coupling a server computer and a user terminal, and is generally realized by a cable, and TCP / IP is used as a communication protocol. However, the transmission path is not limited to the cable, and may be any of wireless, wired and broadcast waves as long as the communication protocol between them is the same.
N (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network)
k), Internet, analog telephone network, digital telephone network (ISDN: Integral Service Digital Network),
A PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), a mobile phone network, a satellite communication network, or the like can be used. The terminal of the user may be a computer or an imaging device such as a digital camera or a video camera. By using this distributed program code directly by a computer or by using it as a program for controlling a digital camera, the latest functions can always be used.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when there is no data that can be deleted from the existing data recorded on the recording medium or when the storage capacity is insufficient, additional data can be recorded. Also,
For example, the existing image data is selected from various data conversion methods to increase the compression ratio, reduce the resolution, reduce the image size, or reduce the number or gradation of colors used. Therefore, the data size can be changed to reflect the purpose of use of the data. In addition, it has an interface that secures the necessary capacity for data, performs conversion for the same conditions and target data, and prevents data from being accidentally destroyed by data conversion or changing conditions by the user. In this way, the entire work can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment when a data recording device of the present invention is applied to a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main functional configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on a display unit when the remaining capacity of a recording medium is insufficient.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an operation unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a thumbnail display example of image data in a recording medium.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a selection screen when an image data conversion method is selected.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen when a compression ratio is changed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when changing the resolution.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen when a trimming range is changed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a screen example when changing the number of colors (gradations).

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for inputting a required capacity of an image to be captured.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message indicating insufficient capacity of a recording medium.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message inquiring whether to perform image protection setting.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a main functional configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 Digital camera 11 Image input unit 12 Signal processing unit 13 Temporary storage memory 14 Image conversion unit 15 External interface (I / F) 16 D / A conversion unit 17 Operation unit 18 Operation unit 20 Recording medium 30 Display unit 101 Control unit 102 Selection Means 103 Size conversion means 104 Conversion method selection means 105 Calculation means 106 Required capacity input means 107 Writing means 108 Protection setting means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/92 H04N 5/92 HF Term (Reference) 5C022 AA13 AB00 AC11 AC18 AC42 AC69 5C052 AA02 AA03 AA17 GA02 GA06 GA07 GA09 GB01 GB09 GE06 GE08 5C053 FA08 FA23 FA27 GB21 JA16 LA01 LA04 5D044 AB05 AB07 BC08 CC09 DE12 EF10 GK08 GK11

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A data recording device for storing data obtained from an input device on a recording medium, a calculating means for calculating the size of the input data and the remaining capacity of the recording medium, and Selecting means for selecting the input data, size converting means for changing the data size of the selected data, and writing means for writing the input data to the recording medium, the size of the input data Is larger than the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the size of the data selected from the data in the recording medium is changed, and then the input data is written. 2. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said size conversion means changes a data compression ratio. 3. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said size conversion means changes a resolution. 4. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said size conversion means changes a trimming range. 5. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion method selection unit for selecting a conversion method of the data in the recording medium or the input data, wherein A data recording apparatus characterized in that conversion according to the purpose of use of data can be performed by performing the size conversion of the conversion means by the conversion method selected by the conversion method selection means. 6. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a required capacity input means for inputting a size of data to be recorded,
A data recording apparatus, wherein the calculating means calculates a remaining capacity of a recording medium necessary for recording, and the size converting means secures a free space. 7. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selecting means selects a plurality of data at the same time. 8. The data recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising protection setting means for setting permission or non-permission of a change of data, to prevent unintentional change of input data. A data recording device, characterized in that: 9. A program for causing a computer to function as the data recording device according to claim 1. Description: 10. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to function as the data recording device according to claim 1 is recorded. 11. A digital camera for storing photographed image data in a recording medium, a calculating means for calculating the size of the photographed image data and the remaining capacity of the recording medium, and calculating the image data in the recording medium or the photographing data. Selection means for selecting the selected image data, size conversion means for changing the data size of the selected image data,
Writing means for writing photographed image data to the recording medium, wherein when the size of the photographed image data is larger than the remaining capacity of the recording medium, image data selected from the image data in the recording medium. A digital camera characterized by writing photographed image data after changing the size of the digital camera. 12. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said size conversion means changes a compression ratio of an image. 13. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said size conversion means changes a resolution. 14. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said size conversion means changes a trimming range. 15. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said size conversion means changes the number or gradation of colors used in an image.