JP2005057736A - Image difference discrimination method, image pickup device attitude control method, image pickup device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image difference discrimination method for automatically discriminating the difference between an image that is picked up the last time, and an image that is picked up this time, on the basis of image information about colors, brightness and the like, picture image correspondence information, and the like, an image pickup device attitude control method for performing positioning to minimize the difference of the images, an image pickup device, and a program. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for discriminating the difference between the image that is picked up the last time and the image that is picked up this time in association with the last image, in the image pickup device for photographing an object to generate and record image data thereof, this method comprises steps of: extracting the color information of the image picked up the last time; extracting the color information of the image picked up this time; extracting the difference between the extracted color information of the image picked up the last time and the color information of the image picked up this time; acquiring a display position of information corresponding to the difference of the color information; and displaying the information corresponding to the difference of the color information in the acquired display position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera, and more particularly to an image difference discrimination method for automatically discriminating a difference between a previous captured image and a current captured image based on differences in color, brightness, etc. The present invention relates to an attitude control method, an imaging apparatus, and a program for an imaging apparatus that performs positioning so that a difference is minimized.

  It is convenient to shoot the same subject as before and compare the images to observe the progress of the flowering of the flowers and the progress of the molting process of insects, to observe the secular change of the landscape, etc., and the secular change of the building etc. When photographing an object (subject) to be compared, the image captured last time and the image captured this time are often misaligned, making comparison difficult. In order to prevent such a phenomenon, it is necessary to photograph the same subject with the same angle of view.

  As a technique for shooting the same subject with the same angle of view, if the photographer presses a specific key while panoramic shooting is displaying the second divided image candidate, the immediately preceding divided image is taken from the image buffer. It is taken out and displayed on the LCD screen. While the photographer keeps pressing the specific key, the divided image taken immediately before is displayed, and when the finger is released, it returns to the through image (standby standby) display. There is a photographing method (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to Patent Document 1, when a photographer has a deviation between the position of the immediately preceding captured image and the through image displayed, the photographer moves the camera to adjust the position, displays the through image, and presses the specific key again immediately before. It is possible to perform alignment by repeating the operation of displaying the imaging.

  In addition, when taking a picture of a product to be put on the product catalog, in order to take a photograph in which the size, angle, etc. of each product captured are aligned, the pre-captured image and the position, size, angle are accurately aligned. There is an alignment system that can take an image while confirming this (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, in order to automatically calculate the amount of assessment for non-life insurance, a technique has been proposed in which a photographed image is compared with a pre-registered image to detect the difference and execute a predetermined process (for example, a patent) Reference 3).

  In addition, a multi-resolution filter called a singular point filter (CPF (Critical Point Filter)) is used to extract luminance maximum points, minimum points, and two types of saddle points for every 4 pixels of 2 x 2 pixels. There is an image matching method in which a new low image is generated for each kind of singular point, the start point image and the end point image are hierarchized, and matching is performed between the start point layer image and the end point layer image (for example, see Patent Document 4).

In addition, as a technique for automatically controlling the camera platform with the camera attached so that the camera is directed toward the subject, a technique for detecting the direction or position of the subject and sending a drive command to the camera platform has been proposed ( For example, see Patent Document 5).
JP 2000-175186 A JP 2001-358972 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-297838 Japanese Patent No. 2927350 JP 2001-305645 A

  However, the photographing method described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it is necessary for the photographer to adjust the angle of view by moving the camera so that the previous image and the through image overlap each other at the time of photographing. Further, in the positioning method described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary for the photographer to take an image while setting the subject so that the OK image read from the database at the time of photographing and the photographing standby image (so-called through image) overlap. There was a problem. Furthermore, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above, the photographer recognizes the deviation of the contour between the previous and current images with his / her eyes and moves the camera or the subject to perform alignment, but the color, brightness, etc. There is a problem that it is impossible to detect a subject change due to a temporal transition from a change in color, that is, a difference in color information.

  In the technique of Patent Document 3, a registered image and a captured image are compared to detect a difference in shape between an image and a part constituting the image (a part registered as a captured image). However, there is a problem that the change of the subject due to the temporal transition cannot be detected from the difference in color information such as color and brightness.

  The image matching method disclosed in Patent Document 4 can also be used for matching between two normal images, so that the previously captured image matches the image captured this time (or similar / dissimilar). However, as in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, there is a problem that it is impossible to detect a change in the subject due to temporal transition from a difference in color information such as color and brightness. It was.

  The technique described in Patent Document 3 can detect the direction or position of the subject and automatically control the camera platform to automatically track the subject and always point the camera in the direction of the subject. Even if the direction, position, and distance of the subject are detected and the camera platform is automatically controlled, it simply points the camera in the direction of the current subject, and it matches the size and position with the previous captured image. Therefore, there has been a problem that a difference in size and position occurs between the previous captured image and the current captured image, making comparison difficult.

  Here, if the difference between the image taken last time and the image taken this time can be extracted and displayed based on the image information such as color and brightness, the correspondence information of the image image, etc., the temporal transition is more accurate than the visual comparison. If you can detect the change of the subject due to, and compare the previous image with the through image at the time of shooting to extract the difference in size and shape of the image, and automatically control the angle of view and the camera position so that the difference is minimized, Since the size and angle of view of an image can be automatically adjusted, there is a problem that it is possible to perform follow-up imaging or fixed-point observation imaging that allows easy comparison of images with a portable imaging device such as a digital camera.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an image difference discrimination method for automatically discriminating a difference between a previous captured image and a current captured image based on color information such as color and brightness. It is another object of the present invention to provide an attitude control method, an imaging apparatus, and a program for an imaging apparatus that perform positioning so that a difference between images is minimized.

In order to solve the above-described problem, in the invention described in claim 1, in an imaging apparatus that captures a subject and generates and records the image data, the image captured last time and the current image are related to the previous image. A method for discriminating a difference from a captured image, the step of extracting color information of a previously captured image, the step of extracting color information of a currently captured image, and a step of extracting the previously captured image The step of extracting the difference between the color information and the color information of the image taken this time, the step of acquiring the display position of the information corresponding to the difference of the color information, and the information corresponding to the difference of the color information are displayed at the acquired display position. And a step of discriminating between images.
As a result, the difference between the previously captured image and the current captured image can be displayed in a distinguishable manner, so that the size of the subject itself does not change as in buildings and paintings, but changes in the subject caused by temporal changes can be easily done. I can know.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in an imaging apparatus that captures an image of a subject and generates and records the image data, the external attitude control device on which the imaging apparatus is mounted is controlled at the time of shooting. A posture control method for controlling one's own posture, in which the same subject as the subject of the last photographed image is captured and captured, and the last captured image and the captured current captured image are stored in memory. A step of storing, a step of extracting a difference between a plurality of previously captured images stored in a memory and a captured image captured at this time, and a difference between each portion of the image captured at this time within a predetermined value. A step of determining a setting value, and a step of generating a drive control signal for driving the external attitude control device so that the image captured this time is in a setting state based on the determined setting value. Providing a-up, and transmitting the generated drive control signal to the external posture control device, the posture control method for an imaging apparatus comprising the a.
As a result, the imaging device can send a drive control signal to the external attitude control device so that the difference is minimized based on the difference between the image captured last time and the image captured this time. You can shoot at the same angle of view.

