JP2004120163A - Digital camera, digital camera system, and image management method for digital camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera capable of relieving a load caused by image processing and storing many photographing images. <P>SOLUTION: When a release switch is operated to instruct photographing, image data representing a photographed image are acquired (102, 104), related information relating to photographing such as identification information to specify a memory card, photographing information or the like representing a photographing date and a photographing time at photographing are given to image data (RAW data) (106) and the resulting data are transmitted to a computer (108). Further, display image data are generated (110) on the basis of the image data, similarly the related information is given to the display image data (114), and recorded in the memory card (116). That is, only the display image data are stored in the memory card, and the RAW data with a large image size are transmitted to the computer, which stores the RAW data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital camera, a digital camera system, and an image management method for the digital camera system, and more particularly to a digital camera that acquires image data by photographing a subject, and image data acquired by the digital camera. The present invention relates to a digital camera system capable of performing various image processing and an image management method of the digital camera system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many digital cameras have been distributed as image pickup apparatuses using CCD image pickup devices that can be easily photographed. The electronic camera reads a charge (photoelectric conversion) corresponding to the amount of light with a CCD image sensor or the like for each pixel using an operation of a release switch as a trigger, and converts it into image data. Data is recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium.
[0003]
In the process from shooting to recording, for each shooting frame, the main processes are digital conversion of the shot image, creation of an image for displaying the shot image, and recording processing for recording the shot image. .
[0004]
As described above, the digital camera can easily record the captured image by operating the release switch.
[0005]
In addition, in a digital camera, it is desired to obtain a high-quality image by performing various image processing on image data obtained by photographing. Then, after image processing is performed, recording is performed on a recording medium. However, since image processing takes time, when performing continuous shooting such as continuous shooting, a large-capacity memory is required as a buffer. .
[0006]
Therefore, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, image information is communicated between the digital camera and an adapter having a buffer memory mechanism, and the image information before image processing by the digital camera is temporarily stored in the adapter. However, when performing image processing, image processing is performed by the image processing function of the digital camera using communication. This makes it possible to store a large capacity without imposing a heavy burden on the camera itself.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-175138 A (first page, FIG. 1)
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, although image data is temporarily stored on the adapter side provided outside the digital camera, image processing is performed on the digital camera side. There is a problem that it is not actually alleviated.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and can reduce the burden of image processing and can store a large number of captured images, a digital camera system including the digital camera, It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital camera system image management method applicable to the digital camera system.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a photographing unit that obtains image data representing a photographed image by photographing a subject and photographing based on the image data obtained by the photographing unit. Generating means for generating display image data for displaying a captured image on a display means for displaying an image; communication means for communicating with an external device; recording means capable of recording the display image data; Control for recording the display image data generated by the generation unit in the recording unit, and control for transmitting the image data acquired by the photographing unit to an external device via the communication unit Means.
[0011]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, image data representing a captured image is obtained by photographing the subject by the photographing means, and display image data is generated by the generating means based on the acquired image data. Is done. That is, the captured image can be displayed on the display means based on the display image data. For example, the display image data may be generated by converting the display image data into an image data size smaller than the size of the image data acquired by the photographing unit (so-called thumbnail image).
[0012]
The communication means communicates with an external device, and the recording means records data such as image data. For example, the communication means transmits image data acquired by the photographing means to an external device, receives image data from the external device, etc., and the recording means includes a recording medium such as a memory card, an internal memory, etc. Can be applied.
[0013]
The control unit is controlled to record the display image data generated by the generation unit in the recording unit, and transmits the image data acquired by the photographing unit to the external device via the communication unit. Be controlled. That is, only the display image data is recorded in the digital camera, and the raw image data having a large data size acquired by the photographing unit (for example, an image on which only RAW data or Y / C conversion is performed). Data etc.) is stored in an external device. Accordingly, the burden on the digital camera due to image processing can be reduced, and a large number of captured images (display image data) can be stored. In addition, since the image data is transmitted to the external device, it is possible to perform image processing with a heavy load on the memory or the like with the external device.
[0014]
Further, since the digital camera only generates display image data, image processing can be simplified.
[0015]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the related information associating the image data acquired by the photographing unit with the display image data generated by the generating unit is provided. The image processing apparatus further includes an adding unit that applies to each image data, and the control unit controls the recording image data to which the related information is added to be recorded in the recording unit, and the related information is given. The image data is transmitted to an external device.
