JP2003125281A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for a digital camera that easily attaches a blur effect at an optional position so as to obtain a naturally photographed image. SOLUTION: When a zoom lens 301 of the digital camera is focused to a principal object 110 apart from the lens 301 apart by a distance W, the position within the field depth ranges from a distance L1 before the principal object 110 to a distance L2 after the principal object 110, and the distances L1, L2 are changed by adjusting the aperture of the zoom lens 301 and changing the aperture diameter D. Thus, the desirably focused position and the position at which the blur effect is desirably attached are designated, the automatic focusing is used for both the positions to measure the distances of the object from the zoom lens 301 as to both the positions, and the aperture diameter D is controlled on the basis of the result so as to bring the object at the position at which the blur effect is desirably added to the outside of the field depth thereby attaching the natural blur effect to the photographed image.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for adding a blur effect to a photographed image photographed by a digital camera at a desired position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to give a sense of perspective between an in-focus area and an out-of-focus area in a captured image captured by a digital camera, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-36025. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-144
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 026 and 2000-207549, a focus area and an out-of-focus area are designated for an acquired captured image, and a blur effect is added to the out-of-focus area. An image processing method has been proposed in which image processing is performed to give a sense of perspective to a captured image.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned image processing method, the blur effect is added by the image processing after separating the in-focus area and the out-of-focus area on the captured image obtained. Therefore, unnaturalness remains inevitably in the generated image. Further, the image processing operation for avoiding the unnaturalness generated in the generated image by the above-described image processing is complicated, requires a considerable skill, and for such image processing,
There was a problem that it took a long time.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a technique capable of easily adding a blurring effect at an arbitrary position in a digital camera and providing a natural captured image. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a digital camera, and a display means capable of displaying an image of a subject before photographing on a predetermined screen, and an operation. Based on the input, a blurring position designating means for designating a blurring position to which a blurring effect is desired to be added to the captured image on the predetermined screen, and a photographing optical system for obtaining the blurring effect on the captured image with respect to the blurring position. And a control means for controlling.

The invention according to claim 2 is the digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a focusing means for focusing on a specific position of the subject displayed on the predetermined screen.

The invention according to claim 3 is the digital camera according to claim 2, further comprising setting means for setting the degree of the blurring effect at the blurring position based on an operation input.

The invention according to claim 4 is the digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the blurring position is a liquid crystal display screen as the predetermined screen based on an operation input. It can be specified in the preview image displayed above.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the blurring effect is added to the blur position under preset shooting conditions. Further, a warning means is provided to warn when it is not possible.

The invention according to claim 6 is the digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an enlargement display means for enlarging and displaying the blurring position on the predetermined screen.

The invention according to claim 7 is the digital camera according to claim 1, which has a shutter priority mode for photographing at a preset shutter speed and responds to designation of the blurring position. And a means for canceling the shutter priority mode.

The invention according to claim 8 is the digital camera according to claim 1, which has an aperture priority mode for photographing with a preset aperture value and responds to the designation of the blurring position. And a means for canceling the aperture priority mode.

The invention according to claim 9 is the digital camera according to claim 1, which has a shutter priority mode for photographing at a preset shutter speed, and responds to designation of the blurring position, In the shutter priority mode, there is provided means for obtaining the blur effect by lowering a gain setting for adjusting the brightness of the captured image.

The invention according to claim 10 is the digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a program AE mode for setting a predetermined combination of a shutter speed and an aperture value based on the brightness of the subject. Further, it is provided with means for changing the predetermined combination in response to designation of the blurring position.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Structure of Main Parts of Digital Camera> FIGS. 1 to 4 are a front view, a rear view, a side view and a bottom view of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an internal structure.

The digital camera 1, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a box-shaped camera body 2 and a rectangular parallelepiped image pickup unit 3 (shown by thick lines in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4). The imaging unit 3 has a zoom lens 301 with a macro function, which is a taking lens, and a lens shutter camera that uses a silver salt film (hereinafter referred to as “silver salt camera”).
Similarly, a dimming sensor 305 that receives reflected light of flash light from a subject and an optical finder 31 are provided. The zoom lens 301 is capable of zooming from a focal length of 35 mm to 70 mm in terms of a silver salt camera using a 35 mm film.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface of the camera body 2, a grip portion 4 is provided at the left end and a built-in flash 5 is provided at the upper center, and a shutter button 8 is provided on the upper surface.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
An LCD (liquid crystal display screen) 10 for displaying a captured image on a monitor (corresponding to a viewfinder), reproducing and displaying a recorded image, and the like is provided at a substantially center on the back surface of the. This L
The CD 10 has a display screen of 400 × 300 pixels. Further, below the LCD 10, key switch groups 221 to 226 for operating the digital camera 1 and a power switch 227 are provided. The key switch 221
Is for moving an AF area frame AAR described later.
F movement mode, blurring movement mode for moving a blurring cursor DCR described later, and AF area frame AAR
And the blur cursor DCR function as a changeover switch for switching between a fixed mode in which neither the blur cursor DCR is moved, and the key switch 222 causes the blur cursor DCR corresponding to the position where the blur effect is desired to be displayed on the LCD 10, and As the blurring cursor button for switching to the blurring photographing mode in which the position to be added can be designated, the key switch 223 is the decision button, the key switch 224 is the enlarged display button, and the key switch 225 is the AF area frame A corresponding to the focus position.
The key switch 226 functions as a menu button as an AF area frame button for displaying the AR on the LCD 10. On the left side of the power switch 227, an LED 228 that lights when the power is on and an LED 229 that indicates that the memory card 91 is being accessed are arranged.

Further, on the back surface of the camera body 2, a mode setting switch 1 for switching the mode among "photographing mode", "playback mode" and "preference mode".
4 are provided (see FIG. 3). The photographing mode is a mode for taking a picture, the reproduction mode is a mode for reproducing and displaying the photographed image recorded in the memory card on the LCD 10, and the preference mode is a display item to be displayed (setting item). In this mode, various settings are made by selecting from among the above.

The mode setting switch 14 is a three-contact slide switch. When it is set to the lower side in FIG. 2, it is set to the photographing mode, when it is set to the center, it is set to the reproduction mode, and when it is set to the upper side, it is set to the preference mode. It

A quad switch 230 is provided on the right side of the back of the camera, and buttons 231 and
By pressing 232, the focal length of the zoom lens 301 is changed, zooming for changing the zoom magnification can be performed, and by pressing the buttons 233 and 234, exposure correction can be manually performed.

On the back surface of the image pickup unit 3, as shown in FIG.
LCD button 32 for turning on / off the LCD 10.
1 and a macro button 322 are provided. When the LCD button is pressed, the LCD display is switched on / off.
For example, when shooting only using the optical viewfinder 31, the LCD display is turned off for the purpose of power saving. When the macro button 322 is pressed during macro shooting, the AF motor M2 (see FIG. 5) is driven and the zoom lens 301 is ready for macro shooting.

A DC input terminal 235 is provided on the side surface of the camera body 2 as shown in FIG.

On the bottom surface of the camera body 2, as shown in FIG. 4, a battery loading chamber 18 and one card slot 17 are provided.
(Card slot portion) are provided. A memory card 91, a modem card 92 or the like can be loaded in the card slot 17. The card slot 17 can be opened and closed by a clamshell type lid 15.

In the digital camera 1, four AA dry batteries are loaded into the battery loading chamber 18, and a power source battery 236 (see FIG. 5) formed by connecting them in series is used as a drive source. Of course, it is also possible to supply and use the power from the adapter from the DC input terminal shown in FIG.

