JP2003052004A - Imaging device, image reproducing device and method therefor, and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device, an image reproducing device and its method, and a program for carrying out management of image easily and effectively. SOLUTION: On the basis of attributes (photographing information and the like) of an image, the displayed color of the attributes is determined from a table that indicates the relation between the attributes and the displayed color, and the image or image with the attributes is displayed in color code by using the determined colors. In the diagram 11, each image P1 or P7 is framed in different colors according to the shooting date, and the shooting date is displayed in the same color as each image.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus for displaying an image pickup output obtained through a lens as a monitor image,
In particular, the present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus with an image monitor function for displaying shooting information of an image together with the image, an image reproducing apparatus for reproducing the recorded image, an image reproducing method, and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image taken through a lens is a CCD
Conventionally, a digital camera equipped with an image display device or an image display device that captures an image with an image sensor such as the above, temporarily stores the captured image in a memory, and reads the image data from the memory after the image is captured and displays it on a monitor screen has been conventionally proposed. There is.

Such a conventional image display device has a multi-image display function of reducing the image of each frame to a predetermined image size, arranging the images in a predetermined pattern, and displaying a predetermined number of images set in advance. There is also.

Photographing information, for example, a photographing exposure value, a photographing mode, a date, a time, etc. are recorded together with image data, and the photographed information recorded when reproduced by an image reproducing device is developed at the same time. Some are displayed.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a preview display of a camera for temporary confirmation after photographing. In this case, one image is selected from the index screen which is the multi-image of FIG. 7A, and the image and its shooting information are displayed on the same screen in FIG. 7B.

Normally, an image monitor is installed on the back side of the camera, and the image confirmation after photographing can be monitored on the rear panel, but since the display area is small, image management for the purpose of data organization after photographing is performed. In the case of performing, the recording medium (memory card, compact flash (registered trademark) card, etc.) on which the recorded image and shooting information data are recorded is read into a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC), and the image reproduction program is executed. Use it to expand and display it on the large screen monitor of the PC. In that case, the display configuration of the shooting information varies depending on the display program of the image reproduction program.

[0007]

However, in the case of performing image confirmation after shooting and image management from shooting information in the conventional image reproducing apparatus, the display composed of characters and numerical values or characters is limited. Since it is arranged in the display area, it is not obvious from the viewpoint of data comparison and data determination.

For example, when it is desired to sort the images according to the shooting date, the work for checking and rearranging the date display portion in the shooting information display among a plurality of images, the work for rearranging by the lens type, and the specified shooting mode In the process of managing the image based on the data, such as when only wanting to extract only, the visibility of the shooting information is important.

In the display of the shooting information as the shooting result of the camera, since the photographer's intention is not included in the display configuration of the amount of change, the set value, and the shooting condition, the numerical value and the character are read in association with the data. There is nothing.

As the display type of the photographing information increases, the display area decreases, and the characters formed become smaller, the image management process becomes less easy.

The present invention has been made under such a circumstance, and an image pickup apparatus capable of visually associating an image with its attribute (photographing information and the like), easily managing an image, and efficiently performing the image management. , An image reproducing device, an image reproducing method, and a program.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an image pickup device is configured as in the following (1) to (8) and an image reproducing device is set in the following (9) to (16). )
, The image reproducing method is configured as in (17) below, and the program is configured as in (18) below.

(1) A storage means for storing a captured image and its attribute, a display means, and a control means for controlling display contents of the display means, the control means including the image or the image. An image pickup apparatus for controlling such an attribute to display it on the display means by color-coding it by a display color preset according to the attribute.

(2) In the image pickup device described in (1), the attribute is image pickup information of the image.

(3) In the image pickup apparatus described in (1) above, the control means, when the attribute is a shooting date,
An imaging device that updates the preset display color each time the shooting date is changed.

(4) In the image pickup device according to any one of (1) to (3), a non-volatile memory is provided, and the data relating to the preset display color is stored in the non-volatile memory. apparatus.

(5) In the image pickup device described in (4), the image pickup device is capable of individually registering data relating to a preset display color in the nonvolatile memory.

(6) In the image pickup device according to (1) or (2), the display color is stored in an external storage unit that is the same as the storage unit that stores the image of the display color. .

(7) In the image pickup device according to (1) or (2), the display color can be arbitrarily changed by operating means.

(8) In the image pickup device according to (1) or (2), the control means displays the image or the image and its attribute on an index screen.

(9) A storage means for storing the image and its attribute, a display means, and a control means for controlling the display content of the display means, the control means being the image or the image and its attribute. An image reproducing apparatus that controls the display means to display on the display means by color-coding with a preset display color according to the attribute.

(10) In the image reproduction device described in (9) above, the attribute is image pickup information of the image.

(11) In the image reproducing device described in (10) above, the control means updates the display color to a preset display color each time the photographing date is changed when the attribute is the photographing date. .

(12) In the image reproducing device described in any of (9) to (11), a nonvolatile memory is provided, and the data relating to the preset display color is stored in the nonvolatile memory. Image playback device.

