JP2003224751A - Image processing apparatus, image processing system, image processing method, storage medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of applying compression coding to a photographed image and recording the compressed image to a recording medium efficiently at all times. <P>SOLUTION: In applying compression processing to image information of an object obtained by imaging a light of the object via optical systems 112 to 114, a control means 123 controls a parameter of compression processing (141) on the basis of the operation of a zoom key 124 for the control of the optical systems 112 to 114. <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, for example, an image recording device for digitizing and recording a photographed image of a subject,
An image processing device, an image processing system, an image processing method used in a camera-integrated image recording device or system such as a digital still camera, a digital movie camera, or a camcorder, and a computer-readable storage storing a program for implementing the same. It relates to a medium and the program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a video camera which encodes a captured image (moving image) of a subject obtained by photographing the subject using predictive coding such as MPEG and records the encoded image on a recording medium such as an optical disk. A camera-integrated image recording device is known.

[0003]

By the way, in a moving image compression method such as MPEG, motion detection (Motion Est) is generally used.
imation (ME) method (motion-compensated predictive coding). This is a block of a certain number of pixels
This is a technique for effective image compression by searching for the amount of movement in one direction during one frame and transmitting the difference value between the motion vector and the frame of the actual image.

The motion-compensated predictive coding as described above enables effective image compression when a subject moves in parallel. However, when the subject rotates or changes in size, the compression efficiency increases at the same time. There is a problem of going down. Specifically, for example, in a video camera, when the user performs a zoom operation during shooting, the size of the subject changes, so that the ME does not operate well and the entire captured image suddenly becomes low in image quality.

Therefore, in a conventional apparatus or system for compressing and encoding a captured image (moving image) by a compression encoding method using motion compensation predictive encoding and recording it on a recording medium such as an optical disk, a zoom operation by a user is performed. The compression efficiency may decrease due to changes in the state of the subject during shooting due to factors such as the above. In particular, in a portable device, it is important to efficiently record image data on a recording medium having a limited recording capacity, so it is necessary to prevent such a decrease in compression efficiency as much as possible. It couldn't be realized.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, and an image processing capable of always efficiently and efficiently compressing and coding a photographed image and recording it on a recording medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method, a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for implementing the method, and the program.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Under such a purpose,
A first aspect of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that compresses image information of a subject obtained by capturing light of a subject through an optical system, and based on a zoom key operation for controlling the optical system, It is characterized in that a control means for controlling parameters of the compression processing is provided.

A second invention is the same as the first invention,
The image information is supplied via a band limiting filter, and the control means changes the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter according to the zoom key operation.

A third invention is the same as the above-mentioned second invention.
The control means changes only the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter for the peripheral area of the subject in the image information.

A fourth invention is based on the above-mentioned second invention.
The control means is characterized in that, when the zoom key operation is performed, the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter with respect to the peripheral area is made larger than when the zoom key operation is not performed.

A fifth invention is based on the first invention,
The compression processing includes a quantization processing for quantizing the image information, and the control means changes the quantization step width in the quantization processing according to the zoom key operation.

A sixth invention is based on the fifth invention.
The control means changes only the quantization step width for the peripheral area of the subject in the image information.

A seventh invention is based on the fifth invention.
When the zoom key operation is performed, the control means makes the quantization step width of the compression processing for the peripheral area of the subject in the image information larger than when the zoom key operation is not performed.

An eighth invention is based on the first invention,
The control means is characterized by performing the above-mentioned control based on a zoom operation speed when the zoom key operation is performed.

In a ninth aspect based on the second or seventh aspect, the control means changes the peripheral area based on a zoom operation according to the zoom key operation.

A tenth invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the zooming operation according to the zoom key operation includes an operation of zooming in a direction of enlarging the subject.

In an eleventh aspect based on the first aspect, the control means is responsive to the zoom key operation, between the first area and the second area on the screen according to the image information. It is characterized in that the values of the compression processing parameters are made different.

In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, the first area is an area near a central portion of the screen, and the second area is an area other than the central portion. Is characterized by.

A thirteenth invention is an image processing system in which a plurality of devices are communicably connected to each other, and at least one device of the plurality of devices is defined by any one of claims 1 to 1.
12 has the function of the image processing device.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is an image processing method for compressing image information of a subject obtained by picking up light of the subject through an optical system, wherein a zoom key operation for controlling the optical system is performed. And a control step for controlling the parameters of the compression processing based on the above.

