JP2003274226A - Camera having composition advising function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid generating photographs with poor compositions from different viewpoints from conventional ones. <P>SOLUTION: A camera comprises: means 1, 4 for detecting information about a luminance distribution in a photographing screen; a means 1 for extracting an edge corresponding to a top end of a main object from the photographing screen to detect its position, based on the detected information about the luminance distribution; a means 1 for comparing the detected edge position with a predetermined proper range to decide whether the composition is well or poor; and a means 9 for outputting a warning when the composition is decided to be poor. <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 camera having a composition advice function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some typical examples of poor composition due to the discomfort of a viewer of a photograph have been empirically known. Then, a camera has been proposed which determines whether or not such a typical example is applicable to prevent photographing of a defective composition photograph. For example, there is a camera that measures a luminance distribution in a certain range in the vertical and horizontal directions from the center of the shooting screen and issues a warning to the photographer as a poor composition when the contrast change within this range is larger than a predetermined value ( For example, Patent Document 1). A composition in which an edge that bisects a shooting screen, such as a horizon or a horizon, crosses a person's neck, or a structure in which structures such as telephone poles and trees project upward from the person's head is a typical example of the above-described poor composition. According to the camera of
As long as a person's face is captured in the center of the shooting screen, such a typical example can be discriminated almost accurately.

[0003]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-67133

[0004]

However, typical examples of defective composition are not limited to the above two examples. For example, a composition in which an edge that bisects a photographic screen is obliquely inclined gives a viewer a sense of instability and is thus considered as a poor composition, but such an inclination cannot be detected by the camera of the above publication. Also,
When taking a picture of a person by removing it from the center of the photographing screen, even if the horizon, telephone pole, etc. overlap the person's head, the camera of the above publication cannot detect it as poor composition. Further, when the brightness is low, the change in the contrast in the photographing screen is small, so that an accurate judgment cannot be made.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera capable of preventing the occurrence of a defective composition photograph from a viewpoint different from the conventional one, and a camera capable of discriminating typical examples of the defective composition more versatilely and more accurately than the conventional one.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera having a composition advice function, a brightness information detecting means for detecting information related to a brightness distribution in a photographing screen, and a detected brightness distribution. On the basis of the related information, the edge detection means for extracting the edge corresponding to the upper end of the main subject from the shooting screen and detecting the position thereof, and the position of the detected edge are compared with a predetermined appropriate range. The image forming apparatus includes a composition quality determining unit that determines whether the composition is good and bad, and a warning unit that outputs a warning when the composition is defective. A camera having a composition advice function according to the inventions of claims 2 and 3, based on brightness information detecting means for detecting information related to the brightness distribution in the photographing screen, and information related to the detected brightness distribution, Edge detection means for extracting an edge extending between two opposite sides of the photographic screen and detecting the inclination thereof, and a composition for determining the quality of the composition by comparing the inclination of the detected edge with a predetermined appropriate range. It is provided with a pass / fail judgment means and a warning means for outputting a warning when a defective composition is judged. In particular, the invention of claim 3 comprises a correction direction determination means for determining the correction direction of the composition based on the detected inclination of the edge and the appropriate range, and a display means for displaying the determined correction direction. A camera provided with a composition advice function according to the invention of claim 4 provides a gazing point information detecting means for detecting information related to the distribution of the gazing points of the photographer in the photographing screen, and a distribution of the detected gazing points. Main subject detecting means for detecting the position of the main subject in the photographing screen based on the related information, luminance information detecting means for detecting information relating to the luminance distribution in the photographing screen, and relation to the detected luminance distribution Edge detection means for extracting a specific type of edge from the photographing screen based on the information and detecting its position, the position of the detected main subject, and the quality of the composition based on the detected type and position of the edge. Determination means for determining
And a warning unit that outputs a warning when it is determined that the composition is not good. In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A camera shake information detection unit that detects information corresponding to the camera shake state, a camera shake state determination unit that determines whether the detected camera shake state is within an appropriate range for determining whether the composition is good or bad, A camera shake warning unit may be further provided for outputting a warning when it is determined that the state is in a range unsuitable for determining the quality of the composition (claim 5).

[0007]

EXAMPLES First Example A first example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of the camera according to this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a CPU that controls the operation of the camera.
The CPU 1 is connected to the line-of-sight detecting device 2, the blur detecting device 3, the photometric device 4, the distance measuring device 5, the focal length detecting device 6, the posture detecting device 7, the photographing mode input device 8 and the display device 9. ing.

The line-of-sight detection device 2 irradiates infrared rays toward the photographer's pupil looking into a viewfinder (not shown) of the camera, and obtains the rotation angle of the eyeball from the reflected light from the cornea and the eyeball image. The gaze point of the photographer within the shooting screen is specified.
Information regarding the gazing point detected by the line-of-sight detection device 2 is stored in the CPU.
Sent to 1. The blur detection device 3 detects the magnitude of camera shake by, for example, the acceleration or angular velocity of the camera body, and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected blur size to the CPU 1. The photometric device 4 is a two-dimensional charge storage type image sensor that divides and measures the photographic screen by the light receiving elements PS arranged in a matrix of n rows × m columns as shown in FIG. The position of the element PS of the photometric device 4 is represented by coordinate values in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system in which the horizontal direction of the photographic screen is the x-axis and the vertical direction is the y-axis direction, as shown in FIG. It should be noted that FIG. 2 shows a state in which the photographing screen is horizontally long and the camera is in the horizontal position. At the vertical position of the camera where the shooting screen is vertically long, the short side direction of the shooting screen is the x-axis direction and the long side direction is the y-axis direction.

The distance measuring device 5 detects a photographing distance (distance from the film surface of the camera to the main subject) and outputs a signal according to the detection result to the CPU 1. The detection of the shooting distance is performed based on, for example, the rotational position of the distance ring of the shooting lens, or is detected by irradiating the subject with infrared light. The focal length detection device 6 reads the information regarding the focal length of the taking lens from the ROM incorporated in the taking lens and outputs it to the CPU 1. In a camera in which the taking lens cannot be replaced, the focal length detecting device 6 is omitted and the CPU 1
May be provided with focal length information.

The attitude detection device 7 detects whether the camera is in the horizontal position or the vertical position and outputs it to the CPU 1. As described above, the horizontal position means a position where the long side direction of the photographing screen coincides with the horizontal direction, and the vertical position means a position where the short side direction of the photographing screen coincides with the horizontal direction. Shooting mode input device 8
Is, for example, a portrait mode intended for portrait photography,
This is for the photographer to input a shooting mode according to the shooting purpose, such as a landscape mode for shooting scenery. The display device 9 has a function of displaying shooting information such as an exposure value on the upper surface of the camera body or a viewfinder, and also has a warning function by a buzzer, synthetic voice, vibration, or the like.

The CPU 1 reads a signal from each of the devices 2 to 8 as necessary, controls a shutter and an aperture (not shown), and drives the photographing lens to a focus position. Prior to the shooting operation, the CPU 1 performs composition estimation processing according to the procedure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The composition estimation process will be described below. The composition estimation process may be executed in response to a half-press operation of the release button, for example.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the composition estimation process, the photographing mode input from the photographing mode input device 8 is read in step S1. Then, in step S2, the "determination photographing magnification a" according to the photographing mode is set. The “determination photographing magnification a” will be described later. In step S3, the posture of the camera is detected from the output of the posture detection device 7, and in the following step S4, the division pattern of the photographing screen necessary for the signal processing from the line-of-sight detection device 2 is selected according to the posture of the camera. For example, at the lateral position of the camera, as shown in FIG. 3A, a pattern obtained by dividing the photographing screen P into a matrix W of v rows × u columns is selected. The number of divisions (values of u and v) of this division pattern may be the same as or different from the number of divisions (values of m and n) of the photometric device 4 described above. In the following, the position of the area W is represented by the coordinate value of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system in which the horizontal direction of the photographic screen is the x-axis and the vertical direction is the y-axis direction, as in the case of the divided areas by the photometric device 4, and any position The area of is defined as W (i, j). Illustration of the division pattern when the camera body is held in the vertical position is omitted.

After selecting the division pattern in step S4, the area coefficient α corresponding to the division pattern is set in step S5. For example, when the division pattern shown in FIG. 3A is selected, as shown in FIG.
Area coefficients α (1,1) to α (i, j) to α (u, v) are given for each of (1,1) to W (i, j) to W (u, v). The area coefficient α (i, j) is set to be larger as the distance from the center of the shooting screen increases. The area coefficient α
(I, j) may be increased in proportion to the distance from the center of the shooting screen, or may be changed so as to be a quadratic or higher increasing function with respect to the distance.