(13) The image reproducing apparatus described in the above (12), in which the data relating to a preset display color in the nonvolatile memory can be registered for each individual.

(14) In the image reproducing device described in (9) or (10), the display color is an image stored in an external storage unit that is the same as the storage unit that stores the image of the display color. Playback device.

(15) The image reproducing device described in (9) or (10) above, wherein the display color can be arbitrarily changed by operating means.

(16) In the image reproducing device described in (9) or (10), the control means displays the image or the image and its attribute on an index screen.

(17) Step A for determining the display color of the attribute from the table showing the relationship between the attribute and the display color based on the attribute of the image, and the image or the image and the attribute thereof are determined in the step A. An image reproducing method comprising: a step B of displaying by color-coding according to a display color.

(18) A program for realizing the image reproducing method described in (17) above.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples of an image pickup apparatus. It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the form of the apparatus described in the embodiment, but is a method supported by the description of the embodiment, and further extends to a program means for realizing this method.

[0032]

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an "imaging device" according to the first embodiment. Reference numeral 100 in the figure represents the configuration of the imaging device. As will be described later, this image pickup apparatus can be referred to as an “image reproducing apparatus” because it can mount a recording medium and reproduce an image recorded on the recording medium. Generally, a PC is used as an image reproducing device as described above.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a photographing lens, 12 is a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 is an image pickup device such as a CCD for converting an optical image into an electric signal, and 16 is an analog signal output of the image pickup device 14 into a digital signal. Convert to A /
It is a D converter.

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

An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22. Further, in the image processing circuit 20, a predetermined calculation process is performed using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 instructs the exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement control unit 42 based on the obtained calculation result. Control, TTL (through
The lens) AF (autofocus) processing, A
E (automatic exposure) processing and EF (flash emission) processing are performed. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

A memory control circuit 22 includes an A / D converter 16, a timing generation circuit 18, an image processing circuit 20,
The image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the image data memory 30, and the image file generation unit 32 are controlled.

The data of the A / D converter 16 is passed through the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, or the data of the A / D converter 16 is passed directly through the memory control circuit 22, and the image display memory 24 or the image is displayed. It is written in the data memory 30.

Reference numeral 24 is an image display memory, 26 is a D / A converter, and 28 is an image display unit composed of a TFT type color LCD. Image data for display written in the image display memory 24 is D / A converted. The image is displayed on the image display unit 28 via the device 26.

The image display unit 28 is installed on the rear surface of the image pickup apparatus and is also displayed as various information notices by confirming the image after photographing and communicating with the system control circuit 50, and the photographing information at the time of image confirming display according to the present invention. The color display is performed on the image display unit 28.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing photographed still images, which has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images. As a result, a plurality of images can be continuously read from the image recording medium described later, and the shooting information can be reproduced at the same time when the images are reproduced.
It becomes possible to do it for 0. The image data memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an image file generator for compressing and expanding the image data and converting it into a file.
The image stored in is read and subjected to compression processing or decompression processing, and the processed data is written in the image data memory 30.

The image file generator 32 converts the R, G, B image data stored in the image data memory 30 into YC data consisting of a luminance signal Y and a color difference signal C,
For example, JPEG (Joint Photog)
radical Coding Experts Grou
p) Generate an image file compressed in the format. Specifically, for example, image data of several MB from the image data memory 30 is subjected to YC conversion and DCT (Discrete).
cosine transform-discrete cosine transform), ADCT (Adjust Discrete c)
osinetransform-adaptive discrete cosine transform) or the like, and further encoded by a Huffman code or the like to form a data file of several KB.

By reading the compressed data written in the image data memory 30 and outputting the image to the image display unit 28, a thumbnail image is formed, and the read image display unit 28 is continuously displayed side by side. It can be monitored as an index image (multi-image). This can be alternatively selected by selecting the compression ratio of the recorded image in the operation unit described later.

Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, which also has a flash dimming function in cooperation with the flash 48.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the taking lens 10, which measures the distance selected from a plurality of distance measuring points and drives the lens.

Here, an example is shown in which the photographic lens 10 is integrated with the image pickup device, but a lens communication contact is provided in the mounting portion of the photographic lens so that the photographic lens can be replaced, and the lens drive control is performed on the image pickup device side. You may

Reference numeral 48 denotes a flash, which also has an AF auxiliary light projection function and a flash light control function. The flash 48 also includes a configuration for performing mutual communication between the image pickup apparatus side and the external strobe via a communication contact of the externally mounted strobe.

The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are T
It is controlled using the TL method, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 based on the calculation result of the captured image data calculated by the image processing circuit 20.

Reference numeral 50 is a system control circuit for controlling the entire image pickup apparatus 100, and a microcomputer having a ROM, RAM, A / D converter, D / A converter, and clock function inside, and 52 is an operation of the system control circuit 50. It is an external memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and so on.

In the system control circuit 50, display color data of photographing information relating to the present invention, photographing photographing set values, photographing environment such as date and time, photographing conditions (these are attributes of a photographed image). Can be said) and the like are collated with the external memory 52 and the non-volatile memory 56, and the photographing information is managed.