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is an image processing method for photographing a subject light through an optical system by an image pickup device to generate an image signal of the subject, compressing the image signal and recording the image signal on a recording medium. It is characterized by including a control step of controlling the compression parameter based on a detection result that the zoom key for controlling the optical system is operated.

In a sixteenth aspect based on the fifteenth aspect, the control step includes an image based on the image signal while the zoom key is being operated, as compared to when the zoom key is not being operated. A step of increasing the attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter before the compression processing and / or increasing the quantization coefficient in the compression processing with respect to the peripheral area of the central area above. .

In a seventeenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the control step increases the attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter in proportion to the speed of the zoom operation by operating the zoom key, and / Alternatively, the method is characterized by including a step of increasing the quantization coefficient.

In an eighteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the control step gradually increases the amount of attenuation of the band limiting prefilter as the central region moves toward the peripheral region, and / or The method is characterized by including a step of increasing the quantization coefficient.

In a nineteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the control step comprises the band limiting pre-filter when zooming in on the tele side, which is a direction of enlarging the central region, by operating the zoom key. Is gradually increased, and / or the quantization coefficient is increased.

In a twentieth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the control step comprises the band limiting pre-filter when zooming in on a tele side which is a direction of enlarging the central region by operating the zoom key. Is gradually increased, and / or the step of gradually increasing a region in which the quantization coefficient is not increased is included.

A twenty-first invention is a computer-readable program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or the function of the image processing system according to claim 13. It is characterized by being recorded in a storage medium.

A twenty-second invention is characterized in that a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to any one of claims 14 to 20 is recorded in a computer-readable storage medium.

A twenty-third invention is a program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or the function of the image processing system according to claim 13. And

A twenty-fourth invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to any one of the fourteenth to twentieth aspects.

Specifically, for example, in a device that compresses and encodes a photographed image of a subject and records it on a recording medium, when a user's zoom key operation is detected, in addition to the zoom operation according to the zoom key operation, By selectively lowering the resolution of the peripheral area of the subject area (important center part) or roughening the quantization step,
The control is performed so as to reduce the code amount of the peripheral area. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the code amount of the entire captured image during the zoom operation without degrading the image quality of an important subject that often exists in the center of the captured image.

[0032]

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

<Overall Configuration of the Present Embodiment> The present invention is, for example, a camera-integrated image recording apparatus 10 as shown in FIG.
Applied to 0. The camera-integrated image recording device 100 is
As shown in FIG. 1, the camera unit 110 and the control unit 12
0, a display output unit 130, and a storage unit 140.

The camera section 110 includes a lens 111, a zoom lens 112, an iris 113, and a focus lens 11.
4, image sensor (CCD) 115, camera signal processing circuit
(CDS: Correlate Double Sample and AGC: Auto Ga
circuit including in control) 116, and A / D converter (A
DC: Analog Digital Converter) 117 is included.

The control unit 120 controls the camera unit 110, the camera control unit 121, and the camera-integrated image recording apparatus 10.
0 system control unit 122 that controls the overall operation, storage control unit 123 that controls storage unit 140, and operation unit (KE
Y) 124 is included. The operation unit 124 includes, for example,
In addition to power ON / OFF, REC, PB, and other operation instruction keys, TELE / WIDE as a zoom function
Keys for instructing the zoom operation are provided. T
The ELE / WIDE key can be constituted by a simple ON / OFF button, but may be constituted by a variable resistor so that the zoom speed can be controlled together with the ADC.

The display output unit 130 includes a display driver (LC
It includes a D driver) 131, an LCD 132 as a display unit, and a D / A converter (DAC) 133 for line output. The storage unit 140 is a compression / decompression processing unit (CODE) that executes compression and decompression processing of image and audio data.
C) 141, ECC processing unit 1 for executing error correction processing
42 and a recording medium 143.

<A series of photographing operations of the camera-integrated image recording apparatus 100> When the user issues a photographing start instruction through the operation unit 124, the camera-integrated image recording apparatus 100 operates as follows.

In the camera section 110, subject light is imaged on an image pickup surface of an image pickup element (CCD) 115 via an optical system including a lens 111, a zoom lens 112, an iris 113, and a focus lens 114. The image sensor (CCD) 115 converts the subject light from the optical system into an electric signal (image signal) and outputs the electric signal in units of one frame.

The camera signal processing circuit 116 generates a luminance correction signal YENC appropriately weighted in the image area from the image signal from the image pickup device (CCD) 115,
This is supplied to the control unit 120.

