JP2003244487A - Digital camera and image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the processing load on a digital camera or the like by performing a histogram display for evaluating whether or not an image is of a proper exposure efficiently and timely. <P>SOLUTION: In the case of live view display in a photographing mode, a live view image updating part 26 outputs successively obtained live view images LVG to a display control part 33 and updates the display image on an LCD 5. Besides, a change of photographing conditions such as the state change of an object, a framing change or a change of a photographing parameter is detected by a photographing condition change detecting part 24 and a histogram image is generated by functioning a histogram operation part 25. When the photographing condition is changed, the display control part 33 updates the indication of the histogram displayed on the LCD 5 with a histogram image obtained from the histogram operation part 25. <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 and an image display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for overlay-displaying an image before recording and a histogram of the image in a digital camera is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-38801.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-245204 discloses a technique of displaying a histogram not only at the time of shooting but also at the time of reproducing an image and changing the display color of the histogram according to the state of the histogram. There is.

[0004]

By the way, the purpose of displaying the histogram is to determine whether or not the image to be photographed or the image obtained by photographing is a proper exposure.

Therefore, even before the main photographing, even though the photographing conditions such as the condition of the subject, the framing condition of the digital camera, and the setting condition of the photographing parameters are almost the same, the histogram of the image is constantly obtained and the histogram is displayed. Updating has a problem that the processing load of the digital camera becomes excessive.

On the other hand, when the condition of the subject changes,
When shooting conditions change, such as when framing changes or when shooting parameters change, a histogram display is displayed to evaluate whether the image that reflects the changes has the proper exposure. Need to be updated promptly.

Further, in recent years, digital cameras capable of photographing moving images have also appeared, but it is often the case that still images are photographed to evaluate whether or not an image with proper exposure has been obtained after photographing. Therefore, it is not necessary to display the histogram when displaying the moving image, and displaying the histogram when displaying the moving image significantly reduces the processing efficiency of the image display function.

Particularly in digital cameras, efficient processing is desired from the viewpoint of power consumption, release time lag, etc., and it is necessary to display histograms efficiently and effectively.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a histogram display for evaluating whether or not an image has a proper exposure is displayed in a timely and efficient manner, so that a digital camera and An object is to reduce the processing load of the image display device.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is a digital camera, which is an image pickup means for photographing a subject, and before the main photographing.
A display unit capable of displaying an image obtained from the image pickup unit and a histogram of the image, a detection unit for detecting a change in the photographing condition, and the image pickup unit when the detecting unit detects the change in the photographing condition. And a control unit for obtaining the histogram of the image obtained from the above and updating the histogram display in the display unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera, which is an image pickup means for photographing an object, and a display means capable of displaying an image obtained from the image pickup means and a histogram of the image before the main photographing. Control means for obtaining a histogram of an image obtained from the image pickup means and updating the histogram display on the display means, wherein the control means displays the histogram on the display means when bulb photographing is performed in the main photographing. Off,
Alternatively, the function of obtaining the image histogram is stopped.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera, which is obtained from image pickup means for photographing a subject, storage means for storing an image obtained by a main photographing operation of the image pickup means, and the image pickup means. A display unit capable of displaying an image and the image stored in the storage unit, a histogram calculation unit for obtaining a histogram of the image, and a histogram of the image obtained from the image pickup unit by operating the histogram calculation unit before actual photographing. When the image is displayed on the display unit, it is also provided with a control unit that causes the histogram calculation unit to function even after the main photographing to display the histogram of the image stored in the storage unit on the display unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display device, wherein a display means for displaying an image and a plurality of images including a still image and a moving image are stored in association with respective thumbnail images. A storage unit, a selected image display control unit that selects one display target image from the plurality of images, and causes the display unit to display the thumbnail image associated with the display target image; And a histogram display control means for displaying the histogram of the display target image on the display means,
Control means for effectively causing the histogram display control means to function when the display target image is a still image, and stopping the function of the histogram display control means when the display target image is a moving image, Is equipped with.

[0014]

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

<1. First Embodiment> FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are views showing an external configuration of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a top view,
FIG. 3 corresponds to a rear view. These drawings do not necessarily follow the trigonometric projection method, and the main purpose is to exemplify the appearance of the digital camera 1.

A photographic lens 2 is provided on the front side of the digital camera 1. The photographing lens 2 has a zoom function and is configured so that the photographing magnification can be changed by manually rotating the zoom ring 2a.

Further, a shutter button (release button) 9 is provided on the upper surface of the digital camera 1, and the shutter button 9 is a two-step push switch capable of detecting a half-pressed state and a full-pressed state by the user. When the auto focus mode is set, the auto focus control starts when the button is pressed halfway down, and the main shooting operation for shooting the image for recording starts when the button is pressed fully. To do.

Further, on the upper surface of the digital camera 1, there is provided a mode switching dial 3 for switching and setting among "shooting mode", "playback mode" and "communication mode". The shooting mode is a mode for shooting a subject and generating image data, and the shooting mode is further subdivided into a still image shooting mode and a moving image shooting mode. The reproduction mode is a mode in which the image data recorded in the memory card 90 is reproduced and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit (hereinafter, referred to as LCD) 5 provided on the back side of the digital camera 1. Further, the communication mode is a mode in which data is transferred to the external computer 91 or the like via the external connection interface 38 provided on the side surface of the digital camera 1.

On the back surface of the digital camera 1, an LCD 5 for performing live view display and playback display of recorded images before the main photographing operation, and an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as EV).
It is called F. ) 4 and are provided. A color image is displayed on each of the LCD 5 and the EVF 4.
In the following description, the LCD 5 is 320 × 240.
An example will be described in which the number of display pixels is 1.

A menu button 6 is provided on the back surface of the digital camera 1. When the menu button 6 is pressed, various menu screens are displayed on the LCD 5. Also, on the back of the digital camera 1, LC
A control button 7 including a cross cursor button for moving the display cursor in D5 in four directions and a decision button provided in the center of the cross cursor button is provided. Various shooting parameter setting operations are performed using the menu button 6 and the control button 7. The setting states of various shooting parameters are displayed on the data panel 8 arranged on the upper surface side of the digital camera 1. In addition to the above, various operation buttons such as an enlargement button 35a are arranged on the back surface of the digital camera 1.

Further, the side surface of the digital camera 1 is provided with an inserting / mounting portion for a memory card 90 which is a removable recording medium, and image data obtained by actual photographing is set in the inserting / mounting portion. It is recorded on the card 90.

Next, the internal structure of the digital camera 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the internal functions of the digital camera 1.

The taking lens 2 is driven by the lens driving unit 31 and is configured to change the focus state of the image formed on the CCD image pickup device 10. Note that when automatic focusing is set, the overall control unit 20 automatically determines the lens driving amount of the taking lens 2 from the image, and the taking lens 2 is driven based on this lens driving amount. When manual focus is set, the lens drive amount is determined according to the operation amount of the control button 7 by the user, and the taking lens 2 is driven based on this lens drive amount.

The CCD image pickup device 10 functions as an image pickup means for picking up a subject image to generate an electronic image signal, has 2560 × 1920 pixels, and is formed by the taking lens 2. R image of each pixel
Image signals of red (red), G (green), and B (blue) color components (signals consisting of a signal sequence of pixel signals received by each pixel) are photoelectrically converted and output. The timing generator 32 is C
Various timing pulses for controlling the drive of the CD image pickup device 10 are generated.

There are three driving modes (reading modes) for the CCD image pickup device 10: a draft mode, an automatic focusing mode, and a main photographing mode.

The draft mode is applied during a so-called live view display, which is a read mode for generating an image for live view display for previewing before actual photographing. Generally, signal reading from the CCD image pickup device is performed for each horizontal line. Therefore, in the draft mode, when the pixel signal for each horizontal line is read from the CCD image pickup device 10 having 2560 pixels in the horizontal direction and 1920 pixels in the vertical direction, the CCD image pickup device 10 is driven so as to read one line out of eight lines. It In other words, in the draft mode, the horizontal lines of 1920 are read out with 1/8 thinned out. As a result, the image G1 output from the CCD image sensor in the draft mode is
As shown in FIG. 5, it is composed of 2560 × 240 pixels.