[0016]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the related information associating the image data acquired by the photographing unit with the display image data generated by the generating unit is associated with each image. The image processing apparatus further includes an adding unit that adds the data, and the control unit controls the recording unit to record the display image data to which the related information is added, and the image data to which the related information is added is sent to the external device. By controlling to transmit, it is possible to search for image data corresponding to the related information.
[0017]
As the related information, for example, when a recording medium is applied, identification information such as a serial number unique to the recording medium and shooting information such as a shooting date and time and a shooting time at the time of shooting can be applied. .
[0018]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the digital camera according to the first or second aspect, a data communication unit that performs data communication including reception of image data transmitted from the digital camera, and the data communication unit. A computer comprising: image processing means for performing predetermined image processing on the received image data; and storage means for storing the image data subjected to image processing by the image processing means. It is a feature.
[0019]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the digital camera according to the first or second aspect and the computer are configured, and the image data transmitted from the digital camera is received by the data communication unit as described above. Is done.
[0020]
The received image data is subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing means and stored in the storage means. This makes it possible to perform image processing that is not performed by the digital camera, and to reduce the burden of image processing on the digital camera side. In addition, the image processing of the digital camera itself can be simplified.
[0021]
Furthermore, by performing image processing with a computer, it is possible to perform various image processing settings according to the user's preference after shooting, and to make maximum use of image data.
[0022]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the digital camera transmits the related information for searching the image data stored in the computer via the communication unit. The computer further includes transmitting means for transmitting to the computer, the computer receives the related information transmitted from the digital camera via the data communication means, and the image data corresponding to the related information transmitted by the transmitting means. And searching means for returning the image data to the digital camera via the data communication means.
[0023]
According to the invention described in claim 4, in the invention described in claim 3, the digital camera further includes transmission means, and the computer further includes search means. As a result, related information for searching for image data stored in the computer can be transmitted from the digital camera to the computer, and image data corresponding to the related information can be searched for on the computer side and returned to the digital camera. . The digital camera can receive the image data stored in the computer corresponding to the related information via the communication means.
[0024]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera system comprising: a digital camera that acquires image data representing a captured image by shooting a subject; and a computer that stores the image data acquired by the digital camera. An image management method for generating display image data for displaying a captured image on display means for displaying a captured image based on the image data acquired by the digital camera; An assigning step of assigning related information for associating the image data with the image data; a recording step of recording the display image data to which the related information is assigned to the digital camera; and the image to which the related information is assigned. A transmission step of transmitting data to the computer, and before transmission in the transmission step A receiving step of receiving image data by the computer, an image processing step of performing predetermined image processing by the computer on the image data received by the receiving step, and image processing by the image processing step. And storing the image data in the computer.
[0025]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the generating step, display image data to be displayed on the display means for displaying the photographed image is generated, and in the adding step, the image data and the display image obtained by photographing. The display image data and the image data obtained by photographing are recorded by recording the display image data in a recording means such as a recording medium provided in the digital camera in the recording step by assigning related information to associate with the data. It is possible to use the related information at the time of search.
[0026]
Further, in the transmission step, image data obtained by photographing is transmitted to the computer, in the reception step, the image data is received on the computer side, in the image processing step, predetermined image processing is performed, and the image data is stored. To save it on your computer. Thereby, image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera can be stored in a computer. In other words, image data can be saved without holding high-quality and high-resolution image data in the digital camera, and many images (display image data) can be saved in the digital camera. . In addition, since image processing for image data is performed on the computer side, the burden of image processing on the digital camera side can be reduced.
[0027]
The invention described in claim 6 further includes a search step for searching the image data stored in the storage step based on the related information provided in the assignment step in the invention described in claim 5. It is a feature.
[0028]
According to the invention described in claim 6, in the invention described in claim 5, further comprising a search step of searching the image data stored in the storage step based on the related information provided in the provision step. Thus, it is possible to search for desired image data by specifying related information, and to search for desired high-quality and high-resolution image data while viewing an image based on the display image data with a digital camera. Is possible.
[0029]
The invention described in claim 6 may further include a display step of transmitting the image data searched in the search step to the digital camera and displaying an image based on the transmitted image data. In this way, it is possible to display on the digital camera side using high-quality image data.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a digital camera system including a digital camera and a computer connected to the digital camera.