In the control unit 120, the camera control unit 12
1 is a general AE (Automatic Exploser) operation, and when the value of the brightness correction signal YENC supplied from the camera signal processing circuit 116 determines that the subject is bright with respect to the current setting, the camera signal processing circuit 116 AG
When the gain of the C amplifier (not shown) is lowered, and as a result it is determined that the subject is still bright with respect to the current setting, the iris 113 is further narrowed, and as a result, it is determined that the subject is still bright with respect to the current setting. Further, operation control (feedback operation control) of increasing the shutter speed to the camera signal processing circuit 116 is executed.

When the output signal of the camera signal processing circuit 116 becomes a signal of appropriate brightness by the feedback control by the camera control section 121, an A / D converter (AD)
C) 117 converts the output signal (YC: luminance color difference signal) into digital data and outputs the digital data. The output of the A / D converter (ADC) 117 is supplied to the display output unit 130 and the storage unit 140.

In the display output unit 130, the display driver (LCD driver) 131 is an A / D converter (ADC).
By driving the LCD 132 based on the digital data (digital image data) output from 117, an image based on the digital image data is displayed on the LCD.
Display at 132. The D / A converter (DAC) 133 is
The digital data (digital image data) output from the A / D converter (ADC) 117 is converted into an analog signal and converted into N.
Generates TSC signal and outputs it to line output terminal LINE
Output via OUT.

On the other hand, in the accumulating section 140, the compression / expansion processing section (CODEC) 141 has an A / D converter (AD).
C) The digital data (digital image data) output from 117 is compression-encoded. ECC processing unit 142
Adds an error correction code to the compressed data obtained by the compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC) 141, and records this on the recording medium (MEM) 143.

The compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC) 14
1, the H. A moving image compression method such as H.261 or MPEG can be applied. Further, as the recording medium (MEM) 143, a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape with or without a magnetic disk, or the like can be applied.

<Characteristic Configuration and Operation of Camera-integrated Image Recording Device 100> During the photographing operation of the camera-integrated image recording device 100 as described above, the user operates the operation unit 1
When a zoom key (hereinafter, referred to as “zoom key 124” for simplicity of description) provided on the control unit 24 is operated (pressed), the system controller 122 in the controller 120.
Recognizes the operation and issues the following control instructions (1) and (2) at the same time. (1) The zoom lens 11 with respect to the camera control unit 121
2. Instruct the optical system including the iris 113 and the focus lens 114 to zoom. (2) For the accumulation control unit 123, the band limitation and / or the quantization step width of the peripheral region of the subject region (center region) in the image to be processed by the compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC) 141 of the accumulation unit 140 is set. Direct an increase. In particular, this control instruction (2) is the most characteristic configuration of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, the compression / decompression processing unit (CO that operates according to the control instruction (2) issued by the system control unit 122)
The DEC) 141 will be specifically described.

FIG. 2 shows a compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC).
141. The configuration is shown by focusing on the encoder function (compression coding function) according to the H.261 or MPEG compression coding method.

Compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC) 141
Is a pre-filter (Pref
ilter) 201, a subtractor 202, a DCT (discrete cosine transform) circuit 203, a quantizer 204, a variable length coding circuit (VLC: Variable Length Coder) 205, a buffer 206, and a local decoder 210.

The compression / expansion processing unit (CODE) shown in FIG.
C) 141, the ADC 117 of the camera unit 110
Noise and high frequency components of the digital image data supplied from (see FIG. 1) are suppressed by a prefilter (Prefilter) 201. As a result, block distortion is suppressed. The control parameter of the pre-filter 201 may be the same in the central region where the important subject exists and the peripheral region thereof in the digital image data to be processed.
In the present embodiment, the storage controller 123 will be described later in detail, but according to a control instruction from the system controller 122 (a control instruction according to a zoom operation), the pre-filter 201.
Will be controlled.

Here, in the case of encoding in the intra mode for intraframe encoding, the switches 215 and 216 in the local decoder 210 are respectively Intr.
Connect to a side. As a result, the digital image data that has passed through the pre-filter 201 is directly input to the DCT circuit 203 without being subjected to the subtraction processing by the subtractor 202.

The DCT circuit 203 performs DCT processing on the digital image data supplied from the subtractor 202, and the processing result (DCT transform coefficient) is quantized by the quantizer 204.
Supply to. The quantizer 204 quantizes the DCT transform coefficient from the DCT circuit 203 (division processing by the quantized coefficient), and supplies the processing result (quantized value) to the variable length coding circuit 205. The variable length coding circuit 205 converts the quantized value from the quantizer 204 into a Huffman code, and outputs the Huffman code via the buffer 206.

