JP2003163876A - Digital camera, and image distribution method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera and an image distribution method and program that can easily distribute images in response to a placed order. <P>SOLUTION: The image distribution method includes: a step S210 of generating main image data and thumbnail image data denoting an object, storing the main image data and the thumbnail image data to a recording medium while being associated with each other, and simultaneously transmitting the thumbnail image data to all of a plurality of slave units to inquire of them; a step S220 of receiving a transmission request of the main image data associated with the thumbnail image data received from slave units from the slave units; a step S225 of storing a first identifier particularizing the slave units and a second identifier for particularizing the main image data in cross-reference with each other; and a step S230 of referencing the cross-reference between the first identifier and the second identifier and transmitting the main image data to the slave units for sending the transmission request to transmission of the main image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, an image distribution method and an image distribution program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when distributing a photograph to another person, a sample is presented to the other person, an order is placed, and a photograph reprinted according to the order is distributed. For example, you can present a sample directly to another person and hear the order verbally, or fill out an order form etc. to take an order, aggregate the orders taken, find the number of copies to be printed for each image, and distribute the printed copy A method of journalizing and distributing each is adopted. On the other hand, when distributing image data recorded by a digital camera to another person, the image data is stored in a server for sample presentation and presented via a computer network, and an order is accepted by e-mail and the image data is sent according to the order. The method of printing and distributing or downloading the image data to others is adopted.

[0003]

However, there is a problem in that the time and effort required for listening to orders, totaling, and distributing reprinted photographs increase depending on the number of recipients. Also, when distributing image data using a computer network, a sample presentation server must be secured on the network, and the server address must be notified to the distribution destination in advance. There is

The present invention was created to solve the above problems, and its object is to provide a digital camera, an image distribution method, and an image distribution program that facilitate the distribution of images according to orders. is there.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A digital camera according to the present invention comprises an image pickup means for creating main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and storing the main image data and the thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other.
Inquiry means for transmitting thumbnail image data to all of the plurality of slave devices at one time, and a transmission request for the main image data associated with the thumbnail image data received by the slave device from the slave device are received, and the slave device is specified. A totaling unit that stores the first identifier and the second identifier that identifies the main image data in association with each other, and the slave device that transmits the transmission request for the main image data by referring to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier. And a distribution means for transmitting the main image data.

According to such a digital camera, images can be easily distributed from the digital camera to a plurality of slave devices according to an order. It should be noted that the plurality of units configuring such a digital camera are configured by an arbitrary combination of hardware resources whose functions are specified by the configuration itself and hardware resources whose functions are specified by a program. Further, each of these plurality of means does not have to be configured by hardware resources that are physically independent of each other. In the present specification, the thumbnail image data refers to image data obtained by photographing the same subject as the main image data and having a smaller number of constituent pixels than the main image data.

It is desirable that the distribution means transmits the main image data to the plurality of slave devices that have transmitted the transmission request for the main image data at one time. As a result, the main image data can be efficiently transmitted in a short time.

It is desirable that the digital camera further includes a wireless communication means for performing modulation / demodulation processing for wireless data communication with the slave device. As a result, the user can be freed from the complexity of connecting the digital camera and the slave device with a cable.

The image distribution method according to the present invention is capable of communicating with a digital camera that creates main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and stores the main image data and thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other. An image distribution method in a network including a plurality of terminals, the inquiry step in which a digital camera transmits thumbnail image data to all of the plurality of terminals at a time, and the terminal transmits main image data associated with the thumbnail image data. A request step of transmitting the request to the digital camera, and a totaling step of storing the identifier for identifying the terminal that has received the transmission request by the digital camera and the identifier for identifying the main image data in association with each other in the storage medium. And the digital camera has the first identifier Characterized in that it comprises a distribution step for transmitting the main image data to the transmitted terminal a transmission request for the main image data with reference to the association of the second identifier, the.

According to this image distribution method, images can be easily distributed from a digital camera to a plurality of terminals according to an order.

At the distribution stage, the digital camera
It is desirable to temporarily transmit the main image data to the plurality of terminals that have transmitted the transmission request for the main image data.
As a result, main image data can be efficiently transmitted in a short time.