Reference numeral 54 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device and a speaker for displaying operating states and messages using characters, images, voices, etc. according to the execution of the program in the system control circuit 50. A single or multiple locations are installed near the operation part of the device for easy visual confirmation.
It is composed of a combination of D, LEDs, sounding elements, and the like. Further, the display unit 54 has some of its functions installed in the optical finder 104.

Of the display contents of the display section 54, what is displayed on the LCD or the like includes a single shot / continuous shooting display, a self-timer display, a compression ratio display, a recording pixel number display, a recording number display, and a remaining number of recordable images. Display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure compensation display, flash display, red-eye reduction display, macro shooting display, buzzer setting display,
There are a battery remaining amount display for a clock, a battery remaining amount display, an error display, an information display by a plurality of digits, a detachment / attachment state display of the recording media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, a date display / time display, and the like.

Further, a part of the information displayed on the display unit 54 can be displayed on the image display unit 28.

Displayed in the optical finder 104 include focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure correction display, and the like.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable non-volatile memory, for example, an EEPROM or the like is used. Photographing information and setting information for color arrangement designation, which will be described later, are recorded in this non-volatile memory and can be registered as personal data of the photographer.

60, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70
Is an operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and is composed of a single or a combination of switches, dials, touch panels, pointing by visual axis detection, voice recognition devices, and the like.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which is used for powering off, automatic photographing mode, photographing mode (M = manual, T
(v = shutter priority AE, Av = aperture priority AE, P = program AE), panoramic shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erasure mode, PC connection mode, and other functional modes can be switched and set.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1 which is turned on during operation of a shutter button (not shown) to instruct 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 operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed,
4, an exposure process for writing image data into the image data memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22 through the A / D converter 16, an imaging process using calculation in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, Image data memory 30
Image data is read from the image data generation unit 32, the image file generation unit 32 compresses the image data, and an instruction to start a series of processes of a recording process of writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 is given.

Reference numeral 66 is an image display ON / OFF switch,
ON / OFF of the image display unit 28 can be set.

68 is an image change ON / OF related to the present invention
This is a switch for setting whether to display only the captured image on the image display unit 28 or display the captured information together with the image when the image data captured immediately after the image is reproduced is reproduced with the F switch. The form can be changed with this switch.

Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit including various buttons and a touch panel, which 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,
Menu move + (plus) button, menu move- (minus) button, playback image move + (plus) button, playback image- (minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, etc. . The operation unit 70 also includes the color arrangement setting of the display color associated with the shooting information according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control means, which is a battery detection circuit, D
It is composed of a C-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching the blocks to be energized, etc., detects whether or not a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level, and detects the DC based on the detection result and the instruction of the system control circuit 50. -Controls the DC converter and supplies a required voltage to each unit including a recording medium for a required period.

Reference numerals 82 and 84 are power supply connectors, and 86 is a power supply means 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, and 92 and 96.
Is a connector for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, and 98 is a recording medium attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting whether or not the recording medium 200 or 210 is attached to the connector 92 and / or 96.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are two systems of the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or a plurality of systems. Further, the interface and the connector of different standards may be combined and provided.

As the interface and the connector,
An external recording medium such as a PCMCIA card or a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card may be used in conformity with the standard.

In addition, interfaces 90 and 94,
Then, connect the connectors 92 and 96 to a PCMCIA card or C
When configured by using one that conforms to the standard such as F card, LAN card, modem card, USB card, IE
By connecting various communication cards such as EE1394 card, P1284 card, SCSI card, communication card such as PHS, etc., image data and management information attached to the image data can be exchanged with other computers and peripheral devices such as printers. You can transfer each other.

Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical finder which can be used without using the image monitor function of the image display unit 28.
It is possible to shoot using only the optical viewfinder. In addition, in the optical viewfinder 104, the display unit 5
Some functions of 4, such as focus display, camera shake warning display,
Flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure compensation display, etc. are installed.

110 is a communication means such as RS232C or US
It has various communication functions such as B, IEEE 1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication.

Reference numeral 112 designates the image pickup apparatus 1 by the communication means 110.
In the case of wireless communication or a connector for connecting 00 to another device, it is an antenna.

Reference numeral 200 is 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 and a magnetic disk, an interface 204 with the image capturing apparatus 100, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image capturing apparatus 100.

Reference numeral 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 and a magnetic disk, an interface 214 with the imaging device 100, and a connector 216 for connecting to the imaging device 100. When the photographing information data (including the color setting data) is recorded together with the image data according to the present invention and the image is developed and displayed on another PC by the recording card, the photographing information data set by the image pickup device The attached display color data is also played back at the same time.

On the other hand, when the display color of the photographing information expanded and displayed on another PC is changed, the display color change data is recorded and updated on the recording card by the image reproduction program of the PC, and the data is reproduced again. When the recording card is reproduced by the image pickup device, updated image data and photographing information data (color setting data) are obtained.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to a series of basic sequences and photographing sequences.

2 and 3 show the image pickup apparatus 100 of this embodiment.
3 is a flowchart showing a main routine of FIG.