In the invention described in claim 3, in an imaging device that captures an image of a subject and generates and records the image data, an image captured last time and an image captured this time in relation to the image captured last time are recorded. An image comparison mode for comparison, and in the image comparison mode, color information extraction means for extracting color information from the previously captured image and the current captured image, and the color of the currently captured image extracted by the color information extraction means Difference extraction means for extracting the difference between the color information of the information and the previously captured image, display position acquisition means for acquiring the display position of the data corresponding to the difference of the color information, and acquisition of data corresponding to the difference of the color information There is provided an imaging device comprising display control means for displaying at the display position.
As a result, the image pickup apparatus can display the difference between the image taken last time and the image taken this time in the image comparison mode in a distinguishable manner as in the first aspect of the invention.

In the invention according to claim 4, the difference extraction means is only when the difference between the comparison information of the currently captured image extracted by the comparison information extraction means and the comparison information of the previously captured image is significant. 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the difference is extracted.
Thereby, the difference in color between the previously captured image displayed on the imaging device and the image captured this time becomes clear, and the difference is easily recognized during observation.

In the invention according to claim 5, the display position acquisition means acquires the display position of the data corresponding to the difference only when the difference in color information is a predetermined value or more, and the display control means determines the difference in color information. 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein data corresponding to the difference is displayed at a display position only when is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
Thereby, since only the part with a clear color difference is displayed on the imaging device, the difference is easily recognized at the time of observation.

Further, in the invention described in claim 6, the difference extracting means includes color component adjusting means for adjusting the predetermined color component of the previously photographed image and the color component of the currently photographed image to substantially match, 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a difference between color information of an image captured last time and an image captured this time after the adjustment by the color component adjusting means is extracted.
As a result, the change in color due to fading can be canceled out by adjusting a specific color component among the change in color. For example, the change in color due to fading among the change in the color of the blue roof is adjusted by the B (blue) component. The color change due to factors other than fading (rust, rain leakage, etc.) can be grasped.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in an imaging apparatus that shoots a subject, generates image data thereof, and records the same, a mounting unit that is mounted on the external posture control device and the posture control by the external posture control device are possible. A posture control mode, and when the posture control mode is attached to the external posture control device, it is electrically connected to the terminal portion on the external posture control device side, and the generated drive control signal is transmitted to the external posture control device. A terminal unit for sending to the current image, a current image acquisition unit that acquires the image by capturing the same subject as the subject of the image captured last time, an image reproduction unit that reproduces the image captured last time and stores the image in a memory, Image storage control means for storing the image captured this time in the memory, difference acquisition means for acquiring differences in a plurality of portions of the previously captured image stored in the memory and the image captured this time; Setting value determining means for determining the setting value of the image captured this time so that the difference between each part falls within a predetermined value, and the external attitude control device so that the image captured this time is in a setting state based on the determined setting value There is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising drive signal generation means for generating a drive control signal for driving the drive.
As a result, in the attitude control mode, the imaging apparatus can control its own attitude based on the difference in the comparison information between the previously captured image and the currently captured image, and can capture images with the same angle of view as the previous image. it can.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, an imaging apparatus that captures an image in relation to a previously captured image includes a display unit, and the display unit displays the previously captured image and the current captured image simultaneously. In addition, there is provided an imaging apparatus comprising means for detecting a difference between an image captured last time and an image captured this time and displaying a display indicating the difference on a display unit.
Thereby, the imaging device can display the difference between the image captured last time and the image captured this time in a distinguishable manner, as in the first aspect of the invention.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein the previously captured image and the currently captured image are displayed side by side.
Thereby, since the observation object displayed on the imaging device can be compared and compared, it is easy to observe the difference.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein the previously captured image and the currently captured image are displayed in an overlapping manner.
As a result, it is easy to observe the difference in size and contour between the image captured last time displayed on the imaging apparatus and the image captured this time.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in an imaging apparatus that captures an image in relation to an image captured last time, the image capturing apparatus includes a display unit, and the image captured last time and the current shooting standby image are simultaneously displayed on the display unit. In addition, there is provided an imaging apparatus characterized by comprising means for detecting a difference between a previously captured image and a shooting standby image and displaying a display indicating the difference on a display unit. As a result, since the difference between the previous image and the through image can be detected, it is possible to shoot only the target subject image while avoiding shooting other than the target subject image when similar subjects are lined up. it can.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, wherein an image captured last time and a current photographing standby image are displayed side by side.
As a result, the previously captured image displayed on the imaging apparatus can be compared and compared with the imaging standby image, so that the difference can be easily observed.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, wherein an image captured last time and a current photographing standby image are displayed in an overlapping manner.
Thereby, it is easy to observe the difference in size and contour between the previously captured image displayed on the imaging device and the imaging standby image.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the sixth or eleventh aspect, wherein a part of the previously captured image is displayed.
Thereby, it is possible to compare only the portion to be compared with the imaging device, and it is easy to observe the necessary portion.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the sixth or eleventh aspect, wherein an image captured last time is displayed in a translucent manner.
Thereby, it is easy to observe a change in the size or the like of the image captured last time by the imaging device and the image captured this time. That is, when the observation target is a growth product, it is easy to compare the sizes visually.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executable in an imaging apparatus having an image comparison mode for comparing an image captured last time and an image captured this time in relation to the previous image. In the image comparison mode, a program step for extracting color information from the previously captured image and the currently captured image, respectively, and the difference between the extracted color information of the previously captured image and the color information of the currently captured image are extracted. There is provided a program characterized by comprising: a program step for obtaining a display position of data corresponding to the difference; and a program step for displaying data corresponding to the difference at the display position.
Thus, in the image comparison mode, the imaging apparatus can display the difference between the previously captured image and the currently captured image in a distinguishable manner.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executable in an imaging apparatus having an image comparison mode for comparing an image captured last time with an image captured this time in relation to the previous image. In the image comparison mode, a program step for extracting color information from the previously captured image and the shooting standby image, respectively, and a program for extracting the difference between the extracted color information of the previously captured image and the color information of the shooting standby image There is provided a program comprising a step, a program step for acquiring a display position of data corresponding to the difference, and a program step for displaying data corresponding to the difference at the display position.
Thereby, in the image comparison mode, the imaging apparatus can display the difference between the previously captured image and the captured standby image in a distinguishable manner.