It is desirable that the digital camera and the plurality of terminals communicate with each other by wireless data communication. As a result, the user can be relieved from the complexity of connecting the digital camera and the plurality of terminals with a cable.

The image distribution program according to the present invention stores thumbnail image data in a computer included in a digital camera that creates main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and stores the main image data and the thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other. To a plurality of slave devices at a time, and a transmission request for the main image data associated with the thumbnail image data received by the slave device from the slave device is received, and an identifier for identifying the slave device and the main The main image data is sent to the slave device that has transmitted the transmission request for the main image data by referring to the totaling procedure of storing the identifier for identifying the image data in the storage medium in association with each other and the association between the first identifier and the second identifier. The delivery procedure to send and the The features.

According to such an image distribution program, an image can be easily distributed from a digital camera to a plurality of slave devices according to an order.

In the distribution procedure, it is desirable to temporarily transmit the main image data to the plurality of slave devices that have transmitted the transmission request for the main image data. This allows
The main image data can be efficiently transmitted in a short period of time.

The image distribution program of the present invention can be specified as an invention relating to a tangible object by recording it on a computer-readable recording medium. This medium functions as a part of the main storage device or the auxiliary storage device of the computer, and the program recorded in this medium is read by magnetic means or optical means and executed by the computer. It realizes the image distribution function in.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on Examples. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a digital still camera 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the camera body includes a control unit 10, an imaging unit 20, and a drive unit 3.
0, a processing unit 40, a wireless communication unit 50, an operation unit 60, and a display unit 70 are provided.

The control unit 10 comprises a CPU 11, a ROM 12 and a RAM 13. The control unit 10 executes the computer program stored in the ROM 12 and thereby the imaging unit 2 based on the data input from the operation unit 60 or the like.
0, the drive unit 30, the processing unit 40, the wireless communication unit 50, the display unit 70, and the like. The ROM 12 is a memory that stores a control program for starting the CPU 11, an image distribution program, and the like. The control program is Blue
A protocol stack located above the Baseband layer in the tooth protocol is also included.

The image pickup section 20 includes an optical system 21 and an area image sensor (hereinafter, simply referred to as an area sensor) 23. The optical system 21 is composed of a zoom lens, an optical diaphragm 22, an optical low-pass filter (LPF), etc., and forms an object image on the area image sensor 23 to input the optical image to the imaging unit 20. The zoom lens forms a subject image on the light receiving portion of the area sensor 23 at a preset magnification. The optical diaphragm 22 is for adjusting the amount of light incident on the area sensor 23. The area sensor 23
Electric charges obtained by photoelectrically converting light received by each photoelectric conversion element are accumulated for a certain period of time, and an electric signal corresponding to the amount of received light is output to the processing unit 40. As the area sensor 23, a CCD type image sensor or a MOS type image sensor may be used.

The drive unit 30 includes a lens drive unit 31, an aperture drive unit 32, and an area sensor drive unit 33, and controls the input / output of the area sensor 23. The lens driving unit 31 drives the zoom lens to realize a zoom function or a focus adjustment function. The diaphragm driving unit 32 drives the optical diaphragm 22 to adjust the amount of light incident on the area sensor 23. The area sensor drive unit 33 is an electronic circuit that generates a drive pulse necessary for driving the area sensor 23 and inputs the drive pulse to the area sensor 23.

The processing section 40 comprises an analog front end section 41, a digital image processing section 45 and a data storage processing section 46. The analog front end section 41 is
Correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit 42, automatic gain control (AGC) circuit 43 and A / D converter 4
Have 4. The CDS circuit 42 performs a reduction process of noise included in the analog electric signal. The AGC circuit 43 adjusts the level of the analog electric signal by adjusting the gain. The A / D converter 44 quantizes the analog electric signal subjected to each of the above processes into a digital image signal of a predetermined gradation and outputs the image signal. The output image signal is input to the digital image processing unit 45. The digital image processing unit 45 performs gamma correction of an image signal, interpolation of defective pixels by a pixel interpolation method, white balance correction, image signal sharpening, compression / expansion processing, pixel number conversion processing, and the like. The compression / expansion processing includes a compression processing for compressing image data and an expansion processing for expanding the compressed image data by a composite processing. In this embodiment, JPEG compression by discrete cosine transform (DCT) and Huffman coding is performed. In the pixel number conversion process, the pixel information forming the image data obtained as a result of the above process is converted into a predetermined number of pixels (160 × 120
This is a process for creating thumbnail image data by thinning out in accordance with (pixels). The various types of processing performed by the digital image processing unit 45 may be replaced with processing by a computer program executed by the control unit 10.

