JP2003116047A - Image pickup device and photograph controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust a photographed image to a desirable brightness with excellent accuracy when outputting photographed image information. SOLUTION: When a cable release operation is conducted after a pre- processing of imaging such as a light measuring processing or the like, a field is imaged, and a pixel signal output from an image pickup element 26 is converted into a digital value by an analog/digital conversion circuit (A/D) 48. The converted image signal is once stored in an image recording memory 20, and also a display image in accordance with an image signal is monitored and displayed on a display part 22. When any one of a specific area emphasis mode, an exposure condition change mode and a brightness adjusting mode is selected, an adjustment processing with respect to the image signal is carried out in accordance with the mode. At this time, an image for carrying out the adjustment processing is monitored and displayed, and the image is changed in correspondence to operations, and a correction processing in correspondence to the change is carried out with respect to the image signal. The corrected image signal is finally output to the image recording memory 20 and is recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention forms a field image on a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor to pick up an image,
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup control method for outputting an image signal according to a scene image, and particularly to an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup control method for obtaining an image signal adjusted to a desired brightness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been known a digital camera which photoelectrically converts an optical image from an object field by an image sensor, processes pixel signals output from the image sensor, and outputs processed image data. . For example, a digital still camera is configured to digitize a pixel signal output from a CCD solid-state image sensor, compression-encode image data representing the still image, and record the image data on an information recording medium such as a memory card. .

Such a camera has an automatic exposure adjustment (AE) function of determining an exposure value and performing main photographing according to the determined photographing conditions before the main photographing for obtaining a still image.

For example, in a camera equipped with a solid-state image sensor that outputs a photographed image signal, the subject brightness is measured based on the image signal output from the image sensor, and the aperture value and exposure time are determined based on the measured brightness information. Some had a TTL-AE function to decide. In this case, a predetermined photometric area is provided in the screen showing the captured image, and the exposure value is determined from the level of the image signal corresponding to the photometric area. The image signal captured by setting the determined exposure value and using the release operation as a trigger is subjected to various signal processing such as white balance adjustment and gamma correction, and further subjected to compression encoding processing, and then an information recording medium such as a memory card. Recorded in. In this way, for the main subject in the scene, determine the proper exposure value without overexposure and underexposure,
It was necessary to take an image according to the exposure value.

When the above-mentioned photometric area is fixed, it is necessary to arrange the main subject at the screen position corresponding to the fixed photometric area. Further, it is considered that a plurality of photometric areas are provided, an appropriate photometric area is selected, and the exposure value is determined based on image information corresponding to the selected photometric area. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-128705 discloses a camera in which a photometric area is designated by a line-of-sight input, a photograph is taken, and the photograph is stored on a film.
Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-281271, it is determined whether the film is overexposed or underexposed based on a luminance signal generated from an output signal of an image pickup device, and the over / under classification exceeding the film latitude is determined. There is disclosed a camera that displays on a monitor.

[0006]

However, the setting of shooting conditions such as exposure must be determined in consideration of various conditions, and the exposure conditions must be set before the main shooting so that the image desired by the photographer can be obtained. It was difficult to decide. Also,
A highly accurate exposure determination method for performing automatic exposure control has been studied, but such an automated process may not always obtain the image desired by the photographer due to differences in the intention of photography and the expression method. There is a problem.

Further, in photographing, it is necessary to adjust the brightness, focus, etc. of a desired subject, and further press the shutter button at a proper timing while framing. For this reason, there is a demand to make the pre-operation just before the release operation for the main shooting as simple as possible.

Further, it is difficult to objectively judge the appearance of a reproduced image displayed on a liquid crystal monitor or the like. For example, the contrast that can be displayed on a liquid crystal display panel that also has a viewfinder display function is smaller than the contrast in the scene, and it is possible to accurately determine whether the image displayed on the monitor was taken at the desired brightness. It was difficult to do. In this way, the number of gradations and display brightness that can be displayed on a liquid crystal display panel used for monitor display are extremely small compared to the scene,
The gradation of the captured image cannot be sufficiently reproduced, and it is difficult to adjust to a desired state based on such a display image. Also, since the illuminance around the display monitor is extremely high under direct sunlight, it is not possible to observe the displayed image well on the backlight type LCD monitor, and the brightness and darkness of the captured image are confirmed. It is difficult to fine tune.

On the other hand, the dynamic range of the image pickup signal output from the image pickup device has been expanded. For example,
In an image sensor in which pixels are arranged in a honeycomb, the area of a photodiode that generates signal charges according to the amount of received light can be made larger than that in an image sensor in which square pixels are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, for example. In such an image pickup device, the dynamic range of the image pickup signal can be increased as compared with the conventional image pickup device. However, even if the image pickup signal has a high dynamic range, the subsequent processing, especially when the image data is finally output to a memory card or printed, is a conventional processing mode, for example, in the case of 8-bit data. The image data is converted into a format.

In this case, for example, even if the image data represented by 12 bits is simply converted into the image data of 8 bits, the exposure to the desired portion in the photographed image is not always proper, and the desired exposure is not required. There was a problem that it was not always bright. In this case, there arises a problem that gradation in an image around a desired portion in the object scene deteriorates. Therefore, it is difficult for the conventional method to sufficiently bring out the performance of the image sensor.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and when a field is imaged and its image information is output to an information recording medium, the imaged image can be accurately adjusted to a desired brightness. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a shooting control method.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image pickup device for picking up an image of a scene and generating an image signal representing a picked-up image according to the scene. , An imaging unit that images a scene according to the exposure value and outputs an image signal according to an optical image from the scene, a generation unit that generates a display image based on the image signal, and an exposure value , An exposure control means for driving the image pickup means with the exposure value, a calculation means for calculating lightness information indicating the brightness of the picked-up image represented by the image signal, and a display for displaying a display image and an image corresponding to the lightness information on a monitor. Means, operation means for generating operation information according to the operation of the operator, changing means for changing the brightness information to a value according to the operation information, and a captured image based on the brightness information changed by the changing means. To correct the brightness level of the image signal A positive means, characterized in that it comprises an output means for outputting the image signal of the corrected captured image by correcting means.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a photographing control method for photographing a field and generating an image signal representing a picked-up image according to the field.
An image capturing step of determining a predetermined exposure value and capturing an object scene according to the exposure value, a signal processing step of processing an image signal captured in the image capturing step, and a representation of the image signal processed in the signal processing step. The first display step of displaying the first image, the second display step of displaying the second image for adjusting the brightness of the image signal representing the first image, and the display of the second image. It includes an operation step of changing in accordance with a manual operation, a correction step of correcting the brightness of the image represented by the image signal in accordance with the change processing of the operation step, and an output step of outputting the image signal processed in the correction step. It is characterized by