After setting the area coefficient α, step S
In step 6, the signal from the blur detection device 3 is read, and in the subsequent step S7 it is determined whether or not the blur amount detected is in the proper range.
If the shake amount is within the proper range, the process proceeds to step S8, and if it exceeds the proper range, the process proceeds to step S17. Note that the amount of blurring is determined because the composition is not determined when the camera shake is large, the shooting screen becomes unstable, and the detection accuracy of the gazing point deteriorates.

In step S8, the focal length f of the photographing lens is detected by the signal from the focal length detecting device 6, and in the following step S9, the photographing distance D is detected by the signal from the distance measuring device 5.
Ask for. In step S10, the photographing magnification β is calculated by the equation β = f
/ (D-f). For simplicity, β = f / D may be set.

In the following step S11 (FIG. 5), it is determined whether the calculated photographing magnification β is equal to or larger than the judgment photographing magnification a set in step S2. If it is equal to or larger than the determination photographing magnification a, the process proceeds to step S12, and if it is smaller than the determination photographing magnification a, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S12 or step S13, the gazing point detected by the line-of-sight detection device 2 and step S4,
Based on the division pattern and the area coefficient set in S5, an index (hereinafter, referred to as a discrete index) E representing the degree of dispersion of the gazing points of the photographer within a fixed time is calculated.
The calculation process of the discrete index E will be described below with reference to FIG.

In the process of FIG. 6, first, in step S101, a timer for setting the calculation cycle of the discrete exponent E is started.
In the following step S102, the position of the gazing point detected by the line-of-sight detection device 2 is read, and the position is the area W in FIG.
Which of (1,1) to W (u, v) it belongs to is identified. In the next step S103, the region W in which the gazing point exists
Existence time t (i, j) of the gazing point only for (i, j)
Is added. After this, in step S104, the position of the gazing point is confirmed by the signal from the visual line detection device 2. In the following step S105, it is determined whether or not the region W (i, j) to which the gazing point confirmed in step S104 belongs has changed from the regions up to that point. If the region W (i, j) has changed, the existence time t (i, j) is determined in step S106.
Is changed to a new area and step S10 is performed.
Proceed to 7. If there is no change in the region W (i, j), step S106 is omitted and the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, it is determined whether or not the integrated time of the timer started in step S101 has reached a predetermined time, and if not, the process returns to step S103 and the above-described processing is repeated. When it is determined that the time is up in step S107, all areas W are determined in step S108.
The integration of the existence time t (i, j) for (i, j) is completed, and the discrete exponent E is calculated by the following equation in step S109.

[Equation 1] E = Σ (α (i, j) × t (i, j))
(I = 1 to u, j = 1 to v) As is clear from this equation, the discrete index E is the gazing point for each of the regions W (1,1) to W (u, v) shown in FIG. 3 is a sum of values obtained by multiplying the existence time t (1,1) to t (u, v) by the area coefficient α (i, j) of each region W (i, j) shown in FIG. 3B. . After the end of step S109, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

Returning to FIG. 5, the description will be continued. After calculating the discrete exponent E, the process proceeds to step S14 or step S15,
It is determined whether the calculated discrete index E is equal to or greater than the reference values b and c. If it is the reference value b or c or more, the process proceeds to step S16,
The display device 9 informs the photographer that the composition is good. On the other hand, when the discrete index E is less than the reference values b and c in steps S14 and S15, the process proceeds to step S17, and the buzzer of the display device 9 or the like issues a warning to the photographer.
The reference values b and c have a relationship of b <c.

According to the above processing, the area coefficient α (i, j) increases as the distance from the center of the photographing screen increases.
When the photographer pays close attention to the central part of the photographing screen, the discrete index E calculated in step S12 or step S13 becomes small, and step S14 or step S1.
It is determined that the value is less than the reference values b and c in 5 and the possibility that a warning is issued in step S17 increases. On the contrary, if the photographer pays close attention to the periphery of the photographing screen, the discrete index E increases, and the reference value b,
There is a high possibility that the composition is displayed in good condition in step S16 when it is determined that the value is c or more. When the gazing point of the photographer is concentrated on the central part of the photographing screen, the photographer gazes only at the main subject and does not pay attention to the background, so that there is a high possibility of poor composition. Therefore, the warning in step S17 effectively functions as information for urging the photographer to confirm the composition. Even if the camera shake is so great that the composition cannot be determined, a warning is issued in step S17.

In this embodiment, the composition failure is estimated based on the distribution of the gazing points of the photographer, so that the function is not impaired even at low brightness or low contrast where it is difficult to detect horizontal lines and the like in the photographing screen. In the present embodiment, the discrete index E becomes high even when gazing only around the periphery of the shooting screen, and there is a high possibility that a warning will not be issued. However, when the photographer is consciously gazing at the periphery of the photographing screen, it may be considered that some intention is included in the determination of the composition, and there is no inconvenience even if the warning is not given.

In the embodiment, the reference values b and c are changed according to the magnitude relationship between the photographing magnification β and the judgment photographing magnification a, and b
<C. Therefore, even if the degree of scatter of the gazing points is the same, when the photographing magnification β is small, that is, β <a
In the case of (step S13, 15 side), the warning is more likely to be issued than in the case of β ≧ a (step S12, 14 side). This is because as the shooting magnification β decreases, the size of the main subject occupied in the shooting screen decreases, and it becomes more necessary to gaze at the periphery of the shooting screen to confirm the quality of the composition.

The judgment photographing magnification a is changed according to the photographing mode because the necessity of gazing around the photographing screen is taken into consideration. For example, in portrait mode, the person who is the main subject is greatly captured and the background is blurred, so it is no longer necessary to gaze at the background, and it is safe to set the determination shooting magnification a small. Since it becomes more necessary to gaze up to, it is necessary to set the determination photographing magnification a high. The area coefficient at the center of the shooting screen may be changed to be larger in the portrait mode than in the landscape mode.

As shown in FIG. 7, the display device 9 is provided with a composition warning device 9A and a shake warning device 9B. As shown in FIG. 8, when it is estimated that the composition is poor in step S14 or step S15, the process proceeds to step S17. When the composition warning device 9A prompts the user to confirm the composition, and when it is determined in step S7 that the blurring is large, the process may proceed to step S18 to give the blurring warning by the blurring warning device 9B.

By specifying the area where the gazing point is most concentrated within a fixed time within the photographing screen as the position of the main subject, and setting the area coefficient α (i, j) to increase as the distance from this position increases, It is also possible to increase / decrease the discrete index E according to the degree of dispersion of the gazing points from the main subject. As shown in FIG. 9, in a camera in which a plurality of focus detection areas AF are set on the shooting screen P and any one of the areas can be selected, the area coefficient α ( i, j) may be increased. In this case, the focus detection area AF is selected
It may be instructed by the photographer or automatically selected by the camera. Even in a camera that selects the focus detection area AF based on the line of sight of the photographer, the area coefficient α (i, j) may be set to increase as the distance from the selected focus detection area AF increases. Also, the focus detection area AF
In the case where the area coefficient α (i, j) is set to be larger as the distance from the center of the shooting screen is increased irrespective of the position of, the focus detection area AF is selected when the focus detection area AF is selected by the photographer's line of sight. Since the line of sight is temporarily concentrated on, it suffices not to capture the gazing point distribution information during that time into the calculation data of the discrete index E.

-Second Embodiment- A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It should be noted that this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the CPU
The composition estimation process in 1 is changed. Therefore, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted, and the characteristic part of the composition estimation processing will be described.

FIG. 10 shows a part of the composition estimation processing of this embodiment. Step S11 in the figure is the first step described above.
In common with step S11 of the embodiment, steps S1 to S10 shown in FIG. 4 are performed before step S11.
Is executed. When the shooting magnification β is larger than the determination shooting magnification a in step S11, the process proceeds to step S21, and an index (hereinafter referred to as a composition failure index) indicating the degree to which the composition of the current shooting screen satisfies a predetermined composition failure condition. Call.)
G is a photometric value B for each element PS (see FIG. 2) of the photometric device 4
Calculate based on v. Details of the calculation of the composition failure index G will be described later.