Next, the internal structure of the digital camera 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the digital camera 1. Further, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of each unit in the image pickup unit 3.

A CCD 303, which is a CCD color area sensor functioning as an image pickup means, is provided at a position behind the zoom lens 301 in the image pickup section 3. Further, inside the image pickup unit 3, a zoom motor M1 for changing the zoom ratio of the zoom lens 301 and for moving the lens between the storage position and the image pickup position, and an autofocus motor for automatically focusing ( AF motor) M2, zoom lens 301
A diaphragm motor M3 for adjusting the aperture diameter of the diaphragm 302 provided therein is provided. The zoom motor M1, the AF motor M2, and the diaphragm motor M3 are respectively a zoom motor drive circuit 21 provided in the camera body 2.
5, AF motor drive circuit 214, aperture motor drive circuit 2
Driven by 16 respectively. In addition, each drive circuit 2
Reference numerals 14 to 216 drive the respective motors M1 to M3 based on a control signal given from the overall control unit 211 of the camera body 2.

The CCD image pickup device 303 is a zoom lens 3
The optical image of the subject formed by 01 is set to R (red), G
Image signals of (green) and B (blue) color components (signals composed of a signal sequence of pixel signals received by each pixel) are photoelectrically converted and output. Note that here, the CCD 303 is 1600 ×
It has 1200 pixels.

The exposure control in the image pickup section 3 is performed by the CCD 30.
3 exposure amount (C corresponding to aperture value and shutter speed)
It is performed by adjusting the charge accumulation time of the CD 303. Although this exposure control will be described later, the subject brightness is measured by the CCD 303, and the aperture value and the shutter speed are determined according to the photographing condition mode selected by the photographer. Here, in the shooting condition mode, a program AE mode in which a combination of an aperture value and a shutter speed is automatically set according to an AE program, an aperture priority mode for shooting with a preset aperture value, and a preset There are three shooting condition modes of shutter priority mode for shooting at the specified shutter speed.
Then, in the program AE mode, aperture priority mode, and shutter speed priority mode, if the appropriate exposure cannot be set when the subject brightness is low, CC
Improper exposure due to insufficient exposure is corrected by adjusting the level of the image signal output from D303. That is, when the brightness is low, the exposure control is performed by adjusting (raising) the gain adjustment. The level adjustment of the image signal is performed by an AGC (auto gain control) circuit 313b in the signal processing circuit 313 described later. The photometry in this automatic exposure (AE) will be described in detail later.

The timing generator 314 generates a drive control signal for the CCD 303 based on the clock transmitted from the timing control circuit 202 in the camera body 2. The timing generator 314 outputs a clock signal such as a timing signal of integration start / end (that is, exposure start / end) and a read control signal (horizontal synchronization signal, vertical synchronization signal, transfer signal, etc.) of a light reception signal of each pixel. It is generated and output to the CCD 303.

The signal processing circuit 313 subjects the image signal (analog signal) output from the CCD 303 to predetermined analog signal processing. The signal processing circuit 313 has a CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 313a therein.
And an AGC circuit 313b, the noise of the image signal is reduced by the CDS circuit 313a, and the AGC circuit 313
The level of the image signal is adjusted by adjusting the gain of b. Here, the gain setting range is 4 to 16
It shall be dB.

The dimming circuit 304 controls the light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 during flash photography to a predetermined light emission amount set by the overall control unit 211 of the camera body 2. In flash photography, the reflected light of the flash light from the subject is started at the same time as the exposure is started.
When the received light amount is received by 5, and the received light amount reaches a predetermined light emission amount, a light emission stop signal is output from the dimming circuit 304 to the flash control circuit 217 of the camera body unit 2 via the overall control unit 211. The flash control circuit 217 forcibly stops the light emission of the built-in flash 5 in response to the light emission stop signal, whereby the light emission amount of the built-in flash 5 is controlled to a predetermined light emission amount.

Next, the internal block of the camera body 2 will be described.

The overall control unit 211 mainly comprises a CPU,
By controlling the driving of each peripheral configuration in the image pickup unit 3 and the camera body unit 2 which are connected by an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus, the photographing operation of the digital camera 1 is comprehensively controlled.

Note that the flow of image data in FIG. 5 is also indicated by arrows between peripheral components for the sake of convenience, but in reality, image data is sent for each peripheral component via the overall control unit 211. In addition, in the overall control unit 211,
It has a work RAM 211a made of DRAM and a flash ROM 211b for storing programs.

Next, the structure relating to image signal processing and image display inside the camera body 2 will be described.

The analog image signal sent from the signal processing circuit 313 of the image pickup section 3 is converted into a 10-bit digital signal for each pixel in the A / D converter 205. A /
The D converter 205 converts each pixel signal (analog signal) into a 10-bit digital signal based on the A / D conversion clock input from the timing control circuit 202.

The timing control circuit 202 generates a reference clock and a clock for the timing generator 314 and the A / D converter 205 under the control of the overall control unit 211.

The black level correction circuit 206 corrects the black level of the A / D converted pixel signal (hereinafter referred to as "pixel data") to a reference black level. Also, W
The B circuit 207 converts the level of pixel data of each of the R, G, and B color components, and performs automatic white balance adjustment (AWB) in consideration of γ correction in the subsequent process. The white balance is adjusted from the overall control unit 211 to the WB circuit 2.
This is performed using the level conversion table (correctly, its data) input to 07, and the conversion coefficient (characteristic inclination) of each color component of the level conversion table is set for each captured image by the overall control unit 211.

The γ correction circuit 208 corrects the γ characteristic of pixel data. The output from the γ correction circuit 208 is sent to the image memory 209.

The image memory 209 is a memory for storing the pixel data output from the γ correction circuit 208, and has a storage capacity for one frame. That is, the image memory 209 is 1600 × when the CCD 303 has pixels arranged in a matrix of 1600 × 1200.
It has a storage capacity of pixel data for 1200 pixels, and each pixel data is stored in a corresponding storage area (address).

The VRAM 210 is a buffer memory for image data reproduced and displayed on the LCD 10. VRAM2
10 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to 400 × 300 pixels of the LCD 10, that is, a capacity of 400 × 300 pixels.

With such a configuration, in the image pickup standby state in the image pickup mode, each pixel data of the image picked up by the image pickup unit 3 at predetermined intervals is converted into the A / D converter 205.
~ Image memory 209 processed by the γ correction circuit 208
Stored in the VRA via the overall control unit 211.
It is transferred to M210 and displayed on the LCD 10. As a result, live view display can be performed in which the image of the subject before shooting is displayed on the LCD 10 as a moving image.

That is, in the live view display, as shown in FIG. 7, the image memory 20 of 1600 × 1200 pixels is displayed.
Image data in 9 is decimated vertically and horizontally to 1/4 to 400 x 3
It will be transferred to the VRAM 210 of 00 pixels. Further, here, when the enlargement display button 224 is pressed, the image data of 400 × 300 pixels in the image memory 209 is cut out and transferred to the VRAM 210, so that it is enlarged and displayed four times vertically and horizontally.

By pressing the enlargement display button 224 in this way, the photographer can easily switch between the image acquired by the CCD 303 and the enlarged image on the LCD 10. Here, the blur effect can be confirmed by enlarging and displaying the position where the blur effect, which will be described later, is desired to be added.