The operation of the image pickup apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

From FIG. 2, by turning on the power source such as battery replacement,
The system control circuit 50 initializes flags, control variables and the like (see step 101 (denoted as S101 in the figure); the same applies hereinafter), and initializes the image display of the image display unit 28 to the OFF state (S102).

The system control circuit 50 judges the setting position of the mode dial 60 (S103), and if the power of the mode dial 60 is set to OFF, the display of each display unit is changed to the end state (S105). , Necessary parameters and setting values including flags and control variables, and setting modes are recorded in the non-volatile memory 56, and the power supply control unit 80 shuts off unnecessary power supply to each unit of the image pickup apparatus 100 including the image display unit 28. After performing a predetermined termination process, step 10
Return to 3.

If the mode dial 60 is set to the photographing mode (S103), the process proceeds to step 106.

If the mode dial 60 is set to any other mode (S103), the system control circuit 5
0 executes processing according to the selected mode (S10
4) When the processing is completed, the process returns to step 103.

As another example of the mode in step 104, there is an image confirmation mode in which an index image for confirming the photographed image is displayed, the acquired image is corrected, processed, and filed.

The system control circuit 50 includes the power supply control means 8
It is determined whether there is a problem in the operation of the image pickup apparatus 100 based on the remaining capacity of the power source 86 configured by a battery or the like or the operating condition (S106). After a predetermined warning is displayed by (S1
08), and returns to S103.

If there is no problem with the power source 86 (S10
6), the system control circuit 50 uses the recording medium 200 or 2
It is judged whether or not the operation state of 10 has a problem in the operation of the image pickup apparatus 100, particularly the recording / reproducing operation of the image data with respect to the recording medium (S107). After performing a predetermined warning display (S108), 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 pickup apparatus 100 are notified by the image or voice using the display unit 54 (S109). If the image display of the image display unit 28 is ON, the image display unit 28 is also used to notify various setting states of the image pickup apparatus 100 by an image and a sound.

Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 checks the setting state of the image display ON / OFF switch 66 (S11).
0), if the image display is set to ON, the image display flag is set (S111), and the image display unit 28
The image display of is set to the ON state (S112).

If the image display ON / OFF switch 66 is set to the image display OFF (S110), the image display flag is cleared (S113) and the image display of the image display unit 28 is set to the OFF state (S110). S114).

When the image display is OFF, the image display unit 28
Optical finder 1 without using the image monitor function by
04 is used for photographing. 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 determined by the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 5.
Store in 2.

From FIG. 3, if the shutter switch SW1 is not pressed (S115), the process returns to S103.

If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S115), the process proceeds to step 116, where the system control circuit 50 performs distance measurement processing to focus the taking lens 10 on the object and performs photometry processing to perform aperture value calculation. And the shutter time is determined (S116). In the photometric processing, the flash is set if necessary.

Details of the distance measuring / photometric processing step 116 will be described later with reference to FIG.

If the distance measurement / photometry processing step 116 is completed and the shutter switch SW2 is not pressed (S117) and the shutter switch SW1 is also released (S117).
118), and returns to S103.

If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S117), the process proceeds to step 119 to perform the photographing process.

The system control circuit 50 includes the image sensor 14,
Exposure processing for writing imaged image data in the image data memory 30 via the A / D 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. , And the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20,
The image data written in the image data memory 30 is read out, and a shooting process including a developing process for performing various processes is executed (S119).

Details of the photographing process S119 will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, in step 120, the state of the image display flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is judged, and if the image display flag is set (S120), the process proceeds to step 121. Proceed to display the preview image. In this case, the image display unit 28 is always displayed as an image monitor even during shooting, and the preview display immediately after shooting is also performed.

If the image display flag is cleared (S120), the preview display stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is not performed, and the process proceeds to step 122, where the system control circuit 50 displays the image data. The photographed image data written in the memory 30 is read out, and various image processes are performed by using the memory control circuit 22 and the image processing circuit 20 as necessary, and according to the mode set by using the image file generation unit 32. After performing the image compression process, a recording process for writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210 is executed (S122).

Details of the recording processing step 122 are shown in FIG.
Will be described later.

Upon completion of the recording processing step 122,
If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S123), the system control circuit 50 determines the state of the continuous shooting flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 (S124), and the continuous shooting is performed. If the flag is set, the process returns to step 119 for continuous shooting, and the next shooting is performed.

If the continuous shooting flag is not set (S
124), the current processing is repeated until the shutter switch SW2 is released (S123).

The shutter switch SW2 was released at the end of the recording process step 122, or the shutter switch SW2 was released after the shutter switch SW2 was kept pressed to continue the preview display and confirm the photographed image. If the button has been released (S12
3) Step 1 after the predetermined preview time has elapsed
It progresses to 26 (S125).

The preview time can be set as a fixed value, can be arbitrarily set by the user, or can be arbitrarily set or selected by the user within a predetermined range. However, any method may be used.

Next, the image display of the image display unit 28 is turned off.
The state is set (S126), and the process proceeds to step 127.

