JP2003143442A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device which does not require a troublesome operation after imaging and can promptly confirm in detail the photographed image. SOLUTION: An image pickup device has an imaging means for imaging a subject as a still picture, a compression and record means for compressing and recording photographed image data, a temporarily storing means for temporarily storing before compressing and recording the photographed image data, and an image display means 13 for displaying the image. The image display means 13 magnifies and displays the image stored in the temporarily storing means after imaging.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup device for picking up a still image such as a digital still camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the resolution of image pickup devices has increased,
The required accuracy for focusing is high. Further, in an image pickup apparatus using such a high-resolution image pickup element, details are drawn and the sharpness is high, so that not only the focus but also a slight camera shake or subject shake may be felt as a blur. .

In a general digital still camera, after capturing an image, before capturing / recording image data, the captured image can be displayed on an LCD monitor (liquid crystal display) provided on the back side of the camera body or the like. However, the number of pixels of the LCD monitor is smaller than that of the image pickup device, and there is a problem that in normal full-screen display, it is impossible to confirm images such as focus, shake, small person's facial expression and eye blinking.

Further, the image can be confirmed by reading the image once recorded and magnifying and reproducing it by using the magnifying display function of the LCD monitor. Therefore, the operation was extremely complicated. In addition, in recent years, due to the increase in the number of pixels, there is a large amount of data that must be processed for compression / recording / playback of captured images, and there is also the problem that the above operations take an unexpectedly long time. It was a completely unsuitable function when it was desired to confirm immediately.

Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3160814 discloses a technique of enlarging an image of an electronic viewfinder to improve the accuracy of focusing when manually focusing the image. It confirms the image you are trying to capture, not the image itself after it has been shot, so
It was not possible to check out-of-focus, camera shake, subject shake due to the distance from the subject changing after focus lock, and the presence or absence of a small person's facial expression and eye blinking.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of quickly confirming the details of a photographed image without having to perform a troublesome operation after the image pickup.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of quickly confirming details of an image without having to perform a troublesome operation even after the image is compressed and recorded. It is in.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention for solving the first problem, an image pickup means for picking up a subject as a still image, and a compression / compression means for compressing / recording the picked-up image data. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a recording unit, a temporary storage unit that temporarily stores captured image data before compression / recording, and an image display unit that displays an image, wherein the image display unit temporarily stores the image data after the image is captured. It is an imaging device characterized by enlarging and displaying an image stored in a means. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a first invention.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image display means normally displays the image stored in the temporary storage means after imaging, and then automatically switches to enlarged display after a predetermined time. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image display means normally displays the image stored in the temporary storage means after the image capturing, and then switches to the enlarged display when a specific operation is performed after a certain period of time. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

The invention according to claim 4 for solving the above-mentioned second problem, an image pickup means for picking up a subject as a still image, a compression / recording means for compressing / recording the picked-up image data, and displaying an image. An image pickup apparatus having an image display means, further comprising a shortcut means for enlarging and displaying on the image display means the image last compressed / recorded by the compression / recording means. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a second invention.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the image display means automatically switches to the enlarged display after a fixed time period after the last compressed / recorded image is normally displayed. It is the described imaging device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the shortcut means reads out the compressed / recorded image and displays the enlarged image on the image display means.
It is the described imaging device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided temporary storage means for temporarily storing the captured image data before compression / recording, and the shortcut means reads out the image stored in the temporary storage means. 6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image is displayed on the image display means in an enlarged manner.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that a digital still camera will be described as an example of the image pickup apparatus here.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the digital still camera according to the first invention as viewed from the rear side. On the upper surface of the camera body 10, a power switch 11 for turning the power on and off by a user operation and a release switch 12 for taking a picture are respectively provided, and the user presses the release switch 12 to operate the camera. Body 10
A subject image captured from a photographing lens (not shown) provided on the front surface of the camera is captured.

The subject image captured from the taking lens is
As shown in FIG. 2A, the image is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 as an image display unit provided on the back surface of the camera body 10, and the user confirms the shooting range while confirming the image displayed on the LCD monitor 13. And the like, and the imaged image is read out and reproduced and displayed.

The LCD monitor 13 has a function of enlarging and displaying an image, and details will be described later, but FIG.
An image normally displayed as in (a) can be enlarged and displayed as in FIG. 2 (b).
At the time of this enlarged display, although not shown, an identification display or the like indicating that the enlarged display is being performed may be displayed on the screen of the LCD monitor 13 or the like so that it can be distinguished from a normal image.