In the reproduction mode, the image read from the memory card 91 is subjected to predetermined signal processing by the overall control unit 211, then transferred to the VRAM 210 and reproduced and displayed on the LCD 10. Note that when displaying an image on the LCD 10, the backlight 16 is turned on under the control of the overall control unit 211.

Next, the other components in the camera body 2 will be described in order.

The card I / F 212 is a card slot 1
This is an interface for exchanging signals with various function cards loaded in the device 7. Specifically, the image data of the memory card 91 is written and the image data is read, and the data input / output is performed with the outside of the digital camera 1 via the modem card 92.

The flash control circuit 217 is a circuit for controlling the light emission of the built-in flash 5 as described above. The flash control circuit 217 controls the presence / absence of light emission, the amount of light emission, the light emission timing, etc. of the built-in flash 5 based on the control signal of the overall control unit 211, and based on the light emission stop signal input from the dimming circuit 304, the flash control circuit 217 Control the amount of light emission.

The clock circuit 219 is a clock circuit for managing the shooting date and time. It is driven by another power source (not shown).

Further, in the camera body 2, as described above, the zoom motor drive circuit 215 for driving the zoom motor M1, the AF motor M2 and the diaphragm motor M3,
AF motor drive circuit 214 and aperture motor drive circuit 2
16 are provided. These circuits function according to the operation of the shutter button 8 and other various switches and buttons described above and the operation unit 250.

For example, the shutter button 8 is a two-step switch that can detect a half-pressed state (S1) and a pressed-in state (S2) as used in a silver halide camera. When 8 is pressed halfway, the AF motor drive circuit 214 drives the AF motor M2 to move the zoom lens 301 to the in-focus position. At this time, the distance between the focus position and the digital camera 1 can be calculated. Similarly, regarding the distance between the position where the blur effect is to be added and the digital camera 1, which will be described later, the position where the blur effect is to be added is regarded as the in-focus position, and the zoom lens 3
It can be calculated by moving 01. The calculation of these distances will be described later in detail.

When the shutter button 8 is half pressed in the standby state for the diaphragm 302, the diaphragm value is determined according to the current photographing condition mode, and the diaphragm motor M3
To control the adjustment of the aperture diameter of the diaphragm 302. The control of the diaphragm 302 will be described later.

When the buttons 231 and 232 are pressed, signals from these buttons are sent to the overall control unit 211, and the zoom motor drive circuit 215 drives the zoom motor M1 by the instruction of the overall control unit 211 to zoom. Move the lens to perform optical zooming.

Although the respective components in the camera body 2 have been described above, the overall controller 211 performs various functions by software in addition to data transfer with the peripheral components and timing control.

For example, the overall control unit 211 has a brightness determination function for setting an exposure control value (aperture value, shutter speed), an aperture value setting function, and a shutter speed setting function. The brightness determination function is a function of determining the brightness of a subject using an image captured by the CCD 303 every 1/30 seconds and stored in the image memory 209 in a shooting standby state. What is the aperture value setting function and shutter speed setting function?
In the mode, the aperture value and the shutter speed (exposure amount of the CCD 303) are set based on the brightness determination result (subject brightness) of the subject and the AE program. In the aperture priority mode, the subject is set. The shutter speed is set from the brightness and the preset aperture value. In the shutter priority mode, the aperture value is set from the subject brightness and the preset shutter speed. The setting of the aperture value, shutter speed, and the like in each of the shooting condition modes such as the program AE mode, the aperture priority mode, and the shutter priority mode will be described later in the description of the operation of the digital camera 1.

Further, the overall control unit 211 has a filtering processing function, a recorded image generating function, and a reproduced image generating function in order to perform the recording processing of the photographed image.

The filtering processing function is to correct the high-frequency component of the image to be recorded by the digital filter to correct the image quality relating to the contour.

The recorded image generation function reads pixel data from the image memory 209 and generates thumbnail images and compressed images to be recorded in the memory card 91. Specifically, while scanning in the raster scanning direction from the image memory 209, pixel data is read every 8 pixels in both the horizontal and vertical directions and sequentially transferred to the memory card 91 to generate thumbnail images. Memory card 91
To record. Further, when recording the compressed image data in the memory card 91, all pixel data are read from the image memory 209, and these pixel data are subjected to a predetermined compression process by the JPEG method such as two-dimensional DCT conversion and Huffman coding, and the memory card. Record at 91.

As a specific operation, in the shooting mode, when shooting is instructed by the shutter button 8, the image is compressed by the JPEG method according to the thumbnail image of the image captured in the image memory 209 after the shooting instruction and the set compression rate. The compressed compressed image is generated and tag information related to the captured image (frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression rate, shooting date, flash on / off data at the time of shooting, scene information, image determination results, etc. Information) and both images are stored in the memory card 91. When the photographing mode is the blur mode, the recording process to the memory card 91 is performed according to the photographing instruction from the shutter button 8 and the recording process instruction from the photographer. The data format of the recorded image will be described later.

The reproduced image generation function is a function of decompressing the compressed image recorded in the memory card to generate a reproduced image. As a specific operation, when the mode setting switch 14 is set to the reproduction mode, the image data with the largest frame number in the memory card is read, the data is expanded, and the data is transferred to the VRAM 210. This allows
The LCD 10 displays the image with the largest frame number, that is, the image captured most recently.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a data array of the memory card 91. The memory card 91 mainly functions as a recording medium for recording captured image data. As shown in FIG. 8, each frame of the image recorded by the digital camera 1 is sequentially arranged and stored in the memory card 91. In addition, each frame has high resolution image data HD ((1600 × 1200) pixels) compressed in tag information TG and JPEG format.
And thumbnail image data SD (80
X60) pixels) are recorded. The capacity of image data for one frame is about 1 MB.

<About AF> In the digital camera 1,
An AF area frame AAR indicating an AF area which is a specific position for focusing is displayed on the LCD 10, which will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a partial block diagram of the digital camera 1.

The overall control unit 211 includes an AF area frame generation unit 211f, an AF area frame display position control unit 211g,
It has a resolution converter 211h, an image synthesizer 211i, an evaluation value calculator 211k, and a distance calculator 211l.

The AF area frame generating section 211f is used for the LCD 1
0, the AF area frame data for generating the AF area frame AAR shown in FIG.
1b, AF area frame display position control unit 211g
Transfer to. The AF area frame AAR is a rectangular frame, and its size is 20 × 50 pixels on the LCD 10. Here, the AF area frame AAR
The inner area corresponds to the AF area used for focusing.

The AF area frame display position control unit 211g changes the display position of the AF area frame AAR on the LCD 10 based on the operation input to the operation unit 250 by the photographer.

In the resolution conversion section 211h, as described above, the image obtained by thinning out the image data acquired by the CCD 303 to 1/4 is transferred to the image synthesis section 211i.

In the image synthesizing unit 211i, the resolution converting unit 2
The image input from 11h and the image of the AF area frame AAR input from the AF area frame display position control unit 211g are combined and transmitted to the VRAM 210.

The evaluation value calculation unit 211k performs an evaluation value calculation operation for performing contrast AF when the shutter button 8 is half pressed (S1). Here, with respect to the captured image data corresponding to the AF area, an evaluation value that is a sum of absolute values of differences between adjacent pixels is calculated. Then, the lens is driven, and the lens position having the highest evaluation value is set as the in-focus position. Therefore,
Zoom lens 3 for the AF area corresponding to the in-focus position
Since 01 is driven for focusing, it is possible to focus on the main subject or the like.