[0031]
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the main body 12 of the digital camera 10 has a substantially box shape. A lens barrel 15 to which a lens 14 is attached is provided approximately at the center of the front side of the main body 12, and an optical finder 16 is provided in the vicinity of the lens 14 for the user to visually check the shooting range and the like. .
[0032]
On the upper surface side of the main body 12, there is provided a strobe 18 for emitting auxiliary light in the case of shooting at low illuminance, etc. When the strobe 18 is not used, as shown in FIG. It is stored in the main body 12. That is, at the time of use, as shown in FIG.
[0033]
Further, a strobe light receiving window 38 for guiding the strobe light to a strobe light receiving sensor for detecting the amount of strobe light reflected and returned by the subject at the time of strobe light emission, and a built-in AE sensor are located near the strobe 18. An AE light receiving window 40 is provided for guiding light to the light source.
[0034]
On the upper surface of the main body 12, a mode dial 17 is provided on the right side when viewed from the front, and a release switch 22 is provided at the center of the mode dial 17.
[0035]
On the right side when viewed from the front of the main body 12, a slot 24 into which a memory card (not shown) as a recording medium can be loaded, and image data recorded in the built-in memory or a memory card loaded in the slot 24 are sent to the outside. USB terminal 42 to which a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable is connected, and image data recorded in the built-in memory or memory card is used for external transmission using a mobile phone for connection to a mobile phone A mobile phone terminal 44 is provided. For example, various forms such as a smart media, a PC card, a micro drive, a multimedia card (MMC), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a memory stick can be applied as the recording medium.
[0036]
Furthermore, an AC adapter connection port 28 for connecting an AC adapter for obtaining power from an AC power source is provided below the mobile phone terminal 44, and is configured to be able to supply AC power to the digital camera 10. Yes.
[0037]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a color display 26 made of transmissive liquid crystal (or transflective liquid crystal may be used) is provided on the back surface of the main body 12, and the color display 26 includes fluorescent tubes and LEDs. It is set as the structure provided with the backlight comprised by these. The color display 26 also has the function of the optical viewfinder 16.
[0038]
In the vicinity of the color display 26, a display button 30 for instructing display / non-display of the color display 26, an LED 32 as a mode indicator indicating the current mode, and a power button for instructing power on / off of the digital camera 10 20 is provided.
[0039]
Further, on the back of the main body 12, various operation buttons for operating various functions of the digital camera 10 (for example, a strobe pop-up button 34a, an 8-way key 34b for selecting menu items displayed on the color display 26, and the like). , A cancel button 34c, a mode selection lever 34d, etc.) are provided, and various functions of the digital camera 10 such as changing contents displayed on the color display 26 according to the operation of the operation panel 34 are operated. It is possible to do.
[0040]
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the electrical system of the digital camera 10. Specifically, the lens 14 is a zoom lens (focal length variable lens), and the zoom mechanism is driven by a drive circuit 46. An autofocus (AF) mechanism 47 is also provided, and the AF mechanism 47 is similarly driven by the drive circuit 46. Instead of the zoom lens, a variable focal length lens having only the AF mechanism 47 may be used.
[0041]
An image sensor 50 composed of an area CCD sensor or the like as an imaging unit is disposed at a position corresponding to the focal position of the lens 14 inside the main body 12, and light incident on the lens 14 after reflecting the subject. Is imaged on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 50. The imaging device 50 outputs an analog signal representing the amount of received light in each of a large number of photoelectric conversion cells arranged in a matrix on the light receiving surface as an image signal. The image sensor 50 is driven at a timing synchronized with the timing signal generated by the timing signal generator connected to the driving circuit 46 and outputs an image signal.
[0042]
A diaphragm 48 is disposed between the lens 14 and the image sensor 50. The aperture may be configured as a single aperture that can be changed continuously, or may be configured to switch a plurality of apertures with different aperture amounts.
[0043]
The timing signal generator 52 is further connected to a strobe control circuit 54 that controls the light emission of the strobe 18. When the strobe 18 is detected to have low illuminance or when the user instructs light emission. Light emission is controlled at a timing synchronized with the timing signal generated by the timing signal generator 52.