The invention according to claim 18 is a program that can be executed in an imaging device that includes a mounting portion that is mounted on an external posture control device and has a posture control mode that is posture controlled by the external posture control device. In the posture control mode, a program step for capturing the same subject image as the subject of the previously captured image, a program step for reproducing the previously captured image and storing it in the memory, and storing the currently captured image in the memory The program step, the program step for extracting the difference between the previously captured image stored in the memory and the currently captured image in a plurality of portions, and the set value of the image captured this time so that the difference between each portion falls within a predetermined value Set the program step to be determined and the setting state based on the determined setting value so that the image captured this time will be Providing a program step of generating a drive control signal for driving the posture control device, the program step of transmitting the generated drive control signal to the external attitude control device, the program characterized by comprising a.
As a result, the imaging apparatus can send a drive control signal to the external attitude control device so that the difference is minimized based on the difference between the comparison information of the previous image and the current image in the attitude control mode. By performing posture control, it is possible to shoot at the same angle of view as the previous image.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display the difference due to the revelation change between the last captured image and the current captured image so as to be discriminated based on the color difference. In addition, since the image pickup apparatus itself sends a drive control signal for alignment with the previous image to the attitude control apparatus, the angle of view and the image pickup apparatus alignment can be automatically performed by controlling the attitude of the own apparatus.

(Embodiment 1)
In the present embodiment, the imaging device captures the color of the comparison source image (hereinafter referred to as the previous image) that was previously captured and recorded in a recording medium such as a flash memory, and the color of the image that was captured this time (hereinafter the current image). An image comparison mode is provided in which comparison information such as color information such as brightness and brightness is compared to detect a difference and displayed on the current image.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example of a digital camera. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a rear view, and FIG. 1C is a plan view (top view).

  In FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 includes an imaging lens 111 and a photometric sensor 113 on the front side, and further includes an optical viewfinder 112. On the back of the digital camera 100 are a liquid crystal monitor screen 41, an optical viewfinder 112, a mode switch 31 for switching modes such as a shooting (recording) mode and a reproduction mode, a liquid crystal monitor switch 32, a zoom key 33, and a menu key 34. Further, switches and keys such as a cursor key 35 and a shooting mode switching button 38 are provided. Also, a shutter key 36, a strobe setting key 37, and a power button 91 are provided on the upper surface, and a USB terminal used when connecting to an external device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) or a modem and a USB cable on the side portion. A connecting portion 95 is provided. Furthermore, an optical transmission / reception port for near field communication such as infrared communication or Bluetooth, a radio communication antenna, or a GPS reception antenna may be provided on the front surface or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the digital camera shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the digital camera 100 includes an optical system 11, a signal conversion unit 12, a signal processing unit 13, a DRAM 14, a shape extraction unit 15, an orientation sensor 16, a strobe light emitting unit 17, a control unit 20, an operation unit 30, and a display unit 40. A flash memory 50 and a power supply 90. In addition, when the digital camera 100 is mounted on an external device such as an attitude control device, a terminal unit 18 that is electrically connected to the external device to exchange data may be provided. The optical system 11, the signal conversion unit 12, and the signal processing unit 13 constitute an imaging unit in the present invention.

  The optical system 11 includes an imaging lens 111 including a focus lens, a zoom lens, and the like, a photometric sensor 113, an automatic focusing mechanism 114, a zoom mechanism 115, an automatic aperture mechanism, and the like (not shown). The condensed luminous flux of the subject image is formed on an image sensor (CCD) at the subsequent stage.

  The signal conversion unit 12 includes a timing generator (TG) that performs scanning driving of the CCD, a signal conversion circuit such as a vertical driver, a sample hold circuit, and an A / D converter, and the like. The formed image is converted into an electrical signal by the CCD. The output of the CCD is analog-valued, and the gain is adjusted as appropriate for each of the primary color components of R, G, and B, then sampled and held by a sample and hold circuit, converted into digital data by an A / D converter, and fixed. One screen is output in a cycle.

  The signal processing unit 13 processes the output from the signal conversion unit 12 in the normal imaging mode to obtain signal components such as digital luminance and color difference multiplexed signals (Y, Cb, Cr data), and Y, Cb, Cr data (hereinafter referred to as image data) is transferred to the DRAM 14 and temporarily stored. Further, in order to display the through image, the captured image data is thinned out and sent to the display unit 40. When the shutter operation is performed, the image data at that time is sent to the display unit 40 to display a still image.

  Further, the signal processing unit 13 reads the image data written in the DRAM 14 at the time of recording and storage, performs JPEG compression processing, and applies the compressed image data stored and recorded in the flash memory (storage memory) 50 at the time of reproduction. A compression / decompression unit that performs decompression processing and reproduces image data is provided. Further, a high-speed expansion unit that expands the compressed image data at high speed may be provided.

  The DRAM 14 is used as a working memory. When the image comparison mode is selected, the previous image storage area 141 for temporarily storing the previous image data taken out from the flash memory 50 and decompressed and reproduced as shown in FIG. The current image storage area 142 for temporarily storing the previous image data taken out from the flash memory 50, decompressed and reproduced, or the current image data captured at the time of shooting standby or at the time of shooting, and the extracted difference (data) is stored. A difference storage area 143, shape data extracted from the current image and the previous image, and a work area 144 for JPEG compression / expansion and image composition are secured.

  The shape extraction unit 15 performs background processing on the image captured by the lens under the control of the control unit 20 or the previous image taken out from the flash memory 50 to extract the shape of the image, for example, outline (image outline) data, and stores it in the DRAM 14. Memorize temporarily. In addition, although the shape extraction part 15 is comprised with the program in the Example, it is not limited to this. Further, as a method for extracting the shape of the image from the image data, for example, a known technique such as volume rendering or contour extraction by stereoscopic photogrammetry using an edge detector can be used. In addition, a maximum point, a minimum point, and two types of saddle points may be extracted using the singular point filter described in Patent Document 4, and a new image with low resolution may be generated. Further, the shape extraction unit 15 is not essential.

  When the strobe light emitting unit 17 is set to the strobe mode by the strobe setting key 37, the strobe light emitting unit 17 charges the light emission amount according to the peripheral light amount, and emits light to supplement the peripheral light amount when the shutter key 36 is operated.

  When the photographer attaches the digital camera 100 to an external device such as a posture control device, the terminal unit 18 is electrically connected to the external device to exchange data.