The distance calculation unit 211l includes an evaluation value calculation unit 21.
When the lens position having the highest evaluation value is determined at 1k, the distance between the subject (main subject) at the in-focus position and the digital camera 1 is calculated from the lens position. The formula showing the relationship between the distance calculated here and the lens position is stored in the flash ROM 211b.

<Position to which Blur Effect is Added> In the digital camera 1, when there is a position to which the blur effect is to be added, the blur cursor button 222 is pressed to select the blur mode, which corresponds to the position to which the blur effect is to be added. The blurring cursor DCR is displayed on the LCD 10, which will be described below.

FIG. 10 is a partial block diagram of the digital camera 1.

The overall control unit 211 includes a blur cursor generation unit 211v and a blur cursor display position control unit 211w.
An enlargement designation area setting unit 211x and a resolution conversion unit 2
11h, an image combining unit 211i, an evaluation value calculation area setting unit 211y for the blurring cursor, an evaluation value calculation unit 211k, and a distance calculation unit 211l. The resolution conversion unit 211h, the image synthesis unit 211i,
The evaluation value calculation unit 211k and the distance calculation unit 211l are shown in FIG.
Since they are also used for those shown in, the same reference numerals are given.

The blur cursor generation unit 211v is an LCD
10, the flash ROM 21 stores cursor data for generating the blur cursor DCR shown in FIG.
1b, the blurring cursor display position control unit 211
forward to w. The blur cursor DCR has a cross shape, and its size is 16 × 16 on the LCD 10.
It is the size of a pixel.

The blur cursor display position control unit 211w changes the display position of the blur cursor DCR on the LCD 10 based on the operation input to the operation unit 250 by the photographer.

The enlarged designated area setting section 211x is an LCD
An enlargement designation area ZAR for enlargement display is set in correspondence with the blurring cursor DCR on the screen 10 to confirm whether or not the blur effect described later can be produced. The enlargement designated area ZAR is the image memory 20.
The image data of 9 includes image data of 400 × 300 pixels.

In the resolution conversion section 211h, as described above, the image obtained by thinning out the image data acquired by the CCD 303 to 1/4 is transferred to the image synthesis section 211i. Further, in order to confirm the blurring effect, the enlargement designated area ZAR having 400 × 300 pixels can be extracted from the image memory 209 and directly transferred to the image combining unit 211i.

In the image synthesizing unit 211i, the resolution converting unit 2
The image input from 11h and the image of the blur cursor DCR input from the blur cursor display position control unit 211w are combined and transmitted to the VRAM 210. By this combining operation, the size of the blur cursor DCR on the LCD 10 becomes a constant size regardless of the thinning rate in the resolution conversion unit 211h. When displaying only the enlarged designated area ZAR on the LCD 10, the blurring cursor DC
Although R is displayed, the image combining unit 211i combines the images so that the AF area frame AAR described above is not displayed.

The evaluation value calculation area setting unit 211y for the blur cursor corresponds to the blur cursor DCR on the screen of the LCD 10, and as shown in FIG. 13, the evaluation for the blur cursor for measuring the distance at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added. Set the value calculation area DAR. In addition,
Here, the evaluation value calculation area D for the blur cursor is
The AR has a size of 20 × 50 pixels on the LCD 10.

The evaluation value calculation unit 211k performs the same operation as when the zoom lens 301 is driven and focused on the AF area corresponding to the in-focus position, and the photographed image data corresponding to the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor is obtained. With respect to, the evaluation value that is the sum of the absolute values of the differences between the adjacent pixels is calculated. And drive the lens,
The lens position having the highest evaluation value is determined.

The distance calculation unit 211l includes an evaluation value calculation unit 21.
At 1k, the lens position with the highest evaluation value is determined for the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor, so that the distance between the subject (main subject) at the in-focus position and the digital camera 1 is obtained here as well. From the lens position, the distance between the subject at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added and the digital camera 1 is calculated.

<Regarding Depth of Field and Blurring Effect> FIG.
[Fig. 4] is a diagram for explaining depth of field. FIG. 11 shows a situation in which the main subject 110, which is a distance W away from the zoom lens 301, is in focus, and the subject image is the CCD 30.
3 is imaged. Here, when the pitch (interval) between pixels of the CCD 303 is d and the permissible circle of confusion is δ, δ =
It is represented by kd. k is a device-specific constant, for example, k
= 2 is set. Further, the distance to the subject (main subject) to be focused is W, the aperture diameter of the diaphragm 302 included in the zoom lens 301 is D, the focal length of the zoom lens 301 is f, and the F number of the zoom lens 301 (aperture value). Is F = f / D, the distance from the zoom lens 301 is L1 (Equation 1) below L at a position within the depth of field.
Up to 2 (Equation 2 below).

[0085]

[Equation 1]

[0086]

[Equation 2]

That is, the distance from the zoom lens 301,
In other words, the distance from the digital camera 1 is from L1 to L
The subject within the range of 2 is focused, and conversely, the subject with the distance from the digital camera 1 outside the range of L1 to L2 is not focused and becomes a blurred image.

Further, when the diaphragm 302 is opened, the aperture diameter D becomes larger than the numerical expressions 1 and 2, and the F number (aperture value) is increased.
Is smaller, L1 is larger and L2 is smaller,
Since the depth of field becomes small, if the distance from the digital camera 1 deviates slightly from the main subject, a blurred image tends to occur. On the other hand, as the diaphragm 302 is closed, the aperture diameter D becomes smaller and the F number (aperture value) becomes larger, so L1 becomes smaller, L2 becomes larger, and the depth of field becomes larger. Even if the distance is slightly deviated from the main subject, a blurred image is unlikely to be formed.

Therefore, here, the blur effect is calculated based on the distance between the digital camera 1 and the main subject, which is calculated by the distance calculation unit 211l, and the distance between the digital camera 1 and the subject at the position where the blur effect is to be added. The blur effect can be produced by setting the subject at the position to be added outside the range of the depth of field. Setting the subject at the position where the blurring effect is desired to be outside the range of the depth of field is achieved by, for example, controlling (opening) the diaphragm 302 that is a part of the photographing optical system. Is achieved by narrowing The control of the aperture 302 etc. here is
It is controlled by the overall control unit 211, and details will be described later. In addition, here, the subject at the position where the blurring effect is to be added is simply out of the depth of field so that the subject at the position where the blurring effect is to be added has the blurring effect, but is not limited to this. Instead, in order to increase the blur effect, the distance between the subject at the position where you want to add the blur effect and the focused main subject may be several times the depth of field. For example, you want to add the blur effect. The distance between the subject at the position and the main subject may be about four times the depth of field.

<Regarding AE> For AE, AE based on center-weighted photometry is performed based on the position of the above-mentioned AF area frame AAR on the screen of the LCD 10. In other words, the AF area frame AAR determines the photometric position A
It will function as an E cursor.

In this photometry, as shown in FIG.
An ellipse Ea that functions as a photometric area around the area frame AAR
Then, the ellipse Eb is set, and the inside of the ellipse Ea is set to, for example, a weighting factor of 8, and the region from the ellipse Ea to the ellipse Eb is set to, for example, a weighting factor of 2, and photometric calculation is performed on the image data acquired by the CCD 303. As a result, it is possible to perform appropriate photometry aiming at the main subject. Although not shown here, it is possible to perform photometry around the blur cursor DCR by a method similar to the case of performing photometry around the AF area frame AAR described above. And here, AF
Appropriate exposure control is performed using an exposure value that is a photometric result centered on the area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DCR.