The data storage processing unit 46 has a non-volatile memory 47. In the non-volatile memory 47, the main image data and the thumbnail image data created by the pixel number conversion process are stored in a compressed state in association with each other. In addition, a data identification code for uniquely identifying the main image data is also associated and stored.
As the non-volatile memory 47, for example, a recording medium such as a flash memory, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk can be used. The nonvolatile memory 47 may be removably connected to the main body of the digital still camera 1 or may be non-removably connected.

The wireless communication section 50 is constructed according to the Bluetooth protocol and transfers image data to an external image displayable device such as a mobile phone, a digital still camera, a personal computer, a PDA or the like. The wireless communication unit 50 includes a baseband unit 51 and an RF (Radio Specific).
ation) section 52 and antenna section 53. The baseband unit 51 is a DSP (Digital Signal Pro).
cessor), a microcomputer, etc.
The functions defined in the Baseband layer of the ooth protocol are implemented, and a process of establishing a physical RF link between devices is performed. The RF unit 52 includes a D / A converter, a modulator, a demodulator, and the like, has a function defined by the RF layer of the Bluetooth protocol, and performs transmission / reception of wireless data and modulation / demodulation processing.

The operation unit 60 detects a switch operation by the user and mainly inputs control data to the control unit 10. The operation unit 60 includes a power switch for turning the power on and off,
A dial switch for switching between the imaging mode and the reproduction mode, a release switch for instructing execution of imaging in the imaging mode, a zoom button for setting the magnification of the zoom lens, and a reduced image to be displayed on the display unit 70. An image selection button and the like are provided.

The display section 70 includes an LCD, an LCD drive circuit and an encoder. The LCD displays the reduced image data standardized by the encoder by being controlled by the LCD drive circuit.

The configuration of the digital still camera 1 has been described above. The configuration of a program relating to image distribution of the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105 in this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a program relating to image distribution of the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105.

The digital still camera 1 uses the image delivery program 101 and the Bluetooth protocol stack 102 to deliver image data. The image delivery program 101 inquires of the slave device 105 about requests, totals requests, and delivers main image data according to the requests. Bluetooth
The th protocol stack 102 is Bluetooth
It is a control program that implements a protocol, and performs wireless data communication between the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105. The Baseband layer and the RF layer, which are part of the Bluetooth protocol, are implemented as hardware in the wireless communication unit 50.
For the sake of convenience, the Bluetooth protocol stack 102 is a program corresponding to a higher protocol. The Bluetooth protocol stack 102 in this embodiment implements the serial port profile of the profiles defined in Bluetooth.

In addition to the serial port profile, the profile is a Bluetooth such as an object exchange profile as long as the image distribution program 101 and the image request program 107 can mutually transfer data.
Any profile provided by th may be used. In addition, the image distribution program 101 is Bluetooth.
It is not always necessary to directly use the profile included in the wireless communication unit 50, and the wireless communication unit 50 may be directly accessed.

The slave device 105 includes the image request program 107 and the Bluetooth protocol stack 1
08 is used to request image data. The image request program 107 receives inquiry information from the digital still camera 1 and sends a request for requesting distribution of main image data. The Bluetooth protocol stack 108 is a control program that implements the Bluetooth protocol that also adopts the serial port profile.

The image request program 1 in this embodiment
07 targets any slave device that implements the Bluetooth protocol stack adopting the same profile as the digital still camera 1 as an operation target. Examples of the slave device include a digital still camera, a mobile phone, a PDA, and a personal computer. Note that Bluetooth in the slave device 105
The specific implementation method of the th protocol stack 108 depends on the slave device 105.