The automatic focusing mode is a read mode applied during automatic focusing control. In the automatic focusing mode, of the 240 lines read in the draft mode, 80 lines located in the center are read out. As a result, the image G2 output from the CCD image pickup device in the automatic focusing mode is composed of 2560 × 80 pixels as shown in FIG. The broken line in FIG. 6 shows the image G1 in the draft mode.

Further, the main photographing mode is a mode in which an image signal is read out for the entire frame, that is, all pixels of 2560 × 1920. Then, the timing generator 32 drives the CCD image pickup device 10 based on the designated mode among these read modes.

The image signal obtained from the CCD image pickup device 10 is applied to the signal processing circuit 11, and the signal processing circuit 11 subjects the image signal (analog signal) to predetermined analog signal processing. The signal processing circuit 11 has a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) and an automatic gain control circuit (AGC). The correlated double sampling circuit performs noise reduction processing on the image signal, and the automatic gain control circuit adjusts the gain. By adjusting, the level of the image signal is adjusted.

The A / D converter 12 converts each pixel signal of the image signal into a 12-bit digital signal.
The A / D converter 12 receives the A input from the overall control unit 20.
Each pixel signal (analog signal) is converted into a 12-bit digital signal based on the clock for / D conversion.

The WB (white balance) circuit 13 is
The level conversion of each color component of R, G, B is performed.
The WB circuit 13 uses the level conversion table stored in the overall control unit 20 to convert the levels of the R, G, and B color components. The parameters (gradients of characteristics) of each color component of the level conversion table are set by the overall control unit 20 automatically or manually for each captured image. The γ correction circuit 14 corrects the gradation of pixel data.

The color correction unit 15 performs color correction on the image data input from the γ correction circuit 14 based on the color correction parameters set by the user.
The color information expressed in the RGB color space is converted into the color information expressed in the YCrCb color space. By this color system conversion, the luminance component value Y is obtained for all pixels.

The resolution conversion section 16 includes the CCD image pickup device 10.
Resolution conversion to the image data obtained from,
The area is cut out.

For example, during live view display, the resolution conversion unit 16 performs a predetermined resolution conversion on the image data obtained by driving the CCD image pickup device 10 in the draft mode, and an image size suitable for the number of display pixels of the LCD 5. Image data (320 × 240 pixels) is generated. That is,
At the time of live view display, the resolution conversion unit 16 thins out ⅛ only in the horizontal direction of the image G1 shown in FIG. 5, and the live view image L having 320 × 240 pixels is displayed.
The VG is generated.

Unlike during live view display, image components corresponding to the AF evaluation area are extracted during automatic focusing. The AF evaluation area is composed of image components having 640 × 80 pixels, and as shown in FIG. 6, an image component of 640 × 80 pixels located in the central portion of the image G2 obtained from the CCD image pickup device 10 at the time of automatic focusing. It is extracted by cutting out.

The resolution conversion section 16 outputs the image data obtained from the color correction section 15 to the overall control section 20 as it is without performing the resolution conversion process during the actual photographing. Then, the image data obtained at the time of actual photographing is stored in the image memory 34.

During the live view display, the image data subjected to the predetermined resolution conversion by the resolution conversion section 16 is given to the display control section 33 via the overall control section 20, and the live view is performed on the LCD 5 and the EVF 4. While the image is displayed, it is also given to the photometric calculation unit 18, and the evaluation value for automatic exposure (AE) control is calculated. On the other hand, during the automatic focusing control, the image data subjected to the predetermined resolution conversion by the resolution converting section 16 is given to the AF evaluation value calculating section 17 to calculate the evaluation value for the automatic focusing (AF) control. To be done.

The AF evaluation value calculation unit 17 functions when the shutter button 9 is half-pressed by the user, and performs an evaluation value calculation operation for performing contrast type automatic focusing control. Here, based on the image components of the AF evaluation area obtained from the resolution conversion unit 16, the sum of absolute differences between the two pixels adjacent in the horizontal direction is calculated as the AF evaluation value. Then, the AF evaluation value calculated by the AF evaluation value calculation unit 17 is output to the overall control unit 20.

In the photometry calculation section 18, the image data of 640 × 240 pixels output from the resolution conversion section 16 in the draft mode is divided into, for example, 300 (20 × 15) blocks, and AE is performed based on the representative luminance value of each block. Calculate the evaluation value for use. AE calculated by the photometric calculation unit 18
The evaluation value for use is output to the overall control unit 20.

The image memory 34 is a memory for temporarily storing the image data obtained by the CCD image pickup device 10 at the time of actual photographing and subjected to the above image processing. Image memory 34
Has a storage capacity of at least one frame.
When an after-view of the image is performed after the main photographing, the image data is given from the image memory 34 to the display control unit 33, and the image display for confirming the photographed image is performed. When the user gives a recording instruction, the image data is transferred from the image memory 34 to the memory card 90, and the image data is recorded and saved.

Card interface (card I / F) 3
Reference numeral 7 denotes an interface for writing / reading image data to / from the memory card 90 attached to the insertion / attachment portion on the side surface of the digital camera 1. When reading / writing image data from / to the memory card 90, the compression / decompression unit 36 performs compression or decompression of the image data, for example, in the JPEG system. The external connection interface (external connection I / F) 38 is an interface for enabling communication with the external computer 91 via a communication cable or the like, and is realized by, for example, a communication interface conforming to the USB standard. These cards I / F3
7. Through the external connection I / F 38, the control program recorded in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM set in the memory card 90 or the external computer 91 is loaded into the overall control unit 2
0 in the RAM 20a or the ROM 20b.

The operation section 35 is an operation section including the mode switching dial 3, the menu button 6, the control button 7, the shutter button 9 and the enlargement button 35a described above, and is a member for the user to operate the setting of the digital camera 1. is there.

The camera shake detection sensor 39 is a sensor for detecting a posture change of the digital camera 1 in the photographing mode, and is composed of a gyro sensor or the like. With this camera shake detection sensor 39, it is possible to perform camera shake correction during actual shooting. Further, based on the output of the camera shake detection sensor 39, it can be estimated that the framing state of the digital camera 1 has changed when the posture change amount of the digital camera 1 is equal to or more than a predetermined amount.

The overall control unit 20 is composed of a microcomputer having a RAM 20a and a ROM 20b therein, and the microcomputer executes a predetermined program to function as a control means for controlling the above-mentioned units in a centralized manner.

The overall controller 20 has different functions when the digital camera 1 is in the photographing mode and when it is in the reproducing mode.

In the photographing mode, the overall control unit 20 commands the timing generator to drive the CCD image pickup device 10. Specifically, during live view display, the CCD image sensor 10 is set to the draft mode,
During automatic focusing (AF), the CCD image sensor 10 is set to the automatic focus mode, and during the main shooting operation, the CCD image sensor 10 is set.
To the main shooting mode.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the overall control section 20 during live view display in the shooting mode. At the time of live view display, the overall control unit 20, as shown in FIG. 7, is an exposure control unit 21, a shooting parameter setting change unit 22, a camera shake determination unit 23, and a shooting condition change detection unit 2.
4. It functions as the histogram calculation unit 25 and the live view image update unit 26, and is configured to display the live view image when the live view is displayed and to overlay the histogram of the image on the live view image.

In this embodiment, in particular, the photographing condition change detection unit 24 is configured to detect a change in the photographing condition and update the display of the histogram. However, the change of the photographing condition means that the state of the subject or the state of the digital camera 1 changes.