  The control unit 20 has a microprocessor configuration having a timing mechanism such as a CPU, a RAM, a program storage ROM, and a timer. The CPU is connected to the above-described circuits and a power supply switch (not shown) via a bus line. The entire digital camera 100 is controlled by the control program stored in the program storage ROM, and each mode stored in the program storage ROM corresponding to the status signal from the operation unit 30 is supported. A processing program is taken out, execution control of each function of the digital camera 100, for example, shape extraction control of the image captured by the lens with respect to the shape extraction unit 15 in the image comparison mode, and the shape of the previous photographed image for alignment. Execution of reproduction and display, acquisition of color information such as color and brightness from the signal processing unit 13, Performing difference discrimination process control of the image such as extraction differences Aya information. When the terminal unit 18 is provided, as described later (see Embodiment 2), a drive control signal to be sent to the attitude control device is generated so that the difference in color information is smaller than a threshold value, and the terminal unit 18 is set. A drive control signal is transmitted via

  When the image comparison mode is configured to display the previous captured image (reproduced image) as a semi-transparent image, the control unit 20 controls the signal processing unit 13 to generate semi-transparent image data, It is sent to the display unit 40. The generation of the semi-transparent image can be performed by a known method, for example, a method in which the reproduced image is monochrome and the luminance of the reproduced image is higher than that of the through image to obtain a semi-transmissive image.

  The operation unit 30 includes buttons and switches such as a mode switch 31, a liquid crystal monitor switch 32, a zoom key 33, a menu key 34, a cursor key 35, a shutter key 36, a strobe setting key 37, and a shooting mode button 38. When these keys, buttons or switches are operated, status signals and set values are sent to the control unit 20.

  The display unit 40 includes a video encoder, a VRAM (not shown), a liquid crystal monitor screen (LCD) 41, and the like. By the display control of the control unit 20, a through image at the time of imaging, a translucent image, and a previous image are displayed. A difference (color, brightness, etc.), a reproduced image at the time of reproduction, a selection menu (or icon) at the time of processing selection, etc. are displayed.

  The flash memory 50 records image data (compressed image data). Also, an image information registration list (not shown) for registering image shooting information and the like can be recorded. Further, a removable storage medium such as a memory card may be used instead of the flash memory 50.

The photometric sensor 113 measures the amount of light around the digital camera 100 and sends the measured value to the control unit 20. The automatic focusing mechanism 114 moves the force lens and the like for focusing by so-called autofocus under the control of the control unit 20.
When the photographer operates the zoom key 33, the zoom mechanism 115 moves the zoom lens to the telephoto side or the wide area side to zoom the field of view. In the image comparison mode, automatic zooming is performed by a drive control signal generated based on a zoom ratio obtained from the ratio of the size of the previous image and the current image (through image).

  FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a difference discrimination method between the previous image and the current image in the image comparison mode. FIGS. 4A and 4B are display examples of images taken for observing the secular change of the house 61 of the roof 62 painted in a certain color (for example, green). FIG. An image taken several years ago (previous image) and FIG. 4B are images taken this time (current image). FIGS. 4C to 4F are explanatory diagrams of the image difference discrimination method. Hereinafter, the following (a) and (b) will be described.

  (A) When the previous image and the current image are selected while the camera is in the playback mode, the previous image 61 (FIG. 4A) of the green roof 62 and the current image 71 (FIG. 4) of the roof 72 that is somewhat faint. 4 (b)) are sequentially displayed.

  (B) When the image comparison mode is set to ON, a color difference between the previous image 61 and the current image 71 is extracted, and a portion 73 having a color difference in the contour of the current image 71 as shown in FIG. Is displayed.

  As another embodiment, when the difference in color between the previous image 61 and the current image 71 is greater than or equal to a certain value, a threshold value is set so as to display information (color or display information) corresponding to the difference. As shown in d), it may be displayed only when the color difference is equal to or greater than a threshold value. In the example of FIG. 4D, a portion 74 corresponding to a color difference equal to or greater than the threshold value is displayed on the roof 72 in a rust color.

  As another embodiment, the value of the color component of the current image 71 is substantially matched with the specific color component of the specific portion (the roof 62 in the illustrated example) of the previous image 61 to be compared, The difference may be extracted and displayed as shown in FIG. In the illustrated example, a color portion 75 corresponding to the adjusted difference is displayed on the roof 72.

  As another embodiment, the color and color difference of the designated place 76 are displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 as a color name as shown in FIG. 4F, or a color number or chromaticity diagram (not shown). May be displayed. In the illustrated example, the dark blue portion 76 of the roof 72 is displayed as “yellowish green”.

  Furthermore, as another embodiment, a part of the previous image may be displayed (for example, a part of the previous image where the difference is observed is displayed as a center).

By the above method, the difference between the previous and current images taken in the observation shooting mode can be displayed in a distinguishable manner, so the size of the subject itself does not change as in buildings and paintings, but changes in the subject caused by temporal changes For example, changes such as weathering, generation of rust and mold, dirt and breakage, discoloration and color component difference can be easily known. Examples of fields of use include confirmation of terrain changes through aging observation, determination of the necessity of repairing buildings and artworks, determination of authenticity of artworks and banknotes, detection of damaged parts such as accidents, etc. Can be used. In addition, when explaining the change of an object due to temporal transition at an educational site or the like, it can be explained while comparing the previous image with the current image and pointing out the differences, so it is easy for students and other students to understand.
In the above description of FIG. 4, the case where the comparison information for determining the difference between the previous image and the current image is color information has been described. However, the comparison information may be any information that can be used as an index for image comparison, and is limited to color information. Not (the same applies hereinafter).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the display method of the previous image and the current image in the image comparison mode. FIG. 5A shows that a part 61 of the previous image is displayed on the same screen as the current image 71. This is an example. FIG. 5B shows an example in which the previous image 61 is displayed semi-transparently (translucently transmitted), and the current image 71 is superimposed on the previous image 61. FIG. 5C shows an example in which the display screen area is divided into two, and the previous image 61 and the current image 71 are respectively displayed so that a comparison comparison can be made. FIG. 5D shows an example in which the previous image 61 and the current image 71 are superimposed and displayed.

  Note that FIG. 5 shows an example of display when image comparison is performed in the playback mode, but the present invention can also be applied when image comparison is performed in the shooting mode. In this case, the current image is a through image (photographing standby image) or a still image (photographed image) of the subject currently taken (see Embodiment 2).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the image difference discrimination processing operation of the control unit by the image difference discrimination processing program when the image comparison mode is selected in the reproduction mode, and FIG. 6A shows the previous image and the current image. An example in which the difference is displayed in color, FIG. 6B is an example in which the difference is displayed in color when the difference between the previous image and the current image is equal to or greater than a threshold, and FIG. 6C is the previous image and the current image. This is an example in which the color component is adjusted and the color difference is displayed in color. FIG. 7 shows a display example when the previous image and the current image are displayed in contrast in FIG. Hereinafter, image comparison in the reproduction mode will be described with reference to FIGS. In this example, the reproduced images of the previous image and the current image are displayed in a contrast manner as shown in FIG. 6 in step S4. However, the present invention is not limited to this display method.