When the magnification is less than the judgment photographing magnification a in step S11, the process proceeds to step S22 to calculate the discrete index E. The calculation process of the discrete exponent E is the same as that shown in FIG. After the calculation of the discrete exponent E, the process proceeds to step S23, and it is determined whether the discrete exponent E is the reference value h or more. If it is equal to or greater than the reference value h, the process proceeds to step S24 to calculate the composition failure index G, and if it is less than the reference value h, the process proceeds to step S25 to issue a warning to the photographer by the buzzer or the like of the display device 9.
The warning at this time is for the photographer not confirming the composition around the photographing screen as in the first embodiment. The determination photographing magnification a and the reference value h do not always match the determination photographing magnification a and the reference values b and c of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows the calculation processing of the composition failure index G. In this process, first, in step S201, it is determined from the output from the posture detection device 7 whether the camera is in the lateral position. If it is not in the lateral position, the process proceeds to step S202, and the number of elements m of the photometric device 4 shown in FIG. 2 is defined as a constant n used in subsequent processing, and the number of elements n is defined as a constant m used in subsequent processing. In the lateral position, the number of elements m is a constant m, and the number of elements n is a constant n. This operation is performed because the CPU 1 treats the horizontal direction of the photographic screen as the X-axis direction and the vertical direction as the Y-axis direction regardless of the vertical position and the horizontal position of the camera. This is because the number of elements in the X-axis direction and the number of elements in the Y-axis direction of 4 are interchanged.

After defining the number of elements m and n according to the posture of the camera, in step S203, an index indicating the degree to which a columnar object such as a utility pole or a stand causes composition failure (hereinafter referred to as a columnar object defect index). ) Calculate G1. Step S204
Then, an index (hereinafter referred to as a main subject defect index) G2 indicating the degree to which the position of the main subject causes a poor composition is calculated. In step S205, an index (hereinafter referred to as a horizontal edge defect index) G3 indicating the degree to which a horizontal edge such as a horizon or a horizon that divides the photographic screen causes a poor composition is calculated. The indexes G1 to G3 are set to be larger as the degree of composition failure increases. Details of the calculation procedure of each index G1 to G3 will be described later.

After the calculation of the indexes G1 to G3, step S206
Then, the process proceeds to the composition failure index G, and the total sum (G1 + G2 + G3) of each index G1 to G3 is obtained. After the calculation of the composition failure index G, the process proceeds to step S26 or step S27 shown in FIG. 10, and it is determined whether the calculated composition failure index G is equal to or greater than the reference values p and q. If less than the reference values p and q, step S2
8, the display device 9 informs the photographer that the composition is good. On the other hand, if the composition failure index G is equal to or greater than the reference values p and q in steps S26 and S27, step S2
5, the buzzer of the display device 9 or the like issues a warning to the photographer. The reference values p and q have a relation of p> q. Even when the camera body is greatly shaken, the process of step S25 is executed and a warning is issued as in the first embodiment.

The calculation procedure of each index G1 to G3 will be described with reference to FIGS. (1) Calculation Processing of Columnar Defect Index G1 FIGS. 12 and 13 show the calculation procedure of the columnar defect index G1. As shown in FIG. 14 (a), a columnar object (tree, utility pole, support post, etc.) X1 to be photographed in a state where it is extended straight in the vertical direction of the photographing screen P is tilted as shown in FIG. 14 (b). If this happens, the composition will be poor. In order to reflect such an element in the estimation of poor composition, in the processing of FIGS. 12 and 13, the columnar object X1 in the photographing screen is detected based on the photometric value distribution detected by the photometric device 4, and the edge of the columnar object X1 is detected. (Boundary with background) The degree of inclination of eL and eR is indexed. In the following description, among the elements PS of the photometric device 4, as shown in FIG.
Row, and the j-th y-row from the bottom in the Y-axis direction to the upper side is yj
Expressed as a column. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the camera is in the horizontal position and the number of elements PS is m = 30 and n = 20.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the calculation of the index G1, the variable j designating the scanning row is set to the initial value 1 in step S211, and the element PS of the yj row is set in step S212.
The scanning of the photometric values of (1, j) to PS (m, j) is started. In the next step S213, it is determined whether or not a predetermined number A of elements PS having the same photometric value Bv continue in the yj column. When they continue, the process proceeds to step S214, and the photometric value Bv and the position of the element set corresponding to the condition of step S213 are stored. If there is no set of elements that meet the conditions, step S214 is omitted and step S21 is performed.
Go to 5.

In step S215, it is determined whether or not the scanning of the yj-th column is completed, and if scanning is in progress, step S21.
Return to 3. When the scanning of the yjth column is completed, step S2
In step 16, it is determined whether the variable j matches the number n of elements in the Y-axis direction. If they do not match, 1 is added to the variable j in step S217, and the process returns to step S212. When the variable j matches the number of elements n, the process proceeds to step S218.

In step S218, step S214 is performed.
All the y columns (y1 column ~
yn column) to see if there is something in common. In addition,
When it is determined in step S213 and step S218 whether or not the photometric values Bv of the respective elements PS are equal to each other, they may be treated as the same if the difference between the photometric values Bv is within a certain allowable range.

When the photometric value Bv common to all the y columns exists, the process proceeds to step S219, and it is determined whether or not the number of elements having the photometric value Bv are equal to or more than the predetermined number C between all the y columns. If this condition is met, step S2
In step 20, it is determined whether or not the above conditions are satisfied for a plurality of photometric values Bv. If the plurality of photometric values are satisfied, the process proceeds to step S221, and the set of elements having the lowest photometric value is selected as the subsequent processing target. For example, in step S214, two photometric values Bv1 and Bv2
A set of elements (Bv1 <Bv2) is stored, and the photometric value Bv
Both the element set of 1 and the element of Bv2 are steps S218 and S2.
When the condition of 19 is satisfied, the set of elements having the photometric value Bv1 stored in step S214 is selected as the processing target. When step S220 is denied, step S221 is omitted and the set of elements having the photometric value Bv stored in step S214 is directly selected for processing.

After selecting the set of elements having the photometric value Bv, the process proceeds to step S222 (FIG. 13). In step S222, among the elements having the selected photometric value Bv, the X coordinate of the element on the leftmost side in the y1 and yn columns is set to X.
The X coordinate of the element located on the rightmost side in the a, Xc, y1 and yn columns is defined as Xb and Xd, respectively. In addition,
The y1 column is the lower end of the photographing screen, and the yn column is the element column located at the upper end of the photographing screen. In the next step S223, the shift amounts ΔXL and ΔXR of the left and right ends of the element of the photometric value Bv in the y1 and yn columns are calculated by the following equation.

[Formula 2] ΔXL = Xc−Xa ΔXR = Xd-Xb

In step S224, it is determined whether the positive and negative signs of ΔXL and ΔXR match. If they match, the process advances to step S225 to determine whether the absolute value of ΔXL is smaller than the absolute value of ΔXR. If small, step S2
Go to step 26 and set the index G1 according to the absolute value of ΔXR. When the absolute value of ΔXL is larger than the absolute value of ΔXR, the process proceeds to step S227, and the index G1 is set according to the absolute value of ΔXL. The larger the ΔXL and ΔXR, the larger the index G1 is set. However, if the index G1 is increased in proportion to ΔXL and ΔXR, or if the index G1 is increased by a quadratic or more increasing function with respect to ΔXL and ΔXR. Good.

When step S218, step S219 and step S224 are negatively determined, step S
Proceed to 228 and set the index G1 = 0. Step S226
After 228 to 228, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

Next, a specific example of the processing shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The elements of the photometric device 4 are arranged as shown in FIG. 15, and the predetermined number A = 5 in step S213 and the predetermined number C = 4 in step S219. FIG. 16 shows the correspondence between the shooting screen P shown in FIG. 14B and the arrangement of the elements PS of the photometric device 4. In general, since the brightness of the columnar object X1 is lower than that of the background portion, the element located on the columnar object X1 detects a uniform photometric value Bv1 lower than the background portion, and the element located on the background detects the photometric value Bv1.
The photometric value Bv2 that is uniformly brighter than v1 is detected. When the photographing distance to the columnar object X1 is short and the photographing lens is in focus there, the background portion is out of the depth of field and blurred, so that the background can be regarded as uniformly bright.