The output of the quantizer 204 (quantized value)
Are input to the local decoder 210.

In the local decoder 210, the dequantization unit 211 dequantizes the quantized value (quantized digital image data) from the quantization unit 204 to restore the digital image data in the state before quantization. To do. Inverse DCT
The circuit 212 performs an inverse DCT process on the digital image data in the pre-quantization state obtained by the inverse quantization unit 211 to obtain original digital image data including a quantization error, and acquires the original digital image data from the frame memory 214. Accumulate in. At this time, since the switch 215 is connected to the Intra side, the subtracter 213 does not perform the subtraction process, and the inverse DCT
The output of the circuit 212 is directly stored in the frame memory 214.

On the other hand, in the case of encoding in the interframe mode for encoding the difference data from the previous frame, the switches 215 and 216 in the local decoder 210.
Are respectively connected to the Inter side.

Thus, for motion compensation, the frame memory 214 determines the pattern in which direction and how much the image that has passed through the pre-filter 201 has moved with respect to the image previously stored in the frame memory 214. A motion vector is created by detection by matching, and the image data accumulated in the frame memory 214 is output to the subtractor 202 based on the motion vector.

Thereafter, the subtractor 202 outputs difference data between the digital image data from the pre-filter 201 and the image data output from the frame memory 214. The output data of the subtractor 202 is the DCT circuit 20.
3, the quantization unit 204, the variable length coding circuit 205, and the buffer 206.

At this time, when the user operates the zoom key 124, the storage controller 123 (see FIG. 1)
Based on the control instruction from the system control unit 122 (control instruction according to the zoom operation), since the zoom center is particularly important in the entire captured image (shooting screen), the amount of attenuation in the central portion of the pre-filter 201 becomes small. The pre-filter 201 and the quantization unit 204 are controlled so that the quantization step width of the central portion becomes fine.

Specifically, for example, when the image based on the digital image data to be processed is the photographed image 300 as shown in FIG. 3, the central portion of the image is enlarged as shown in the photographed image 300. When zooming in the direction, that is, when zooming in on the tele side, an important subject 302 in shooting is often present in the central region 301 of the shot image 300. Therefore, the storage controller 123
During the zooming operation, the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is reduced in the central region 301 and the peripheral portion 3
For No. 03, the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is made relatively large.

FIG. 4 shows the pre-filter 20 in the above case.
The characteristics of No. 1 are shown. As shown in FIG. 4 above,
Since the peripheral portion 303 during the zoom operation is a blurred portion, the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is increased (almost only the DC component is attenuated). On the other hand, since the central regions 301a and 301b are the part of the important subject 302, the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is reduced or the pre-filter 201 is not applied at all.

Regarding the central areas 301a and 301b, the pre-filter 201 may be controlled individually in the central areas 301a and 301b. For example, the central area 301 occupied by many subjects 302
The central area 301a, which is the peripheral area of b, is a slightly blurred area, and the pre-filter 201 is applied to the middle area so that the central area 301b occupied by the subject 302 is large.
Does not apply the pre-filter 201 at all.
Further, in FIG. 4 above, the central region 301 of the captured image 300
The shape of a and 301b is circular, and the central region 301
The attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is controlled with respect to a and 301b, but the shape of the control region is not limited to the circular shape, and may be an arbitrary shape such as a rectangular shape.

When controlling the pre-filter 201 as described above, the storage controller 123 also controls the quantizer 204 so that the quantization step width of the peripheral region 303 is coarse. This is because when the zooming speed is high, the peripheral part around the subject moves quickly, and the ME is hardly performed, so that the image quality further deteriorates, and the user who views the reproduced image also sees the peripheral part. This is because it becomes unrecognizable.

At the end of the zoom operation, an important subject existing in the central portion of the photographed image often spreads over the entire photographed image. Therefore, the accumulation control unit 123 controls the pre-filter 201 as the zoom operation proceeds. The pre-filter 201 is controlled so that the region in which the amount of attenuation is increased is gradually reduced and the region with good resolution in the central portion is expanded.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, as the zoom operation progresses, the subject 3 existing at the zoom center is
When 02 is greatly zoomed in, the accumulation control unit 123
Indicates that the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 is reduced so as to increase the attenuation amount of the pre-filter 201 or the central region 301 where the pre-filter 201 is not applied at all. The pre-filter 201 is controlled so that the enlarged and blurred peripheral region 303 becomes smaller.