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a configuration example of a digital camera to which the present invention is applied. The digital camera 10 is an imaging device capable of readjusting the brightness of an image represented by a picked-up image signal according to an operation of an operator and outputting the adjusted image data to the image recording memory 20. The digital camera 10 in the present embodiment temporarily displays a captured image on the liquid crystal monitor panel of the display unit 22, and when adjusting the brightness of the displayed image, the liquid crystal monitor panel is provided with brightness information indicating the brightness of the captured image. By combining and displaying, and changing the brightness information according to the operation and displaying it visually, brightness correction according to the changed brightness information is performed on the raw image data that is once stored and held, and according to the change. The image data whose brightness has been adjusted is stored in an information recording medium such as the image recording memory 20.

Each part of the camera 10 will be described in detail as follows.
An image pickup device (CCD) 24 that generates a signal charge according to the amount of received light and detects the generated signal charge and outputs a pixel signal is provided, and an image pickup lens 26, a diaphragm 28, and a mechanical shutter 30 are provided on the front surface thereof. It is arranged. First drive mechanism 32
Is the image pickup lens 26
Is a interlocking member that adjusts the focal position of the imaging lens 26 by moving the helicoid of the imaging lens 26. The driving force of the AF motor 34 is supplied to the imaging lens 26 via this interlocking member.
Is transmitted to the helicoid that holds the.

The second drive mechanism 38 is an exposure control circuit.
In response to the control of 36, the aperture amount of the diaphragm 28 is electromagnetically controlled to adjust the light amount of the light beam incident via the imaging lens 26.
Similarly, the third drive mechanism 40 electromagnetically controls the opening start and opening time of the mechanical shutter 30, that is, the exposure start timing and the exposure time, in response to the control of the exposure control circuit 36. An optical low-pass filter and an infrared cut filter (not shown) are arranged between the image pickup lens 26 and the image pickup element 24.

In the image pickup device (CCD) 24 of this embodiment, a plurality of photodiodes for generating signal charges according to the amount of received light are two-dimensionally arranged and are formed by a charge coupled device (CCD) for vertical transfer. A high-pixel-density solid-state imaging device that transfers signal charges through a path and a horizontal transfer path, detects the transferred signal charges with a charge detector, and outputs a pixel signal according to the amount of charges. The image pickup device 24 is not limited to such a CCD type solid-state image pickup device, and a CMOS type image sensor may be used, for example. An RGB primary color filter is arranged on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 24, and the image pickup device 24 is driven according to the timing pulse supplied from the exposure control circuit 36. The image pickup device 24 outputs RGB color pixel signals corresponding to the object scene image formed on the image pickup surface in a dot-sequential manner.

The output of the image pickup device 24 is an analog signal processing circuit.
Connected to 42, the analog signal processing circuit 42 includes a correlated double sampling circuit and a clamp circuit that perform correlated double sampling of the input pixel signal. The output of the analog signal processing circuit 42 is connected to the preamplifier 44.

The preamplifier 44 includes an automatic exposure (AE) calculation circuit 46.
It is a variable gain amplifier that amplifies an input pixel signal with a gain according to a gain control signal output from. The gain of the preamplifier 44 in this embodiment is controlled so that the maximum value of the pixel signal fits into the input range of the analog-digital conversion circuit 48 when the input pixel signal is amplified. If the automatic exposure (AE) calculation circuit 46 controls the balance of each color component of the image pickup signal, the preamplifier 44
Has three amplifier circuits for respectively amplifying the pixel signals for each color component, and the signal level of the pixel signal is adjusted for each color component so as to adjust the color balance of the pixel signal according to the control of the AE operation circuit 46. You may take the structure which amplifies with a different gain. In this case, the analog signal processing circuit 42 separates the pixel signal for each color component into three lines and preamps each.
A demultiplexer for outputting to 44 is preferably provided.

The output of the preamplifier 44 is connected to an analog / digital conversion circuit (A / D) 48, and the analog / digital conversion circuit 48 samples each pixel of the analog pixel signal to obtain a high dynamic range of 12 bits. Convert to digital image data. The 12-bit output of the analog / digital conversion circuit 48 is the digital signal processing circuit.
Connected to 50.

The digital signal processing circuit 50 is an analog
It has a correction processing function of inputting digital image data output from the digital conversion circuit 48 and adjusting its white balance and gamma, and an image processing function such as image edge enhancement processing. Further, the digital signal processing circuit 50 has an interpolation processing function of interpolating each pixel of each RGB component for each RGB pixel and a gap pixel at each pixel position according to the color filter array of the image sensor 24, and an image sensor. twenty four
And a defect correction processing function for interpolating and correcting the defective pixel in (1). The digital signal processing circuit 50 outputs the processed image data to the image calculation circuit 54.

Further, the digital signal processing circuit 50, when performing automatic focus adjustment, autofocuses the image data obtained by performing the above-mentioned correction processing on the input image data.
(AF) Output to the arithmetic circuit 52. In this case, the digital signal processing circuit 50 calculates the brightness component from the RGB image data by calculation, further extracts the high frequency component of the brightness component data, and outputs it to the autofocus (AF) calculation circuit 52. Similarly, when performing the automatic exposure adjustment, the digital signal processing circuit 50 performs the above-mentioned correction on the input image data and outputs the processed image data to the automatic exposure (AE) calculation circuit.
Output to 46.