12 and 1 for the photographing screen shown in FIG.
When the process of No. 3 is applied, the elements PS (1,1) to
PS (7,1) is stored as a set of the same photometric value Bv2, and elements PS (9,1) to PS (14,1) are stored as a set of the same photometric value Bv1 and elements PS (16,1) to
PS (30,1) is stored as a set of the same photometric value Bv2. Hereinafter, similar processing is repeated for the y2 to y20 columns, and in the y20 column, the elements PS (1, 20) to PS (4,
20) is stored as a set of the same photometric value Bv2, and the element P
S (6,20) to PS (11,20) are the same photometric value Bv
Are stored as one set, and the elements PS (13,20) to PS
(20, 20) is stored as a set of the same photometric value Bv2.

Photometric values Bv1 and B common to columns y1 to y20
v2 exists, and the number of elements with photometric value Bv1 contacting between y columns,
Since the number of the elements having the photometric value Bv2 contacting between the y columns is at least C (= 4) from the y1 column to the y20 column, step S2
18, step S219 is affirmed. Then, from the photometric value Bv1 <Bv2, a set of elements having the photometric value Bv1 is selected as a processing target in step S220. In step S221, the photometric values Bv1 in the y1 and y20 columns
X-coordinates of the left and right ends of the element are selected and Xa = 9, Xb = 1
4, Xc = 6, Xd = 11, and ΔXL = 6−9 = −3 and ΔXR = 11−14 = −3 in step S223. Since the positive and negative signs of ΔXL and ΔXR are both negative, step S224 is affirmed. Since the absolute values of ΔXL and ΔXR are the same, step S225 is affirmed and step S22
At 6, the index G1 is set according to the absolute value (= 3) of ΔXL.

As is clear from the above, FIG. 12 and FIG.
In the processing, whether or not the number of elements having the same photometric value Bv continue in the horizontal direction of the photographing screen by the predetermined number A or more, and the same photometric value Bv
It is determined whether or not there is a columnar object X1 that divides the photographic screen into left and right parts depending on whether or not a predetermined number C of v elements are in contact with each other in each y column. When the columnar object X1 exists, the edges eL and eR of the columnar object X1 at the upper and lower ends of the photographing screen (see FIG.
The deviation amounts ΔXL and ΔXR (see 4) are obtained, and the index G1 is set according to the larger value. Therefore, the index G1 indicates the magnitude of the influence of the inclination of the columnar object on the poor composition. In a structure such as a cone whose width changes according to height, its edge is inclined even if it is parallel to the vertical direction of the shooting screen, so if only a single edge is evaluated, the composition is poor. There is a risk of being incorrectly judged. However, in the processing of FIGS. 12 and 13, step S2
Since it is determined at 24 whether or not the inclination directions of the edges on both sides of the columnar object match, there is no such possibility.

(2) Calculation processing of main subject defect index G2 The calculation processing of the main subject defect index G2 (step S204 in FIG. 11) will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the main subject (person in this example) X2 of the shooting screen P is largely separated from the upper end of the shooting screen P as shown in FIG. 8 (b), or vice versa.
If it is too close to the upper edge of the, composition failure will occur. In order to reflect such an element in the estimation of poor composition, FIG.
In the process (1), the upper end position of the main subject is detected based on the photometric value distribution detected by the photometric device 4, and the amount of deviation from the appropriate range is indexed. In the following description as well, the row of elements having the same X coordinate among the elements PS of the photometric device 4 will be referred to as the y row, and the j-th y row from the lowermost end in the Y-axis direction to the yj row will be referred to as the yj row. Express.

As shown in FIG. 17, in the calculation of the index G2, the variable j designating the scan row is first set to the initial value 1 in step S241, and the element P of the yj row is set in step S242.
The photometric values of S (1, j) to PS (m, j) are scanned. In the next step S243, the same photometric value B in the yj column
It is judged whether or not the element PS of v is present in F% or more of the total number m of elements in the yj column. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S244, the yj column is defined as the element column yz1, and the step S246 is performed.
Go to. If the condition of step S243 is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S245, the yj column is defined as the element column yz0, and the process proceeds to step S246. When determining whether or not they have the same photometric value Bv, a certain allowable range may be provided as in the example of FIGS.

In step S246, it is determined whether the variable j matches the number n of elements in the Y-axis direction. If they do not match, 1 is added to the variable j in step S247, and step S24
Return to 2. If they match, the process proceeds to step S248. In step S248, it is determined whether or not the boundary between the element arrays yz0 and yz1 exists within the shooting screen. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S249, and it is determined whether or not there is a single boundary.
If it is a single number, the process proceeds to step S250, and the Y coordinate of either one of two adjacent y columns across the boundary position is defined as the boundary coordinate YL. In this example, the Y coordinate of the y column below the boundary was used as the field coordinate. Continued Step S25
At 1, it is determined whether the boundary coordinate YL is within the proper range by the following formula.

[Equation 3] K ・ n ≦ YL ≦ L ・ n

When the above equation is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S252 and the index G2 = 0. On the other hand, if the above equation is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S253, and the index G2 is set according to the coordinate YL. In this case, the index G2 is increased as the amount by which the coordinate YL deviates from the appropriate range shown in the above equation. After steps S252 and S253, the process returns to the process shown in FIG. The F% is determined according to the number of elements in the X-axis direction of the photometric device 4, but a value as close to 100% as possible is preferable.
The coefficients K and L give an appropriate range of the distance from the upper end of the shooting screen to the upper end of the main subject, and in general portrait shooting, K = 0.8 and L = 0.9 are preferable.

A specific example of the processing of FIG. 17 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 18B, the camera is in the vertical position,
The correspondence between the elements PS and the photographic screen P when the number of elements PS of the photometric device 4 is n = 30 and m = 20 is shown, and the shaded portion in the figure is the main subject X2. The number of elements in the vertical position is handled in step S of FIG.
This is as already described in the section 202. Main subject X
Since the background part other than 2 is out of the depth of field and blurred,
The element corresponding to the background portion is regarded as detecting a constant photometric value Bv1 which is brighter than the element corresponding to the main subject X2. Further, F = 100.

The photographing screen shown in FIG. 18B is shown in FIG.
When the process of 7 is applied, for columns y1 to y19,
Since the main subject X2 and the background are mixed, the same photometric value Bv1
The element PS does not exist in F (= 100)%, and the step S243 is denied. Therefore, column y1 to y19
The row is defined as the element row yz0 in step S245. Since only the background exists in the columns y20 to y30, there are F% or more elements having the same photometric value Bv1.
Is affirmed. Therefore, in step S244, the y20 column-
The y30 column is defined as the element column yz1. Then, since there is only one boundary between the element arrays yz0 and yz1, steps S248 and S249 are affirmed, and step S25
If 0, the Y coordinate of the y19 column, which is the upper limit of the element column yz0, is “19”
Is defined as the boundary coordinate YL.

In the next step S251, K = 0.8, L
= 0.9, K · n = 24 and L · n = 27, so YL <K · n, and it is determined that the boundary coordinate YL is not within the proper range. Therefore, in step S253, the index G2 is set according to the difference between the boundary coordinates YL and Kn.

As is clear from the above, in the processing of FIG. 17, whether the main subject and the background are mixed in the y column depending on whether the same photometric value Bv is F% or more in the single y column. It is determined whether or not it is present, and the boundary between the mixed element row yz0 and the non-mixed element row yz1 is regarded as the upper end of the main subject. When the upper end of the main subject is not within the proper range, the index G2 is set according to the amount of deviation from the proper range. Therefore, the index G2 well indicates an inappropriate degree of the main subject position. It should be noted that when photographing the upper half of the body of a person, it is unlikely that elements corresponding to the background will occupy nearly 100% below the main subject. For this reason,
Step S249 prevents an erroneous determination as to whether the subject is the main subject.