The exposure control section 21 controls the exposure based on the AE evaluation value obtained from the photometric calculation section 18 so that the image obtained during the actual photographing has a proper exposure. The exposure control unit 21 is further provided with an AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a. The AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a has a storage unit that stores a predetermined threshold value TH determined in advance and the AE evaluation value obtained by the photometric calculation unit 18 for the previous live view image. When the evaluation value for AE is acquired from the photometry calculation unit 18 for the live view image of this time, the AE calculated for the previous live view image is obtained.
Evaluation value and A obtained for this live view image
The evaluation value for E is compared to evaluate whether or not there is a change of a predetermined threshold value TH or more.

Here, when the AE evaluation value obtained for the current live view image is compared with the AE evaluation value obtained for the previous live view image by more than the threshold value TH, the brightness of the image is changed. It may change. Further, as factors that further change the brightness of the image, for example, when the brightness of the subject itself changes, when the brightness around the subject changes, when the shooting target changes to a different subject, the framing of the digital camera 1 is performed. There are various possible causes, such as the change in.

When the AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a shows a change of a predetermined value or more, the AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a is configured to instruct the photographing condition change detection unit 24 to that effect.

The photographing parameter setting changing unit 22 is for reflecting the setting status of the user in the photographing mode in each unit. For example, when a shooting scene is selected or color correction conditions are set via the operation unit 35, the shooting parameter setting changing unit 22 causes the timing generator 32, the color correcting unit 15, and the like to perform shutter speed (CCD image pickup device 10). Charge accumulation time) and color correction parameters. Also, if these shooting parameters are changed,
Since the exposure condition and the color tone of the image will change, the photographing parameter setting changing unit 22 is configured to instruct the photographing condition change detecting unit 24 when the photographing parameter is changed. The same applies when parameters related to image processing other than color correction are set.

The camera-shake determination unit 23 monitors the amount of posture change from the camera-shake detection sensor 39 in the photographing mode and corrects the camera-shake according to the amount of posture change during the main photographing operation. Further, when the live view is displayed, it is determined whether or not the posture change amount exceeds a predetermined amount, and when the posture change amount exceeds the predetermined amount, the fact is instructed to the photographing condition change detection unit 24.
Thereby, for example, when the framing changes greatly during live view display, the change in the framing can be grasped as a change in the shooting condition.

The photographing condition change detector 24 and the histogram calculator 25 function when the histogram display is set in the photographing mode, and function when the histogram display is not set. do not do.

The photographing condition change detection unit 24 detects that the photographing condition has changed when a signal is received from the AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a, the photographing parameter setting change unit 22 or the camera shake determination unit 23. Thereby, the photographing condition change detection unit 24, for example, when the brightness of the subject itself changes,
Changes in the shooting conditions such as when the brightness around the subject changes, when the shooting target changes to a different subject, when the framing of the digital camera 1 changes, or when the shooting parameters of the digital camera 1 are changed and set. Will be detected.

When the change of the photographing condition is detected, the photographing condition change detecting section 24 instructs the histogram calculating section 25 to perform the histogram calculation. Then, the histogram calculation unit 25 obtains an image luminance distribution, that is, a histogram based on the live view image LVG input at that time, generates a histogram image, and displays the display control unit 3.
Output to 3.

That is, in this embodiment, the histogram display is not updated based on all the live view images sequentially input at a predetermined interval, but the histogram changes a lot when the shooting conditions do not change. Therefore, the histogram display is not updated, and the histogram display is updated only when the shooting conditions change. As a result, the frequency with which the overall control unit 20 performs the histogram calculation can be reduced, and the processing load on the overall control unit 20 is reduced.

Further, even when the change of the photographing condition is detected, the photographing condition change detecting section 24 judges whether or not the currently set shutter speed is the bulb photographing,
In the case of bulb photography, the histogram calculation unit 25 is configured not to function. That is, the shooting condition change detection unit 24 also functions as a bulb shooting determination unit, and when bulb shooting is set, the histogram is not displayed even if the shooting conditions change. When the bulb shooting is set, the CCD image sensor 1 is operated during the main shooting while the user fully presses the shutter button 9.
Electric charge accumulation by 0 is performed. For this reason, even if the histogram display during live view display is performed, it is often different from the histogram of the image obtained during actual shooting, and the significance of displaying the histogram during live view display is low. The histogram is not displayed.

The live view image updating unit 26 sequentially displays the live view images which are sequentially input at a predetermined interval.
To update the live view image displayed on the LCD 5 (or EVF 4). For example, CC
When the shooting operation for live view display is repeatedly performed in the D image pickup device 10 every 1/30 seconds, the live view image updating unit 26 gives the live view image to be input to the display control unit 33 every 1/30 seconds. By doing so, the display of the live view image is updated.

As shown in FIG. 7, the display control unit 33 displays the live view image obtained from the live view image updating unit 26 on the LCD 5 (or EVF 4), and the histogram calculation unit 25 functions. In this case, the histogram image H obtained from the histogram calculation unit 25
It is displayed with G overlaid on the live view image. Then, while the live view image is sequentially updated, the histogram display is maintained until the histogram image is input next time.

Next, the overall control unit 2 in the photographing mode
The processing sequence of 0 will be described. 8 to 1
2 is a flowchart showing the overall processing sequence in the shooting mode.

First, when the user turns on the histogram display in step S100, step S100
Proceed to 102. It should be noted that when the histogram display is in the off state, another processing sequence that does not display the histogram is executed, but the description thereof will be omitted.

When the histogram display is turned on, the count value CNT is initialized to 0. This count value CNT is a value for counting the number of times the display of the live view image is updated.

Then, in order to perform the live view display, the overall control unit 20 sets the drive system of the CCD image pickup device 10 to the draft mode (step S104). Thereafter, the digital camera 1 performs a live view image capturing operation, and updates the display of the live view image on the LCD 5 based on the live view image obtained by the capturing operation (step S106). By this step S106, the first live view image is displayed on the LCD 5.

Further, the photometric calculation section 18 performs step S10.
The AE evaluation value is calculated based on the live view image obtained in step 6, and the calculated AE evaluation value is provided to the overall control unit 20 (step S108). In addition, this A
The evaluation value for E is stored in the evaluation value evaluation unit 21a for AE.

In the overall control unit 20, even when the histogram display is turned on, the histogram calculation unit 25 functions to obtain a histogram from the live view image LVG obtained first and display the histogram ( Histogram display processing) is performed (step S1).
10).

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a detailed processing sequence of step S110 and steps S132 and S158 described later. In this embodiment, image histogram generation is performed using a histogram table in which luminance values and pixel numbers are associated with each other. Therefore, in the histogram display process, the histogram table is first initialized (step S20).
0). Next, parameters i, j for specifying the pixel position
Are initialized to 1 (step S202).

Then, the histogram calculation section 25 acquires the luminance value Yij from the image data for live view display (step S204). Since the live view image LVG provided from the resolution conversion unit 16 to the overall control unit 20 has color information expressed in the YCrCb color space for each pixel, the histogram calculation unit 25 includes the Y signal corresponding to the luminance component. To get. Then, the pixel position (i,
When the luminance value Yij of j) is acquired, the histogram table is updated by increasing the frequency (the number of pixels) corresponding to the luminance value Yij of the histogram table by 1 (step S206).

Then, the operations of steps S204 and S206 are repeated until all the pixels forming the live view image are performed (steps S208, S210, S).
212, S214).

As a result, the 3 parts that form the live view image
The histogram table based on the luminance value Y for all 20 × 240 pixels is completed, and the histogram calculation unit 25 generates a histogram image based on the histogram table and outputs it to the display control unit 33 (step S216). Then, the display control unit 33 displays on the LCD the image in which the histogram is overlaid on the live view image.
5 (or EVF4) will be displayed.

With the above, the histogram display processing in step S110 is completed, and the first histogram display is performed.

Next, in step S112 (flowchart in FIG. 8), the shooting operation of the next live view image and the display update processing of the live view image are performed. That is, the live view image displayed on the LCD 5 or the like is updated to the latest live view image by the process of step S112. However, the histogram is not updated.

Then, in the photometry calculation section 18, step S
The AE evaluation value is calculated based on the live view image obtained at 112, and the calculated AE evaluation value is given to the overall control unit 20 (step S114).