The autofocus (AF) operation circuit 52 calculates contrast information representing the contrast of the field based on the high frequency component data output from the digital signal processing circuit 50, and a plurality of image pickup lenses 26 of the imaging lens 26 are calculated. It is a circuit that performs contrast AF control for determining the focus position of the imaging lens 26 based on the contrast information calculated at the position. The AF calculation circuit 52 determines the position of the imaging lens 26 where the contrast component is maximum according to the contrast information that changes according to the movement of the imaging lens 26, and notifies the lens control circuit 35 of the determination result.

Further, the AF calculation circuit 52 creates contrast information from the brightness data corresponding to the focusing area for adjusting the focus. The position, shape and area of this focusing region are set by the control circuit 60 in this embodiment. The AF calculation circuit 52 controls the position of the image pickup lens 26, generates a lens control signal for stopping the movement of the image pickup lens 26 when a focus is detected, and outputs the lens control signal to the lens control circuit 35. Further, the AF calculation circuit 52 has a function of notifying the control circuit 60 of focus information.

The automatic exposure (AE) calculation circuit 46 is a circuit that determines an exposure value to be used at the time of photographing, based on the image data supplied from the digital signal processing circuit 50. The AE calculation circuit 46 calculates the brightness value in the screen area corresponding to the photometric pattern based on the image data according to the photometric pattern specified by the control circuit 60, and determines the brightness value according to the sensitivity set in the camera 10. Convert to exposure value. AE operation circuit
46 sets the calculated exposure value in the exposure control circuit 36. Further, the AE operation circuit 46 generates a gain control signal for controlling the gain of the preamplifier 44 according to the sensitivity designated by the control circuit 60, and supplies the gain control signal to the preamplifier 44.

The photometric pattern set in the AE calculation circuit 46 is divided into a plurality of divided areas in the image pickup screen as shown in FIG. 4, and the divided areas are weighted to obtain a photometric value in the divided areas. Various photometric methods such as a multi-divided evaluation photometric method for calculating an optimum exposure value from the, a spot photometric method, a center-weighted photometric method, or an average photometric method are applied, and these photometric methods are designated by the control circuit 60. The AE calculation circuit 46 has a function of calculating the average of the brightness data in the divided photometric areas for each photometric area, and determines an appropriate exposure value based on the average brightness value for each area.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the exposure value at the time of shooting is determined by the automatic exposure adjustment function by the TTL-AE method. However, the exposure value is not limited to this. Even if the shutter speed, the aperture value, and the presence or absence of light emission of the flash device are determined according to the value indicated by another exposure meter that is determined based on the light that is not incident and the manual exposure adjustment. Good.

The exposure control circuit 36 is responsive to the exposure value calculated by the AE calculation circuit 46 and the control operation of the control circuit 60, each part of the second and third drive mechanisms 38, 40 and the image pickup device 24.
Is driven to perform image pickup control. Specifically, the exposure control circuit 36
Is the exposure value set by the AE calculation circuit 46 and the control circuit 60.
The aperture value of the diaphragm 28 and the opening / closing timing of the mechanical shutter 30 are determined in accordance with the AE mode set in. For example, when the aperture priority AE mode is set, the exposure control circuit 36 determines the shutter speed according to the set aperture value, that is, the exposure time. Further, when the program AE mode is set, the aperture value and the exposure time according to a predetermined program diagram are determined. The exposure control circuit 36 generates a drive signal for driving the diaphragm 28 and the mechanical shutter 30 in response to the release control signal notified from the control circuit 60. Further, the exposure control circuit 36 includes a drive circuit for generating a drive signal such as a timing signal for driving the image pickup device 24, causes the image pickup device 24 to generate a signal charge during the determined exposure time, and after the exposure time ends, the signal charge is generated. Read out.

On the other hand, the image calculation circuit 54 connected to the output of the digital signal processing circuit 50 is represented by the raw image data when the raw image data generated by the main photographing is stored in the image recording memory 20. It has a blocking function of dividing the screen into a plurality of divided areas and a function of averaging the image data levels in each divided area to calculate the average brightness of each divided area. This average lightness indicates the lightness and darkness in each divided area as a relative or absolute value. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
For example, the screen is divided into a plurality of areas, the average brightness of each divided area is calculated, and the brightness information indicating the average brightness is generated. The image calculation circuit 54 performs a correction calculation on the divided area designated by the control circuit 60 to raise, lower, or adjust the brightness in the designated divided area according to the control information from the control circuit 60. Further, the image calculation circuit 54 can perform a correction calculation that similarly adjusts the brightness in the divided areas other than the designated area, corresponding to this correction calculation. Further, the image calculation circuit 54 calculates the average brightness of the pixel data of the corrected divided areas for each divided area, and generates brightness information indicating the average brightness. The image calculation circuit 54 outputs the generated brightness information of each divided area to the control circuit 60. As described above, the image calculation circuit 54 has a brightness correction processing function of correcting the brightness level of image data for a predetermined divided area or image data of the entire screen.

The image calculation circuit 54 has, for example, a conversion table having input / output characteristics as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and corrects brightness and gradation by converting each pixel value of pixel data according to the conversion table. To do. A characteristic 600 shown in FIG. 6 is a characteristic for converting an image into a brighter image than the non-conversion characteristic 602, and a characteristic 604 is a characteristic for converting an image into a darker image, and both of them show linear conversion characteristics. Also, FIG.
Shows an example of a conversion table for locally converting the input pixel value, the characteristic 700 is a characteristic for converting the low luminance level of the input pixel value to be brighter, and conversely, the characteristic 702 is the characteristic of the input pixel value. This is a characteristic of converting a low brightness level to darker. In the case where the correction process is performed again, it is preferable to perform the correction for increasing the saturation when the brightness of the image is increased by the brightness correction.

Further, the image calculation circuit 54 performs a calculation process for adjusting the image size of the image represented by the RGB pixel data, and a digital signal for interpolating and thinning the image data into a desired size according to the control from the control circuit 60. It has a zoom processing function. Further, when displaying the image represented by the image data on the monitor, the image calculation circuit 54 thins out the image data according to the display size of the liquid crystal display panel included in the display unit 22 to generate the display image data. Has image size reduction function.