(3) Calculation processing of horizontal edge defect index G3 The calculation processing of the horizontal edge defect index G3 (step S205 in FIG. 11) will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 21, an edge X3, which divides the shooting screen P into upper and lower parts, crosses the center of the shooting screen P as shown by a two-dot chain line L1 in the figure, or the horizontal direction of the shooting screen as shown by a two-dot chain line L2. Inclination from the direction causes composition failure. 19 and 20 in order to reflect such an element in the estimation of poor composition.
In the process (1), the horizontal edge X3 in the photographic screen is detected based on the photometric value distribution detected by the photometric device 4, and the inappropriate degree of its position and inclination is indexed. In the following description, a row of elements having the same Y coordinate among the elements PS of the photometric device 4 is called an x row, and the i-th x row from the left end in the X-axis direction to the right side is expressed as an xi row.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the calculation of the horizontal edge defect index G3, first in step S271, the x1 column and the x1 column are calculated.
The m columns are scanned to detect the respective photometric value distributions. The x1 row is the element row at the left end in the horizontal direction of the photographing screen, and the xm row is the element row at the right end. In the next step S272, it is determined whether or not T or more elements having the same photometric value Bv continue, in the x1 column, xm.
Make decisions about columns. Steps S for both x1 and xm columns
When the condition of 272 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S273, and the photometric value Bv and the position of the element corresponding to the above condition are stored. If the condition in step S272 is not satisfied in either the x1 column or the xm column, step S284.
Proceed to (Fig. 20).

In step S274, two types of photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 common to the x1 column and the xm column are obtained in step S273.
It is determined whether or not it is stored in. If it is stored, the process proceeds to step S275, and if not, step S284.
Go to. In step S275, it is determined whether the element having the photometric value Bv1 and the element having the photometric value Bv2 are in contact with each other in the x1 and xm columns. If so, go to step S276,
Otherwise, it proceeds to step S284. Step S2
At 76, the Y coordinates of the contact points of the elements of the photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 in the x1 column are Ya, Yb, and the photometric value Bv in the xm column.
The Y coordinate of the contact point of the element of 1 and Bv2 is defined as Yc and Yd. In the following step S277, a judgment value J for discriminating the vertical relationship of the elements of the photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 in the x1 and xm columns
Calculate 1 and Jm by the following formula.

[Equation 4] J1 = Ya−Yb Jm = Yc-Yd

In the next step S278, the judgment value J1,
It is determined whether the signs of Jm are the same. If they match, the process proceeds to step S279, and if not, the process proceeds to step S274. In step S279, Ya, Yb
The smaller of the two, the boundary coordinates Yx1, Yc, Yd in the x1 column
The smaller one is defined as the boundary coordinate Yxm in the xm column. In a succeeding step S280 (FIG. 20), an edge deviation amount ΔY at the left and right ends of the photographing screen is calculated by the following formula, and it is determined whether or not the value is equal to or less than an allowable value H0.

[Formula 5] ΔY = | Yx1−Yxm |

If the deviation amount ΔY is less than or equal to the allowable value H0, the process proceeds to step S281, and it is determined whether the boundary coordinate Yx1 (which may be replaced with Yxm) is in an inappropriate range according to the following equation.

[Equation 6] P · n ≦ Yx1 ≦ Q · n Coefficients P and Q are for determining whether or not the horizontal edge X3 crosses the central portion of the photographing screen, and P = 0.4 and Q =
About 0.6 is preferable.

When the condition of step S281 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S282, and the index G3 is set to the maximum value. When step S280 is denied, step S2
Proceeding to 83, the index G3 is set according to the deviation amount .DELTA.Y.
In this case, the index G3 is increased as the deviation amount ΔY is increased. The degree of increase may be increased in proportion to the shift amount ΔY, or may be increased by a quadratic or more increasing function with respect to the shift amount ΔY. When step S281 is denied, it progresses to step S284. In step S284, the index G3 = 0 is set. Steps S282, S283, S
After the end of 284, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

A specific example of the processing of FIGS. 19 and 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 22A shows a composition in which the horizontal edge X3 crosses the center of the photographing screen, and FIG. 22B shows the horizontal edge X3.
The composition in which 3 is tilted is shown in correspondence with the arrangement of the elements PS of the photometric device 4. The arrangement of the elements PS is as shown in FIG. The predetermined number T = 4 in step S272 is set.
For the sake of simplicity, it is considered that the photometric values are uniform in the area above and below the horizontal edge X3. Although various photometric values are detected on the actual shooting screen, if there is a horizon or a horizon, there is a clear difference in the photometric values above and below that line. Therefore, in the processing of FIGS. 19 and 20, if the allowable range for judging whether or not the same photometric value Bv is set, or if the photometric value of the photometric device 4 is binarized with an appropriate threshold value,
The shooting screen can be regarded as shown in FIG.

The shooting screen shown in FIG. 22A is displayed on the screen shown in FIGS.
When the processing of step S271 to step S273 is applied, the elements PS (1,1) to PS (1,
10) is the element PS (1,1
1) to PS (1,20) are stored as a set of photometric values Bv2. For the x30 column, the elements PS (30,1) to P (30,1) to P
S (30,10) is a set of photometric values Bv1 and the element PS
(30,11) to PS (30,20) are stored as a set of photometric values Bv2. In this way, two types of photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 common to the x1 column and the x30 column are stored, and the photometric value B
Since the element of v1 and the element of the photometric value B v2 are in contact with the x1 column and the x30 column, respectively, steps S274 and 275 are affirmed. Therefore, in step S276, the Y coordinates "10" and "11" of the elements PS (1, 10) and PS (1, 11) in the x1 column are defined as Ya and Yb, and x30
Y of row elements PS (30,10) and PS (30,11)
The coordinates “10” and “11” are defined as Yc and Yd. As a result, in step S277, J1 = J30 =-
Since it is 1 and both are negative values, step S278
Is affirmed, and Yx1 = Ya = 10, Y in step S279.
xm = Yc = 10.

With respect to the above Yx1 and Yxm, step S2
At 80, ΔY = 0, and since this value is within the allowable value H0, step S280 is affirmed. Step S28
In 1, if P = 0.4 and Q = 0.6, P · n = 8 and Q · n = 12 from n = 20, and Yx1 = 10, so the horizontal edge G3 is in the center of the photographic screen. Turns out to cross. Then, in step S282, the index G3 is set to the maximum value.

With respect to the photographing screen of FIG. 22 (b), the element PS for the x1 column is processed by steps S271 to S273.
(1,1) to PS (1,10) are stored as a set of photometric values Bv1, and elements PS (1,11) to PS (1,20) are stored as a set of photometric values Bv2. Regarding the x30 column, the elements PS (30,1) to PS (30,4) have the photometric value Bv1.
As a set, elements PS (30,5) to PS (30,20)
Are stored as a set of photometric values Bv2. Again, x
There are two types of photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 that are common to the 1st row and the x30 row, and the set of elements having the photometric values Bv1 and Bv2 is the x1 row and the x30 row.
Steps S274 and 275 are affirmative because they touch each other in the row, and in step S276, PS (1,1
0) and PS (1,11) Y coordinates “10” and “11” are defined as Ya and Yb, and PS (30,
4), Y coordinates “4” and “5” of PS (30, 5) are Y
c, Yd. As a result, J1 = J30 =
Since it is -1, the difference is also a negative value, so step S27
8 is affirmed, and Yx1 = Ya = 10 in step S279,
Yxm = Yc = 4. For such Yx1 and Yxm, ΔY = 6 in step S280, and step S280 is denied if the allowable value H0 = 3, for example. Therefore, in step S283, the index G corresponding to the shift amount ΔY
3 is set.

As is clear from the above, FIG. 19 and FIG.
In the processing of, in the x1 and xm columns at the horizontal ends of the shooting screen,
It is determined in steps S271 to S275 whether or not there is an edge that divides these element rows into upper and lower parts. If such an edge exists, x1 row, xm
It is determined in step S whether the edges of the x1 and xm columns may be regarded as the same horizontal edge X3 due to the vertical relationship of the photometric values of the columns.
It is determined in steps 276 to S278. When it is determined that they are the same horizontal edge X3, the Y coordinates of both ends thereof are defined as Yx1 and Yxm in step S279. Then, the inclination of the horizontal edge X3 is calculated as the deviation amount ΔY of the Y coordinates Yx1 and Yxm. When the deviation amount ΔY exceeds the allowable value H0, the larger the deviation is, the larger the index G3 is set. Even if the inclination of the horizontal edge X3 is within the allowable range, the index G3 is set to the maximum value in steps S281 and S282 when the horizontal edge X3 crosses the central portion of the photographing screen. Therefore, the index G3 well indicates the magnitude of the influence of the position and inclination of the horizontal edge X3 on the poor composition.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
The composition failure index G increases as the degree to which the tilt of the columnar object, the position of the main subject, the position of the horizontal edge, and the tilt satisfy the composition failure condition increases, and step S shown in FIG.
26 or the composition failure index G becomes equal to or greater than the reference values p and q in step S27, the possibility that a warning is issued in step S25 increases. Unique composition failure conditions are set for each type of edge present in the shooting screen, and the indices G1 to G3 are calculated for each edge in comparison with these conditions, so composition failure is estimated more versatilely and more accurately than in the conventional example. it can.