Then, based on the obtained exposure value, an appropriate aperture value and shutter speed are determined according to the program AE mode, the aperture priority mode, the shutter priority mode, etc., which are the shooting condition modes.

<Enlargement display of live view image>
FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the live view image displayed on the LCD 10, the AF area frame AAR and the blur cursor DCR, the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor, and the enlargement designation area ZAR.
FIG. 4 shows a view for explaining a state in which the enlarged designated area ZAR in the live view image is enlarged and displayed on the LCD 10. As shown in FIG. 13, if the positions of the AF area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DCR are determined,
The enlargement designation area ZAR is an area including the position of the blur cursor DCR. The enlargement designation area ZAR is an area of 400 × 300 pixels in the image memory 209, and corresponds to an area of 100 × 75 pixels on the live view image which is not enlarged and displayed. The frame indicating the enlargement designation area ZAR and the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor shown in FIG. 13 is not actually displayed on the LCD 10, and is shown here for convenience of explanation. And the designated enlarged area Z
When the enlargement display button 224 for enlarging and displaying the AR is pressed, as shown in FIG. 14, the enlargement designation area ZAR is displayed.
The live view image of is displayed enlarged on the LCD 10. Before enlarging the live view image, 400 x 300
Although the thinned image of the number of pixels is displayed on the LCD 10,
The LCD 10 displays the live view image of the enlarged designated area ZAR.
In the case of enlarging the display, the live view image of 400 × 300 pixels corresponding to the enlargement designation area ZAR which is not the thinned image is displayed on the LCD 10.

<Regarding the setting of the photographing condition mode> FIG.
Shows an operation screen displayed on the LCD 10 when the photographer sets the photographing condition mode. Here, the mode is set to the preference mode by setting the mode setting switch 14 upward, and the menu button 226 is pressed to bring up the screen shown in FIG.
Display on CD10. Here, first, the cursor CR1 is aligned with the current shooting condition mode, and the buttons 233 and 234 of the quad switch 230 are pressed to move the cursor CR1 up and down to display "P (Program AE
Mode) ”,“ S (shutter priority mode) ”,“ A
(Aperture priority mode) ”, a desired shooting condition mode is selected, and further, the determination button 223 is pressed to set the desired shooting condition mode.

<Regarding Setting of Aperture Value> FIG. 16 shows an operation screen displayed on the LCD 10 when the photographer sets the aperture value. Here, the mode is set to the preference mode by setting the mode setting switch 14 upward, and the menu button 226 is pressed several times, so that the screen shown in FIG. 16 can be displayed on the LCD 10. Here, first, the cursor CR2 is aligned with the current aperture value, and the quad switch 23
Buttons 233 and 234 of 0 are pressed and cursor CR2
Is moved up and down, and aperture values “2.8”, “5.6”,
A desired aperture value is selected from "8" and "11",
Further, by pressing the decision button 223, a desired aperture value is set. The aperture value in the aperture priority mode is set by the aperture value setting described here.

<Operation of Blurred Shooting Mode in Digital Camera 1> The operation of the shooting process in the blurred shooting mode of the digital camera 1 will be described below. This operation is automatically executed by the overall control unit 211 according to a predetermined operation by the photographer.

FIG. 17 shows A in the blurring photographing mode.
It is a figure explaining the screen displayed on LCD10, when setting F area frame AAR and blurring cursor DCR.

From the state where the live view is displayed on the LCD 10 in the photographing standby state,
When the AF area frame button 225 is pressed by the photographer, the AF area frame AAR for determining the in-focus position is set to LC.
A symbol ("P", "S", "A") 16K displayed on the D10 and indicating the current photographing condition mode on the upper left of the screen of the LCD 10
Appears. Here, an example is shown in which "P" indicating the program AE mode is displayed. Subsequently, when the photographer presses the blur cursor button 222, the blur cursor D corresponding to the position where the blur effect is desired to be added.
The CR is displayed on the LCD 10. By pressing this blur cursor button 222, the blur cursor D
When CR is generated, the shooting mode becomes the blur shooting mode.

Then, depending on the photographer, the changeover switch 2
When 21 is pressed, the AF movement mode for moving the AF area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DC
The blurring movement mode for moving R is switched, and the button 231 to 234 of the quadruple switch 230 is pressed by the photographer for each of them to move the AF area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DCR vertically and horizontally. To do. Here, as described above, every time the changeover switch 221 is pressed, the AF area frame AA
AF movement mode for moving R, blurring movement mode for moving blurring cursor DCR, and AF
The fixed mode in which neither the area frame AAR nor the blur cursor DCR is moved is switched. Note that when the fixed mode is selected, that is, when the AF movement mode and the blurring movement mode are not selected, the photographer depresses the quadruple switch 230 so that the zoom is performed as described above. The focal length of the lens 301 changes, and zooming for changing the zoom magnification or exposure correction is performed.

18 to 20 are flow charts for explaining the operation in the photographing process of the digital camera 1 in the blur photographing mode, and the operation here is controlled by the overall control section 211 according to the operation of the photographer.

First, in the photographing standby state, the LCD 10
From the state where the live view display is displayed on the screen, the photographer presses the AF area frame button 225 to display the AF area frame AAR on the LCD 10, and when the blur cursor button 222 is subsequently pressed, the blur cursor DC
The R is displayed on the LCD 10, the shooting process in the blurred shooting mode is started, and the process proceeds to step S161.

In step S161, as described above, the photographer depresses the changeover switch 221 to switch between the AF moving mode and the blurring moving mode.
When the buttons 231 to 234 of the serial switch 230 are pressed, the AF area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DCR move vertically and horizontally, and when the changeover switch 221 is pressed to enter the fixed mode, the AF area frame AAR is displayed. Since the position of the blurring cursor DCR has been designated, the process proceeds to step S162.

In step S162, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 8 is half-pushed. If the shutter button 8 is half-pushed, the process proceeds to step S163. If the shutter button 8 is not half-pushed, the flow chart shown in FIG. Returning to the beginning, the processing is performed.

In step S163, photometry is performed centering on the positions of the AF area frame AAR and the blur cursor DCR as described above, and the exposure value which is the result of photometry is determined. Here, after the photometry is performed, step S1
Proceed to 64.

At step S164, step S1 is performed in accordance with the aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode, and program AE mode, which are the current shooting condition modes.
The combination of the aperture value and the shutter speed is determined based on the exposure value determined in 63. For example, in the program AE mode, according to the program diagram in FIG. 21, which shows the relationship between the aperture value (F number) determined by the overall control unit 211 and the shutter speed (CCD exposure time) with respect to the exposure value, Determine the combination of value and shutter speed. Here, the aperture value and shutter speed are determined, and the process proceeds to step S165.

At step S165, as described above,
By obtaining the position where the evaluation value is maximum in the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blurring cursor centering on the position of the blurring cursor DCR, that is, the focus position of the zoom lens 301, the object up to the subject in the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blurring cursor is obtained. The distance is measured and the process proceeds to step S166.

At step S166, as described above,
The distance to the main subject in the AF area is measured by obtaining the position where the evaluation value is maximum in the AF area corresponding to the inside of the AF area frame AAR, that is, the focus position of the zoom lens 301. At this time, since the autofocus operation for focusing on the main subject in the AF area is performed, the position of the zoom lens 301 is at a position for focusing on the main subject in the AF area. Here, auto focus and distance measurement are performed on the main subject, and the process proceeds to step S167.