  In FIG. 6A, when the photographer operates the mode changeover switch 31 to turn on the playback mode, the control unit 20 further prompts the selection of the mode by a message or the like. Therefore, when the photographer selects the image comparison mode ( In step S1), the control unit 20 takes out the previous image data (compressed data) recorded in the flash memory 50 and the current image recorded in the current shooting, controls the signal processing unit 13 to perform decompression processing, and reproduces them. (Step S2), the reproduction data (image data) of the previous image and the current image are temporarily stored in the previous image recording area 141 and the current image recording area 142 of the DRAM 14 and transferred to the display unit 40 (Step S3). As shown in the example of (a), the previous image 61 and the current image 71 are displayed in contrast on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 (step S4).

  The control unit 20 displays the “difference display” button 79 on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41, and when the photographer points the “difference display” button 79 by operating the cursor key 35 (step S5), the control unit 20 displays the current image on the shape extraction unit 15. The contour data from the reproduced data is extracted and sent to the display unit 40 to display the contour 78 of the previous image 61 and the current image 71 on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 as shown in the example of FIG. 7B. The contour data can be extracted by a known technique, for example, by configuring the shape extraction unit 15 to perform volume rendering. In addition, instead of the contour extraction image, the singular point filter described in Patent Document 4 is used to extract the maximum point, the minimum point, and two types of saddle points, to generate a new image with low resolution, A contrast display may be performed (step S6).

Further, the control unit 20 controls the signal processing unit 13 to acquire color information (R, G, B values) of the previous image 61 and the current image 71, and extracts the difference between the respective color components and displays the display position and display. The number of pixels or the area is acquired and sent to the display unit 40 (step S7). As shown in the example of FIG. 7C, the display position in the contour of the current image 71 corresponds to the color difference, that is, the difference. The part with the color (in the illustrated example, the discolored part 73 of the roof) is displayed in color (step S8).
For example, if the R, G, B value of the roof 61 is (00, 120, 60) and the R, G, B value of the roof 71 is (40, 90, 30), the absolute value of the difference is (40, 120). 60). In this case, the display color of the difference may be a difference R, G, B value, or may be a specific color such as black in order to clarify the difference.

  Since the difference between the previous image and the current image can be displayed in a distinguishable manner by the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6A, the size of the subject itself does not change like a building or a picture, but the subject is caused by a temporal transition. Changes such as weathering, rust and mold, dirt and breakage, discoloration and color component differences can be easily known. Examples of fields of use include confirmation of terrain changes through aging observation, determination of the necessity of repairing buildings and artworks, determination of authenticity of artworks and banknotes, detection of damaged parts such as accidents, etc. Can be used.

In FIG. 6B, when the photographer operates the mode switch 31 to turn on the playback mode, the control unit 20 operates in the same manner as steps S1 to S6 in FIG. As shown in the example, the contour 78 of the previous image 61 and the current image 71 is displayed in contrast on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41.
Next, the control unit 20 controls the signal processing unit 13 to acquire color information of the previous image 61 and the current image 71, extracts the difference, and acquires the display position and the number or area of pixels to be displayed (step S7). '-1) The obtained color component difference is compared with a predetermined threshold value. If the difference exceeds the threshold value, the display position and the number or area of pixels to be displayed are sent to the display unit 40 (step S7'-2). As shown in the example of FIG. 5D, the portion of the display position in the contour of the current image 71 whose difference is equal to or larger than the threshold (in the example of FIG. 5D) is displayed in color (step S8 ').

  The difference between the displayed current image and the previous image is clarified by the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6B, so that changes in the subject caused by the temporal transition, for example, weathering, rust and mold, dirt, It is possible to easily know a portion where the change such as breakage, discoloration or color component difference is large. In addition, by changing the threshold value according to the color, it is possible to grasp the cause of dirt, breakage, and fading.

In FIG. 6C, when the photographer operates the mode changeover switch 31 to turn on the reproduction mode, the control unit 20 operates in the same manner as steps S1 to S6 in FIG. As shown in the example, the contour 78 of the previous image 61 and the current image 71 is displayed in contrast on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41.
Next, the control unit 20 displays a plurality of adjustment color samples on the display unit 40 and displays a message prompting the user to specify the color component to be adjusted, prompting the photographer to specify, and the photographer operates the cursor key 35 to operate as desired. Is designated from the signal from the operation unit 30 (step S7 "-1), the signal processing unit 13 is controlled to obtain color information of the previous image 61 and the current image 71, respectively. Is temporarily stored in the difference storage area 143 of the DRAM 14, and the color component of the current image (in this case, the R component) is adjusted so as to substantially match the color component (for example, the R component) of the previous image. Then, the difference between the previous image and the current image is extracted and the display position and the number or area of pixels to be displayed are acquired and sent to the display unit 40 (step S7 "-3). ) Step S8 and A portion corresponding to the difference in the display position in the contour of the current image 71, that is, a portion having a difference (for example, the rusted portion 75 of the roof 72 in FIG. 4E) is displayed in a color corresponding to the difference. (Step S8).

  By the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (c), for example, change in color information due to fading among changes in color information among changes such as weathering, occurrence of rust and mold, dirt and breakage, discoloration and color component difference. Can be offset by adjustment and the color change due to factors other than fading (rust, rain leak, etc.) can be grasped, so the comparative image can be used as a judgment material for necessity of repair or the like.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the image comparison is performed in the reproduction mode. However, the image difference discrimination method of the present invention can be applied to the case where the image comparison is performed in the photographing mode of the digital camera 100. In the present embodiment, the current image is a through image (photographing standby image) or a still image (photographed image) of the subject that is currently being photographed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the image difference discrimination processing operation of the control unit by the image difference discrimination processing program when the image comparison mode is selected in the shooting mode.
FIG. 9 is a display example when the previous image and the current image are superimposed and displayed in FIG. Hereinafter, image comparison in the reproduction mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, 8, and 9. In this example, the reproduced images of the previous image and the current image are superimposed and displayed in step S4 as shown in FIG. 6, but the present invention is not limited to this display method.

  In FIG. 8A, when the photographer operates the mode changeover switch 31 to turn on the photographing mode, the control unit 20 prompts further selection of the mode by a message or the like. Therefore, when the photographer selects the image comparison mode ( Step U1), the control unit 20 takes out the previous image data (compressed data) recorded in the flash memory 50 from the flash memory 50, controls the signal processing unit 13 to perform decompression processing, and obtains reproduction data (step S1). U2) The shape extraction unit 15 extracts the contour data of the previous image from the reproduction data, and holds (temporarily stores) the contour data in the work area 144 of the DRAM 14 (step U3).