In the present embodiment, since the reference value p> q, the composition is likely to be judged to be good when the photographing magnification β is equal to or larger than the judgment photographing magnification a. This is because as the shooting magnification β becomes larger, the main subject becomes larger and the influence of the edge in the background on the quality of the composition is reduced. The reason why the calculation of the discrete index E is omitted when β ≧ a is that the necessity of gazing at the periphery of the shooting screen decreases as the shooting magnification β increases.
This is because the time required to calculate the discrete exponent E is omitted to prevent the occurrence of dead time. However, even when β ≧ a, the discrete exponent E may be calculated and a warning may be given according to the magnitude. When β <a, the route for calculating the discrete exponent E may be divided into two or more according to the photographing magnification β as in the first embodiment. On the contrary, the calculation of the discrete exponent E may be omitted even when β <a. By changing the composition failure condition (for example, the allowable range of the inclination of the horizontal edge X3) according to the shooting mode, it is possible to more accurately estimate the composition quality for each shooting mode. Regarding the relationship between the indexes G1 to G3 and the reference values p and q, the reference values p and q are set smaller than the maximum values of the indexes G1 to G3, or the reference values p and q are set to be smaller than the maximum values of the indexes G1 to G3. It may be set large.

The above-described calculation of the indexes G1 to G3 may be selectively executed by one or two kinds. For example, when the shooting magnification β is large, the possibility of portrait shooting is high and it is less necessary to pay attention to the background. On the other hand, when the shooting magnification β is small, the influence of the background is large. Is affirmative, the main subject defect index G2
Only the horizontal edge defect index G3 may be calculated when step S11 is denied. Main subject defect index G when shooting mode is portrait mode
2, the horizontal edge defect index G3 may be calculated in the landscape mode, and the columnar object defect index G1 may be calculated in the commemorative photographing mode.

-Third Embodiment- A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those of the first and second embodiments described above are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 23, in this embodiment, the display device 9 is provided with a shake warning device 9B and a composition correction instruction display device 9C. Prior to photographing, the CPU 1 executes a correction direction detection process, which will be described later, and detects the correction direction of the composition based on the distribution of the photometric values detected by the photometric device 4. The result is displayed by the composition correction instruction display device 9C.

FIG. 24 shows the shake warning device 9B and the composition correction instruction display device 9C. In the device of FIG. 24, the display devices 90, 9 are provided on the left side and the upper side of the viewfinder field FS of the camera.
1 is provided. The display 90 is a triangular direction indicator light 9.
0U and 90L, and a circular center lamp 90C arranged between them. When the camera should be shaken in the direction of the short side of the shooting screen (vertical direction in the figure) to correct the composition, the direction indicator light 90U or the direction indicator light 90 on the side corresponding to the correction direction
L lights up. When it is not necessary to move the camera in the short side direction, the center lamp 90C is turned on. The display 91 includes triangular direction indicator lights 91R and 91L, and a circular center lamp 91C disposed between them. When the composition is to be corrected by shaking the camera in the long side direction (left and right direction of the drawing) of the photographing screen, the direction indicator lamp 91R or 91L on the side corresponding to the correction direction is turned on. When it is not necessary to move the camera in the long side direction of the shooting screen, the center lamp 91C lights up.
When performing the shake warning, all the lights of the display devices 90 and 91 blink. When the composition confirmation is urged, all the lights of the display devices 90 and 91 remain lit.

FIG. 25 shows a part of the composition estimation procedure by the CPU 1 of this embodiment. Step S1 in the figure
1, step S22 and step S23 are common to the same step in FIG. 10, and steps S17 and 18 in the figure are the same as those in FIG.
The description is omitted because it is the same as the same step. At steps prior to step S11, steps S1 to S1 shown in FIG.
Step S10 is executed.

In the present embodiment, when it is determined in step S11 that the shooting magnification β is greater than or equal to the determination shooting magnification a, and when it is determined in step S23 that the discrete index E is greater than or equal to the reference value h, the process proceeds to step S31. Perform detection processing.
Details of this processing will be described later. In step S32, it is determined whether or not the composition correction direction is specified in step S31. If the correction direction is specified, step S33.
Then, the display 90 or 91 displays the correction in that direction. If it is determined in step S32 that there is no correction direction, the flow advances to step S34 to display a good composition.

FIG. 26 shows details of the composition correction direction detection processing. In this process, the correction direction necessary for properly maintaining the distance between the upper end of the main subject and the upper end of the shooting screen is detected. In the following description, the expressions regarding the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the shooting screen and the arrangement of the elements PS of the photometric device 4 are common to the second embodiment.

In the illustrated process, first, in step S301, the Y coordinate YL of the upper end of the main subject in the photographic screen is obtained based on the distribution of photometric values detected by the photometric device 4. This process is the same as steps S241 to S250 in FIG. That is, step S30
1, the boundary coordinate YL in step S250 of FIG.
Ask for. After obtaining the coordinate YL, the process proceeds to step S302, and it is determined whether the coordinate YL is within the proper range as in step S251 of FIG. When the coordinate YL is not in the proper range, the process proceeds to step S303, and it is determined whether the coordinate YL is less than the lower limit (K · n) of the proper range. If it is less than the lower limit (K · n), the process proceeds to step S304, and the correction direction is “down”.
And On the other hand, if the coordinate YL is not less than the lower limit (K · n), the process proceeds to step S305 and the correction direction is set to “up”.
If the coordinate YL is within the proper range in step S302, the process proceeds to step S306 and "no correction direction" is set. After completion of steps S304 to S306, the process returns to the process of FIG. Note that in the detection process of the coordinate YL in step S301, steps S248 and S249 in FIG.
If the condition corresponding to is denied, the process proceeds to step S306.

According to the above processing, when the upper end position of the main subject is out of the proper range, the correction direction "down" is displayed on the display device 90 or 91, and on the contrary, it is out of the upper range. At this time, the correction direction “up” is displayed on the display 90 or 91. For example, in the composition of FIG. 27A, since the main subject X2 is biased to the lower side of the shooting screen P, it is determined that the correction direction is “down”, and the indicator lamp 90L of the display 90 is turned on. The center lamp 91C lights on the display 91 side. When the camera is swung downward according to the instruction of the display device 90, the main subject X2 moves relatively upward in the shooting screen. Figure 2
If the composition correction direction is repeatedly detected with the main subject X2 within the proper range as shown in 7 (b), it is determined that there is no correction direction, and the center lamp 90C of the display 90 is turned on.

In the case of instructing the composition correction direction as in the present embodiment, even if the photographer does not know a typical example of poor composition, a photograph with a good composition can be taken only by following the display on the camera. Which of the display devices 90 and 91 is used is determined by the attitude of the camera. That is, in the horizontal position of the camera, the display 90 is used to instruct up / down correction,
In the vertical position, the display 91 gives an instruction to correct up and down.

In the above example, only the correction direction relating to the position of the main subject is detected, but if the calculation of the indexes G1 and G3 in the second embodiment is applied, the columnar object X shown in FIG.
The correction direction of the inclination of the horizontal edge X3 shown in 1 or FIG. 21 can also be detected. Examples of these will be described with reference to FIGS. 28 and 29.

FIG. 28 shows a procedure for detecting the correction direction of a columnar object. In this example, first, in step S311, the tilt of the columnar object in the photographing screen is detected based on the distribution of the photometric values detected by the photometric device 4. This processing is the same as the processing from step S211 to step S223 in the calculation procedure of the columnar object defect index G1 shown in FIGS. That is, in step S311, the shift amounts ΔXL and ΔXR in step S223 of FIG. 13 are calculated.

When the deviation amounts ΔXL and ΔXR are obtained, it is determined in a succeeding step S312 whether or not the positive and negative signs of the both agree with each other. This is because if the positive and negative signs do not match, the left and right inclination directions of the columnar object are different, and the correction direction cannot be specified. When it is determined in step S312 that the positive and negative values match, the process proceeds to step S313, and it is determined whether the deviation amount ΔXR (which may be replaced by ΔXL) is a positive value. If it is a positive value, the process proceeds to step S314 and the correction direction is set to the clockwise direction. Deviation amount Δ
If XR is negative, the correction direction is counterclockwise. When the positive and negative signs do not match in step S312, the process proceeds to step S316 and "no correction direction" is set. Step S
When the condition corresponding to steps S218 and 219 of FIG. 12 is denied in 311, the process also proceeds to step S316.