Next, proceeding to the flowchart of FIG. 9, it is determined in the overall control unit 20 whether or not bulb photography is performed (step S116). If bulb photography is set, the process proceeds to step S128, the histogram display is switched off, and the process proceeds to step S138. This prevents inappropriate histogram display during bulb exposure.

On the other hand, if bulb photography has not been set, the flow advances to step S118. If the bulb photography is not set, the AE evaluation value evaluation unit 21a sets the previous A
The evaluation value for E and the evaluation value for AE this time are compared to determine whether or not the evaluation value for AE has changed by a predetermined value TH or more (step S118). If the AE evaluation value has changed by the predetermined value or more, the process proceeds to step S132, and the AE
If the usage evaluation value has not changed by the predetermined value or more, the process proceeds to step S120.

If the AE evaluation value has not changed by more than the predetermined value, it is determined whether or not the count value CNT has reached 15 (step S120). And count value CNT
If is 15, the process proceeds to step S132, and the count value C
If NT is less than 15, the process proceeds to step S122.

When the evaluation value for AE changes by a predetermined value or more,
Alternatively, when the count value CNT is 15, the histogram display update processing is performed in step S132. The details of this process are the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 described above. In step S132 when the AE evaluation value changes by a predetermined value or more, or when the count value CNT is 15, the histogram is calculated and displayed for the live view image acquired in step S112.

When the count value CNT is 15, the histogram display is updated so that the histogram displayed at that time is 1 more than the current live view image.
This is because the histogram is created based on the image of five frames before, so that the histogram is displayed based on the latest live view image. Also, when comparing this live view image with the previous live view image, no significant change is detected, but this live view image is
This is because it is assumed that a comparatively large change occurs as compared with the live view image five frames before, and in such a case, it is preferable to update the histogram display.

In step S122, it is determined whether or not a manual focusing operation has been performed. If the manual focusing operation is performed, the process proceeds to step S130, and if the manual focusing operation is not performed, the process proceeds to step S124. This step S122 functions when the focusing mode is set as manual focusing, and when it is set as automatic focusing, step S124 is performed without determining whether or not a manual focusing operation is performed.
Will proceed to.

In step S124, it is determined whether or not an operation for changing the photographing parameter has been performed. When the photographing parameter changing operation is performed, the photographing parameter is changed and set according to the contents of the operation, and step S13 is performed.
Go to 0. On the other hand, if the operation of changing the shooting parameter has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S126. If bubble shooting is set as a result of the change operation, the process jumps to step S128.

In step S126, it is determined whether or not the framing state of the digital camera 1 has changed based on the output of the camera shake detection sensor 39. If it is determined that the framing has changed, the process proceeds to step S130, whereas if it is determined that the framing has not changed, the process proceeds to step S136.

If the manual focusing operation is performed, the shooting parameter changing operation is performed, or the framing is changed, the live view image shooting operation and the live view image display are performed in step S130. Update processing is performed. That is, when a manual focusing operation is performed, a shooting parameter changing operation is performed, or framing changes, it is necessary to immediately display a live view image after such shooting conditions are changed. Therefore, the live view image displayed on the LCD 5 or the like is updated in step S130.

When the live view image is acquired and the display is updated in step S130, step S1
Proceeding to 32, display update processing of the histogram is performed based on the live view image obtained in step S130. That is, when the manual focusing operation is performed, the shooting parameter changing operation is performed, or the framing is changed, it means that the shooting condition by the digital camera 1 is changed. It is necessary to update the histogram display that is being performed, and the histogram display is configured to be updated based on the live view image in which such a change in the shooting condition is reflected.

When the histogram display is updated in step S132, the flow advances to step S134 to initialize the count value CNT to zero.

On the other hand, if the determination in step S126 is NO, it means that the photographing conditions have not changed. Therefore, the count value CNT is incremented by 1 and the process proceeds to step S138. In other words, when the shooting conditions have not changed at all, the processing load is reduced without performing the histogram calculation processing or the histogram display update processing.

Then, in a step S138, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 9 is half pressed. If the shutter button 9 is half pressed, step S1
40 (flowchart in FIG. 10), whereas if the shutter button 9 is not half-pressed, the process returns to step S112 (flowchart in FIG. 8) to update the live view image and change shooting conditions. The updating of the corresponding histogram display is repeated. However, as described above, the histogram display is updated when the count value CNT reaches 15 even when the shooting conditions do not change.

When the shutter button 9 is pressed halfway down, the overall control section 20 determines whether the focus mode is automatic focus or manual focus. Proceed to S142.

During automatic focusing (AF), the overall control unit 20
Functions as an automatic focusing control unit and sets the driving method of the CCD image pickup device 10 to the automatic focusing mode (step S14).
2).

The overall controller 20 drives the taking lens 2 and the AF evaluation value calculator 17 calculates the AF evaluation value from the image component of the AF evaluation area obtained at the lens position (step S144). In this embodiment, when the user half-presses the shutter button 9 in the live view display state in the shooting mode, the overall control unit 20 starts lens driving for automatic focusing, and AF obtained at each lens position. While evaluating the contrast of the image based on the evaluation value, the lens position having the highest contrast is specified as the focus position. For this reason,
In step S146, it is evaluated whether or not the in-focus position can be specified. If the in-focus position cannot be specified, the process returns to step S144, and the lens driving and AF evaluation value calculation operations are performed. repeat. When the focus position can be specified, the process proceeds to step S148, the photographing lens is driven to the focus position, and the image formed on the CCD image sensor 10 is brought into the focus state.

The overall control unit 20 is the CCD image pickup device 1
The driving method of 0 is set to the draft mode again, and the automatic focusing process is ended (step S150).

When the automatic focusing process is completed or when the manual focusing is set, the process proceeds to step S152.
Update the Live View image shooting and Live View image display.

Then, the photometric calculation section 18 operates in step S152.
The AE evaluation value is calculated based on the live view image obtained in step S4, and the AE evaluation value is given to the overall control unit 20 (step S154). The exposure control unit 21 is step S1.
Based on the evaluation value for AE obtained in S54, the shutter speed and aperture value that provide the proper exposure during the actual shooting are determined, and the settings are made for each unit (step S156). When the shutter speed or the aperture value is designated in advance by the user, the designated value is applied to perform the main photographing operation.

Next, the histogram calculation section 25 performs histogram calculation based on the live view image obtained in step S152, generates a histogram image, and updates the histogram display (step S158). That is,
The histogram is displayed while the shooting conditions for the main shooting are applied. This allows the user to easily determine whether or not the subject to be photographed has the proper exposure.

Next, in step S160, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 9 has been fully pressed. If the shutter button 9 is fully pressed, step S1
62 (flowchart in FIG. 11), the shutter button 9 is not fully pressed but is released from the half-pushed state, the process returns to step S112 (flowchart in FIG. 8) and the live view is performed. The update of the image and the update of the histogram display according to the change of the shooting condition are repeated.

When the shutter button 9 is fully pressed, the overall control unit 20 starts the main photographing operation for recording and saving the image.

First, the overall control unit 20 is the CCD image pickup device 1
0 is set to the main photographing mode (step S162). As a result, all pixels of the CCD image pickup device 10 can be read out. Then, the overall control unit 20 controls each unit to perform the main photographing operation to acquire a high-definition photographed image (step S
164). Next, the overall control unit 20 generates a thumbnail image from the shot image obtained by the main shooting operation (step S166). The thumbnail image is a reduced image for reference, and the captured image is a high-definition image composed of, for example, 2560 × 1920 pixels, whereas the thumbnail image is composed of, for example, 320 × 240 pixels corresponding to the LCD 5. To be done. Then, the overall control unit 20 stores the image data including the captured image and the thumbnail image in the image memory 34.
Is temporarily stored (step S168).

Next, it is determined whether or not the after-view setting for displaying the photographed image for a certain period of time after the main photographing is set to ON (step S170), and if the after-view setting is set to ON, the step is performed. Proceed to S174. On the other hand, if the after-view setting is off, the process proceeds to step S172, and it is determined whether the user has instructed quick view (172). The quick view is a display process for temporarily displaying a captured image when the user presses a predetermined captured image confirmation button after the main capturing operation. If the quick view is instructed, the process proceeds to step S174, and if not, the process proceeds to step S184.

In step S174, it is determined whether or not the histogram display is set to the on state. If the histogram display is on, the process proceeds to step S176,
The thumbnail image stored in the image memory 34 is acquired, a histogram is generated from the thumbnail image (step S176), and a display process for displaying the thumbnail image and the histogram on the LCD 5 is performed (step S178). At this time as well, the histogram is displayed in a state of being overlaid on the thumbnail image.

On the other hand, if the histogram display is off in step S174, the flow advances to step S180 to acquire a thumbnail image from the image memory 34,
Display processing is performed to display only the thumbnail image on the LCD 5 (step S180).

In other words, in this embodiment, when the user confirms the exposure state by the histogram display before the main photographing, the histogram is displayed together with the photographed image even when the photographed image is confirmed after the main photographing. It is configured so that the exposure can be confirmed by using a histogram. LCDs are generally used in digital cameras
5 and EVF4 have a remarkably lower resolution than that of the CCD image pickup device 10. Therefore, LCD
For a user who cannot accurately recognize the exposure state only by the image displayed on the display 5 or the like, a histogram can be displayed before and after the main shooting to easily determine the appropriateness of the exposure state. It is possible to do.

This image display (steps S178, S18
According to 0), when the user wants to delete the captured image, the predetermined delete button is pressed.

Then, it is judged whether or not there is a deletion instruction of the photographed image, and if there is a deletion instruction, the process proceeds to step S186. On the other hand, if there is no deletion instruction, or if the confirmation display after the main shooting is not performed, the process proceeds to step S184, and the shot image and the thumbnail image temporarily stored in the image memory 34 are stored in the memory card 90. Record. At this time, the overall control unit 20 generates tag information with shooting parameters and the like, and records the tag information, the shot image, and the thumbnail image in the memory card 90 in association with each other.

Thereafter, the overall control unit 20 controls the image memory 34.
The recorded contents of (1) are cleared (step S186), and the driving method of the CCD image pickup device 10 is set to the draft mode (step S188). Then, the process returns to step S112 (flowchart in FIG. 8) to prepare for the next shooting operation.

As described above, the digital camera 1 is configured to detect a change in the shooting condition in the shooting mode, and when the change in the shooting condition is detected, the C
The histogram of the image obtained from the CD image pickup device 10 is obtained, and the histogram display on the LCD 5 or the EVF 4 is updated. Therefore, the histogram display in the digital camera 1 is configured to be updated in a timely manner, and the processing load on the digital camera 1 is reduced as compared with the case where the histogram display is constantly updated. In particular, when each function of the overall control unit 20 is realized by executing a predetermined program, it is possible to efficiently perform other control operations by reducing the processing load such as histogram calculation.

Further, in the processing in the photographing mode, the histogram display is changed to the off state when bulb photographing is performed in the main photographing. However, the display form of the histogram may be changed not only by turning it off, but by not updating the display of the histogram. This makes it possible to reduce the processing load of histogram calculation during bulb photography. From the viewpoint of preventing an erroneous histogram from being displayed to the user during bulb photography, it is more preferable to turn off the histogram display as in the processing sequence described above.

Further, in the processing in the above photographing mode,
LCD5 histogram of live view image before actual shooting
And the like, the histogram of the captured image is displayed on the LCD 5 when confirming the captured image even after the main shooting, so that the user can check the histogram without performing any special operation after the shooting. Therefore, the operability of the digital camera 1 is improved, and the user can quickly confirm whether or not the exposure state of the captured image is appropriate.

<2. Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described. In addition, also in this embodiment,
The configuration of the digital camera 1 is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, a histogram display form in the case where a predetermined portion of an image obtained by the CCD image pickup device 10 is electronically enlarged by a user operation during live view display will be described.

As a case of electronically enlarging a predetermined portion of an image, there are a case where the user confirms the focus and a case where the electronic zoom is performed.

The focus confirmation means that the number of display pixels of the LCD 5 or the like is significantly smaller than the number of pixels of the CCD image pickup device 10. Therefore, even if the display image of the LCD 5 or the like is visually confirmed, whether or not the focus is confirmed It is difficult to perform, and the image is displayed so that the focus can be easily confirmed by enlarging and displaying a specific part such as the central part of the image. In particular, manual focus is set. It is effective when it is.

The electronic zoom is a case where an image is optically magnified by the function of the zoom lens of the photographing lens 2, and when the user wants to photograph a magnified image with a magnification greater than the optical magnification, By performing the electronic enlargement processing of the image, the image at the time of actual photographing can be photographed at an enlargement magnification higher than the optical magnification.

First, the present embodiment relating to the focus confirmation processing will be described. When the live view is displayed in the shooting mode, the live view image LVG is displayed as shown in FIG.
And the histogram HG of the live view image is LC
It is displayed on D5 etc.

An LCD with a low resolution, such as during manual focusing
If it is difficult to confirm the focus of the subject even if the displayed image of 5 is visually recognized, the user performs a pressing operation of the enlargement button 35a of the digital camera 1. As a result, an image in which the central portion R1 of the live view image LVG shown in FIG. 13 is magnified 4 times is displayed on the entire screen of the LCD 5 or the like, and it is possible to easily confirm the focus.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the concept of generating a focus confirmation image. During live view display, the CCD image pickup device 10 is driven in the draft mode, and an image G1 shown in FIG. 14 is obtained. In a normal live view display state, the resolution conversion unit 16 performs resolution conversion as shown in FIG. 5 to generate a live view image LVG. Here, when the enlargement button 35a is pressed, the resolution conversion unit 16 enlarges the image obtained by magnifying the central portion of the live view image LVG 4 times.
CCD image sensor 1 for displaying on the full screen such as CD5
340x located in the central part of the image G1 obtained from 0
The image component of 80 pixels is extracted.

Since the LCD 5 has a display pixel number of 340 × 240, the resolution conversion unit 16 sets 4 in the vertical direction so that the number of pixels in the vertical direction is 240 pixels.
Do the double complement process. However, LC in the horizontal direction
Since 340 pixels corresponding to the number of display pixels of D5 are extracted, there is no need for complementation processing.

By performing such processing, when the enlargement button 35a is pressed, an enlarged image MG1 for displaying the central portion of the image G1 obtained from the CCD image pickup device 10 on the LCD 5 is generated.

Then, the overall control unit 20 outputs the magnified image MG1 thus obtained to the display control unit 33 to display the magnified image MG1 on the LCD 5.

Regarding the display of the histogram at this time, there are a form in which the display of the histogram is turned off and a form in which the histogram display is reduced and displayed.

FIG. 15 shows the first in the focus confirmation mode.
6 is a flowchart showing the processing sequence of FIG. 7, showing a mode in which the histogram display is turned off in the focus confirmation mode. This flowchart is performed as an interrupt process when the enlargement button 35a is pressed during the live view display of the flowchart described in the first embodiment.

First, when the enlargement button 35a is pressed,
The overall control unit 20 determines whether to set or cancel the focus confirmation mode (step S200). Every time the user presses the enlargement button 35a during live view display, the setting and cancellation of the focus confirmation mode are repeated.

If the focus confirmation mode is set, the process proceeds to step S201, and the resolution conversion processing in the resolution conversion unit 16 is changed from the processing during normal live view display to the focus confirmation processing. As a result, the resolution conversion unit 16 performs resolution conversion as described with reference to FIG. 14, and an enlarged image MG1 obtained by enlarging the central portion R1 of the image obtained by the CCD image sensor 10 is obtained. Then, in step S202, by displaying the enlarged image MG1 on the LCD 5, it is possible to perform a display that allows the user to easily confirm the focus.