  Next, the control unit 20 temporarily stores the image data of the subject captured from the imaging unit in the current image storage area 142 of the DRAM 14, and controls the signal processing unit 13 to generate through image data and holds it in the work area 144. The previous image contour data is sent to the display unit 40, and the previous image contour 68 and the current image 71 (through image) are superimposed and displayed as shown in the example of FIG. 9A (step U4).

  The control unit 20 compares the size of the contour 68 of the previous image with the size of the current image 61, obtains a zoom ratio, generates drive data for the zoom mechanism 115 based on this zoom ratio, and sends it to the zoom mechanism 115 to send the zoom lens. The current image (through image) having approximately the same size as the previous image is obtained by moving to the wide-angle or telephoto side, and superimposed on the contour 68 of the previous image as shown in FIG. 9C, and the process proceeds to step U6. An example of how to obtain the zoom ratio from the previous image contour 68 and the current image 61 will be described with reference to FIG. 8B (step U5).

  The control unit 20 displays the “difference display” button 79 on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41. When the photographer points the “difference display” button 79 by operating the cursor key 35, the process proceeds to step U7. Otherwise, the process returns to step U4. (Step U6). When the “difference display” button 79 is pointed, the color information (R, G, B values) of the previous image 71 and the current image 71 is acquired, the difference is extracted, and the display position and the number or area of pixels to be displayed are acquired. Then, it is sent to the display unit 40 (step U7), and as shown in the example of FIG. 9D, the display position within the contour 68 of the previous image (in the example shown, the discolored portion 73 of the roof) is displayed in color ( Step U8).

  The control unit 20 examines the signal from the operation unit 30, and proceeds to step U10 if the shutter key 36 is fully pressed, and returns to step U4 otherwise (step U9).

  The control unit 20 fetches from the imaging unit immediately before the shutter operation, takes out the image data temporarily stored in the current image storage area 141 of the DRAM 14, sends it to the display unit 40 together with the contour data of the previous image held in the work area 144, and FIG. In the same manner as in c), the contour 68 of the previous image and the current image 71 (still image) are superimposed and displayed (step U10), and the current image temporarily stored in the current image storage area 141 by controlling the signal processing unit 13 is displayed. The image data compressed after the data is compressed is recorded in the flash memory 50 in association with the shooting date and other shooting information (step U11).

  FIG. 8B is an operation example of the digital camera 100 when the zoom ratio is obtained from the size of the contour 68 of the previous image and the size of the current image 71 in step U5. The method for obtaining the zoom ratio from the two images is not limited to this example, and a known method can be used.

  In FIG. 8B, a message 69 (for example, “please overlap one side of the image”) that prompts the photographer to move the camera to overlap the contour 68 of the previous image with one side of the through image is displayed. (Step U5-1).

  When the photographer finely moves the digital camera 100 and superimposes one side 82 of the current image 71 corresponding to one side 81 of the contour 68 of the previous image as shown in the example of FIG. 81 and the total length of the side 82 (the length or the number of pixels on the display screen) are obtained, respectively, and the ratio L between the lengths of the side 81 and the side 82 is calculated (step U5-2). It is checked whether or not the lengths are substantially equal (that is, whether (1−L) <k (k is a threshold)). If substantially equal, the process proceeds to step U6, and if not, the process proceeds to step U5-4 ( Step U5-3).

  The control unit 20 calculates the zoom ratio from the ratio L, generates drive data for the zoom mechanism 115 based on the zoom ratio, sends it to the zoom mechanism 115, and moves the zoom lens to the wide angle or telephoto side (step U5-4). A current image (through image) having substantially the same size as the previous image is obtained and superimposed on the contour 68 of the previous image as shown in FIG. 9C, and the process proceeds to step U6 (step U5-5).

  By the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 above, it is possible to automatically zoom and align the size of the previous image and the through image to compare the difference in color information, so the shooting distance from the subject is different from the previous time. However, the difference between the previous image and the current image can be easily detected. Further, since the difference between the previous image and the through image can be detected, shooting can be omitted when there is almost no change in the image. Further, since the difference between the previous image and the through image can be detected, it is possible to shoot only the target subject image while avoiding shooting other than the target subject image when similar subjects are lined up. .

  In the description of FIG. 9 above, the contour of the previous image and the current image are superimposed and displayed, but the contour of the previous image and the current image may be superimposed and displayed. In this case, in step U8, the portion corresponding to the difference is displayed in color in the display position within the contour of the current image. One of the images may be a translucent image.

  Similarly to the case of the first embodiment, the difference may be displayed when the difference between the previous image and the current image is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In this case, step U7 and step U8 may be replaced with steps corresponding to steps S7'-1 to S7'-3 and step S8 'of FIG. 6B. Further, the color information of the current image (through image) may be adjusted to the previous image and displayed in a color corresponding to the difference. In this case, step U7 may be replaced with steps corresponding to steps S7 "-1 to S7" -3 in FIG.

(Embodiment 3)
In the present embodiment, the digital camera generates a drive control signal for the attitude control device and performs its attitude control so as to minimize the difference in images.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the attitude control method of the digital camera 100 (FIGS. 1 and 2). FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10F are examples of images displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41, and FIG. 10 (c), (d), and (e) are examples in which the current image data and the previous image data in the DRAM 14 are visually displayed for explanation. Hereinafter, the description will be made according to the following (a) to (e).

  (A) When the digital camera is in the shooting mode, the through image 1 of the subject image captured by the shooting lens 111 is displayed (FIG. 10A).

  (B) In this state, when the observation photographing mode is set to ON, the through image 1 and the reproduced previous image 2 are displayed in contrast (FIG. 10B).

  (C) The current image (image data) 3 and the previous image (image data) 4 are stored in the DRAM 14 (FIG. 10C), and a plurality of color information determination areas (in the illustrated example, the current image and the previous image). The comparison is made for the pixels of the current image 3 in the areas indicated by circles 3-1 and 3-2 and the previous image 4 in the areas indicated by reference numerals 4-1 and 4-2 (FIG. 10D). When the comparison results are different in every determination region, a setting parameter or the like for correcting the color information in the digital camera 100 is changed to derive a setting in which the color information matches in a certain region. A drive control signal of an external attitude control device such as a pan head to which the digital camera 100 is attached is generated so as to control the attitude, and is transmitted to the external attitude control device.

  (D) As a result of the attitude control, the color information falls within a predetermined error range in the previous image and the current image in some of the color information determination areas indicated by reference numerals 3-1 and 3-2 and reference numerals 4-1 and 4-2. In this case, further, a setting in which the color information matches in a determination region different from the previous color information determination region is derived, and the pan head to which the digital camera 100 is attached so as to control the posture of the digital camera 100 in this setting state. A drive control signal for the external attitude control device is generated and transmitted to the external attitude control device (FIG. 10E).