In the figure, 14 is a viewfinder eyepiece.
Reference numeral 15 is an external recording medium such as a CF (Compact Flash) card detachably mounted on the camera body 10 for recording the captured image, and 16 is a group of various operation switches.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of such a camera. In the figure, 21 is an imaging lens, 22 is a shutter iris, 23 is an image sensor, and 24 is a CDS / AG.
C / AD section, 25 a timing generator, 26 a signal processing IC, 27 a system control IC, 28 a zoom / focus / shutter / iris driver, 2
9 is an LCD driver and 30 is an SDRAM.

The image pickup lens 21 captures an optical image from a subject, and the image pickup device 2 via a shutter iris 22.
An image is formed on the image pickup surface of No. 3. At this time, under the control of the system control IC 27, the taking lens 21 is moved as necessary via the zoom / focus / shutter / iris driver 28 to perform zoom operation, focus operation, and aperture adjustment.

The image pickup device 23 is a CCD (Charge Coupled D
evice) and the like, and photoelectrically converts the formed optical image into signal charges according to the amount of light in pixel units. The image pickup lens 21, the shutter / iris 22, and the image pickup device 23 constitute an image pickup means for picking up a subject as a still image.

The timing generator 25, under the control of the system control IC 27, generates various timing signals for driving the image pickup device 23 such as a read pulse, a vertical transfer pulse, a horizontal transfer pulse, and a shutter pulse. In the image sensor 23, the signal charge obtained by photoelectric conversion for each pixel is read out to the vertical transfer unit by being given a read pulse from the timing generator 25, further transferred to the horizontal transfer unit, and finally. CDS / AGC / AD unit 2 as an electric signal
4 is output.

In the CDS / AGC / AD section 24, noise is reduced by performing CDS (correlated double sampling) processing on the electric signal output from the image pickup element 23, and by an AGC (automatic gain adjustment) circuit. The gain is adjusted, converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter, and output to the signal processing IC 26.

Under the control of the system control IC 27, the signal processing IC 26 performs predetermined brightness processing and color processing on the input digital signal and converts it into a brightness signal (Y) and a color difference signal (Cr, Cb). Generate an image signal. The generated image signal is sent to the LCD driver 29.
Is displayed as a through image on the LCD monitor 13 through the taking lens 21. The user confirms the range of the subject by confirming the through image on the LCD monitor 13.

Here, the photographing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the release switch 12 is pressed by the user (S1), the system control IC2
The shutter / iris 22 is driven through the zoom / focus / shutter / iris driver 28 under the control of the control unit 7 and predetermined processing such as focusing and white balance is performed based on the image data captured from the image sensor 23. After that, the shutter operation is performed. As a result, image processing is performed in the signal processing IC 26 according to a predetermined program, and image data is generated (S2).
The image data generated by the signal processing IC 26 is then temporarily stored in the SDRAM 30 as a temporary storage means (S3).

In the present invention, the system control I
C27 is generated by the signal processing IC 26 after the release switch 12 is pressed as described above, and is SDR.
The image data temporarily stored in the AM 30 is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 before being compressed and recorded in the external recording medium 15 (S4). The image displayed at this time is the image after the image pickup, and the LCD monitor 13 displays the S after the image pickup.
The image temporarily stored in the DRAM 30 is enlarged and displayed.

The enlarged display means an image when a through image or a reproduced image is normally displayed on the LCD monitor 13 (see FIG. 2).
The image is displayed at a larger magnification than the display magnification (see (a)) (this is assumed to be 1), and the captured image is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 at a high magnification such as 4 times or 6 times. . In this case, a part of the image displayed at the normal display magnification is enlarged and displayed as shown in FIG.
(See (b)). Hereinafter, the image after the image is captured is displayed on the LCD monitor 13.
Displaying in is called post view.

In this way, by enlarging and displaying the image temporarily stored in the SDRAM 30 after the image pickup on the LCD monitor 13, it is easy to confirm the details of the image. That is, it becomes possible to easily confirm the focus, the shake, the facial expression of a small person, the blinking, and the like, which are difficult to confirm in the post view at the normal magnification.

Then, the LCD monitor 13 indicates whether or not recording is possible (S5), and the user confirms the details of the image enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13,
It is determined whether or not this image should be compressed / recorded. If recording is not performed here, the shooting operation ends. In the case of compression / recording, the image signal stored in the SDRAM 30 is compressed by the signal processing IC 26 according to a predetermined program, recorded in the external recording medium 15, and one photographing operation ends. Note that these signal processing ICs
26 and the external recording medium 15 constitute a compression / recording means.