Then, in step S203, it is determined whether or not the histogram display is set to ON, and if the histogram display is set to OFF, the histogram display has not been performed before that, so that the enlarged image MG1 is displayed. It will exit the interrupt process while maintaining.

On the other hand, when the histogram display is set to ON, the histogram display has been performed before that. Therefore, the overall control unit 20 turns off the histogram display and maintains the display of the enlarged image MG1. You will exit the interrupt process as it is.

As a result, when the focus confirmation mode is set, only the magnified image MG1 is L as shown in FIG.
It will be displayed on the CD 5, and the histogram will not be displayed. Even after the interrupt processing for setting the focus confirmation mode is completed, the resolution conversion processing remains changed and the histogram display remains off.

On the other hand, if cancellation of the focus confirmation mode is determined in step S200, the process proceeds to step S210 and the resolution conversion processing in the resolution conversion unit 16 is changed from the focus confirmation processing to the processing during normal live view display. To change. As a result, the resolution conversion unit 16
In, the resolution conversion as described with reference to FIG. 5 is performed, and the live view image LVG based on the image G1 obtained by the CCD image sensor 10 is obtained. Then, in step S211, the live view image LVG is displayed on the LCD.
5 is displayed, it is possible for the user to perform a display in which the entire shooting range can be easily performed, and framing can be performed.

Then, in step S212, it is determined whether or not the histogram display is set to ON. If the histogram display is set to OFF, since the histogram display has not been performed before that, the live view image LVG is not displayed. Interruption processing will be exited while maintaining the display.

On the other hand, when the histogram display is set to ON, it is necessary to display the live view image LVG and the histogram, so the histogram display update processing is performed (step S213). This allows the LCD 5
As described in the first embodiment, the image displayed in <1> is an image in which a histogram is overlaid on the live view image LVG.

As described above, in the first processing sequence, the display of the histogram is turned off during the enlarged display for confirming the focus. In other words, the focus confirmation is often used when the user manually focuses, and the user can easily confirm the focus by turning off the histogram display.

Next, a mode of reducing the histogram display will be described.

FIG. 17 shows the second state in the focus confirmation mode.
6 is a flowchart showing the processing sequence of FIG. 7, showing a mode in which the histogram is reduced and displayed in the focus confirmation mode. Similar to the above, this flowchart is also performed as an interrupt process when the enlargement button 35a is pressed during the live view display of the flowchart described in the first embodiment.

This flowchart is different from the first processing sequence in steps S204a, S213a, and S213b, and the other processings are the same as those in the first processing sequence.

That is, when the focus confirmation mode is set in step S200,
If the histogram display is set to ON in 3, the overall control unit 20 performs the reduction setting of the histogram image displayed on the LCD 5 (step S204a). As a result, when magnified display in focus confirmation mode, L
The histogram display on the CD5 is displayed in a reduced size compared to the normal live view display. Then, the overall control unit 20 sets the reduction of the histogram image, and exits the interrupt process while maintaining the display of the enlarged image MG1 displayed in step S202.

As a result, when the focus confirmation mode is set, the enlarged image MG1 is displayed on the LCD as shown in FIG.
The histogram HG displayed on the LCD 5 and reduced as compared with the normal live view display is displayed on the LCD 5.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S200 that the focus confirmation mode has been canceled and the histogram display is set to ON in step S212, the histogram image displayed on the LCD 5 by the overall control unit 20 is displayed. Cancel the reduction setting (step S213)
a). As a result, the histogram display displayed on the LCD 5 from the next time onward becomes the image size at the time of normal live view display.

Then, the display update process of the histogram is performed (step S213b). As a result, the image displayed on the LCD 5 is an image in which the histogram is overlaid on the live view image LVG in a size larger than that at the time of focusing confirmation, as described in the first embodiment.

As described above, in the second processing sequence, the histogram is displayed in a reduced size during the enlarged display for confirming the focus. As described above, focus confirmation is often used when the user performs manual focusing, and when the histogram display is displayed in a relatively large state on the screen of the LCD 5, the user can easily confirm focus. Becomes difficult. Therefore, by displaying the histogram display in a smaller size than in the normal live view display during the enlarged display, the user can easily confirm the focus. Further, with such a configuration, it is possible to check the exposure state of the image at the same time as checking the focus.

However, even when the second processing sequence is applied and enlarged display is performed when confirming the focus, the histogram calculation target is the area corresponding to the actual shooting range in the main shooting. In other words, even when the enlarged display for confirming the focus is performed, the histogram calculation is performed for the same image area as in the normal live view display. As a result, it is possible to confirm the focus at the time of enlarged display, and it is possible to grasp the exposure state of the entire image to be captured.

Next, the present embodiment relating to the electronic zoom process will be described. When the live view is displayed in the shooting mode, the live view image LVG is displayed as shown in FIG.
And the histogram HG of the live view image is LC
It is displayed on D5 etc.

When it is difficult to increase the photographing magnification by the optical zoom, the user can use the menu button 6, control button 7 and enlargement button 35a of the digital camera 1.
A predetermined operation is performed with respect to to activate the electronic zoom.
As a result, an image in which the central portion R2 of the live view image LVG shown in FIG. 19 is magnified 2 times is displayed on the entire screen of the LCD 5 or the like, and it is possible to realize a photographing magnification higher than that which can be photographed by optical zoom. .

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the concept of generating an electronic zoom image. During live view display, the CCD image sensor 10 is driven in the draft mode, and an image G1 shown in FIG. 20 is obtained. In a normal live view display state, the resolution conversion unit 16 performs resolution conversion as shown in FIG. 5 to generate a live view image LVG. If the electronic zoom functions at this time, the resolution conversion unit 16 displays on the LCD the image obtained by doubling the central portion R2 of the live view image LVG.
5, 1280 × 1 located in the central portion of the image G1 obtained from the CCD image sensor 10 in order to display it on the full screen
The image component R3 of 20 pixels is extracted.

Since the LCD 5 is provided with the number of display pixels of 340 × 240, the resolution conversion section 16 sets the number of pixels in the vertical direction to 240 so that the number of pixels in the vertical direction is 2 in the vertical direction.
Do the double complement process. That is, the number of horizontal lines is 2 by complementing one horizontal line between adjacent horizontal lines.
There are 40 lines.

Further, the resolution conversion section 16 makes the horizontal direction 1/4 in the horizontal direction so that the number of horizontal pixels becomes 320 pixels.
Perform double reduction processing. For example, by extracting one pixel from four pixels that are continuous in the horizontal direction, it is possible to perform a reduction processing of 1/4 times.

By performing such processing, when the electronic zoom functions, an electronic zoom image (enlarged image) ZM1 for displaying the central portion R2 of the image G1 obtained from the CCD image pickup device 10 on the LCD 5 is obtained. Is generated.

Then, the overall control unit 20 outputs the electronic zoom image ZM1 thus obtained to the display control unit 33 so that the electronic zoom image ZM1 is displayed on the LCD 5.
Is displayed.

At this time, when the histogram display is set to ON, the overall control section 20 performs the histogram calculation based on the electronic zoom image ZM1 and generates the histogram image to display the electronic zoom image on the LCD 5. A histogram is displayed by overlaying on ZM1.

As a result, when the electronic zoom functions, the electronic zoom image ZM1 is displayed on the LCD as shown in FIG.
5, the histogram HG created based on the electronic zoom image ZM1 is displayed on the LCD 5.

When the electronic zoom functions as described above, the electronic zoom image ZM1 and the histogram HG related to the electronic zoom image are displayed during the enlarged display. Since the electronic zoom is the photographing magnification applied during the main photographing, the electronic zoom image ZM1 is in the same range as the range of the image obtained by the main photographing operation.
For this reason, when the electronic zoom functions, it is preferable that the calculation target of the histogram also matches the electronic zoom image. With the configuration as described above, it is possible to appropriately evaluate the exposure state.