As is clear from FIG. 16, when the columnar object X1 is tilted to the left side of the photographing screen, Xc <Xa is a negative value because of Xa, and when it is tilted to the right side of the photographing screen, Xc>. The shift amount ΔXR becomes a positive value at Xa. When the pillar X1 tilts to the left, the tilt can be reduced by rotating the camera counterclockwise around the center of the photographing screen, and when the tilt is opposite, the camera can be rotated clockwise. In the process of FIG. 28, the correction direction is set to the counterclockwise direction when the deviation amount ΔXR is negative and to the clockwise direction when the deviation amount is positive in step S313. Therefore, the direction for correcting the inclination of the columnar object X1 is set for the photographer. Can be specified accurately.

FIG. 29 shows the procedure for detecting the correction direction of the horizontal edge. In this example, first, step S321.
Then, the position of the horizontal edge in the photographing screen is detected based on the distribution of the photometric values detected by the photometric device 4. This processing is the same as the processing from step S271 to step S279 in the calculation procedure of the horizontal edge defect index G3 shown in FIG. That is, in step S321, the Y coordinates Yx1 and Yxm of the left and right ends of the horizontal edge X3 in step S279 of FIG. 19 are calculated.

In the following step S322, it is determined whether the deviation amount ΔY corresponding to the inclination of the horizontal edge X3 is equal to or less than the allowable value H0, as in step S280 of FIG. When it is determined that the allowable value H0 is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S323, and it is determined whether the Y coordinate Yx1 at the left end of the horizontal edge X3 is smaller than the Y coordinate Yxm at the right end. If it is smaller, the process proceeds to step S324, and the correction direction is set to the counterclockwise direction. If the coordinate Yx1 is not less than the coordinate Yxm, the process proceeds to step S325 and the correction direction is set to the clockwise direction. When the inclination is equal to or less than the allowable value H0 in step S322, the process proceeds to step S326,
There is no correction direction. In step S321, FIG.
9 Steps S272, S274, S275, S278
Also when the condition corresponding to is denied, the process proceeds to step S326.

As shown in FIG. 22B, the horizontal edge X3
Is tilted downward to the right, Yx1> Yxm is satisfied, and thus step S323 is denied, and the composition correction direction is clockwise in step S325. On the contrary, when the horizontal edge X3 tilts to the lower left, Yx1 <Yxm is satisfied, and thus step S323 is positive, and in step S324, the composition correction direction is the counterclockwise direction. When the horizontal edge X3 tilts downward to the right, the tilt can be reduced by turning the camera clockwise around the center of the photographing screen, and when the tilt is opposite, the camera can be turned counterclockwise. Therefore, according to the processing of FIG. 29, it is possible to accurately instruct the photographer of the direction for correcting the inclination of the horizontal edge X3. When step S322 is affirmed, step S281 of FIG. 20 is executed, and the horizontal edge X3
If is crossing the center of the shooting screen, a separate warning may be issued to that effect.

The processing of FIGS. 28 and 29 described above is the same as that of FIG.
It is possible to perform the processing in place of or in addition to the processing in FIG. However, when a plurality of processes are executed, for example, when the correction direction corresponding to the columnar object X1 is clockwise and the correction direction corresponding to the horizontal edge X3 is counterclockwise, the correction directions detected in the respective processes conflict with each other. It is possible that In such a case, it is necessary to take measures such as no correction direction. In order to indicate the rotation direction as the correction direction, it is preferable to use the indicators 92 and 93 shown in FIG.

In the example of FIG. 30, a pair of indicators 92 and 93 are provided on the left and right of the viewfinder field FS of the camera. The display devices 92 and 93 include arrow-shaped direction indicator lights 92U and 93U facing upward in the short side direction of the photographing screen, arrow-shaped direction indicator lights 92L and 93L facing downward, and the outside in the long side direction of the photographing screen. Equipped with turn indicators 92SR and 93SL. For these indicator lights, well-known light emitting means used for display in the viewfinder of the camera such as LEDs may be used.

According to the above indicators 92 and 93, when the direction indicator lights 92U and 93U are lit, upward correction is performed, and when the direction indicators 92L and 93L are lit, downward correction is performed. Illumination corrects to the right, direction indicator light 92SL
You can instruct the correction to the left by illuminating. Further, it is possible to instruct the counterclockwise correction by simultaneously turning on the direction indicator lights 92U and 93L, and the clockwise correction by simultaneously turning on the direction indicator lights 92L and 93U.

For example, in the composition of FIG.
Since 1 tilts to the left of the shooting screen P, the direction indicator lights 92U and 9
Simultaneously turn on 3L. When the camera is rotated counterclockwise according to these instructions, the inclination of the columnar object X1 is corrected as shown in FIG. In the composition of FIG. 32 (a), the horizontal edge X3 is tilted downward to the right in the photographing screen P, so that the direction indicators 93U and 92L are turned on at the same time. When the camera is rotated clockwise according to these instructions, the inclination of the horizontal edge X3 is corrected as shown in FIG.

When it is not necessary to correct the composition, all the indicator lights are turned off. Blink all indicator lights when giving a shake warning. When urging the composition confirmation based on the discrete index E, all the indicator lights may be turned on.

Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 and 34. In this example, C
PU1 performs composition estimation processing different from the above-described embodiments. Therefore, the characteristic part of the composition estimation processing will be mainly described below.

FIG. 33 shows the composition estimation processing procedure of this embodiment. In comparison with the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, step S41 corresponds to step S1, step S42 corresponds to step S3, step S43 corresponds to step S4, step S44 corresponds to step S6, and step S45 corresponds to step S7. Then, when it is determined in step S45 that the blurring amount is not within the proper range, the process proceeds to step S52, and a camera shake warning is issued.

When it is determined in step S45 that the blurring amount is within the proper range, the process proceeds to step S46, and the gazing point distribution of the photographer is obtained based on the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detecting device 2. This process is performed by steps S101 to S108 of FIG.
Equivalent to. That is, the gazing point existence time t (i, j) for each area W shown in FIG. 3C is obtained. After obtaining the gazing point distribution, the process proceeds to step S47, and the region W (i, j) having the largest gazing point existence time t (i, j) is specified as the position of the main subject. For example, when shooting a person as the main subject, the gazing point concentrates on the person's face, so
With the above processing, the position of the main subject can be specified almost accurately. Even if the main subject is not a person, the gaze point concentrates on it, and the above processing can be applied as it is.

After the main subject position is determined, step S
At 48, the edge position in the photographing screen is detected. This processing is performed by the coordinates Xa, Xb, Xc, Xd at the left and right ends of the columnar object X1 described in the second embodiment (see FIG. 16) and the coordinates Ya, Yb, Yc, Yd at the left and right ends of the horizontal edge X3 (see FIG. 22)). After obtaining the edge position, the process proceeds to step S49, and it is determined whether or not the relative relationship between the main subject position and the edge position does not correspond to a typical example in which the composition is poor. For example, as shown in FIG. 34A, when the horizontal edge X3 is far away from the face portion of the main subject X2, the composition is good. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 34 (b), the horizontal edge X near the face of the main subject X2 is displayed.
When 3 crosses, it is judged that the composition is bad. Also, if the columnar object X1 shown in FIG. 14 overlaps with the main subject X2, the composition is determined to be defective.

When the composition is judged to be defective in step S49, the process proceeds to step S50, the photographer is warned that the composition is defective, and then the process returns to step S44. On the other hand, when it is determined that the composition is good, the process proceeds to step S51, and the fact that the composition is good is displayed. As described above, in this embodiment, the position of the main subject is specified based on the distribution of the gaze points of the photographer, and the quality of the composition is estimated by the relative relationship between the position and the position of the edge. A typical example of poor composition can be accurately detected even if it is off the center.

Depending on the number of divided areas W (values of u and v) of the photographing screen shown in FIG. 3A, there may be a plurality of areas W corresponding to the face portion of a person. For this reason, it is preferable to calculate in advance how many of the person's face part corresponds to the area W, and to set a certain range around the position where the gazing point is concentrated as the person's face part. Further, since the size of the main subject also changes depending on the shooting magnification β, steps S8 to S10 shown in FIG. 4 are added to calculate the shooting magnification β, and the main subject is considered according to the value. Change the range.