The configuration of the program relating to the image distribution of the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105 in this embodiment has been described above. Hereinafter, the digital still camera 1 and Bluetooth in this embodiment will be described.
An outline of a wireless network configured by a plurality of slave devices that implement the protocol stack will be described.

Digital still camera 1 and Bluet
A plurality of slave devices having the Bluetooth protocol stack can configure a small-scale wireless network (piconet) by the function of the Bluetooth protocol. Up to seven terminals including the Bluetooth protocol stack, including the digital still camera 1, can be connected to one piconet, and each terminal including each Bluetooth protocol stack has an address for uniquely identifying the terminal. It is allocated. In addition, the application program located above the Bluetooth protocol directly specifies 0x0002 for the group channel, and Bluetooth.
By transmitting to the L2CAP layer of the protocol, it is possible to transmit the same information to all terminals at one time.
As a result, a terminal that is a master of a piconet (master device) can temporarily transmit (broadcast) information to all other terminals (slave devices) that belong to the piconet.

The outline of the wireless network composed of the digital still camera 1 and a plurality of slave devices having the Bluetooth protocol stack according to this embodiment has been described above. The operation of distributing the main image data from the digital still camera 1 to the plurality of slave devices 105 will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a sequence of processing for distributing main image data. Digital still camera 1
First asks for a request to send the main image data.
All the slave devices 105 connected to the piconet to which the digital still camera 1 belongs are provided with inquiry information including thumbnail image data associated with the main image data and a data identification code for uniquely identifying the main image data. Broadcast to (step S
210). Slave device 10 that received the inquiry information
5 outputs the thumbnail image data included in the information to the display device included in the slave device 105, and selects one requesting the main image data from them (step S2).
15). After the selection, the slave device 105 transmits request information including the address of the slave device 105 and the data identification code of the requested main image data to the digital still camera 1. In this embodiment, the address of the slave device 105 is the first identifier, and the data identification code of the requested main image data is the second identifier.
When a plurality of thumbnail image data is selected in step S215, there are a plurality of combinations of the address of the slave device 105 and the data identification code of the requested main image data, and the plurality of combinations are transmitted as request information ( Step S220). Note that steps S215 to S22 surrounded by the broken line M in FIG.
The process up to 0 is a process repeated by the number of slave devices 105 connected to the piconet. The digital still camera 1 totalizes the received request information for each slave device 105 and stores the result in the totalization table ST created in the RAM 13. As a result, the address of the slave device 105 and the data identification code of the main image data requested by the slave device 105 are stored in association with each other (step S225).

FIG. 4 shows an example of the summary table ST. The tabulation table ST shown in FIG. 4 is an example of tabulation results when four slave devices 105 are inquired about transmission requests for 10 main image data. Data identification code string 305 of the summary table ST
The data identification codes of the 10 main image data inquired are stored in. The slave device column 310 is created for each slave device 105 that has transmitted the request information, and the slave device of the row in which the data identification code of the main image data requested by the slave device 105 and the data identification code of the main image data column 305 match. The address of the slave device 105 is stored in the device column 310. When the request information includes a plurality of combinations of the data identification code of the requested main image data and the address of the slave device 105, the addresses of the slave device 105 are stored in a plurality of rows of the slave device column 310. To be done.

When the digital still camera 1 finishes collecting the request information from all the slave devices 105,
The main image data is transmitted to the slave device 105 that has transmitted the transmission request for the main image data by referring to the tabulation table ST (step S230), and the slave devices 105 other than the slave device 105 that has requested the main image data transmit the main image. The data is discarded (step S235). Details of the transmission will be described later. The process of steps S230 to S235 surrounded by the broken line N in FIG. 1 is a process that is repeated by the number of main image data requested to be transmitted.

In this embodiment, the data storage processing unit 46
Although all the main image data stored in (1) are inquired, the main image data to be inquired may be selected, and only the selected main image data may be included in the inquiry information. The selection method may be, for example, a direct selection in which the image data is sequentially displayed on the LCD and the image data to be inquired is selected by the selection button provided in the digital still camera 1, or the shooting date or the like. It may be an indirect specification such that the condition (1) is specified and the main image data corresponding to the condition is inquired. Further, although the inquiry information includes the data identification code in the present embodiment, a meaningful name associated with the data identification code may be included instead of the data identification code. Also, the slave device 105
Similarly to the digital still camera 1, the selection of the thumbnail image data may be a direct selection or an indirect selection, or when a meaningful name associated with the data identification code is transmitted. The name may be used for selection.