  (E) The above operation (d) is completed when the color information in all the determination areas or the color information in the predetermined number or more of the determination areas falls within a predetermined error range in the previous image and the current image. Then, an imaging instruction (automatic shutter operation) is automatically issued and a still image is displayed (FIG. 10 (f)).

  According to the above method, the digital camera 100 itself sends a drive control signal for positioning with the previous image to the attitude control device to control the position of the own apparatus, and the camera is positioned in the direction of the subject at the shooting point. Just by setting the digital camera 100 to the attitude control mode, it is not necessary to perform complicated operations such as moving the camera to adjust the angle of view and operating the pan head on which the digital camera 100 is mounted. Also, it is possible to automatically shoot with an accurate angle of view. In addition, since a shooting instruction is automatically issued, if the posture control device is fixed to a tripod or the like, it is possible to perform shooting with an accurate angle of view without camera shake at the time of the shutter.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the photographing operation of the control unit according to the photographing operation program in the posture control mode. Hereinafter, description will be made based on FIGS. 1 to 3, 10, and 11.
When the photographer operates the mode changeover switch 31 to turn on the photographing mode, photographing mode start processing is executed, and the control unit 20 controls the image pickup unit such as the optical system 11 to capture the subject image and perform signal conversion. The control unit 12 and the signal processing unit 13 are controlled to acquire a through image. The display unit 40 is controlled to display the acquired through image on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 (FIG. 10A), and a message ( (Not shown) is displayed to prompt further mode selection (step T1).

  When the photographer selects the posture control mode (step T2), the digital camera 100 detects this by a signal sent from the operation unit 30 and sets the display area of the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 to 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the display through image data thinned out to fit the display area is transferred to the display unit 40, and the through image 1 is displayed on one of the divided display areas (left side in the illustrated example). At this time, the subject image data 3 (current image data) 3 before thinning is stored in the current image storage area 142 of the DRAM 14 as shown in FIG. 10C (step T3).

  Next, the previous photographed image data (compressed image data) is taken out from the flash memory 50 and subjected to reproduction processing, and the other one of the display areas divided into two as shown in FIG. To the right). At this time, the previous image data 4 reproduced as shown in FIG. 10C is stored in the previous image storage area 141 of the DRAM 14 (step T4).

  The control unit 20 controls the signal processing unit 13 to determine a plurality of color information determination areas at random for the current image (image data) 3 and the previous image 4 stored in the DRAM 14 (step T5). The color information determination areas 3-1, 3-2,... Of the current image and the color information determination areas 4-1, 4-2,. Comparison information such as brightness is extracted and acquired (step T6), and the color information determination area of the current image and the comparison information such as brightness in the color information determination area of the previous image are compared ( In FIG. 10D, if the difference in color information is within a predetermined threshold in at least one corresponding determination area, the process proceeds to step T10, and if not, the process proceeds to step T8 (step T7).

  If the comparison results are different in all respects, a setting value that substantially matches the color information is determined in at least one corresponding determination area (step T8), and the digital camera 100 is controlled to control the posture of the digital camera 100 in this setting state. A drive control signal of an external attitude control device such as a camera platform to which the camera 100 is attached is generated and transmitted to the external attitude control device via the terminal unit 18 (step T9).

  As a result of the posture control or the comparison result in the above step T8, the comparison information in some determination areas among the color information determination areas indicated by reference numerals 3-1, 3-2 and reference numerals 4-1, 4-2. Is within a predetermined error range between the previous image and the current image, a setting value that substantially matches the color information in a determination area different from the previous color information determination area is determined (step T10). A drive control signal of an external attitude control device such as a camera platform to which the digital camera 100 is attached is generated so as to control the attitude of the digital camera 100 and transmitted to the external attitude control device via the terminal unit 18 ( FIG. 10 (e)) (step T11).

  The operations in steps T10 and T11 are repeated until the difference between the color information of the previous image and the current image falls within a predetermined error range (threshold value) for a predetermined number or more of the color information determination regions of the previous image and the current image. (Step T12) If the predetermined number or more of the determination regions fall within a predetermined error range (threshold), the alignment is completed, an imaging instruction (automatic shutter operation) is performed (Step T13), and the captured captured image data (= The current image data) is sent to the display unit 40, and a still image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 41 as shown in FIG. 10 (f) (step T14). The signal processing unit 13 is controlled and stored in the DRAM 14. The current image data is compressed and recorded in the flash memory 50 (step T15).

  With the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the digital camera 100 can control its own attitude based on the difference in the comparison information between the previous image and the current image, and can perform shooting with the same angle of view as the previous image.

  In step T3 of the flowchart, the previous image may be displayed semi-transparently (translucently transmitted), and the current image (through image) may be displayed superimposed on the previous image.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an attitude control device driven by a drive control signal from a mounted digital camera. FIG. 12A is an external view of the attitude control device mounted with the digital camera. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing an embodiment of the internal configuration.

  In FIG. 12, reference numeral 100 denotes a digital camera, reference numeral 200 denotes an attitude control device to which the digital camera 100 is mounted, reference numeral 201 denotes a terminal provided in a fitting portion of the attitude control apparatus 200, and reference numeral 202 denotes the digital camera 100. A drive control unit for controlling the attitude of the digital camera 100 by driving the pan drive unit 203 and the chilled drive unit 204 based on the drive control signal from the reference numeral 210 is a movable unit having a fitting unit with the digital camera 100 at the top. Indicates the part.

  The digital camera 100 is attached to the attitude control device 200 by a fitting part provided at the upper part of the movable part 210 and a digital camera side fitting part (not shown) provided at the bottom of the digital camera 100. Further, at this time, the terminal portions provided in the respective fitting portions are electrically connected so that a drive control signal from the digital camera 100 can be transmitted to the attitude control device 200.

  The drive control signal sent from the digital camera 100 is passed to the drive control unit 202 of the attitude control device 200 via the terminal unit 201, and the drive control unit 202 receives the motor drive signals of the pan drive unit 203 and the chilled drive unit 204. Then, the pan driving unit 203 and the chilled driving unit 204 are driven to rotate the digital camera 100 in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction to change the posture.

As mentioned above, although several Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to said each Example, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible.
For example, the term imaging device can be applied not only to electronic cameras such as digital cameras, but also to mobile phones with cameras and information devices having an imaging unit, and can also be applied to video cameras as well as still image cameras. It is.

1 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of a digital camera as an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of a digital camera. It is explanatory drawing of the area | region structural example of DRAM. It is outline | summary explanatory drawing of the difference discrimination method of the last image by this image comparison mode, and this image. It is a figure which shows the other Example of the display method of the last image in this image comparison mode, and this time image. It is a flowchart which shows the example of an image difference discrimination process operation of the control part by the image difference discrimination process program at the time of selecting image comparison mode in image reproduction mode. FIG. 6 shows a display example when the previous image and the current image are displayed in a contrasting manner. It is a flowchart which shows the image difference discrimination process operation example of the control part by the image difference discrimination process program at the time of selecting image comparison mode in imaging | photography mode mode. FIG. 8 is a display example when the previous image and the current image are superimposed and displayed. It is explanatory drawing of the attitude | position control method of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging operation example of the control part by the imaging | photography operation program at the time of attitude | position control mode. It is a figure which shows one Example of the attitude | position control apparatus driven by the drive control signal from a digital camera.

Explanation of symbols

1 Through image (current image)
71 Playback image (previous image)
11 Optical system (current image acquisition means)
12 Signal converter (current image acquisition means)
13 Signal processor (color information extraction means, current image acquisition means)
14 DRAM (memory)
15 shape extraction unit 18 terminal unit 20 control unit (display control unit, difference extraction unit, set value determination unit, drive signal generation unit)
41 LCD monitor screen 50 Flash memory (storage memory)
61 Playback image (current image)
73, 74, 75 Difference 115 Zoom mechanism 100 Digital camera (imaging device)
200 External attitude control device

Claims (18)

A method for discriminating a difference between an image taken last time and an image taken this time in relation to the previous image in an imaging device that shoots a subject and generates and records the image data,
Extracting color information of the last image taken;
Extracting color information of the image taken this time;
Extracting the difference between the extracted color information of the previously captured image and the color information of the image captured this time;
Obtaining a display position of information corresponding to the difference in the color information;
Displaying information corresponding to the difference in the color information at the acquired display position;
An image difference discriminating method characterized by comprising: In an imaging apparatus that shoots a subject and generates and records the image data, the attitude control method of controlling the external attitude control device to which the imaging apparatus is mounted to control its own attitude at the time of shooting,
Taking the same subject as the subject of the image taken last time and capturing the image this time,
Storing the previously captured image and the captured current captured image in memory;
Extracting a difference in a plurality of portions of the previously captured image stored in the memory and the captured image captured this time;
Determining a setting value of an image captured this time so that a difference between the respective parts falls within a predetermined value;
Generating a drive control signal for driving the external attitude control device so that an image captured this time is in a setting state based on the determined setting value;
Transmitting the generated drive control signal to the external attitude control device;
An attitude control method for an imaging apparatus, comprising: In an imaging device that shoots a subject, generates image data thereof, and records it,
It has an image comparison mode that compares the last shot image with the last shot image in relation to the last shot image,
In the image comparison mode,
Color information extracting means for extracting color information from an image captured last time and an image captured this time;
A difference extracting means for extracting a difference between the color information of the image taken this time extracted by the color information extracting means and the color information of the image taken last time;
Display position acquisition means for acquiring a display position of data corresponding to the difference in the color information;
Display control means for displaying data corresponding to the difference in the color information at the acquired display position;
An imaging apparatus comprising: 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the difference extraction means outputs the color information only when the difference of the extracted color information is a predetermined value or more. The display position acquisition means acquires the display position of the data corresponding to the difference only when the difference in the color information is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the display control means is in the case where the difference in the color information is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, wherein only data corresponding to the difference is displayed at the display position. The difference extracting unit includes a color component adjusting unit that adjusts a predetermined color component of the previously captured image and a color component of the currently captured image so as to substantially match, and after the adjustment by the color component adjusting unit, The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a difference in color information between the captured image and the currently captured image is extracted. In an imaging device that shoots a subject, generates image data thereof, and records it,
A mounting portion to be mounted on the external posture control device, and a posture control mode capable of posture control by the external posture control device;
In the attitude control mode,
A terminal unit that is electrically connected to the terminal unit on the external attitude control device side when the external attitude control device is mounted, and sends the generated drive control signal to the external attitude control device;
This time image acquisition means for acquiring the image by capturing the same subject as the subject of the previously captured image,
Image playback means for playing back the previously captured image and storing it in a memory;
Image storage control means for storing the image taken this time in a memory;
A difference acquisition means for acquiring differences in a plurality of portions of the previously captured image and the current captured image stored in the memory;
Setting value determining means for determining a setting value of an image photographed this time so that each difference falls within a predetermined value;
Drive signal generating means for generating a drive control signal for driving the external attitude control device so that an image captured this time is in a setting state based on the determined setting value;
An imaging apparatus comprising: In an imaging device that captures an image in relation to the previously captured image,
With a display,
The display unit simultaneously displays the previously captured image and the current captured image, detects a color difference between the previously captured image and the current captured image, and displays a display indicating the difference on the display unit. An imaging device comprising means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image captured last time and the image captured this time are displayed side by side. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image captured last time and the image captured this time are displayed in an overlapping manner. In an imaging device that captures an image in relation to the previously captured image,
With a display,
The display unit displays the previously captured image and the current capture standby image at the same time, detects a color difference between the previously captured image and the capture standby image, and displays the difference display on the display unit. An imaging apparatus comprising means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the previously captured image and the current capturing standby image are displayed side by side. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the previously taken image and the current shooting standby image are displayed in an overlapping manner. 12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a part of the previously captured image is displayed. 12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6 or 11, wherein the previously captured image is displayed in a translucent manner. A program that can be executed in an imaging apparatus having an image comparison mode that compares an image captured last time with an image captured this time in relation to the previous image,
In image comparison mode,
A program step for extracting color information from the previously captured image and the current captured image,
A program step for extracting the difference between the extracted color information of the previously captured image and the color information of the image captured this time;
A program step for obtaining a display position of data corresponding to the difference;
A program step for displaying data corresponding to the difference at the display position;
A program characterized by comprising: A program that can be executed in an imaging apparatus having an image comparison mode that compares an image captured last time with an image captured this time in relation to the previous image,
In image comparison mode,
Program steps for extracting color information from the previously captured image and the standby image,
A program step for extracting the difference between the color information of the previously captured image extracted and the color information of the shooting standby image;
A program step for obtaining a display position of data corresponding to the difference;
A program step for displaying data corresponding to the difference at the display position;
A program characterized by comprising: A program that can be executed in an imaging device that includes a mounting unit that is mounted on an external posture control device and has a posture control mode that is posture controlled by the external posture control device,
In attitude control mode,
A program step for shooting the same subject image as the subject of the image taken last time;
A program step for playing back the previously captured image and storing it in memory;
A program step for storing the image taken this time in a memory;
A program step for acquiring a difference between a plurality of portions of an image captured last time and an image captured this time stored in the memory;
A program step for determining a set value of an image photographed this time so that each difference falls within a predetermined value;
A program step for generating a drive control signal for driving the external attitude control device so that an image captured this time is in a setting state based on the determined setting value;
A program step of transmitting the generated drive control signal to the external attitude control device;
A program characterized by comprising:

Images