If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S127), the system control circuit 50
Returns to step 117 to prepare for the next shooting.

If the shutter switch SW1 is released (S127), the system control circuit 50
Ends a series of photographing operations and returns to step 103.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed flow chart of the distance measurement / photometry processing in S116 of FIG.

The system control circuit 50 reads the charge signal from the image pickup device 14, and sequentially reads the photographed image data into the image processing circuit 20 via the A / D converter 16 (S20).
1). The image processing circuit 20 uses the sequentially read image data to perform TTL AE processing, EF processing, AF processing, and AF processing.
A predetermined calculation used for processing is performed.

In each processing here, a specific portion of the total number of photographed pixels, which is necessary, is cut out and extracted for use at a necessary portion, and is used for calculation. As a result, in each of the TTL AE, EF, AWB, and AF processes, it is possible to perform optimal calculations for different modes such as the center-weighted mode, the average mode, and the evaluation mode.

Using the calculation result in the image processing circuit 20,
The system control circuit 50 performs AE control using the exposure control means 40 until it is determined that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S202) (S203).

Using the measurement data obtained by the AE control,
The system control circuit 50 determines whether a flash is necessary (S204), sets a flash flag if the flash is necessary, and charges the flash 48 (S20).
5).

If it is judged that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S
202), measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52. The system control circuit 50 uses the calculation result of the image processing circuit 20 and the measurement data obtained by the AE control until the white balance (AWB) is determined to be appropriate (S).
206), the color processing parameters are adjusted using the image processing circuit 20 to perform AWB control (S207).

When it is judged that the white balance (AWB) is appropriate (S206), the measurement data and / or the setting parameters are stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52.

The system control circuit 50 uses the measurement data obtained by the AE control and the AWB control until the distance measurement (AF) is determined to be in focus (S208).
AF control is performed using (S209).

In the system control circuit 50, if a distance measuring point is arbitrarily selected from a plurality of distance measuring points, AF control is performed according to the selected distance measuring point. If no distance measuring point is arbitrarily selected, a plurality of distance measuring points are measured. It is automatically selected from the points.

If it is determined that the distance measurement (AF) is in focus (S
208), the measurement data and / or the setting parameters are stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52, and the distance measurement / photometry processing routine step 116 is ended.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of the photographing process in S119 of FIG. System control circuit 50
Is the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 5.
In accordance with the photometric data stored in 2, the exposure control means 40 opens the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function according to the diaphragm value to expose the image sensor 14 (S301, S3).
02).

Whether or not the flash 48 is necessary is determined by the flash flag (S303), and if necessary, the flash is emitted (S304).

The system control circuit 50 waits for the exposure of the image pickup device 14 to be completed according to the photometric data (S305), closes the shutter 12 (S306), reads the charge signal from the image pickup device 14, and the A / D converter 16 displays the image. Processing circuit 2
0, through the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter 16 through the memory control circuit 22, write the captured image data in the image data memory 30 (S30).
7).

If it is necessary to perform frame processing in accordance with the set photographing mode (S308), the system control circuit 50 uses the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20 to generate image data. The image data written in the memory 30 is read out and vertical addition processing is performed (S3
09) and color processing (S310) are sequentially performed, and the processed image data is written in the image data memory 30.

The system control circuit 50 reads the image data from the image data memory 30, and the memory control circuit 22
The display image data is transferred to the image display memory 24 via (S311).

When the series of processing is completed, the photographing processing routine step 119 is completed.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed flowchart of the recording process in step 122 of FIG.

The system control circuit 50 uses the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20 to read the photographed image data written in the image data memory 30 and set the vertical and horizontal pixel ratio of the image sensor to 1: 1. After the pixel square processing for interpolating is performed (S401), the processed image data is written in the image data memory 30.

Then, after the image data written in the image data memory 30 is read out and the image compression processing according to the set mode is performed by the image file generating section 32 (S402), the interface 90 or 94, the connector 92 or A recording medium 200 such as a memory card or a CompactFlash (registered trademark) card
Alternatively, the compressed image data is written to 210 (S403).

When the writing to the recording medium is completed,
The recording processing routine S122 is ended.

FIG. 7 shows an example (the same as the conventional example) of the confirmation image displayed on the image display unit 28. FIG. 7A is an index image in which images that have been minimally reproduced and displayed as thumbnail images are arranged. The monitor of the image display unit 28 is divided into nine parts so that photographed images P1 to P9 can be viewed on the monitor panel. Has become.

In FIG. 7B, a single display is shown when the P1 image is selected from the index images by the image selection switch (reproduced image selection button) included in the operation unit 70. Are also displayed.

In the case of (b) as photographing information, the date and time of photographing, photographing exposure, presence / absence of exposure compensation and its amount, lens I
Type of attached lens from D information, zoom value of lens, presence / absence and type of strobe, light sensitivity at the time of shooting, shooting mode, presence / absence of AWB for white balance correction, number of recorded pixels for image compression rate setting, and file The number is displayed.