In this way, the post view is displayed on the LCD monitor 1
In order to enlarge and display the image on the image No. 3, since the image recorded on the external recording medium is conventionally read out, it is necessary to perform the enlargement reproduction operation after the camera mode is once switched to the reproduction mode, which is a very complicated operation. In addition to the requirement, it takes a long time to confirm the image. Therefore, depending on the image state, even if the image should be re-acquired, the opportunity for re-acquisition may be missed. Since the image once stored in the SDRAM 30 is read out instead of displaying the recorded image, the post view can be enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13 in the shooting mode. Therefore, the detailed confirmation of the image can be quickly performed without requiring a complicated operation. Therefore, it is possible to record and leave a satisfactory image in the external recording medium 15 after checking the details, and, in the case of an unsatisfactory image, do not compress or record in the external recording medium 15. ,
If necessary, it will be possible to retake the image immediately on the spot, and it will be less likely that it will take time to confirm the image and miss the opportunity to retake the image.

After the image is picked up, the post view is displayed on the LCD monitor 13.
When the image is displayed on the screen, the LCD monitor 13 may be displayed at the normal magnification immediately after the image is captured, and the display may be automatically switched to the enlarged display after a certain period of time, for example, several seconds. As a result, it is possible to confirm the entire image such as the shooting range and composition immediately after the image is captured, and it is possible to confirm the details of the image by being enlarged and displayed after a certain time.

Similarly, the post view is taken to L after the image pickup.
When the image is displayed on the CD monitor 13, it may be displayed at the normal magnification on the LCD monitor 13 immediately after the image pickup, and may be switched to the enlarged display when a specific operation is performed within a fixed time, for example, within several seconds. This makes it possible to check the entire image such as the shooting range and composition immediately after shooting,
It is possible to confirm the details of the image by enlarging the display by a specific operation thereafter.

This specific operation is not the operation of switching the camera mode from the photographing mode to the reproduction mode, but the LCD.
This operation is performed in the shooting mode in order to switch the image displayed on the monitor 13 to the enlarged display. As such an operation, although not shown, for example, a switch for enlarging display switching is provided in the vicinity of the LCD monitor 13, and after the post view is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 at the normal magnification immediately after the image capturing, the operation is performed within a certain time. Is operated, or a touch panel switch is provided on the surface of the LCD monitor 13, and the post view is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 at a normal magnification immediately after the image is picked up, and then the surface of the LCD monitor 13 is touched within a certain period of time. This includes operating the touch panel switch.

On the contrary, immediately after the image pickup, the LCD monitor 13
Enlarge the post view to display the normal magnification after a certain period of time, for example, a few seconds, or switch to the normal magnification display when a specific operation is performed within the certain time in the same manner as above. You may

When the post view is enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13, the area to be enlarged is centered on the focused portion in the image so that the details such as focus and shake can be easily confirmed. Is preferred. Therefore, when the image is focused on the center of the image, it is enlarged and displayed with the center of the image as the center (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). Further, in the case of an image picked up by multidivision distance measurement, it is enlarged and displayed with the focused portion as the center.

As described above, a touch panel switch is provided on the surface of the LCD monitor 13, the image is displayed at the normal magnification on the LCD monitor 13 immediately after the image is picked up, and the enlarged display is switched by touching the screen of the LCD monitor 13 within a fixed time. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5, by touching a portion on the screen which is displayed at the normal magnification for which detailed confirmation is desired (FIG. 5A), the touched portion is touched. It is also preferable to enlarge and display the portion (FIG. 5B). By doing so, it is possible to magnify and display an arbitrary portion that the user wants to check in detail, regardless of the focused portion.

Immediately after image pickup, when the post view is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 at the normal magnification and then enlarged, the LCD monitor 13 is displayed before the enlarged display.
It is preferable to display the marking M (see FIG. 2A) for allowing the user to recognize the area to be enlarged and displayed in the image displayed at the normal magnification. The marking M is not limited to a frame line such as a rectangular dotted line shown in the figure, but may be a target mark that indicates the center point of the enlarged display area or the like so that the user can recognize the enlarged display area. Any form may be used.