In step S167, it is evaluated whether or not there is a desired blur effect with the current aperture value and focal length setting. That is, from the aperture value determined in step S164, the distance to the subject in the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blurring cursor measured in step S165, and the distance to the main subject in the AF area measured in step S166, It is evaluated whether or not the distance to the subject in the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blurring cursor is outside the range of the depth of field. This evaluation is performed by the overall control unit 211. Here, whether or not there is a desired blurring effect is evaluated, and step S168 is performed.
Proceed to.

In step S168, step S
Based on the result evaluated in 167, it is judged whether there is a blur effect. The determination here is executed by the overall control unit 211. And when it is judged that there is a blur effect,
If the process proceeds to step S171 in FIG. 19 and it is determined that there is no blurring effect, step S181 in FIG.
Proceed to.

First, steps S168 to S1.
The case of proceeding to 71 will be described.

In step S171, a live view image of the subject before shooting is displayed on the LCD 10 as a preview image. Here, as described above, L
The image displayed on the CD 10 becomes a preview image based on the aperture value and shutter speed determined in step S164 and the like. Here, the preview image is displayed on the LCD.
10 is displayed, and the process proceeds to step S172.

In step S172, it is determined whether or not the enlargement display button 224 for enlarging and displaying the enlargement designation area ZAR including the blur cursor DCR is pressed by the operator. Here, if the enlargement display button 224 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S173, and if the enlargement display button 224 is not pressed, the step S174 is performed.
Proceed to.

In step S173, the enlarged designated area ZAR including the position of the above-described blur cursor DCR is included.
LCD 10 as a live view image of the preview image
Enlarge and display. Here, a preview image of the enlarged designated area ZAR including the position of the cursor DCR is displayed on the LCD 10.
It is possible to confirm whether or not the blurring effect that satisfies the photographer's intention of drawing is obtained by enlarging and displaying. Here, after the preview image of the enlargement designated area ZAR is enlarged and displayed on the LCD 10, the process proceeds to step S174.

In step S174, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 8 has been fully pressed. That is, when the shutter button 8 is fully pressed, 1200 × 160
If a photographed image of 0 pixels is obtained and the process proceeds to step S175 and the shutter button 8 is not fully pressed,
Return to the beginning of the flowchart shown in. Here, the shutter button 8 is not fully pressed, and the shutter button 8 is pressed again.
When is pressed halfway or the AF area frame AAR or the blurring cursor DCR is moved, the process returns to the beginning of the flowchart shown in FIG. 18, and steps S162 and S16 are performed.
The process is performed again from 1. Also, here, the LCD 1
Blur cursor DC on the preview image displayed at 0
Since it is possible to move R and set the position, it is possible to confirm whether or not the drawing intention is reflected before shooting, and therefore, it is possible to obtain a captured image that does not reflect the drawing intention of the photographer. Can be prevented. Furthermore, FIG.
Since the preview image is updated by repeating the steps up to step S174 in FIG. 19, it is possible to sequentially confirm whether or not the photographer's intention of drawing is sufficiently reflected.

In step 175, the enlarged designated area ZAR including the blur cursor DCR is included in the photographed image.
The enlarged image (enlarged after-view image) is displayed on the LCD 10. That is, of the photographed images of 1200 × 1600 pixels, 400 × 3 corresponding to the enlarged designated area ZAR
An enlarged image of 00 pixels is displayed on the LCD 10. Here, since the position where the blur effect is desired to be added can be enlarged and displayed in the photographed image, it is possible to confirm whether or not the blur effect satisfying the photographer's drawing intention is obtained, and the process proceeds to step S176.

In step S176, it is determined based on the operation of the photographer whether or not the photographed image should be deleted.
Specifically, based on the enlarged image displayed on the LCD 10 in step S175, the photographer determines whether or not the desired blurring effect is obtained, and if the photographer wants to delete the photographed image, the button is pressed. 231 is pressed, and if the photographed image is to be recorded in the memory card 91, the key switch 225 is pressed. Then, based on the judgment of the photographer, it is judged whether or not the photographed image is to be deleted. If the photographed image is to be deleted, the process proceeds to step S177, and if the photographed image is not to be deleted, the process proceeds to step S178.

In step S177, the photographed image temporarily stored in the image memory 209 is deleted (cleared).
Then, the process returns to the beginning of the flowchart of FIG. 18 again. At this time, if, in the enlarged image displayed on the LCD 10 in step S175, the aperture value in the aperture priority mode or the like is too small and the position to which the blur effect is desired is too blurry, the screen shown in FIG. Then, the photographer resets the aperture value so as to increase it and adjusts the degree of the blurring effect, so that the desired blurring effect can be added to the captured image at the next shooting. On the other hand, if the degree of the blurring effect at the position where the blurring effect is desired to be added is less than the desired blurring effect, the photographer resets the aperture value to a smaller value on the screen shown in FIG. By adjusting the degree of the effect, it becomes possible to add a desired blur effect to the captured image at the next shooting. That is, since the photographer can set various degrees of the blur effect by changing the aperture value, it is possible to acquire an image in which the photographer's intention of drawing is sufficiently reflected. Further, it is possible to set the blurring amount that sufficiently reflects the image capturing intention of the photographer without providing a function for performing a special process for setting the blurring amount and a special member. Here, although the aperture value is adjusted on the screen shown in FIG. 16, there is an aperture ring for adjusting the aperture value on the side surface of the lens barrel of the zoom lens 301, and the aperture ring is set by the photographer. The aperture value may be changed variously by being operated.

At step S178, the tag information TG is used as the high resolution image data HD and the thumbnail image data SD for the photographed image temporarily recorded in the image memory 209.
Along with this, recording processing is performed on the memory card 91, and again, FIG.
Return to the beginning of the flowchart.

Next, from step S168 of FIG. 18 to FIG.
A case where the process proceeds to step S181 of 0 will be described.

In step S181, in order to add the blurring effect at the position where the blurring effect is desired to be added, it is determined whether or not the blurring effect can be expected when the aperture is opened. That is, from the distance to the subject in the evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor measured in step S165 and the distance to the main subject in the AF area measured in step S166, the blur cursor is set when the aperture 302 is opened. Evaluation value calculation area D for
It is determined whether or not the distance to the subject in AR can be outside the range of the depth of field. Note that here, the overall control unit 211 obtains the depth of field when the diaphragm 302 is opened according to the equations (1) and (2).
If it is determined that the blur effect is not expected even when the aperture 302 is opened, the process proceeds to step S182, and if it is determined that the blur effect is expected when the aperture 302 is opened, the process proceeds to step S183.

In step S182, the message "No further blurring effect is expected" is displayed on the LCD 10 to warn that no further blurring effect can be expected.
9 proceeds to step S171. That is, although no further blurring effect can be expected, the photographing process proceeds according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 19, and whether or not the captured image is acquired regardless of the presence or absence of the desired blurring effect. , It will be up to the photographer's judgment. Here, by pre-notifying that the desired blurring effect cannot be added under the shooting conditions preset by the photographer, it is possible to prevent the failure of the shooting in which the photographer's intention of drawing is not reflected. You can

In step S183, it is determined whether the current photographing condition mode is the aperture priority mode. If the current shooting condition mode is aperture priority mode,
If the current shooting condition mode is not the aperture priority mode, the process proceeds to step S184.

In step S184, the warning that the blur effect cannot be expected at the current aperture value is displayed on the LCD 10 with the message "The aperture effect mode is canceled because the blur effect cannot be expected at this aperture." The mode is released and the process proceeds to step S185. Again, step S1
Similar to 82, by notifying in advance that the desired blur effect cannot be added under the photographing conditions preset by the photographer, the photographing failure in which the photographer's intention of drawing is not reflected in advance. Can be prevented.