[0044]
A sampling unit 56, an A / D converter 58, a signal processing unit 60, a memory 62, and a compression / decompression unit 64 are connected in order to the signal output terminal of the image sensor 50, and each is connected to a system bus 68. The system control unit 70 connected to the system bus 68 controls the entire system. Note that the system control unit 70 has a timer circuit (not shown) that counts the date and time, and when the release switch 22 is operated to give a shooting instruction, the shooting date and time and the shooting time when the shooting instruction is given. And the like, and has a function of adding the shooting information to image data representing a shot image and display image data to be described later.
[0045]
The sampling unit 56 samples the image signal output from the image sensor 50 at a timing synchronized with the timing signal generated by the timing signal generation unit 52, amplifies it, and outputs it to the A / D converter 58. The sampling unit 56 includes a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling: hereinafter referred to as CDS) unit (not shown). The CDS unit uses, for example, a CCD type imaging device, and basically holds a clamp circuit that clamps various noises generated by the device with a timing signal from the timing signal generation unit, and an analog voltage signal with the timing signal. It has a sample hold circuit. The CDS unit removes the noise component and sends the image signal to the A / D converter 58 as an analog output signal. The image signal output from the sampling unit 56 is converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 58 and input to the signal processing unit 60. In the signal processing unit 60, the input image data is converted into display image data to be displayed on the color display 26. For example, the image data input from the A / D converter 58 is converted into a so-called thumbnail image having a small image size for display (image data with low resolution). At this time, shooting information indicating the shooting date and time and shooting time is acquired from the system control unit 70, and the shooting information is added to the header portion of the display image data. The image data output from the signal processing unit 60 is temporarily recorded in a memory 62 composed of a RAM or the like. When the release switch 22 is operated, the data is compressed by the compression / expansion unit 64 and then stored in the memory card 78 loaded in the slot 24.
[0046]
In addition, a color display 26 is also connected to the system bus 68 so that an image based on display image data obtained by the signal processing unit 60 can be displayed.
[0047]
Further, various operation switches 74 including a release switch 22 and various operation buttons of the operation panel 34 are connected to the system bus 68 via an input / output interface (I / F) 76. Control according to is performed. A connection terminal such as a USB terminal 42 is also connected to the input / output I / F 76, and for example, an external display or the like can be connected.
[0048]
Further, a communication device 72 for communicating with external devices is connected to the system bus 68, and image data obtained by photographing can be transmitted via the communication device 72. In the embodiment, for example, raw image data (RAW data) is transmitted to the communication device 80 such as the computer 11, and various image processing such as color correction, γ correction, and Y / C conversion is performed on the image data by the computer 11. The image data is stored in the computer 11. When the image data is transmitted to the computer 11, the shooting date and time given to the display image data, as information for specifying the display image data stored in the memory card 78 corresponding to the image data, Shooting information such as shooting time and identification information for identifying the memory card 78 (for example, the serial number of the memory card 78) are used as related information, and a header portion of image data to be transmitted to the computer 11 under the control of the system control unit 70. Etc. are to be granted. In addition, before transmission to the computer 11, the signal processing unit 60 of the digital camera 10 may transmit image data that has been subjected to Y / C conversion.
[0049]
Further, the communication devices 72 and 80 can be applied to a configuration in which the communication devices 72 and 80 are connected to the computer 11 via a network such as the Internet. In the present embodiment, the communication devices 72 and 80 transmit image data to the computer 11 connected to the network by connecting to a network such as the Internet by wireless communication. The communication device 72 may include the USB terminal 42, the mobile phone terminal 44, etc., and communicate with the computer 11 by connecting to a communication means such as a mobile phone.
[0050]
As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 11 includes a general computer in which a CPU 82, a ROM 84, and a RAM 86 are connected to a bus 88, and the bus 88 is a communication for receiving image data transmitted from the digital camera 10. A device 80 and a hard disk (HDD) 90 for storing the image data are connected.
[0051]
In addition, the computer 11 includes a peripheral device such as a keyboard for inputting various information and a display device for displaying an image based on the image data.
[0052]
The ROM 84 stores programs for performing various image processing such as color correction, γ correction, Y / C conversion, JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group) conversion on the image data, and the CPU 82 executes the program according to the program. Image processing is performed under control. The RAM 86 is used as a memory for performing image processing.
[0053]
In addition to a program for performing image processing, the ROM 84 also stores a program for creating image data for display based on image data transmitted from the digital camera 10, and the program. Accordingly, display image data is also created in the computer 11. Note that the display image data may be received together with image data (RAW data) obtained by photographing the display image data created by the digital camera 10.