FIG. 8 is an example of a color arrangement data table (palette table) of image display colors recorded in the system control circuit 50 or the external memory 52. TF
The color setting for the image display unit 28 including a T-type color LCD is made up of R, G, and B which are the three primary colors of light.
Corresponding to each color in the combination and combination processing.
The color arrangement and the color gradation are not limited to this, and the amount may be increased as long as it can be collated with the data recorded in the system control circuit 50 or the external memory 52.

As shown in FIG. 8, the data is divided into the character color and the background color, and each is selected alternatively.

FIG. 9 is an example of a color setting data table recorded in the non-volatile memory 56 connected to the system control circuit 50. The photographing information data corresponding to the date when the clock function inside the image pickup apparatus is used. Color conversion data. Recording medium 200 or 2 for recording image data
Counting is started from the date 10 is attached to the image pickup apparatus, and the color data is updated corresponding to the date.

Here, the first day of shooting is set to C1 = red, and when the date is updated, C2 = blue, C3 = yellow,
The data is updated in the order of C4 = green, collated with the data of the palette table configured in FIG. 8, and developed into the image information display for image confirmation.

The color data associated with the date shown in FIG. 9 is recorded in the non-volatile memory 56 as the initial setting of the image pickup device, and if the image pickup device is reset, the non-volatile memory 5 is set.
The recorded contents of 6 can be rewritten and registered as personal data of the photographer.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which the color setting data is expanded and displayed on an index image. Image display section 2
The colors corresponding to the color data are displayed in the frame frame around the image for the images P1 to P9 in the monitor screen of No. 8. In the figure, P1 and P2 indicate the case where two frames are photographed on the first photographing day after the memory card as the recording medium is attached to the image pickup apparatus, and the respective frame frames are displayed in red C1.

In the figure, P3 to P6 indicate the case where four frames are photographed on the next photographing day, and each frame is displayed in blue of C2 as the date is updated. In the figure, P7 shows the case where one frame is photographed when the date is further updated, and each frame is displayed in yellow of C3.

Similarly, in P8 and P9 in the figure, the green color of C4 is selected from the color data table associated with the update of the date to be the display color of the frame frame. Even if the shooting further proceeds, the display color associated with the date update is similarly selected and displayed.

As shown in the figure, in the index screen for confirming the photographed image, the display color of the frame displayed together with the photographed image is associated with the date which is the photographing date.
Even in the display of the 9-divided index, the information of the shooting date is obvious.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram in which the color setting data is expanded and displayed on the selected single image display. For the sake of convenience, the shooting date data display is shown enlarged, but normally, other shooting information is also displayed in the same manner. (A) is an image confirmation display when the initial shooting date is assumed to be October 1, 2001 (see FIG. 1).
(When P1 of 0 is selected), the frame frame around the image and the shooting date information character portion which is a color-coding variable of shooting information are displayed in C1 = red.

Further, the background color of the whole character is BC1, the background color of the character portion is BC2, and a color contrasting with the red color of C1 is selected. BC1 and BC2 may be basically fixed colors, but are set so as to avoid similar colors with respect to the display color of the photographing information to be emphasized.

(B) is the first shooting date of 2001
The image confirmation display (when P3 in FIG. 10 is selected) is displayed when it is set to 0.02, and the frame frame around the image and the shooting date information character part which is a color-coding variable of the shooting information are displayed in C2 = blue. .

(C) is the first shooting date of 2001
The image confirmation display (when P7 in FIG. 10 is selected) when January 1 is displayed, and the frame date around the image and the shooting date information character part that is a color-coding variable of the shooting information are displayed in C3 = yellow. .

As described above, by displaying the photographing information display, which is a color variable source, and the frame frame display in the same color, the association can be easily confirmed.

In this case, it is needless to say that other photographing information does not need to be emphasized, so that it is set to a normal fixed color so that the color arrangements do not overlap.

The screen display example of FIG. 11 may be displayed at the time of setting the photographing information and the color arrangement. For example, the display color is changed by pressing the color setting button during the display of (a), and the color arrangement is successively performed. The color corresponding to the data table may be settable.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system control circuit 50. The recording and reading of the color history data of the display color and the update of the recording data will be described with reference to this flowchart.

The routine for the color history data is started when the photographing is finished, and is simultaneously recorded as the display color data together with the image recording.

In step 501, the set color data is read from the memory. The memory at this time is the non-volatile memory 56 in which the color setting data is recorded, the memory connected to the other system control circuit 50, and the display color data recorded together with the image data stored in the recording medium. , History data corresponding to display colors.

If the color-coded variable is set to the shooting date in step 501, the process proceeds to step 502, the date to be the shooting date is checked, and it is determined whether or not the history data is updated.

If the date is different from the previous one in step 502, it is judged to be updated, and the process proceeds to step 503 to update the history data. The update data is display color data added to the image read in step 501.

If the date is the same as the previous one in step 502, the process is returned without being updated, and the process ends.

As described above, the color history data is recorded at the same time as the image after photographing and automatically updated with the photographing state.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a specific operation for setting the display color. When the color setting button in the operation unit 70 is pressed, the display color setting mode shown in FIG. 13 is entered, and the system control circuit 50 executes the following operations.