The pre-filter 201 and the quantizer 2
When the characteristics of the central portion and the peripheral portion of the captured image are set in only two levels with respect to the quantization step width in 04, the boundary portion may be visually visible. In order to prevent this, for example, as described using FIG. 4 above,
For the central regions 301a and 301b, the central region 30
The pre-filter 201 may be individually controlled in each of the areas 1a and 301b. For example, the central region 301a, which is the peripheral region of the central region 301b occupied by the subject 302, is a slightly blurred portion, and the pre-filter 201 is applied to the middle region, so that the subject 3
In the central area 301b occupied by 02, the pre-filter 201 is not applied at all. In this way, by gradually changing the characteristics of the pre-filter 201 in a plurality of regions and controlling the characteristics, it is possible to provide an image in a natural state in which the control boundary line is not conspicuous.

As a method of roughening the quantization step width in the peripheral region, for example, H.264. It is possible to apply a method of applying the same characteristics as the characteristics of the pre-filter 201 shown in FIG. 4 to the values up to the Nyquist frequency from the DC coefficient of the quantization matrix in H.261 or MPEG. is there.

Further, in the present embodiment, the compression coding method is based on the H.264 standard. 261 or MPEG (a method called a simple profile), but for example, a B picture of about 2 frames is placed between an I picture and a P picture, and I pictures on both sides are arranged.
Also, a method called “main profile” for ME from P picture is applicable without any problem.

Further, in the present embodiment, the zoom key 12
When the operation No. 4 is detected, the control parameter (image compression parameter) for the pre-filter 201 and the quantizer 204 is controlled to change the code generation amount in the central region and the peripheral region of the captured image. For example, the control may be performed based on the zoom speed.

The compression processing parameter values are not limited to those in the area near the subject and the other areas, and the compression processing can be performed between the area on the screen and the other area. The parameter values may be different.

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the host and the terminal of the present embodiment to a system or apparatus, and to supply the computer (or the computer of the system or apparatus). It is needless to say that this can be achieved by the CPU and MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the present embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code and the program code constitute the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, ROM, flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
A DR, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, or the like can be used. Further, not only the functions of the present embodiment are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, but also the OS or the like running on the computer actually performs the processing based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where a part or all of the above is performed and the processing realizes the functions of the present embodiment is also included. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the extended function board inserted in the computer or the extended function unit connected to the computer, the extended function is executed based on the instruction of the program code. The CPU provided on the board or function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the processing includes the case where the functions of the present embodiment are realized.

FIG. 6 shows the function 600 of the computer. As shown in FIG. 6, the computer function 600 includes a CPU 601, a ROM 602, and an R
AM 603, keyboard controller (KBC) 605 of keyboard (KB) 609, and CR as a display unit
T-display (CRT) 610 CRT controller (CRTC) 606 and hard disk (HD) 611
A disk controller (DKC) 607 of the flexible disk (FD) 612 and a network interface controller (NIC) 608 for connecting to the network 620 are connected to each other via a system bus 604 so that they can communicate with each other. .

The CPU 601 is a ROM 602 or HD.
By executing the software stored in 611 or the software supplied from FD612, each component connected to the system bus 604 is comprehensively controlled.
That is, the CPU 601 executes the processing program according to the predetermined processing sequence in the ROM 602 or the HD 61.
1 or by reading from FD612 and executing,
Control for realizing the operation in this embodiment is performed.

The RAM 603 functions as the main memory or work area of the CPU 601. KBC605
Controls instruction input from the KB 609 or a pointing device (not shown). CRTC606 is C
It controls the display of the RT 610. The DKC607 is a boot program, various applications, edit files,
It controls access to the HD 611 and the FD 612 that store a user file, a network management program, and a predetermined processing program according to the present embodiment. N
The IC 608 bidirectionally exchanges data with a device or system on the network 620.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the zoom operation is performed by operating the zoom key,
Efficient image compression can be achieved without deteriorating the image quality of the central region of the photographed image (the region of an important subject existing in the central portion).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera-integrated image recording device to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a compression / expansion processing unit (decoder function) of the camera-integrated image recording device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining control of a prefilter in the compression / expansion processing unit (decoder function).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining characteristics of the pre-filter.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining control for enlarging a portion not subjected to the pre-filter near the telephoto end when zooming in, as the control of the pre-filter.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer that reads a program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the image recording apparatus with a built-in camera from a computer-readable storage medium and executes the program.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Camera-integrated image recording device 110 camera section 111 lens 112 zoom lens 113 Iris 114 focus lens 115 Image sensor (CCD) 116 Camera signal processing circuit 117 A / D converter 120 control unit 121 Camera control unit 122 System control unit 123 Storage control unit 124 Operation unit (zoom key) 130 Display output unit 131 Display driver (LCD driver) 132 LCD 133 D / A converter (DAC) for line output 140 storage 141 compression / expansion processing unit (CODEC) 142 ECC processing unit 142 143 recording medium 143