The operation of distributing the main image data from the digital still camera 1 to the plurality of slave devices 105 has been described above. Hereinafter, the above steps S230 and S2
Details of the transmission of the main image data in 35 will be described.

In transmitting the main image data from the digital still camera 1 to the plurality of slave devices 105, the digital still camera 1 broadcasts the main image data,
This is performed by each slave device 105 determining the address designated as the broadcast transmission destination and selecting the main image data. First, the digital still camera 1 acquires the data identification code of the main image data and the addresses of the plurality of slave devices 105 requesting the main image data in order from the first row of the tabulation table ST.
Next, the main image data is broadcast by designating the acquired addresses of the slave devices 105. For example, in the case of the aggregation table ST shown in FIG. 4, the slave device addresses 001 and 011 are designated to broadcast the main image data associated with the data identification code A01. The slave devices 105 having the addresses 001 and 011 receive the broadcast main image data because their own addresses are designated as the broadcast transmission destinations. The other slave device 105 ignores the broadcast main image data because its own address is not designated as the transmission destination. As a result, the main image data associated with the data identification code A01 has the address 001.
And 011 are temporarily delivered only to the slave device 105.

The transmission of the main image data may be one-to-many transmission by broadcast as in the present embodiment, one-to-many transmission by multicast, or one-to-one transmission sequentially for each slave device 105. , Or any other transmission. Further, the transmission method by broadcast may be a method of broadcasting the main image data to all slave devices and causing the slave devices to select the main image data as in the present embodiment, or the same image data is requested. A new piconet including only the slave device 105 is configured for each image, and the slave device 10 belonging to the piconet
The method of broadcasting the main image data to only 5 may be used, or any other method may be used.

The details of the transmission of the main image data in step S230 have been described above. The effects of this embodiment will be described below.

In this embodiment, by transmitting a thumbnail image smaller in size than the main image data when inquiring about an order, it is possible to reduce unnecessary processing time wasted by the slave device for receiving unnecessary data. In addition, even if the display device of the slave device is small,
It is easy to check the image on the slave device when ordering.

Further, in this embodiment, the inquiry and the distribution of the order of the main image data are broadcast. Accordingly, regardless of the number of slave devices 105, main image data can be distributed to a plurality of slave devices 105 with the same labor and time as in the case of one slave device 105, and image distribution can be performed efficiently. it can.

In this embodiment, the wireless transmission method is adopted as the transmission method between the devices. As a result, the external storage medium can be attached / detached, the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105
No need for the troublesome time and effort of connecting to a cable with, and image distribution can be performed easily, and the restrictions on the location such as when using a wired computer network are removed, and the main image can be immediately displayed in any place. Data can be distributed.

In this embodiment, the wireless transmission method is IEEE.
The Bluetooth protocol, which is being standardized by E, is adopted. This enables communication with an extremely large number of slave devices regardless of the developer, and the slave device 105 that can receive the distribution of the main image data from the digital still camera 1 as compared with the case of adopting an original wireless transmission system. Can be significantly increased.

The effects of the digital still camera 1 in this embodiment have been described above. Although the present embodiment has been described by taking the digital still camera as an example, the present invention may be applied to a digital video camera. Further, the data communication between the digital still camera 1 and the slave device 105 may be a wireless transmission system as in this embodiment or a wired transmission system. Further, in the case of the wireless transmission system, the Bluetooth protocol may be used as in the present embodiment, or a wireless data communication standard such as infrared rays other than the Bluetooth protocol may be used. A flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used as the recording medium for recording the image distribution program of this embodiment.

Finally, the correspondence between the inventions described in the claims and this embodiment will be summarized and described below.