<3. Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, a histogram display mode of an image in the reproduction mode will be described. However, even in this embodiment, the digital camera 1
The configuration of is the same as that shown in the first embodiment.

The digital camera 1 is configured to be capable of shooting not only still images but also moving images in the shooting mode. When a still image is shot during the main shooting, the image data SG is stored in the memory card 90 in the form as shown in FIG. That is, the tag information SG1 and the thumbnail image data SG3 are stored in the memory card 90 in association with the photographed image data SG2 that has been subjected to a predetermined compression process such as JPEG. The thumbnail image is composed of 320 × 240 pixels corresponding to the LCD 5.

When a moving image is shot during the main shooting, the image data MV is stored in the memory card 90 in the form shown in FIG. That is, a moving image is composed,
First frame FM1, second frame FM2, third frame FM3, fourth frame FM4, ..., Last frame F
Data regarding MX is continuously stored, and audio data MV1 and still image data MV2 are stored in each of the frames FM1 to FMX.

In addition, still images and moving images are displayed on the memory card 90.
When it is recorded in, the frame number is given according to the shooting order, and is recorded and managed in the memory card 90 according to the shooting order as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 24,
The number included in the file name indicates the frame number, and the extension of the file name indicates the type of still image or moving image data. It is to be noted that an image with a large frame number is taken after an image with a small frame number.

Next, FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the functions of the overall control unit 20 in the reproduction mode. As shown in FIG. 25, in the reproduction mode, the overall control unit 20 functions as the image reading unit 27, the histogram calculation unit 25, and the image reproduction display unit 28. The image reading unit 27 also functions as an image determining unit 27a.

The image reading section 27 uses the memory card 90 based on the user's reproduction instruction input via the operation section 35.
To select the image with the highest frame number. Then, the image determination unit 27a functions and determines the image type of the selected image (that is, whether it is a still image or a moving image). This determination is made by determining the extension included in the file name of the image data, for example.

If the selected image is a still image,
The image reading unit 27 displays the image data SG regarding the still image.
The thumbnail image data SG3 associated with the photographed image data SG2 is extracted from (see FIG. 22) and given to the histogram calculation unit 25 and the image reproduction display unit 28.
The image reproduction display unit 28 outputs the thumbnail image data SG3 supplied from the image reading unit 27 to the display control unit 33 in order to display the thumbnail image data SG3 on the LCD 5 or the like. Further, the histogram calculation unit 25 performs a histogram calculation based on the thumbnail image data SG3 given from the image reading unit 27, generates a histogram image, and outputs it to the display control unit 33.

As a result, when the selected image is a still image, as shown in FIG. 25, not only the photographed image is reproduced and displayed on the LCD 5, but the histogram HG of the photographed image is also displayed. Is displayed. By thus displaying the histogram together with the captured image in the reproduction mode, the user can easily determine the exposure state of the still image on the spot.

On the other hand, when the selected image is a moving image, the image reading section 27 acquires the image data MV (see FIG. 23) regarding the moving image from the memory card 90 and gives it to the image reproduction display section 28. In the image reproduction / display section 28, the first of the image data MV supplied from the image reading section 27 is displayed.
A thumbnail image of the first frame is generated from the still image data MV2 included in the frame FM1, and the thumbnail image is given to the display control unit 33.

As a result, when the selected image is a moving image, the thumbnail image of the first frame is displayed on the LCD 5 as a still image.

That is, when the selected image is a moving image, the histogram is not displayed. The reason for this is that a moving image is formed as a continuous body of still images, and it is not useful to display a histogram for one frame image.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the processing sequence in the reproduction mode. This processing sequence is performed when the reproduction mode is set valid by the user.

First, the overall control unit 20 operates the memory card 90.
Is accessed (step S300). Then, the image data having the largest frame number is selected from the image data recorded in the memory card 90 (step S30).
1).

Then, the overall control unit 20 judges whether the selected image data is a still image or a moving image (step S30).
2) If the image is a still image, the process proceeds to step S310, and if the image is a moving image, the process proceeds to step S320.

If the selected image data is a still image, a thumbnail image corresponding to the selected still image is obtained from the memory card 90 (step S310).
A histogram is generated from the thumbnail image (step S311). Then, with the histogram overlaid on the thumbnail image, the LCD 5 (or EVF
Reproduction display is performed for 4).

On the other hand, when the selected image data is a moving image, the thumbnail image corresponding to the first frame of the selected moving image is generated from the memory card 90, and the thumbnail image is displayed on the LCD 5. (Or E
It is reproduced and displayed on VF4).

Next, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a frame advance operation for designating the next frame, and if the frame advance operation has not been performed, the currently displayed reproduction display is continued. On the other hand, if a frame advance operation is performed,
The overall control unit 20 selects the image data of the next frame number,
The processing after step S302 is repeated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the histogram of the display target image is obtained during image reproduction, and the histogram of the display target image is displayed together with the display target image on the display unit such as the LCD 5, and The histogram display function is effectively activated when the display target image is a still image, whereas the histogram display function is stopped when the display target image is a moving image.

Therefore, when reproducing a still image, it is possible to easily confirm the exposure state of the still image. Particularly in the digital camera 1, since the screen size of the display unit such as the LCD 5 is small and the resolution is low, it is difficult to judge whether or not the proper exposure is obtained only by visually recognizing the thumbnail image. The histogram display is advantageous in that the exposure state of the still image can be easily confirmed.

When displaying a histogram is not very useful, such as when reproducing a moving image, the histogram display function is stopped, so that the image can be reproduced by effectively using the display screen. it can. Since the screen size of the display unit of the digital camera 1 is small as described above,
By not displaying the histogram, which is of low utility, it is possible to perform image reproduction that effectively uses the screen.

In the present embodiment, the case where image reproduction is performed by the digital camera 1 has been illustrated, but the image reproduction form in the present embodiment is not limited to the digital camera, but an image display device such as a general computer. Can also be applied to. In other words, the present invention can be applied to a case where the external computer 91 reproduces an image after the image data obtained by photographing is output from the digital camera 1 to the external computer 91. In that case, in the external computer 91, when the still image is reproduced as described above, the histogram calculation is performed to display the histogram simultaneously with the still image, and when the moving image is reproduced, the histogram calculation is not performed and the moving image of the moving image is displayed. Playback is performed.

<4. Modifications> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above description.

The above-described embodiments include the following inventive concept.

(1) In the digital camera according to the first aspect, the control means updates the image displayed on the display means at a predetermined interval before the main photographing, and the image is updated a predetermined number of times. A digital camera characterized in that, when the count reaches, the histogram of the image obtained from the image pickup means is obtained, and the histogram display on the display means is updated.

As a result, the histogram display can be appropriately updated even when the shooting conditions gradually change.

(2) In the digital camera described in (1) above, the control means performs a predetermined process of obtaining a histogram of an image obtained from the image pickup means and a process of updating the histogram display on the display means. A digital camera characterized by being executed by executing the program of.

When the display processing of hiss and grams is executed by software, if the display processing is performed for each frame, the load of the overall control unit becomes large, but this reduces the processing load of the digital camera. Therefore, it is possible to display an appropriate histogram without reducing the frame rate of live view.

(3) In the digital camera as set forth in claim 1, the detection means obtains an exposure evaluation value (AE evaluation value) based on images successively obtained from the image pickup means, and the exposure evaluation value is predetermined. A digital camera, characterized in that a change in a value or more is detected to detect a change in the photographing condition.

As a result, when the exposure evaluation value changes by a predetermined value or more, it is considered that the histogram has also changed, so that an appropriate histogram can be displayed.

(4) In the digital camera as set forth in claim 1, the detecting means detects that the photographing condition is changed when the photographing parameter applied during the main photographing is changed. A digital camera that does.

As a result, it is possible to display a histogram with the changed shooting parameters applied.

(5) In the digital camera described in (4) above, the control means obtains a histogram based on the image in which the change of the photographing parameter is reflected, and updates the histogram display on the display means. Characteristic digital camera.

As a result, an appropriate histogram can be displayed.