Next, an embodiment of the image pickup apparatus according to the second invention will be described. Here, a digital still camera will be described as an example of the image pickup apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the digital still camera according to the second invention as viewed from the rear side. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same configurations, and thus detailed description will be omitted. The internal structure of the digital still camera according to the second aspect of the invention is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and therefore detailed description of the structure is omitted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided shortcut means for enlarging and displaying on the image display means the image finally compressed / recorded by the compression / recording means. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 17 is an operation switch for enlarging display, which is one mode of this shortcut means, and is the LCD monitor 13.
Is arranged in the vicinity of.

The photographing operation of the digital still camera will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the release switch 12 is pressed while the camera mode is the photographing mode (S11),
The shutter / iris 22 is driven via the zoom / focus / shutter / iris driver 28 under the control of the system control IC 27, and focusing is performed based on the image data captured from the image sensor 23.
The shutter operation is performed after a predetermined process such as white balance is performed. As a result, image processing is performed in the signal processing IC 26 according to a predetermined program, and image data is generated (S12). Next, the image data subjected to the image processing is temporarily stored in the SDRAM 30 (S13) and then displayed as a post view on the LCD monitor 13 (S14).

The user confirms the composition by confirming the post-view image displayed on the LCD monitor 13. Then, the LCD monitor 13 displays whether or not recording is possible (S15), and the user determines whether or not to record this image on the external recording medium 15. If recording is not performed here, the shooting operation ends. When recording, the image data stored in the SDRAM 30 is subjected to compression processing in the signal processing IC 26 according to a predetermined program (S16), and the compressed data is stored in the external recording medium 15.
(S17). At this time, the image data stored in the SDRAM 30 is erased.

Here, when the user wants to confirm the state of, for example, the focus, shake, facial expression of a small person, and the blinking of the eye in the image just shot and recorded, the operation switch 17 as a shortcut means is pressed. (S18), it is determined that there is a shortcut function, the last compressed / recorded image is read from the external recording medium 15 (S19), and is displayed on the LCD monitor 13 (S2).
0). At this time, the image displayed on the LCD monitor 13 is
An image enlarged at a higher magnification than the normal magnification (1) is displayed. By enlarging and displaying the image, it is possible to easily confirm the focus, the shake, the facial expression of a small person, the blinking, etc., which are difficult to confirm in the normal magnification display.

The operation for enlarging and displaying the image compressed / recorded on the external recording medium 15 on the LCD monitor 13 is performed while the camera mode is the photographing mode. Therefore, there is no need for a complicated operation such as switching the camera mode to the reproduction mode, selecting the last recorded image, enlarging and reproducing the image as in the conventional case, and only operating the operation switch 17 as a shortcut means. It is possible to quickly check the details of the image just shot and recorded with only an extremely simple operation. In addition, since you can check the details of the image in the shooting mode, you do not have to change the mode from playback mode to shooting mode when you continue shooting. There are few worries about missing.

When the recorded image is enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13 by the shortcut means, the LCD monitor 13 displays the image at the normal magnification immediately after the reading from the external recording medium 15, and after a fixed time, for example, several seconds, the image is automatically displayed. Alternatively, the display may be switched to the enlarged display. According to this, the entire image such as the shooting range and the composition can be checked immediately after the reading, and the image can be checked in detail by being enlarged and displayed after a predetermined time.

Alternatively, the recorded image may be first enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13 and automatically switched to the normal magnification display after a certain period of time, for example, several seconds.

In order to easily confirm details such as focus and shake in the enlarged display area of the recorded image when the image is enlarged and displayed on the LCD monitor 13, in the image, It is preferable to center the focused portion. Therefore, when the image is focused on the center of the image, it is enlarged and displayed with the center of the image as the center (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). Further, in the case of an image picked up by multidivision distance measurement, it is enlarged and displayed with the focused portion as the center.

The shortcut means is not limited to the one provided on the camera body 10 like the operation switch 17 described above, but may be in the form of an icon displayed on the LCD monitor 13, and the shortcut function can be selected by operating this icon. May be activated.

In the embodiment described above in the second aspect of the invention, the operation switch 1 which is the shortcut means.
The image finally compressed / recorded on the external recording medium 15 is read from the external recording medium 15 by the operation of 7, and the LCD is displayed.
Although it is arranged to be displayed on the monitor 13, the image compressed and recorded last on the external recording medium 15 is read out from the SDRAM 30 as a temporary storage means, and the LCD monitor 1 is displayed.
3 may be displayed. In this case, SDRA
Even after the image stored in M30 is compressed / recorded in the external recording medium 15, the image data in the SDRAM 30 is left without being deleted, and when the operation switch 17 is operated, the external recording medium 15 The last compressed and recorded image is read from this SDRAM 30 and LC
The display is enlarged on the D monitor 13.