First, it is judged whether or not the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 has a problem in the operation of the image pickup apparatus 100, particularly the recording / reproducing operation of the image data with respect to the recording medium (S601), and the recording card has a problem. If there is, it proceeds to step 602 and displays a warning.

If there is no problem with the recording card in step 601, the flow advances to step 603 to read the set color data from the memory. The memory at this time is the non-volatile memory 56 containing the color setting data, the memory connected to the other system control circuit 50, and the display color data recorded together with the image data stored in the recording medium, It is history data corresponding to the display color.

The result of reading out the color setting history in step 603 is displayed in step 604 (example: FIG. 11).

Step 605 is an input reception of color-coded data from several kinds of photographing information, and the photographing information to be highlighted is selected here. The select button may also serve as the menu move plus / minus button included in the operation unit 70, and the display at the time of setting at this time may be changed to enlarged display of the selected shooting information as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the display may be hierarchical.

When the setting change is accepted in step 605, the flow advances to step 606 to blink the photographic information display portion, and the flow returns to step 605 again to loop.

When the setting acceptance state for a predetermined time has passed, the process proceeds to step 607, and the ON / OFF judgment of the color setting button is performed. Here, the color designation for the photographing information is accepted, and the selection button may also serve as the menu move plus / minus button included in the operation unit 70.

When the color setting button is pressed in step 607, the process proceeds to step 608, the current palette data is read, the data is updated (S609), and the display color is updated and displayed on the image monitor based on the updated data ( S61
0). The display after the setting at this time is developed on the monitor so that the updated data corresponds to the display color as shown in FIG.

Next, in step 611, the process waits for confirmation of color setting for a predetermined time, and if the setting is continued, the process returns to step 607 to repeat a series of sequences. As a confirmation method at this time, if there is no change in setting for a predetermined time, it is OK.
You may decide to proceed and proceed to the next step.
? You may confirm by displaying a message such as ".

At step 612, the type of the photographing information and the color designation data finally set are used as the color setting history data, and the nonvolatile memory 56 and other system control circuits 5 are set.
The history of the display color data stored in the recording medium together with the memory connected to 0 and the image data is updated and written, and the process returns and ends.

As described above, by recording the color setting data corresponding to the photographing information as the color setting history data, the system control circuit 50 can read and display the data at any time.

(Modification of Embodiment 1) In the above description, the display color of the photographing information character portion and the display color of the image frame are made to correspond to each other, but they are not limited to this, but other display examples will be shown below. .

As shown in FIG. 11A, the actual variables displayed as "shooting date: October 01, 2001" are year information, month information, and date information. Therefore, only the variable values are displayed in different colors. You can display it as.

Specifically, "shooting date: XXX month XX month X"
The purpose can be achieved by making only the X part of the “X day” the C1 display color if the correspondence with the shooting information can be obtained.

Similarly, the "display date: October 01, 2001" is set to the normal display color, and the background color BC is set.
Even if 2 is displayed in different colors, the purpose can be achieved if the data display as the variable source is clarified.

Further, although the frame display around the image is color-coded in the above description, BC1 of FIG. 11A is applied to this, and the background color of the entire image confirmation monitor corresponds to the display color of the photographing information which is the color variable source. If you do this, it will be easy to identify at a glance. In this case, it goes without saying that the color BC2 of the data background color and the character color of the other shooting information are selected in contrast with BC1.

In addition to the above-mentioned photographing information, the image attribute may be the processing contents (edge emphasis, contrast emphasis, etc.) performed on the photographed image afterwards, the photographer's comment, and the like. .

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Since the images and their attributes (such as shooting information) are associated by being color-coded, the images can be managed easily and efficiently.

(Embodiment 2) Based on the hardware configuration of Embodiment 1, an "imaging device" which is Embodiment 2 will be described.

14 and 15 show the system control circuit 50.
3 is an example of a color setting data table recorded in the non-volatile memory 56 connected to, and serves as color conversion data of shooting information.

FIG. 14 is a photographing mode, FIG. 15 is a Tv value amount,
The color data is updated according to. The table having the relationship between the photographing information display and the color data is not limited to this, and other values such as the Av value amount, the exposure correction amount, the lens type, the zoom value, the presence or absence of the strobe and its type, the ISO sensitivity amount, the AWB on information, the recording If the variables and information are compared with the shooting information such as the number of pixels and the file number value (these can be called attributes of the shot image), the color data table is associated with the display colors.

In FIG. 14, when the shooting mode setting of the mode dial 60 is set to M (manual mode), C1 = red is set, and the shooting mode setting is Tv.
When set to (shutter priority AE mode), C
When 2 = blue and the shooting mode setting is set to Av (aperture priority AE mode), C3 = yellow is set, and the shooting mode setting is set to P (program AE mode) Is set to C4 = green, which is collated with the data in the pallet table and developed into the image information display for image confirmation.