The function of the "imaging means" described in the claims is that the imaging section 20, the driving section 30, and the processing section 40 create main image data and thumbnail images under the control of the control section 10. This corresponds to the function that the data storage processing unit 46 stores the created main image data and the thumbnail image data in the nonvolatile memory 47 in association with each other.

The function of the "inquiry means" described in the claims corresponds to the function of broadcasting the inquiry information including the thumbnail image to all the slave devices (step S210).

The function of the “totalizing means” described in the claims is to store the address of the slave device 105 and the data identification code of the main image data requested by the slave device 105 in the totalizing table ST in association with each other ( Step S2
25).

Of the "delivery means" described in the claims,
The function of “transmitting the main image data to the slave device that has transmitted the transmission request for the main image data by referring to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier” refers to the summary table ST to transfer the main image data to the slave. This corresponds to the function of transmitting to the device (step S230).

In the "delivery means" described in the claims,
The function of "temporarily transmitting the main image data to all the slave devices that transmitted the transmission request for the main image data" corresponds to the function of broadcasting the main image data to the slave devices (step S230).

“Wireless communication means” described in the claims
The function of corresponds to the function of the modulation / demodulation processing of the RF unit 52.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of distributing main image data from a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention to a plurality of slave devices.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a digital still camera which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall structure of a program relating to image distribution in a digital still camera and a slave device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a summary table for storing a first identifier and a second identifier in association with each other, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Digital still camera 10 Control unit 20 Imaging unit 30 Drive 40 processing unit 50 Wireless communication section 60 Control 70 Display 101 Image distribution program 102 Bluetooth protocol stack 105 Slave device 107 Image request program 108 Bluetooth protocol stack 305 Data identification code string 310 Slave device row

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Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup unit that creates main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and stores the main image data and the thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other, and the thumbnail image data in all of a plurality of slave devices. And a first identifier for specifying the slave device and a transmission request for the main image data associated with the thumbnail image data received by the slave device from the slave device. A totaling unit that stores a second identifier that specifies image data in association with each other, and the main image to the slave device that has transmitted the transmission request for the main image data by referring to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier. And a distribution means for transmitting data. Mela. 2. The distribution means stores the main image data,
2. The transmission is temporarily performed to all the slave devices that have transmitted the transmission request for the main image data.
The described digital camera. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication unit that performs modulation / demodulation processing for wireless data communication with the slave device. 4. A digital camera that creates main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and stores the main image data and the thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other, and a plurality of terminals capable of communicating with the digital camera. An image distribution method in a network, including: an inquiry step in which the digital camera transmits the thumbnail image data to all of the plurality of terminals at one time; and the main image associated with the thumbnail image data by the terminal. A request step of transmitting a transmission request for data to the digital camera, an identifier for identifying the terminal that the digital camera received the transmission request and transmitted the transmission request, and an identifier for identifying the main image data in a storage medium. An aggregation stage in which they are stored in association with each other, The digital camera refers to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier to transmit the main image data to a terminal that has transmitted a transmission request for the main image data, and a distribution step of transmitting the main image data. Delivery method. 5. The image according to claim 4, wherein, in the distributing step, the digital camera temporarily transmits the main image data to all terminals that have transmitted a transmission request for the main image data. Delivery method. 6. The image distribution method according to claim 4, wherein the digital camera and the plurality of terminals communicate with each other by wireless data communication. 7. A computer provided with a digital camera that creates main image data and thumbnail image data representing a subject and stores the main image data and the thumbnail image data in a recording medium in association with each other, and stores the thumbnail image data in a plurality of images. An inquiry procedure for transmitting to all slave devices at once, and a transmission request for the main image data associated with the thumbnail image data received by the slave device from the slave device, and an identifier for identifying the slave device and the slave device. A totaling procedure of storing an identifier for identifying main image data in association with each other in a storage medium, and a slave device that transmits a transmission request for the main image data by referring to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier. Execute the distribution procedure to send the main image data, and An image distribution program characterized by: 8. The image distribution program according to claim 7, wherein, in the distribution procedure, the main image data is temporarily transmitted to all the slave devices that have transmitted a transmission request for the main image data. 9. A computer-readable recording medium on which the image distribution program according to claim 7 or 8 is recorded.