[0054]
As described above, the communication device 80 is configured to receive image data from the digital camera 10 by wireless connection to a network such as the Internet.
[0055]
Next, an operation at the time of shooting by the digital camera 10 in the digital camera system configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
[0056]
In step 100, the identification information of the memory card 78 is acquired. For example, identification information for specifying a memory card such as ID information unique to the memory card 78 is acquired.
[0057]
In step 102, it is determined whether or not the release switch 22 has been operated to give a shooting instruction. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 104.
[0058]
In step 104, the electric charge accumulated in the image sensor 50 is transferred and converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 58, whereby image data representing the captured image (RAW data) is acquired.
[0059]
Next, in step 106, related information related to shooting, such as identification information for specifying a memory card, shooting date and time at shooting, and shooting information indicating shooting time, is added to image data (RAW data) by the system control unit 70. Is done. Instead of the RAW data, the Y / C conversion may be performed and the related information may be added later.
[0060]
In step 108, the image data to which the related information is added is transmitted to the computer 11 via the communication device 72 under the control of the system control unit 70. At this time, the image data may be compressed and transmitted to the computer 11.
[0061]
In step 110, display image data is generated based on the image data obtained from the A / D converter 58. That is, the signal processing unit 60 converts the image data (RAW data) obtained by shooting into a thumbnail image having a small image size, which is display image data.
[0062]
In step 112, the related information given to the image data in step 106 is given to the display image data by the system control unit 70, and in step 114, the image data to which the related information is given is recorded in the memory card 78. Is done.
[0063]
That is, only the display image data to be displayed on the color display 26 of the digital camera 10 is recorded in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, and the image data having a large image size and high resolution is recorded. (RAW data) is transmitted to the computer 11. Therefore, even when high-quality shooting is performed, all large-size image data is transmitted to the computer 11, so that the digital camera 10 does not require a large-capacity memory card 78 and records many shot images. be able to.
[0064]
Further, since the digital camera 10 does not perform complicated image processing, the image processing performed by the digital camera 10 can be simplified.
[0065]
Furthermore, since the image recording size is unified to the display size, the setting of the number of pixels and the compression rate can be substantially unified, and the load on the compression processing and the like can be reduced.
[0066]
Next, processing performed on the computer 11 side will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0067]
In step 200, it is determined whether image data transmitted from the digital camera 10 has been received. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmative and proceeds to step 202.
[0068]
In step 202, various image processes such as color correction, γ correction, Y / C conversion, and JPEG conversion are performed on the received image data.
[0069]
In step 204, the image data that has undergone image processing is compressed, the process proceeds to step 206, and the compressed image data is stored in the HDD 90. Here, the image data stored in the HDD 90 stores image data to which related information is added. That is, image data can be searched based on related information. When the image data is stored in the HDD 90, a folder corresponding to the identification information of the related information may be created and stored in the HDD 90. For example, in the case of identification information representing a new memory card 90, a folder corresponding to the identification information may be created and stored in a folder corresponding to the identification information created.
[0070]
Thus, on the computer 11 side, image processing is performed on image data obtained by photographing with the digital camera 10. Since the image processing is performed not on the digital camera 10 but on the computer 11 side, various image processing according to the user's preference can be performed, and image data can be utilized to the maximum.
[0071]
For example, when the shooting site and the editing site are separated from each other, by using the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image data captured by the digital camera 10 can be quickly received at the editing site. High quality image data can be edited at the editing site.
[0072]
Next, retrieval of image data captured by the digital camera 10 and stored in the computer 11 as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 shows processing on the digital camera 10 side, and FIG. 6 shows processing on the computer 11 side.
[0073]
First, on the digital camera 10 side, in step 300, it is determined whether or not related information has been input. The related information can be input by operating various buttons on the operation panel 34.
[0074]
If the determination in step 300 is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 302.
[0075]
In step 302, the input related information is transmitted to the communication device 80 of the computer 11 by the communication device 72.
[0076]
Subsequently, in step 304, it is determined whether image data corresponding to the related information transmitted to the computer 11 has been received. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 306. Here, the related information given to the received image data may be collated.
[0077]
In step 306, the received image data is expanded and the process proceeds to step 308, and an image is displayed based on the expanded image data. Since the display here receives high-quality and high-resolution image data after image processing from the computer 11, for example, an external display device is connected to the digital camera 10 to the USB terminal 42 or the like to display the high-resolution display. Is possible.