In the SDRAM 30 in this case, the image last compressed / recorded in the external recording medium 15 may be left for a certain period of time, for example, at least until the image compression / recording is completed, or the image of the camera body 10 may be stored. S is turned off for a certain period of time until the power switch 11 is turned off and after the power switch 11 is turned off.
The DRAM 30 should be energized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the photographing, the troublesome operation of switching the camera to the reproduction mode, performing the enlargement reproduction, and then returning the mode to the photographing again is unnecessary. Further, in the case of directly reading from the SDRAM 30, there is an advantage that the time for reading, decompression, and display is shortened, and an image is displayed immediately.

The first and second inventions are not limited to the digital still camera described above, and the image pickup means for picking up a subject as a still image and the compression / recording for compressing / recording the picked-up image data. Means and a temporary saving means for temporarily saving the captured image data before compressing and recording the image data,
It can be widely applied to an image pickup apparatus having an image display means for displaying an image.

[0056]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of quickly confirming the details of a photographed image without having to perform a troublesome operation after the image pickup.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to check the entire image such as the shooting range and composition immediately after the image pickup without needing to perform a troublesome operation after the image pickup, and to enlarge and display the image after a fixed time. You can check the details of the image.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to check the entire image such as the shooting range and composition immediately after the image pickup without performing a troublesome operation after the image pickup, and to enlarge the image by a specific operation. By doing so, it is possible to confirm the details of the image.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of quickly confirming the details of an image without performing a troublesome operation even after the image is compressed and recorded. it can.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the invention, even after the image is compressed / recorded, the entire image such as the image capturing range and composition can be confirmed without any troublesome operation. In addition to the above, the image can be confirmed in detail by being enlarged and displayed after a certain time.

According to the invention described in claim 7, even after the image is compressed and recorded, it is possible to check the entire image such as the image capturing range and the composition without performing a troublesome operation. By enlarging the display after a certain time, it is possible to check the details of the image. Moreover, the time for reading, expanding, and displaying the image is shortened, and the image can be displayed immediately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital still camera according to a first aspect of the present invention viewed from the back side.

FIG. 2A is an LC when an image is displayed at a normal magnification.
The figure which shows the example of a display of D monitor, (b) The figure which shows the example of a display of the LCD monitor at the time of enlarging and displaying it.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital still camera.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a shooting operation of the digital still camera according to the first invention.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a display example of an LCD monitor showing how a touch operation is performed on an image displayed at normal magnification;
(B) shows L when the touch-operated part is enlarged and displayed.
Figure showing a display example on a CD monitor

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a digital still camera according to a second invention as seen from the back side.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a shooting operation of the digital still camera according to the second invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: camera body 11: power switch 12: release switch 13: LCD monitor 14: viewfinder eyepiece part 15: external recording medium 16: operation switch group 17: operation switch 21: shooting lens 22: shutter / iris 23: image sensor 24 : CDS / AGC / AD unit 25: Timing generator 26: Signal processing IC 27: System control IC 28: Zoom / focus / shutter / iris driver 29: LCD driver 30: SDRAM

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for picking up a subject as a still image, a compression / recording means for compressing / recording picked-up image data, and a temporary storage means for temporarily saving the picked-up image data before compressing / recording. And an image display device having an image display device for displaying an image, the image display device has:
An image pickup apparatus, wherein an image stored in the temporary storage unit is enlarged and displayed after the image is captured. 2. The image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the image display unit normally displays the image stored in the temporary storage unit after the image pickup and then automatically switches to the enlarged display after a predetermined time. apparatus. 3. The image display means, after image pickup, normally displays the image stored in the temporary storage means, and then switches to enlarged display when a specific operation is performed after a predetermined time. Item 1. The imaging device according to item 1. 4. An image pickup apparatus having an image pickup means for picking up a still image of a subject, a compression / recording means for compressing / recording the picked-up image data, and an image display means for displaying an image, wherein the compression / recording is performed. An image pickup apparatus comprising: shortcut means for enlarging and displaying an image finally compressed and recorded by the means on the image display means. 5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image display means automatically switches to the enlarged display after a fixed time after the last compressed / recorded image is normally displayed. 6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the shortcut means reads out the compressed / recorded image and displays the enlarged image on the image display means. 7. A temporary storage means for temporarily storing captured image data before compressing / recording the image data, wherein the shortcut means reads out an image stored in the temporary storage means and enlarges the image display means. The image pickup device according to claim 4, wherein the image pickup device is displayed.