In step S185, it is determined whether the current shooting condition mode is the shutter priority mode. If the current shooting condition mode is the shutter priority mode, the process proceeds to step S186. If the current shooting condition mode is not the shutter priority mode, the process proceeds to step S189.

In step S186, as described above, since the shutter priority mode is set, the aperture 302 is opened so that the blur effect can be obtained while the shutter speed is fixed, and the amount of exposure is too high. The level of the image signal is adjusted by lowering the gain setting for adjusting the brightness of the image. For example, in the shutter priority mode, when the shutter speed is set to 1/60 seconds, according to the program diagram shown in FIG.
The aperture value will be set based on the exposure value. At this time, if the subject at the position where you want to add the blur effect is within the range of the depth of field, the aperture value set here may add the blur effect at the position where you want to add the blur effect to the captured image. Since this is not possible, the shutter speed is fixed at a preset value and the aperture value is reduced.
Specifically, in the shutter priority mode, the shutter speed was 1/60 seconds and the aperture value was 4 when the exposure value was 10, and the shutter speed was 1/60 seconds and the aperture value was 2.8. To change the combination of aperture value and shutter speed. At this time, since the aperture value is smaller than a value at which an appropriate exposure amount can be obtained, the exposure amount becomes too high. Therefore, by lowering the gain setting by the AGC circuit 313b, the amount of the exposure amount becomes too high. Adjust the signal level. Therefore, in the shutter priority mode, by lowering the gain setting for adjusting the brightness of the captured image, it is possible to set the capturing optical system to obtain the desired blur effect.
It is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect. Here, the aperture 302 is opened, the gain is lowered, and then the process proceeds to step S187.

In step S187, step S
In 186, when an image is photographed at the set aperture value and shutter speed, the image signal is adjusted by lowering the gain setting as much as the exposure amount becomes too high. Here, however, the exposure amount becomes too high. Only as a result of lowering the gain, it is determined whether the gain value exceeds the gain setting range. That is, here, it is determined whether or not the gain setting range 4 to 16 dB is exceeded. If the gain setting range is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S188. If the gain setting range is not exceeded, the appropriate aperture value, shutter speed, and gain for obtaining the blur effect can be set. Step S of 19
Proceeding to step 171, the shooting process proceeds.

In step S188, the shutter priority mode is released. That is, in the shutter priority mode, if the aperture 302 is opened to obtain the blur effect, the gain setting range is exceeded, so the shutter priority mode is canceled, and the process proceeds to step S189. Here, by canceling the shutter priority mode, it becomes possible to control the photographic optical system so that a desired blur effect can be obtained, so that it is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect. it can.

In step S189, from the aperture value and shutter speed set in step S164,
Step S16 according to the program diagram shown in FIG.
Based on the exposure value determined in 3, the aperture 302 is opened and the shutter speed is reset so that the blur effect can be obtained. That is, in the case of following the program diagram in the program AE mode shown in FIG. 21 or in the shutter priority mode, when the blur effect cannot be added at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added, the desired blur effect is obtained. According to the program diagram shown in FIG. 22, the aperture 302 is opened and the shutter speed is reset. For example, in the program AE mode, when the program diagram shown in FIG. 21 is followed, when the exposure value is 13, the aperture value is 5.6 and the shutter speed is 1/250 seconds. At this time, when the subject at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added is within the range of the depth of field,
According to the program diagram shown in Fig. 22, the blur effect cannot be added at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added to the captured image. Therefore, the combination of the aperture value and the shutter speed is re-created according to the program diagram shown in Fig. 22. Set (change), aperture value is 2.8, shutter speed is 1/1
It will be 000 seconds. Therefore, here, the photographing optical system can be set so that a desired blur effect can be added by changing the combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value, so that the photographer including the blur effect can be set. It is possible to fully reflect the intention of drawing. Then, here, after changing the combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value, the process proceeds to step S171 shown in FIG.
The shooting process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

As described above, here, since the position where the blurring effect is desired to be specified is designated and the diaphragm 302 which is a part of the photographing optical system is controlled for photographing, the blurring can be performed by a simple operation before photographing. The position where the effect is desired to be added can be arbitrarily designated, and a natural image sufficiently reflecting the photographer's intention of drawing can be taken.

<Others> In the above embodiment,
The AF area frame AAR for autofocus is displayed on the LCD 1.
Although it was possible to move to a desired position in the image displayed at 0, the present invention is not limited to this, and the AF area frame AAR may be fixed at the center of the LCD 10 or the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the AF
Set the position of the area frame AAR and the blur cursor DCR to L
Although the setting is made in the image (live view image or the like) displayed on the CD 10, the present invention is not limited to this, and by providing a half mirror or the like in the optical finder, the AF area frame AAR and blurring are provided in the half mirror or the like. By displaying the cursor DCR, the AF
The positions of the area frame AAR and the blurring cursor DCR may be set in the optical finder.

In the above embodiment, when the digital camera 1 is in the blurring photographing mode and the blurring amount to which the blur effect is automatically added is not the blurring amount intended by the photographer, that is, the blurring is excessive. If the blurring effect is small or the blurring effect is small, the blur amount is adjusted by adjusting the aperture value by the photographer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the flash ROM 211b of the overall control unit 211 is previously stored. Even if the program stores a program capable of adjusting the amount of blur in several steps according to the aperture value and the like, and the photographer selects a desired amount of blur from among several steps, the amount of blur can be adjusted. good. Specifically, the aperture value and the like are set so that the distance between the subject at the position where the blur effect is to be added and the focused main subject is changed stepwise by 2 times, 4 times, and 8 times the depth of field. The program to be changed may be stored in the flash ROM 211b, and what stage of the blurring amount may be determined by various operations of the operation unit 250 by the photographer.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the blur effect is produced at the position where the blur effect is desired to be added by controlling or operating the diaphragm 302 which is a part of the photographing optical system. The present invention is not limited to this, and the blur effect may be produced by moving the zoom lens 301. In other words, the zoom lens 301 is moved so that the in-focus position remains within the depth of field range.
The blur effect can be added by setting the position where the blur effect is desired to be outside the range of the depth of field. Figure 24
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of moving a zoom lens 301 to add a blur effect. Since many parts are the same as those in FIG. 11, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 24A, when the subject 111 to which the blurring effect is to be added is farther than the main subject 110 to be focused, the distance calculation unit 21 described above is used.
Digital camera 1 and main subject 1 calculated in 1 l
The zoom lens 301 is moved based on the distance from the digital camera 1 and the distance from the digital camera 1 to the subject 111 to which the blur effect is added, and brings the focus position to the front as shown in FIG. 24 (b) ( By reducing W),
The main subject 110 can remain within the depth of field range and the subject 111 can be outside the depth of field range.
Therefore, by such an operation, the main subject 110 is in focus in the captured image, but the blur effect can be added to the subject 111. On the other hand, although illustration is omitted, when the subject 111 to which the blurring effect is to be added is closer to the main subject 110 to be focused, the focusing position is moved farther (W is increased), contrary to the above. This allows the main subject 110 to remain within the depth of field range and the subject 111 to fall outside the depth of field range. The operation here is performed according to the program stored in the flash ROM 211b.
It is assumed that the overall control unit 211 is integrally controlled.

Further, the focusing operation may be performed by driving the CCD 303 in the optical axis direction. This also corresponds to the control of the photographing optical system for focusing or blurring effect.