In FIG. 15, there is a color data table for the Tv value amount related to the exposure at the time of shooting. For example, when the shutter control limit value of this image pickup device is Tv = 1/4000, Tv = 1 / C1 = red is set between 4000 and Tv = 1/250, and Tv = 1/250
From Tv = 1/8 to C2 = blue, from Tv = 1/8 to Tv = 1 second C3 = yellow, and from Tv = 1 second to Tv = 30 seconds. Between
C4 is set to green, and the bulb that opens the shutter irregularly is set to C5 = purple.

The color data associated with the photographing information shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 5 as the initial setting of the image pickup apparatus.
6 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56, and the recorded contents of the non-volatile memory 56 can be rewritten by re-setting on the side of the image pickup apparatus, and can be registered as personal data of the photographer.

FIG. 16 is a color conversion data table, and as shown in the drawing, color conversion data corresponding to the displayed photographing information is set correspondingly.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the operation of the system control circuit 50. The recording / reading of the color conversion data table history of the display color and the update of the color conversion data table will be described below.

The routine of the color conversion history data is started at the time of setting the photographing information data to be color-coded, and is simultaneously recorded as the color conversion history together with the image recording.

At step 701, the set color conversion data is read from the memory. The memory at this time is the non-volatile memory 56 in which the color conversion data is recorded,
Other memory connected to the system control circuit 50,
It is color conversion data recorded together with the image data stored in the recording medium, and is history data corresponding to the shooting information data.

In step 701, the color data table which is the source of the color-coding variables is read, and in step 702, it is determined whether or not the history data of the photographing information data to be color-coded is updated.

If the color code setting button of the photographing information is pressed in step 702, it is determined to be updated, and the process proceeds to step 703 to update the color conversion history data. The update data is data added to the image read in step 701, and is color conversion data corresponding to shooting information.

If the color-coded setting button of the photographing information is not pressed in step 702, the process is returned without being updated, and the process ends.

As described above, since the photographer can easily set the photographing mode to be emphasized and the color conversion history data is recorded at the same time as the image after photographing, it can be displayed on another PC screen via the recording medium. It can be expanded and displayed, and the update status of the data can be seen at a glance.

[0183]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the images and their attributes (such as shooting information) are associated by being color-coded, the images can be managed easily and efficiently.

Further, according to the inventions of claims 3 and 11, since the colors are classified according to the shooting date, the visibility is improved when a plurality of images are managed, and the image management work is smooth. become.

Further, according to the invention described in claims 6 and 14, since the same storage means also stores the setting information of the display color together with the image, it is not limited to the display in the image pickup apparatus, and other P
Image management can be performed with C, and systematic image management can be performed.

Further, according to the seventh and fifteenth aspects of the present invention, since the display color can be arbitrarily set, the data intended by the operator can be displayed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a pre-shooting sequence.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a sequence at the time of shooting.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of distance measurement / photometry.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a shooting process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an image recording process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example when confirming an image.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a palette table.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a color setting data table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which color setting data is expanded and displayed on an index image.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of displaying an image and shooting information.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process for color history data.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a display color setting process.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a color data table used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a color data table used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a color conversion data table used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing of color conversion history data.

[Explanation of symbols]

28 Image display section 50 System control unit 56 Non-volatile memory 200, 210 recording medium

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit for storing a captured image and its attribute, a display unit, and a control unit for controlling display contents of the display unit, wherein the control unit is the image or the image and its An image pickup apparatus, characterized in that the attribute is controlled to be displayed on the display means by color-coding by a preset display color according to the attribute of the image. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute is image pickup information of an image. 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit updates the display color to a preset display color each time the shooting date is changed, when the attribute is the shooting date. apparatus. 4. The image pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a non-volatile memory, wherein the data related to the preset display color is stored in the non-volatile memory. Imaging device. 5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein data relating to a preset display color in the nonvolatile memory can be registered for each individual. 6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display color is stored in an external storage unit that is the same as the storage unit that stores an image of the display color. apparatus. 7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display color can be arbitrarily changed by operating means. 8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays the image or the image and its attribute on an index screen. 9. A storage means for storing a captured image and its attribute, a display means, and a control means for controlling display contents of the display means, wherein the control means includes the image or the image and its An image reproducing apparatus characterized in that the attribute is controlled to be displayed on the display means by color-coding by a preset display color according to the attribute of the image. 10. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the attribute is shooting information of the image. 11. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control unit updates the display color to a preset display color each time the shooting date is changed, when the attribute is the shooting date. Image playback device. 12. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: a non-volatile memory, wherein the data relating to the preset display color is stored in the non-volatile memory. Image playback device. 13. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein data relating to a preset display color in the nonvolatile memory can be registered for each individual. 14. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the display color is stored in an external storage unit that is the same as the storage unit that stores the image of the display color. Image playback device. 15. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the display color can be arbitrarily changed by operating means. 16. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the control unit displays the image or the image and its attribute on an index screen. 17. A step of determining a display color of the attribute from a table showing a relationship between the attribute and the display color based on the attribute of the image, and a display of the image or the image and its attribute determined in the step A. Step B to display by color
An image reproducing method comprising: 18. A program for realizing the image reproducing method according to claim 17.