The control circuit 60 is a system control unit which controls the operation of the digital camera 10 in an integrated manner. A discriminating circuit 72 for detecting an operation state of the operation unit 70 is connected to the control circuit 60, and the operation mode of the camera 10 is determined based on the detected operation information. The operation unit 70 includes a 2-stroke release switch that is turned on or off according to the operation of pressing the operation button, a cursor key 300 shown in FIG.
302 are provided. The cursor key 300 is a cross key including an up button for instructing the up direction, a down button for instructing the down direction, a right button for instructing the right direction, and a left button for instructing the left direction. When these buttons are pressed, the divided area overlaid on the display image is selected, and the numerical information to be combined and displayed in the selected divided area is changed. The control circuit 60 causes the image calculation circuit 54 to adjust the brightness according to the operation information.

When the discriminating circuit 72 detects that the first stage of the release switch is turned on in the photographing mode, the control circuit 60 recognizes this and continuously picks up an image of the object field, so that continuous frames are taken. The moving image mode for displaying the moving image of the monitor is set, and when it is detected that the second stage is turned on, a still image of one frame is taken, and the brightness of the still image is corrected. Set the still image mode to output to.

In the moving image mode in this embodiment, framing, focus adjustment, exposure adjustment, etc. for the field are performed based on the image signal of the display image displayed on the monitor, and further optical zooming control is performed according to the operation state. And digital zoom processing is performed. In this way, when the preparation for starting the main photographing is completed and the release switch second stage ON state, that is, the release operation is detected by the determination circuit 72, the control circuit 60 recognizes this and sets the still image mode. To do. In this still image mode, the control circuit 60 activates the AF calculation circuit 52 and the AE calculation circuit 46 to adjust the focus and exposure with high accuracy. When the photographing adjustment control is completed in this way, the control circuit 60 outputs a release control signal for performing main photographing to the exposure control circuit 36.

The control circuit 60 sets the distance measuring pattern in the AF calculation circuit 52 and notifies the photometric pattern AE calculation circuit 46 when performing the above-described photographing adjustment. Further, the control circuit 60 sets, in the exposure control circuit 36, the set sensitivity set in the camera 10 by the menu item. Further, the control circuit 60 controls the control circuit 60 when the manual exposure mode for manually setting the aperture value and the shutter speed on the operation unit 70 is designated.
Instructs the exposure control circuit 36 of the aperture value and shutter speed value input via the operation unit 70.

Further, when the exposure value obtained by photometry is input from the AE calculation circuit 46, the control circuit 60 determines whether or not the flash device (not shown) needs to emit light, and recognizes that there is insufficient illuminance in the shooting environment. Then, the flash device is caused to emit light at the exposure timing. The control circuit 60 calculates the light emission amount at this time based on the exposure amount obtained by the AE calculation circuit 46, and corrects the exposure amount at the time of the main photographing according to the determined light emission amount.

The control circuit 60 picks up the image of the RGB still image data output from the image calculation circuit 54 by using the release control signal as a trigger, without performing brightness correction processing and compression encoding processing. It is output to the recording control circuit 62 as dot-sequential raw image data according to the color filter arrangement order of the element 24, and is temporarily stored in the image recording memory 20. At this time, the control circuit 60 records information about the exposure conditions such as the aperture value and the exposure time together with the image data.

When the lightness correction processing on the raw image data is completed, the control circuit 60 officially records the corrected image data in the image recording memory 20. In this case, the control circuit
Reference numeral 60 indicates to the recording control circuit 62 additional information such as the necessity of compression and the compression ratio according to the setting information defining the recording mode.
The control circuit 60 may store the raw image data previously stored in the image recording memory 20 as it is, when storing the image data of the final form in the image recording memory 20, and vice versa. The recording control circuit 62 may be controlled to erase from the storage area.

The control circuit 60 has a function of displaying the RGB image data processed by the image calculation circuit 54 for image display on the display section 22. Specifically, the control circuit 60 outputs to the display control circuit 74 the display data whose size has been changed by the image calculation circuit 54 in the moving image mode before the main shooting. Further, the control circuit 60 outputs the display data, which is imaged in the still image mode and processed for display, to the display control circuit 74. Further, the control circuit 60 displays a message confirming to the operator whether or not to perform correction processing on this image data, and according to the operation information detected by the determination circuit 72,
"Specific area emphasis mode", "exposure condition change mode" and "brightness adjustment mode" are set.

The "specific area emphasizing mode" in this embodiment is a mode in which the brightness of the specific divided area selected by the operator is corrected according to the operation. As shown in FIG. 3, in the specific area emphasizing mode, the control circuit 60 displays the captured image displayed on the display unit 22 in the still image mode.
A frame image that divides the divided area is output to the display control circuit 74 to be displayed in a composite manner, and a numerical value representing the average brightness calculated by the image calculation circuit 54 based on the image in each frame is displayed by characters or symbols. The indicated numerical information is output to the display control circuit 74 and displayed in each frame. In this example, numerical information for displaying the brightness in the range of 0 to 100 is displayed in each divided area of the display unit 22. It should be noted that, in this figure, the captured image is omitted in order to avoid complication of the figure.

When the divided area is selected by the cursor key 300 and the selected area is confirmed by the decision button 302, the control circuit 60 recognizes the divided area, and subsequently, the image data displayed in the divided area is displayed. The average brightness value is adjusted in the plus or minus direction according to the operation of the cursor keys 300 to be displayed, the adjusted average brightness value is notified to the image calculation unit 54, and the brightness correction is performed accordingly. The image calculation circuit 54 is made to perform. When a plurality of divided areas are selected, brightness correction is performed on the plurality of selected areas.

When brightness correction is performed in the image calculation circuit 54, the control circuit 60 inputs the correction result and displays it in the display control circuit.
By outputting to 74, the processed image whose brightness is corrected in the selected area is displayed on the monitor according to the change operation of the average brightness value displayed on the monitor. The control circuit 60 outputs the image data thus corrected to the recording control circuit 62 and causes the image recording memory 20 to record the image data.

"Exposure condition changing mode" in this embodiment
Is a mode in which re-photometry is performed by applying an arbitrarily selected photometric pattern to each pixel level of the image data of the captured image displayed in the display unit 22 in the still image mode and performing weighting.