The specific embodiments described above include inventions having the following configurations.

(1) The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the digital camera is provided with a focus position designating means for designating the specific position based on an operation input.

With this configuration, both the autofocus position and the position where the blur effect is desired to be added can be arbitrarily designated, so that the photographer's intention of drawing can be sufficiently reflected.

(2) In the invention of claim 3, the digital camera is characterized in that the setting means is an aperture adjusting means.

With this configuration, it is possible to set the blurring amount that sufficiently reflects the photographer's intention of drawing without providing a function and a special member for performing a special process for setting the blurring amount.

(3) In the invention of claim 4, the digital camera is characterized in that the preview image displayed on the predetermined screen is updated by a predetermined operation.

With this configuration, the preview image is changed in accordance with the change of the photographing composition by the photographer, the change of the autofocus position, the position where the blur effect is desired to be added, or the change of the aperture value. , It is possible to successively confirm whether or not the photographer's intention of drawing is sufficiently reflected.

[0142]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the image of the subject before photographing is displayed on a predetermined screen,
By specifying the position where you want to add the blur effect and controlling the shooting optical system to shoot, you can easily specify the position where you want to add the blur effect by a simple operation before shooting, and the photographer's intention It is possible to take a natural image that fully reflects.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the position where the blur effect is desired to be added can be arbitrarily designated and autofocusing can be performed, the photographer's intention of drawing can be more reflected.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the photographer can set various degrees of the blurring effect, it is possible to acquire an image in which the photographer's intention of drawing is sufficiently reflected.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, whether or not the intention of drawing is reflected before the photographing is confirmed by designating the position where the blurring effect is desired to be added in the preview image of the subject before the photographing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent acquisition of a photographed image that does not reflect the photographer's intention of drawing.

According to the invention of claim 5, the photographer's intention of drawing is reflected by notifying in advance that the desired blur effect cannot be added under the photographing condition preset by the photographer. You can prevent the failure of the shooting that is not done.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the position where the blur effect is desired to be added can be enlarged and displayed, it is possible to confirm whether or not the blur effect satisfying the photographer's intention of drawing is obtained. .

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, in the shutter priority mode, when it is desired to add the blurring effect at an arbitrary position, the shutter priority mode is canceled so that the desired blurring effect can be obtained. Since the optical system can be controlled, it is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the aperture priority mode, when it is desired to add the blur effect at an arbitrary position, the aperture priority mode is canceled so that the desired blur effect can be obtained. Since the optical system can be controlled, it is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect.

Further, according to the invention of claim 9, in the shutter priority mode, the photographing optical system is set so as to obtain a desired blur effect by lowering the gain setting for adjusting the brightness of the photographed image. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect.

According to the invention of claim 10, there is a program AE mode for automatically setting the combination of the shutter speed and the aperture value based on the brightness of the subject.
If you want to add a blur effect at any position, change the combination of shutter speed and aperture value.
Since the photographing optical system can be set so that a desired blur effect can be added, it is possible to sufficiently reflect the photographer's intention of drawing including the blur effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of each unit in the imaging unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating live view display.

8 is a diagram showing a data array of the memory card 91. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a partial block diagram of the digital camera 1.

FIG. 10 is a partial block diagram of the digital camera 1.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a depth of field.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating photometry in the digital camera 1.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a relationship among a live view image, an AF area frame AAR, a blur cursor DCR, an evaluation value calculation area DAR for the blur cursor, and an enlargement designation area ZAR.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged designated area ZAR in a live view image.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which is enlargedly displayed on LCD 10.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen on which a photographer sets a photographing condition mode.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen on which an aperture value is set by the photographer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an AF area frame A in the blurred shooting mode.
LCD 1 when setting AR and blur cursor DCR
It is a figure explaining the screen displayed on 0.

FIG. 18 is a digital camera 1 in a blur shooting mode.
8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the image capturing process.

FIG. 19 is a digital camera 1 in blurring shooting mode.
8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the image capturing process.

FIG. 20 is a digital camera 1 in a blur shooting mode.
8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the image capturing process.

FIG. 21 is a program diagram showing the relationship between the aperture value (F number) determined by the overall control unit 211 and the shutter speed (exposure time of CCD) with respect to the exposure value in the program AE mode.

FIG. 22 shows the aperture value (F number) and shutter speed (C) determined by the overall control unit 211 with respect to the exposure value.
It is a program diagram which shows the relationship with the exposure time of CD.

FIG. 23 is a program diagram showing an example of the relationship between the aperture value (F number) determined by the overall control unit 211 and the shutter speed (exposure time of CCD) with respect to the exposure value in the shutter priority mode.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example in which the blur effect is added by moving the zoom lens 301.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 digital camera 3 Imaging unit 10 LCD 110 Main subject 111 subject 211 Overall control unit 211b Flash ROM 214 AF motor drive circuit 215 Zoom motor drive circuit 216 Aperture motor drive circuit 301 zoom lens 302 aperture 303 CCD image sensor 313 Signal processing circuit 313b AGC circuit AAR AF area frame DAR blurring cursor evaluation value calculation area DCR blur cursor ZAR enlargement designated area M1 zoom motor M2 AF motor M3 diaphragm motor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 13/36 H04N 5/235 17/18 101: 00 H04N 5/235 G02B 7/11 N // H04N 101 : 00 G03B 3/00 A (72) Inventor Katsuhito Shinkawa 2-33 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H002 AB01 AB03 CC01 CC21 CC31 FB21 FB33 FB34 FB35 FB51 FB60 FB61 FB62 FB71 GA21 GA35 JA07 2H011 AA03 BB04 CA21 DA05 2H051 AA00 DD09 DD12 EB06 FA47 2H102 AA32 AA33 AA34 AA71 AB00 BA01 BA27 5C022 AA13 AB12 AB66 AB68 AC03 AC42 AC54 AC69 AC69

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera, wherein display means capable of displaying an image of a subject before shooting on a predetermined screen, and adding a blur effect to the captured image on the predetermined screen based on an operation input. A digital camera comprising: a blur position designating unit that designates a blur position; and a control unit that controls a photographing optical system so as to obtain a blur effect on a captured image with respect to the blur position. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a focusing unit that focuses on a specific position of the subject displayed on the predetermined screen. 3. The digital camera according to claim 2, further comprising a setting unit that sets a degree of a blur effect at the blur position based on an operation input. 4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the blurring position is displayed on a liquid crystal display screen as the predetermined screen based on an operation input. A digital camera characterized in that it can be specified in. 5. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a warning is given when the blur effect cannot be added to the blur position under preset shooting conditions. A digital camera further comprising means. 6. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising an enlarged display unit that enlarges and displays the blurring position on the predetermined screen. 7. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter priority mode for shooting at a preset shutter speed, wherein the shutter priority mode is set in response to designation of the blurring position. A digital camera comprising means for releasing the digital camera. 8. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising an aperture priority mode for shooting with a preset aperture value, and setting the aperture priority mode in response to designation of the blurring position. A digital camera comprising means for releasing the digital camera. 9. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter priority mode for photographing at a preset shutter speed, and in response to designation of the blurring position, in the shutter priority mode, A digital camera comprising means for obtaining the blur effect by lowering a gain setting for adjusting the brightness of a captured image. 10. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a program AE mode for setting a predetermined combination of a shutter speed and an aperture value based on the brightness of the subject, and designating the blur position. And a means for changing the predetermined combination in response to the digital camera.