[0078]
On the other hand, on the computer 11 side, as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined in step 400 whether or not related information has been received from the digital camera 10. That is, in step 302 in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the related information transmitted from the digital camera 10 has been received. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 402.
[0079]
In step 402, the received related information and the related information added to the image data stored in the HDD 90 are collated, and image data corresponding to the received related information is searched.
[0080]
In step 404, the searched image data is read out, and in step 406, the compressed image data is transmitted to the digital camera 10. Thereby, the image data corresponding to the related information can be received by the digital camera 10 in step 304 of FIG.
[0081]
As described above, the image data stored in the computer 11 can be searched based on the related information and can be personally browsed by the digital camera 10. When the shooting site and the editing site are far from each other, various image processing is performed on the computer 11 side with respect to the image data obtained by shooting with the digital camera 10, and the image is acquired on the digital camera 10 side. A captured image based on the processed image data can be confirmed.
[0082]
In the above embodiment, the identification information for identifying the recording medium such as the memory card 78 as the related information for associating the display image data generated by the digital camera 10 with the image data obtained by photographing, The shooting information such as the shooting date and time and the shooting time is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a serial number or a file name for corresponding each may be generated and given as related information.
[0083]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera is subjected to image processing and transmitted to a computer that stores the image data, and display image data is converted based on the image data. Since only the display image data is generated and recorded in the digital camera, it is possible to reduce the burden caused by the image processing of the digital camera, and it is possible to store a large number of captured images in the digital camera. There is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric system of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention and a digital camera system including the digital camera.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an action at the time of photographing by the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed on the computer side of the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing on the digital camera side when searching for image data stored in the computer of the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing on the computer side when searching for image data stored in the computer of the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Digital camera
11 Computer
26 color display
50 Image sensor
56 Sampling unit
58 A / D converter
60 Signal processor
70 System controller
72 Communication equipment
78 Memory card
80 Communication device
82 CPU
84 ROM
86 RAM
88 bus
90 HDD

Claims (6)

Photographing means for obtaining image data representing a photographed image by photographing a subject;
Generating means for generating display image data for displaying a photographed image on a display means for displaying a photographed image based on the image data acquired by the photographing means;
A communication means for communicating with an external device;
Recording means capable of recording the display image data;
The display image data generated by the generation unit is controlled to be recorded in the recording unit, and the image data acquired by the photographing unit is controlled to be transmitted to an external device via the communication unit. Control means;
Including digital camera. The control means further includes an assigning means for assigning relevant information for associating the image data acquired by the photographing means with the display image data generated by the generating means to each image data, 2. The display image data provided with the related information is controlled to be recorded in the recording unit, and the image data provided with the related information is transmitted to an external device. The digital camera described. A digital camera according to claim 1 or 2,
Data communication means for performing data communication including reception of image data transmitted from the digital camera, image processing means for performing predetermined image processing on the image data received by the data communication means, and the image processing A storage means for storing the image data subjected to image processing by the means, and
A digital camera system consisting of The digital camera further includes transmission means for transmitting the related information for searching the image data stored in the computer to the computer via the communication means,
The computer receives the related information transmitted from the digital camera via the data communication means, searches the image data corresponding to the related information transmitted by the transmitting means, and retrieves the image data. 4. The digital camera system according to claim 3, further comprising search means for sending a reply to the digital camera via the data communication means. An image management method for a digital camera system, comprising: a digital camera that acquires image data representing a captured image by capturing a subject; and a computer that stores the image data acquired by the digital camera,
Based on the image data acquired by the digital camera, a generation step of generating display image data for displaying a captured image on display means for displaying the captured image;
An assigning step of assigning related information for associating the image data for display and the image data;
A recording step of recording the display image data to which the related information is added to the digital camera;
Transmitting the image data to which the related information is attached to the computer;
A receiving step of receiving the image data transmitted in the transmitting step by the computer;
An image processing step of performing predetermined image processing in the computer on the image data received in the receiving step;
A storage step of storing in the computer the image data that has undergone image processing in the image processing step;
An image management method for a digital camera system comprising: 6. The image management method for a digital camera system according to claim 5, further comprising a search step of searching for the image data stored in the storage step based on the related information provided in the addition step.

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