This re-photometry pattern is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) to (f), a plurality of patterns used in the photometric processing at the time of actual photographing are applied, and these photometric patterns are selected according to the operation information. The center-weighted metering pattern shown in (a) of the same figure
The pixel level of the image is set to have a large weight, and the weight becomes smaller toward the periphery. Same figure
The pattern shown in (b) is a spot metering pattern,
The spot 402 for designating the object scene is arranged at an arbitrary position in the object scene according to the operation of the cursor key 300, and the brightness at the spot position is measured. In this example,
Multiple spots can be used and the area of the spot size can be adjusted. The pattern shown in (c) of the figure is a pattern for setting the same area as the divided area shown in FIG. Then, a predetermined weight is set for each divided area, and the optimum correction value is calculated from the pixel level balance in each area.
The pattern shown in (e) of the figure is a subdivision of the divided area shown in (c) of the figure, and the pattern shown in (f) of the figure is
This is a case where the photometry in the field is averaged.

The control circuit 60, when changing the exposure condition for the image displayed on the monitor in the still image mode,
Correction information indicating weighting according to the photometric pattern is created for the brightness level of the raw image data temporarily stored in the image recording memory 20, and the image calculation circuit 54 is notified of the correction information. In the image calculation circuit 54, according to the correction information, the image recording memory 20
Pixel level correction calculation is performed on the raw image data stored in. The calculation result is transferred to the recording control circuit 62 via the control circuit 60. As described above, in the exposure condition changing mode according to the present embodiment, each pixel level is set in accordance with the photometric pattern for the raw image data once picked up and accumulated, instead of changing the exposure condition at the time of actual image pickup. This is the mode for re-photometry, and the operator can output the captured image, the level of which has been adjusted using a photometric pattern different from that at the time of shooting, to the image recording memory 20.

The brightness adjustment mode in this embodiment is a mode in which the entire image is made brighter or darker in accordance with the operation information detected by the discrimination circuit 72.
The control unit 60 controls these lightness adjustments and automatically corrects the gradation characteristics of the image in accordance with the adjustments. As shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 60 displays a still image based on the raw image data temporarily stored in the image recording memory 20 on the monitor and further displays the brightness adjustment bar 500 on the monitor. The control circuit 60 moves the slider 502 up and down, that is, in the bright (Light) direction or the dark (Dark) direction according to the operation information by the cursor operation. The control circuit 60 outputs correction information according to the moving position of the slider 502 to the image calculation circuit 54, so that the image calculation circuit 54 adjusts the brightness level of the raw image data. In the present embodiment, the degree of adjustment is recognized by the operator based on the movement position of the slider 502, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a numerical value that is variable according to the operation information is digitally displayed and the numerical information can be changed. The correction information may be generated. Further, the control circuit 60 may control the image calculation circuit 54 so as to change the saturation in association with the change state of the brightness.

As described above, the control circuit 60 includes the image calculation circuit 54.
The number, shape, etc. of divided areas to be blocked are set, the brightness in each divided area is acquired, and the average brightness for each divided area is displayed on the monitor. In this case, the control circuit 60 changes the lightness information corresponding to the divided area selected according to the operation information, and the correction information according to the change is added to the image calculation circuit 54.
Output to. The divided areas in which such brightness correction is reflected may be all divided areas, or may be one block selected by operation information or a plurality of blocks of two or more. As a result, it is possible to adjust the brightness of the portion desired by the operator. When the determination circuit 72 detects that the brightness correction is confirmed and the determination button 302 provided on the operation unit 70 is pressed, the control circuit 60 outputs the image data corrected and calculated by the image calculation circuit 54. Output to the recording control circuit 62.

The recording control circuit 62 is a memory controller which controls writing and reading of information with respect to the image recording memory 20. The recording control circuit 62 in this embodiment has a function of compressing and coding the image data output from the control circuit 60 and recording the processed coded data in the image recording memory 20. The recording control circuit 62 is the control circuit 60.
The raw image data output from is temporarily stored in the image recording memory 20. In addition, the recording control circuit 62 uses the image recording memory 20.
When brightness correction is performed on the raw image data stored in, the raw image data is read and output to the control circuit 60, and the image data after the brightness correction processing is recorded in the image recording memory 20. The recording control circuit 62 controls the control circuit 60 when recording the image data after the brightness correction processing in the image recording memory 20.
The image data is converted into luminance and color difference format YC data in accordance with the control information from, and JPEG compression encoding processing is performed on the YC data. The recording control circuit 62 outputs the compressed coded data and its associated information to the image recording memory 20, and writes the information in a predetermined storage area. The image recording memory 20 is a semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM and a flash memory that readably stores information, and is not limited to this, but may be an information recording medium in which information is written by magnetism and / or light.

The display control circuit 74 is a circuit for displaying the image represented by the display data output from the control circuit 60 on the liquid crystal display panel provided in the display section 22 in the moving image mode and the still image mode. Display control circuit in this embodiment
74 has a synthesizing function of overlaying and displaying the image of the divided area output from the control circuit 60 on the still image being displayed. Further, the display control circuit 74 is provided with a video RAM for buffering the display data, continuously displaying the display data in the moving image mode to display the image, and displaying the display data input in the still image mode. The still image represented by is displayed.

The display control circuit 74 in the specific area emphasizing mode generates a frame image for dividing the divided areas output from the control circuit 60 and an image representing numerical information according to the average brightness. Further, the display control circuit 74 in the exposure condition changing mode generates image information for selecting the photometric pattern. In addition, the display control circuit 74 in the brightness adjustment mode
Generates image information representing the light / dark adjustment bar 500 and the slider 502. The display control circuit 74 combines these generated images with the still image being displayed. Display control circuit
The 74 further has an operation support display function for displaying the setting information of the camera 10 as a menu, and the operator can select the shooting mode and playback mode, the type of brightness correction mode in the shooting mode, and various settings related to compression recording from the menu. This can be done by operating the operation unit 70 while watching the display.

The operation of the digital camera 10 in the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In step 100 shown in the figure, power is supplied to each unit to set the shooting mode, and the moving image mode is set when the first-step release operation on the release switch is detected. In the moving image mode, the mechanical shutter 30 is driven to the open state by the third drive mechanism 40, and the optical image incident through the image pickup lens 26 is formed on the image pickup surface of the image pickup element 24. A drive signal from the exposure control circuit 36 is supplied to the image pickup device 24, and pixel signals corresponding to the optical image are sequentially output. This output signal is an analog signal processing circuit.
After being correlated double-sampled and clamped at 42, its signal level is adjusted at the preamplifier 44. The output signal of the preamplifier 44 is input to the analog / digital conversion circuit 48 and converted into 12-bit digital image data.

The converted image data is input to the digital signal processing circuit 50, and after the pixel interpolation processing and the defect correction processing, the white balance and gamma are corrected.
The high frequency component is extracted from the luminance component of the corrected image data and output to the AF calculation circuit 52. The AF calculation circuit 52 calculates contrast information based on the high frequency components output from the digital signal processing circuit 50. At this time, the position of the imaging lens 26 is moved by the AF motor 34 and the first drive mechanism 32, so that the AF calculation circuit 52 calculates the contrast information at each position of the imaging lens 26, and the contrast component is The position of the maximum imaging lens 26 is determined. The imaging lens 26 is moved to the determined position, and the focus control is completed.

On the other hand, when the image data corrected by the digital signal processing circuit 50 is input to the AE calculation circuit 46,
The brightness value is calculated based on the photometric pattern designated by the control circuit 60, the exposure value according to the set sensitivity is determined, and the determined exposure value is notified to the exposure control circuit 36. At the same time, the output of the AE operation circuit 46 causes the preamplifier.
The gain of 44 is adjusted. When the aperture value and the exposure time according to the notified exposure value are determined by the exposure control circuit 36, the second
The driving mechanism 38 is driven to adjust the aperture amount of the diaphragm 28. When the processing before the main imaging is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step 102, and the exposure control circuit 36 waits for the input of the release control signal.

When the discrimination circuit 72 detects the operation information indicating that the second stage of the release switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 104, where the control circuit 60 sets the still image mode and performs the main photographing. The image pickup process is performed. In particular,
When the release control signal from the control circuit 60 is input to the exposure control circuit 36, after the focus and exposure value are readjusted,
The mechanical shutter 30 is once driven in a light blocking state. During this time, in the image pickup device 24, the unnecessary charge discharge process is performed in response to the drive signal supplied from the exposure control circuit 36. When the discharge process is completed, the mechanical shutter 30 is controlled to the open state, and the image pickup device 24 Charge accumulation at 24
The exposure time is determined in advance. When the exposure time ends, the mechanical shutter 30 is controlled to be in the light-shielded state, the generated signal charges are read out, and the analog signal processing circuit 42 is supplied with an electric signal representing the object scene.

Next, in step 106, the output signal of the image pickup device 24 is analog-processed by the analog signal processing circuit 42 and the preamplifier 44 as in the case of the moving image mode, and is digitalized by the analog-digital conversion circuit 48. It is converted into an image signal.

In the digital signal processing circuit 50, image data is subjected to pixel interpolation processing, and defective pixels in the image pickup device 24 are corrected by interpolation processing. The image data is
The white balance and gamma are adjusted, and image processing such as contour correction is performed as necessary. The raw image data processed in this manner is input to the image calculation circuit 54, and the average brightness of each divided area and the average brightness of the entire screen are calculated from the image data in the plurality of divided areas. Further, the raw image data is converted into display data with its image size adjusted, and the converted display data is transferred to the display control circuit 74 via the control circuit 60. Further, the original raw image data is output to the control circuit 60 together with the brightness information.

Next, in step 108, the control circuit 60
The raw image data input to is transferred from the control circuit 60 to the recording control circuit 62, and the raw image data is temporarily stored in a predetermined storage area of the image recording memory 20. In the next step 110, the display data input to the display control circuit 74 is buffered and output to the display unit 22, so that the still image represented by the display data is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel as a monitor. Along with this, a menu for selecting the adjustment processing mode for the displayed still image is displayed on the monitor. Raw image data accumulated in the image recording memory 20 is information representing an image in a high dynamic range,
Even if the predetermined area of the still image displayed on the monitor can be observed as if "whiteout" or "blackout" occurs, the gradation in the raw image data that is the source of that include. Therefore, the subsequent processing is performed on such an area portion so that the brightness and the gradation are desired.

In step 112, the control circuit 60 determines whether or not the specific area emphasizing mode is selected. If the specific area emphasizing mode is selected, this specific area emphasizing mode is set and the process proceeds to step 114. If not selected, go to step 116.

At step 114, the control circuit 60 generates frame image data representing a frame image for dividing the divided area and outputs the frame image data to the display control circuit 74, and also based on the lightness information supplied from the image calculation circuit 54. Then, the numerical information to be displayed in the frame of each divided area is generated, and the generated numerical information is output to the display control circuit 74. When the frame image data and the numerical information are input to the display control circuit 74, the frame image is combined with the still image currently displayed on the liquid crystal display panel of the display unit 22, and the frame image is further divided into each frame. A numerical value indicating the average brightness of the area is compositely displayed.

Here, when the cursor key 300 of the operation unit 70 is operated, the operation information is detected, a divided area corresponding to the operation information is selected, and the selection is determined by pressing the enter button 302. . The frame image surrounding the selected divided area is displayed, for example, with its color changed to a color different from other frames. When the divided area for brightness adjustment is determined, the numerical value displayed in the selected divided area is increased or decreased according to the operation of the cursor key 300, and the control circuit 60 causes the image calculation circuit 54 to The correction information according to the increase / decrease is fed back, and the brightness of the divided area is adjusted to the brightness according to the numerical value of the increase / decrease result. The adjusted display data of the divided area is input again to the display control circuit 74 via the control circuit 60, the display data of the selected divided area portion is updated, and the image is displayed. When the lightness information is increased to a large value, that is, when the image is adjusted to be bright, the image calculation circuit 54 also performs a hard contrast correction to increase the contrast of the image according to the degree of the adjustment, and conversely darkens the image. When the adjustment is made, it is advisable to perform a soft adjustment that weakens the contrast. Further, in such brightness correction, the operator can repeatedly perform the same degree of adjustment or a different degree of adjustment for a plurality of divided areas by repeatedly designating the divided areas.

When the brightness correction for the divided areas desired by the operator is completed in this way, the raw image data stored in the image recording memory 20 is sent to the image calculation circuit 54 via the control circuit 60, and the above-mentioned operation is performed. Brightness correction according to the adjustment operation is performed on each selected block, and the raw image data of the processing result is written back to the image recording memory 20. In this way, when the operation in the specific area emphasizing mode is completed by operating the decision button 302, the process proceeds to step 116.

If the specific area emphasizing mode is not designated in step 112 and if the specific area emphasizing mode is ended, in step 116, the control circuit 60 determines whether or not the exposure condition changing mode is selected. When the exposure condition changing mode is selected, the exposure condition changing mode is set and the process proceeds to step 118.

In step 118, when the photometric pattern is selected according to the operation, the correction information corresponding to the weighting of the selected photometric pattern is sent from the control circuit 60 to the image calculation circuit.
It is output to 54. Raw image data stored in the image recording memory 20 is further input to the image calculation circuit 54 via the control circuit 60, and the image calculation circuit 54 performs pixel level correction processing according to the correction information. When the display data is recreated based on the calculation result, the created display data is transferred to the display control circuit 74, and the corrected image is displayed on the monitor. When the enter button 302 is pressed here,
The corrected raw image data is written back to the image recording memory 20 and the process proceeds to step 120.

In step 120 when the exposure condition change mode is not designated in step 116 and when the exposure condition change mode is finished, the control circuit 60 determines whether or not the brightness adjustment mode is selected. When the lightness adjustment mode is selected, the lightness adjustment mode is set and the routine proceeds to step 122. In this step 122, the light / dark adjustment bar 500 and the slider 502 are combined and displayed on the still image currently displayed on the monitor, and the slider 502 is moved vertically to be displayed according to the operation of the cursor key 300. . Along with that, the control circuit 60, the slider 502
Correction information according to the movement of the
When output to 54, brightness adjustment and gradation adjustment for the currently displayed still image are performed according to the correction information,
Display data after adjustment is displayed on the display control circuit via the control circuit 60.
A still image that is output to 74 and reflects the degree of adjustment is displayed on the monitor.

In this way, when the brightness correction for the displayed still image is completed, the raw image data stored in the image recording memory 20 is transferred via the control circuit 60 to the image calculation circuit.
The lightness correction according to the adjustment operation is sent to the raw image data, and the raw image data of the processing result is written back to the image recording memory 20.

In step 124 when the lightness adjustment mode is not designated in step 120 and when the lightness adjustment mode is ended, in step 124, the control circuit 60 determines whether or not the processing performed after the imaging is completed. If the operation information indicating completion such as the determination button 302 being continuously turned on twice within a predetermined time is detected, including the case of not performing the processing, the adjustment processing content is determined. And proceed to step 126. If an operation to select the adjustment process again is performed here, steps 124 to 112 are performed.
Returning to, each adjustment process in steps 114, 118 and 122 is performed according to the operation information.

In step 126, the final recording process is performed on the still image data stored in the image recording memory 20. In the case of the present embodiment, the recording control circuit 62 performs the recording control of the compression encoding process on the raw image data accumulated in the image recording memory 20 according to the compression encoding setting such as the compression method and the compression rate set in advance. The encoded data processed by the circuit 62 and the additional information about the encoded data are recorded in a predetermined recording format in the image recording memory 20.
Recorded in. In this case, the original image data accumulated in the image recording memory 20 may be erased or may be left without being erased. This can be selected by the operation information according to the operator's intention. When the still image data is stored in the image recording memory 20 as it is without being compressed as the raw image data, the auxiliary information about the image data is stored in the storage area of the image recording memory 20 corresponding to the still image data. The re-recording process is completed by writing to.

When the next image is taken to obtain a still image, the adjustment condition in the processing mode selected for the previously captured raw image data, that is, the correction information is used as the current image capturing condition, and You can shoot still images. For example, the photometric pattern or the like is different from the pattern used in the previous imaging, that is, the photometric pattern used in the exposure condition changing mode can be used for the exposure adjustment in the next imaging. In addition, the correction information used in the brightness adjustment mode is used as information for correcting the exposure value determined at the time of image capturing, and the exposure value corrected according to the correction information is used to release the next image with a release control signal. You may follow. Similarly, the exposure value at the time of subsequent imaging can be corrected with the correction amount according to the correction processing for the divided area selected in the specific area enhancement mode, and still image shooting can be performed with the corrected exposure value. it can. When the same subject is continuously shot, the same processing as the correction processing for the previous captured image is automatically performed for the subsequent frame images, simplifying the operation and It is possible to obtain a large number of desired still images by taking a picture.

In this way, when the same correction / adjustment processing as the first or previous processing is automatically continued, the adjustment processing is automatically performed without depending on the operation information by the manual operation. be able to. Further, such correction information can be stored in the camera 10 from the beginning, and the operator can arbitrarily select which correction information in which mode to use. When the correction information used for the adjustment is stored and the correction condition is used for the subsequent shooting, the correction information may be automatically applied to the raw image data after the shooting. In this case, a plurality of correction conditions used for adjustment at the time of the previous shooting and recording are stored, and when the subsequent image capturing and recording of the raw image data in the image recording memory 20 are performed, any one of the plurality of correction information is selected. Is used to perform the adjustment process on the raw image data after the imaging.

The still image data finally recorded in the image recording memory 20 is, for example, the display control circuit 74.
It is possible to display the image reproduced on the display unit 22 after being output to. Further, when the interface circuit is connected to the control circuit 60, a still image can be displayed on another image display device or the image can be printed out. Also,
Still images can be transmitted to other devices using a communication line. In this case, the correction process for the accumulated raw image data can be performed by the receiving device at the transmission destination.

As described above, the raw image data in which the gradation level of the image data converted into the digital value is held is temporarily stored in the memory, and the desired raw image data is stored and held. Since the correction / adjustment processing can be performed, the image represented by the raw image data can be adjusted to a desired state. In this case, the processing is not performed on the image data in which the number of gradations is reduced by converting the 12-bit data to the 8-bit data, so that the correction result can be good. For example, when RGB image data is compressed and encoded by the JPEG compression method, YC data of luminance and chrominance components in which each component is represented by 8 bits is required. Therefore, although originally obtained as 12-bit data is converted into 8-bit data, the brightness adjustment desired by the operator can be performed before the conversion into 8-bit data. In the above embodiment, since the correction processing is applied to the 12-bit raw image data before YC conversion, the gradation of the desired portion of the original raw image data is greater than that when the 8-bit data is processed. The characteristics are retained. Further, in the above-described embodiment in which the processing is performed on the raw image data in which high gradation is obtained, when the image characteristics of the raw image data are adjusted, numerical information and a photometric pattern indicating the standard of the adjusting operation, and further the brightness adjustment are set. Images such as bars and sliders are displayed on the monitor, so even if the characteristics of the captured still image cannot be fully confirmed from the display screen, you can change the numerical information and make image adjustments. You can When displaying image data that has been captured in a high dynamic range and accumulated over a wide range of gradations, the operator can freely change the range of visible brightness. The captured image data can be output to an information recording medium such as a memory card.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, the brightness information of an image signal photographed by overexposure, underexposure, or exposure by automatic exposure control is generated and displayed, and the brightness information is displayed according to the operation. The brightness of the captured image represented by the image signal can be corrected to a desired brightness by changing the value of the image signal, and an image having the image quality expected by the photographer can be output. When performing the correction processing on the raw image data in which the gradation of the digital image data converted from the analog value is maintained, the gradation characteristic becomes effective when the brightness of the desired portion in the captured image is corrected. Maintained. Therefore, when performing image adjustment after imaging, it is possible to change the brightness information while looking at the brightness information of the image displayed on the monitor, and to perform correction processing according to the changed brightness information on the image signal. Can be output.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an operation of a digital camera in an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera in an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of brightness display on a display unit in a specific area emphasis mode and an example of an operation unit for performing brightness adjustment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a photometric pattern in an exposure condition changing mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image display example in a brightness adjustment mode.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing an input / output characteristic example of a conversion table provided in the image calculation circuit.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing an input / output characteristic example of a conversion table provided in the image calculation circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 digital camera 20 image recording memory 22 Display 24 Image sensor 26 Imaging lens 36 Exposure control circuit 46 Automatic exposure (AE) calculation circuit 48 Analog-to-digital conversion circuit (A / D) 50 Digital signal processing circuit 54 Image calculation circuit 60 control circuit 70 Control

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naoki Kubo             3-11-46 Izumi, Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture             Shin Film Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B057 BA11 CA01 CA08 CA16 CB01                       CB08 CB16 CE08 CE11 CG01                       CH11                 5C022 AA13 AB01 AB06 AC01 AC13                       AC42 AC69

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An imaging device for capturing an image of a scene and generating an image signal representing a captured image according to the scene, wherein the device captures the scene according to an exposure value, Image pickup means for outputting an image signal according to the optical image from, a generation means for generating a display image based on the image signal, the exposure value is determined, and the image pickup means is driven by the exposure value. Exposure control means, calculation means for calculating lightness information indicating the brightness of a captured image represented by the image signal, display means for displaying the display image and an image corresponding to the lightness information on a monitor, and operator's operation Operation means for generating operation information according to the operation information, changing means for changing the lightness information to a value according to the operation information, and an image representing the captured image based on the lightness information changed by the changing means. Correction to correct the brightness level of the signal And the step, the imaging apparatus characterized by comprising an output means for outputting the image signal of the corrected captured image by the correction means. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a signal processing unit that processes an image pickup signal output from the image pickup unit, and the signal processing unit converts the image pickup signal into a digital value. The apparatus further includes a conversion unit for converting, and the apparatus further includes a storage unit that temporarily stores the raw image data converted by the conversion unit, and the correction unit corrects the raw image data stored in the storage unit. An imaging device characterized by: 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the display image on a monitor and displays an image representing the lightness information on the display image in a composite manner. . 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays a display image according to the image signal corrected by the correction unit. 5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit corrects the brightness of the image signal corresponding to a predetermined area of the display image according to the operation information. 6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the correction unit corrects an image signal of the entire image. 7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the correction unit divides the picked-up image into a plurality of divided areas, selects a divided area according to the operation information, and corresponds to the selected divided area. An image pickup apparatus characterized by correcting an image signal. 8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction means applies a predetermined photometric pattern to the image signal, and the brightness level of the image signal is determined according to weighting in the photometric pattern. An image pickup device, comprising: 9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the correction unit corrects the brightness of the image signal and also corrects the gradation of the image represented by the image signal. 10. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5,
The image pickup apparatus, wherein the correction means corrects the brightness of the image signal and also corrects the saturation of the image represented by the image signal. 11. A photographing control method for photographing a scene and generating an image signal representing a captured image according to the scene, the method determining a predetermined exposure value and performing the exposure according to the exposure value. An image pickup step of picking up an object scene, a signal processing step of processing an image signal picked up in the image pickup step, and a first image displaying a first image represented by the image signal processed in the signal processing step Display step, a second display step of displaying a second image for adjusting the brightness of the image signal representing the first image, and an operation of changing the display of the second image according to a manual operation. And a correction step of correcting the brightness of the image represented by the image signal according to the change processing of the operation step, and an output step of outputting the image signal processed in the correction step. Shooting control method. 12. The photographing control method according to claim 11, wherein the operation step selects a predetermined area in the first image in accordance with a manual operation, and the correction step is performed on the selected predetermined area. An imaging control method characterized by performing brightness correction processing. 13. The photographing control method according to claim 11, wherein the operation step selects a photometric pattern for weighting and measuring the pixel level of the image signal, and the correction step selects the selected photometric pattern. A photographing control method comprising correcting a pixel level of the image signal according to a photometric pattern. 14. The photographing control method according to claim 11, wherein the output step outputs the image signal processed in the correction step and records the image signal on an information recording medium. Shooting control method. 15. The photographing control method according to claim 14, wherein in the output step, the image signal is compression-encoded and recorded in the information recording medium.