(6) In the digital camera as set forth in claim 1, the control means is also configured to perform focus control of a subject image formed on the image pickup means, and to perform the focus control. The digital camera is characterized in that the histogram display on the display means is not updated while the display is on.

As a result, if an attempt is made to update the histogram display while the focusing control is being performed, the efficiency of the focusing operation will be reduced, but the histogram display will be displayed while the focusing control is being performed. By not updating, the focusing operation can be performed efficiently, and the focused state of the image can be quickly realized.

(7) In the digital camera as set forth in claim 1, when the display means enlarges and displays a predetermined portion of an image obtained from the image pickup means, the control means displays a histogram on the display means. A digital camera characterized by changing.

This makes it possible to improve the visibility of the enlarged image.

(8) In the digital camera described in (7), the control means turns off the histogram display on the display means when the enlarged display is performed.

As a result, the visibility of the enlarged image can be most improved.

(9) In the digital camera described in (7) above, the control means reduces the histogram display on the display means when the enlarged display is performed.

As a result, the visibility of the enlarged image can be improved.

(10) In the digital camera described in the above (7) or (9), the control means, even when the enlarged display is performed, a histogram for an area corresponding to a range actually photographed in the main photographing. A digital camera characterized by seeking.

As a result, it is possible to display the histogram obtained in an appropriate range.

(11) The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means detects a change in the photographing condition by detecting a framing change before the main photographing.

As a result, the histogram display can be updated in accordance with changes in framing such as when the user changes the subject.

(12) In the digital camera described in (5) above, the photographing parameter is a parameter relating to image processing such as color correction and designation of a photographing scene.

This makes it possible to properly display the histogram to which the image processing has been applied.

(13) In the digital camera according to the second aspect, the control means turns off the histogram display on the display means when the bulb photographing is performed in the main photographing. .

This makes it possible to prevent an inappropriate histogram display.

(14) A program executable by a computer, which is executed by a microcomputer incorporated in the digital camera, thereby causing the digital camera to operate as set forth in claim 1 or 2 or (1) above.
A program for causing the digital camera to function as described in any one of (1) to (13).

By executing this program, a digital camera capable of timely and efficiently displaying a histogram for evaluating whether or not an image has a proper exposure is realized.

(15) In the image display device according to claim 4, the histogram display control means displays the histogram of the display target image as an overlay display on the thumbnail image displayed on the display means. Image display device.

As a result, the thumbnail image can be visually recognized even in the portion where the histogram is displayed.

(16) A digital camera including the image display device according to claim 4 or (15).

With this, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the proper exposure is achieved during reproduction of a still image, and to realize a digital camera capable of improving visibility of the moving image during reproduction of the moving image. be able to.

(17) A program executable by a computer, which is executed by the computer, thereby causing the computer to display the image display device according to claim 4 or the above (15), or the image display device according to the above (16). A program that functions as a digital camera.

By executing this program, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the proper exposure is obtained when reproducing the still image, and it is possible to improve the visibility of the moving image when reproducing the moving image. .

[0206]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, when the detecting means detects the change of the photographing condition, the histogram of the image obtained from the image pickup means is obtained, and the histogram in the display means is obtained. Since the display is configured to be updated, it becomes possible to timely and efficiently perform the histogram display for evaluating whether or not the image has the proper exposure. As a result, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the digital camera as compared with the case where the histogram display is constantly updated, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in the frame rate of live view display and a release time lag.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the bulb photographing is performed in the main photographing, the histogram display on the display means is turned off, or the function of obtaining the histogram of the image is stopped. It is possible to reduce the processing load of the histogram calculation at the time of bulb photography, and it is possible to prevent inappropriate histogram display.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the histogram calculation means is made to function before the main photographing and the histogram of the image obtained from the image pickup means is displayed on the display means, the histogram is obtained even after the main photographing. Since the histogram of the image stored in the storage unit is displayed on the display unit by causing the calculation unit to function, the histogram can be confirmed without any special operation by the user after shooting. Therefore, the operability of the digital camera is improved, and the histogram can be displayed to the user in a timely and efficient manner.

According to the invention described in claim 4, one display target image is selected from a plurality of images, and when the display target image is a still image, the histogram display control means is made to function effectively. On the other hand, when the display target image is a moving image, the function of the histogram display control means is configured to be stopped, so that the histogram display is performed for a still image that is highly likely to be evaluated for proper exposure. The histogram is not displayed for a moving image that is unlikely to be evaluated for proper exposure. Therefore, when the image is displayed, the histogram can be displayed in a timely and efficient manner without the user performing a special operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing an external configuration of a digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the external configuration of the digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing internal functions of a digital camera.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a concept of image reading in a draft mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a concept of image reading in an automatic focusing mode.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the overall control unit in a shooting mode.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an overall processing sequence in a shooting mode.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an overall processing sequence in a shooting mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an overall processing sequence in a shooting mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an overall processing sequence in a shooting mode.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an overall processing sequence in a shooting mode.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display screen before focus confirmation processing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a concept of generating a focus confirmation image.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a first processing sequence in a focus confirmation mode.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a first example of a focus confirmation screen.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a second processing sequence in the focus confirmation mode.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a second example of a focus confirmation screen.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display screen before electronic zoom processing.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a concept of generating an electronic zoom image.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic zoom screen.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a recording form of image data of a still image.

[Fig. 23] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing a recording form of image data of a moving image.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a recording form of a plurality of image data in a memory card.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing functions of the overall control section in the reproduction mode.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a processing sequence in a reproduction mode.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 digital camera 2 Shooting lens 4 Electronic viewfinder (EVF) (display means) 5 Liquid crystal display (LCD) (display means) 10 CCD image pickup device (image pickup means) 20 Overall control unit (control means) 24 Imaging condition change detection unit (detection means) 25 Histogram calculation unit (histogram calculation means) 33 Display control unit 35 Operation part 39 Shake detection sensor

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Katsuhito Shinkawa             2-3-3 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture               Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2H002 DB25 FB51 FB70 GA57 JA07                 2H102 AA16 AA17 BA01 BA06 BB08                       CA03                 5C022 AA13 AB01 AC03 AC13 AC42                       AC52                 5C052 GA02 GC05 GE06 GE08

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera, comprising: image pickup means for photographing a subject; display means capable of displaying an image obtained from the image pickup means and a histogram of the image before the main photographing; Detecting means for detecting, and when the detecting means detects a change in the photographing condition,
Obtaining the histogram of the image obtained from the imaging means,
And a control unit for updating the histogram display in the display unit. 2. A digital camera, comprising: an image pickup means for taking an image of a subject; a display means capable of displaying an image obtained from the image pickup means and a histogram of the image before the main photographing; and an image obtained from the image pickup means. Find the histogram of
And a control unit for updating the histogram display in the display unit, wherein the control unit has a function of turning off the histogram display in the display unit or obtaining a histogram of an image when bulb shooting is performed in the main shooting. Digital camera to stop. 3. A digital camera, comprising: image pickup means for photographing a subject; storage means for storing an image obtained by a main photographing operation of the image pickup means; and an image obtained from the image pickup means and the storage means. The display means capable of displaying the captured image, the histogram calculation means for obtaining the histogram of the image, and the histogram calculation means before the actual photographing to cause the histogram of the image obtained from the image pickup means to be displayed on the display means. In this case, the digital camera is provided with: a control unit that causes the histogram calculation unit to function even after the main photographing to display the histogram of the image stored in the storage unit on the display unit. 4. An image display device comprising: a display unit for displaying an image; a storage unit for storing a plurality of images including a still image and a moving image in association with each thumbnail image; Select one of the images to be displayed,
Selected image display control means for displaying the thumbnail image associated with the display target image on the display means, a histogram of the display target image, and a histogram display for displaying the histogram of the display target image on the display means Control means and the histogram display control means effectively function when the display target image is a still image, and stop the function of the histogram display control means when the display target image is a moving image An image display device comprising: a control unit.