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C022 AB66 AC79                 5C053 GA11 GB22 GB26 GB28 GB29                       GB32 GB37 KA12 LA01                 5C059 MA00 MA05 MA15 MA23 MC11                       MC38 ME01 NN41 NN47 PP05                       PP06 PP07 PP16 PP26 SS13                       SS14 TA46 TA69 TB04 TC11                       TD05 UA02 UA05 UA12

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for compressing image information of a subject obtained by imaging subject light through an optical system, wherein the compression is performed based on a zoom key operation for controlling the optical system. An image processing apparatus comprising a control means for controlling processing parameters. 2. The image information is supplied through a band limiting filter, and the control means changes the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter according to the zoom key operation. The image processing device described. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means changes only the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter with respect to the peripheral area of the subject in the image information. 4. The control means, when the zoom key operation is performed, makes the attenuation amount of the band limiting filter with respect to the peripheral region larger than when the zoom key operation is not performed. 2. The image processing device according to 2. 5. The compression process includes a quantization process for quantizing the image information, and the control means changes a quantization step width in the quantization process according to the zoom key operation. The image processing device according to claim 1. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control means changes only the quantization step width for the peripheral area of the subject in the image information. 7. The control means, when the zoom key operation is performed, makes the quantization step width of the compression processing for the peripheral region of the subject in the image information larger than when the zoom key operation is not performed. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means executes the control based on a zoom operation speed when the zoom key operation is performed. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means changes the peripheral area based on a zoom operation according to the zoom key operation. 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the zoom operation in the case of following the zoom key operation includes an operation of zooming in a direction of enlarging the subject. 11. The control means changes the value of a parameter of the compression process between a first area and a second area on the screen according to the image information according to the zoom key operation. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus. 12. The image processing according to claim 11, wherein the first region is a region near a central portion of the screen, and the second region is a region other than the central portion of the screen. apparatus. 13. An image processing system comprising a plurality of devices communicably connected to each other, wherein at least one of the plurality of devices is an image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12. An image processing system having the function of. 14. An image processing method for compressing image information of a subject obtained by picking up light of a subject through an optical system, the method being based on a zoom key operation for controlling the optical system. An image processing method comprising: a control step of controlling a parameter of the compression processing. 15. An image processing method for photographing a subject light through an optical system with an image pickup device to generate an image signal of the subject, compressing the image signal, and recording the compressed image signal on a recording medium. An image processing method comprising: a control step of controlling the compression parameter based on a detection result that a zoom key for controlling an optical system is operated. 16. The control step comprises: for a peripheral region of a central region on an image based on the image signal, during the operation of the zoom key, as compared with when the zoom key is not operated, 16. The image processing method according to claim 15, further comprising a step of increasing an attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter before the compression processing and / or increasing a quantization coefficient in the compression processing. 17. The control step includes a step of increasing an attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter and / or increasing a quantization coefficient in proportion to a speed of a zoom operation by operating the zoom key. The image processing method according to claim 16, characterized in that. 18. The control step includes a step of gradually increasing an attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter and / or increasing the quantization coefficient from the central region toward the peripheral region. The image processing method according to claim 16, wherein: 19. The control step comprises gradually increasing an attenuation amount of the band-limiting prefilter when zooming in on a tele side which is a direction of enlarging the central region by operating the zoom key, and / 17. The image processing method according to claim 16, further comprising increasing the quantization coefficient. 20. The control step does not gradually increase the attenuation amount of the band limiting prefilter when zooming in on the tele side, which is a direction of enlarging the central region, by operating the zoom key, and / 17. The image processing method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of gradually expanding the region where the quantization coefficient is not increased. 21. A computer-readable storage medium recording a program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or the function of the image processing system according to claim 13. . 22. A computer-readable storage medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to claim 14. 23. A program for causing a computer to realize the function of the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or the function of the image processing system according to claim 13. 24. A program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of the image processing method according to claim 14.