In this embodiment, the index G of the second embodiment described above is used.
Although the edge position is obtained by applying the calculation procedure of 1 to G3, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the edge of the horizontal line or the horizon, or the edge of the boundary between the main subject or the pillar and the background may be specified by preferentially detecting the edge where the contrast changes the most in the shooting screen. The position and type of the edge may be specified by using an edge detection method well known in the image processing field, such as performing edge enhancement by applying a differential filter to the photometric value distribution detected by the photometric device 4.

FIG. 35 and FIG. 36 show examples of warning displays that can be used in the above-mentioned respective embodiments. FIG. 35 (a) shows an example of changing the display color or brightness of the display 100 such as shutter speed and exposure information provided below the viewfinder field FS to give a warning, and FIG. 35 (b) shows the viewfinder field FS display. An example of changing the color or the brightness to give a warning, the same figure (c) shows an example of giving a warning by lighting or blinking a dot-shaped warning mark 101 outside the corner of the viewfinder field FS, and the same figure (d) shows the viewfinder field FS. 36A shows an example of lighting or blinking a dot-shaped warning mark 102 inside the corner of FIG. 36A, and FIG. 36A shows an example of lighting or blinking a frame-shaped warning mark 103 outside the viewfinder field FS. FIG. 6B shows an example of warning by lighting or blinking a frame-shaped warning mark 104 inside the viewfinder field FS.
The same figure (c) shows a warning message 1 in the viewfinder field FS.
An example in which 05 is turned on or blinks to give a warning, and FIG. 7D is an example in which the warning message 106 is turned on or blinked in the display 100 to give a warning. These warnings may be properly used, such as a reminder for composition confirmation based on the discrete index E, a warning for composition failure based on the composition failure index G, and a camera shake warning.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the criteria for determining composition failure may be changed according to the focal length of the taking lens. For example, in the case of a wide-angle lens, there is a high possibility that the ridgeline of a mountain or the ridgeline of a building that is the background will be photographed, and the oblique edge tends to be photographed due to the perspective of the lens, so that a columnar object or horizontal edge Set a large allowable range for inclination. On the contrary, in the case of a telephoto lens, the background is often monotonous, so it is advisable to set a small allowable range for the edge inclination.

In each of the above embodiments, the camera having the photographing mode setting function has been described. However, in the case of a camera having no such function, it is considered that the determination photographing magnification a, the area coefficient α, and various compositions which are considered to be optimal. A defect condition is determined and given to the CPU 1. The horizontal edge X3 detection processing described in the second and third embodiments can also be applied to an edge that divides the photographing screen into left and right by switching the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

In the above embodiment, the photometric device 4 and the CPU 1 are the brightness information detecting means, the CPU 1 is the composition quality estimating means, the edge detecting means, the correction direction determining means, the camera shake state determining means, the visual axis detecting device 2 and the CPU 1. Denotes a gazing point information detecting means, and the display device 9 constitutes a warning means, a display means, and a camera shake warning means.

[0098]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the position of the edge corresponding to the upper end of the main subject is detected. Therefore, when the upper end of the main subject is in a range that causes poor composition, the warning is surely given. it can. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the inclination of the edge extending between the two opposite sides of the photographing screen is detected, the inclination of the edge that divides the photographing screen into two parts, such as a horizontal line, is in a range that causes poor composition. Sometimes you can be sure of that. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the composition correction direction is determined based on the detected edge type and position and the composition defect condition, even if the photographer does not know the composition correction direction, the camera display You can take pictures with good composition just by following the steps below. According to the invention of claim 4, the quality of the composition is determined based on the information related to the distribution of the gazing point of the photographer and the information related to the brightness distribution in the shooting screen. Therefore, the quality of the composition is determined only by the brightness distribution. The quality of the composition can be judged more versatilely and more accurately than the case of performing. According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in order to improve the accuracy of determining the quality of the composition, the photographer can be required to hold the camera stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement of photometric devices 4 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a calculation process of a discrete exponent E by the CPU 1 of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a part of a composition estimation procedure in CPU 1 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the calculation procedure of the discrete exponent E of FIG.

7 is a block diagram of a control system according to a modified example of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing a characteristic part of a composition estimation procedure in the example of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which a plurality of focus detection areas are provided in a shooting screen.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a characteristic part of a composition estimation procedure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart showing details of a calculation procedure of a composition failure index G in FIG.

12 is a flowchart showing details of a calculation procedure of a columnar object defect index G1 in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart following FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example (a) in which the position of the columnar object existing in the photographing screen is appropriate and an example (b) in which the position is inappropriate.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an array of elements of the photometric device 4.

16 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the composition of FIG. 14B and the arrangement of the elements shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of a procedure for calculating a main subject defect index G2 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example (a) in which the position of the main subject in the shooting screen is appropriate and an example (b) in which the position is inappropriate.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of the calculation procedure of the horizontal edge defect index G3 in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart following FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a composition in which a horizontal line and a horizon are imprinted.

22 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the edges shown in FIG. 21 and the array of elements shown in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

24 is a diagram showing an example of a display in the finder by the display device 9 of FIG.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the characteristic part of the composition estimation procedure in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the composition correction direction detection process of FIG. 25.

27 is a view showing a display example of the composition correction direction when the processing of FIG. 26 is executed.

28 is a flowchart showing another example of the composition correction direction detection process of FIG. 25.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing still another example of the composition correction direction detection process of FIG. 25.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a modification of FIG. 24.

31 is a diagram showing a display example of the composition correction direction when the processing of FIG. 28 is executed.

32 is a diagram showing a display example of the composition correction direction when the processing of FIG. 29 is executed.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the composition estimation procedure in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 shows an example (a) in which it is estimated that the composition is good and an example (b) in which it is estimated that the composition is bad in the fourth example.

FIG. 35 is a view showing a modified example of a warning such as composition correction.

FIG. 36 is a view showing a modified example of a warning such as composition correction.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU 2 line-of-sight detection device 3 Blur detection device 4 Photometric device 5 Distance measuring device 6 Focal length detector 9 Display device 9A Composition warning device 9B shake warning device 9C Composition correction instruction display device 90,91,92,93 Display

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A brightness information detecting means for detecting information related to a brightness distribution in a shooting screen, and an edge corresponding to an upper end of a main subject in the shooting screen based on the information related to the detected brightness distribution. An edge detection unit that extracts and detects the position, a composition quality determination unit that determines the quality of the composition by comparing the position of the detected edge with a predetermined appropriate range, and when a composition failure is determined. A camera having a composition advice function, comprising: a warning unit that outputs a warning. 2. A brightness information detection means for detecting information related to a brightness distribution in a shooting screen, and an edge extending between two facing sides of the shooting screen based on the detected information related to the brightness distribution. An edge detection unit that extracts and detects the inclination, a composition quality determination unit that determines the quality of the composition by comparing the detected edge inclination with a predetermined appropriate range, and a composition failure determination unit A camera having a composition advice function, comprising: a warning unit that outputs a warning. 3. A camera provided with the composition advice function according to claim 2, wherein a correction direction determining means for determining a correction direction of the composition based on the detected inclination of the edge and the proper range is determined. And a display unit for displaying the correction direction, and a camera having a composition advice function. 4. A gazing point information detecting means for detecting information related to a distribution of gazing points of a photographer on the photographing screen, and a gazing point within the photographing screen based on the information related to the distribution of the detected gazing points. A main subject detection unit that detects the position of the main subject, a brightness information detection unit that detects information related to the brightness distribution in the shooting screen, and a specific type from the shooting screen based on the information related to the detected brightness distribution. Edge detection means for extracting the edge of the image and detecting its position, a determination means for determining the quality of the composition based on the detected position of the main subject, the type and position of the detected edge, and a composition failure. A camera having a composition advice function, comprising: a warning unit that outputs a warning when it is determined. 5. A camera provided with a composition advice function according to claim 1, wherein the camera shake information detecting means detects information corresponding to the camera shake state of the camera, and the detected camera shake state. A camera shake state determination means for determining whether or not is within an appropriate range for the determination of composition quality, and a camera shake warning that outputs a warning when it is determined that the camera shake state is in an inappropriate range for determination of composition quality. A camera having a composition advice function, characterized by comprising: