JP2005318278A - Photographing device and image reproducing method for photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device and an image reproducing method of the photographing device for utilizing an empty region of a display region at the time of making a display means display an image acquired by photographing while a device main body is rotated by 90 degrees or almost 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the direction of an object. <P>SOLUTION: Images shown by image information acquired by photographing by a CCD 24 are continuously displayed by an LCD 38 without being missed while the vertical direction of those images is matched with the vertical direction of a digital camera 10. When the two pieces of image information, that is, image information showing an image to be displayed the next and image information showing an image to be displayed after the next are acquired by a CCD 24 by photographing(vertical photographing) while the digital camera 10 is rotated by 90 degrees or about 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the object direction, this LCD 38 is controlled to display two images shown by the two pieces of image information while the longitudinal direction of each image is matched with the short-hand direction of the LCD 38, and that those images are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the display region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus and an image reproducing method of the photographing apparatus, and in particular, a photographing apparatus including a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device for reproducing a photographed image and an imaging unit such as a CCD (charge coupled device), and the photographing apparatus. The present invention relates to an image reproduction method.

  In recent years, the spread of digital cameras has been striking, with annual shipments exceeding that of silver halide cameras.

  By the way, in a conventional digital camera, the aspect ratio of an image (subject image) captured by an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS image sensor is usually 4: 3. This corresponds to the aspect ratio of the display area being 4: 3 in a conventional television receiver or a display device such as a liquid crystal display provided in a digital camera for monitoring a subject image.

  On the other hand, in recent years, television receivers having an aspect ratio of a display area of 16: 9 (so-called wide size) have been widely used, and the display area of a display device provided in a digital camera is also wide. It is expected that the application of the size will proceed.

  In this case, a subject image captured by a digital camera using an image sensor having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 as a captured image is displayed in a wide size for subject image monitoring while maintaining an aspect ratio of 4: 3. When the display is performed by the apparatus, an empty area is generated in a part of the display area.

  Conventionally, there are the following techniques that can be applied to effectively use the empty area of the display area.

  First, information other than the received image is displayed by displaying information other than the received image in a non-display area generated by displaying a normally received image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 on a wide display panel having an aspect ratio of 16: 9. There has been a technique that enables effective use of an area (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, when displaying the video recorded on the magnetic tape, a non-display portion that occurs when the recorded video and the display panel have different aspect ratios is used so that the display area does not overlap a plurality of still images or moving images. There has been a technique for effectively utilizing the display panel by assigning the image (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-46893 A JP-A-8-46946

  By the way, in a digital camera equipped with a display device having a horizontally long display area with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 or 4: 3, shooting in a state where the digital camera is set up in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction (so-called vertical shooting) When the image obtained by (1) is displayed on the display device with the vertical direction of the image coincident with the vertical direction of the digital camera and without being missing, the display area of the display device is larger than half of the display area. Free space will be generated.

  However, in the technology that can be applied to effectively use the above-described free area of the conventional display area, a free area that occurs when an image obtained by vertical shooting with a camera is displayed is not considered. However, it is not always possible to effectively use the free space.

  Note that this problem is obtained by photographing a display device in which the display area is arranged in a vertically long state and a mobile phone having a photographing function while the mobile phone is laid in a direction perpendicular to the subject direction. This is also a problem that occurs when the displayed image is displayed on the display device with the vertical direction of the image aligned with the vertical direction of the mobile phone and without being lost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and displays an image obtained by photographing in a state where the apparatus main body is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction by the display means. An object of the present invention is to provide an image capturing apparatus and an image reproducing method for the image capturing apparatus that can effectively use an empty area of a display area.

  In order to achieve the above object, a photographing apparatus according to claim 1 includes display means having a display area having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 and image information indicating an image having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by imaging. An image pickup device for obtaining the image pickup device, wherein the display device and the image pickup device are arranged so that a longitudinal direction of the display area coincides with a longitudinal direction of the image. Image information indicating an image to be displayed next when the image indicated by the image information acquired by imaging is displayed continuously by the display unit without causing the image to coincide with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus and without being missing. And two pieces of image information indicating image information to be displayed next are taken in a state where the photographing apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction. If the two images indicated by the two image information are obtained by the imaging means, the longitudinal direction of each image coincides with the lateral direction of the display area, and the longitudinal direction of the display area And a control means for controlling the display means so as to display the images in a line-up state.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising: display means having a display area having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1; and image pickup means for acquiring image information indicating an image having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by image pickup. The display area is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the display area coincides with the longitudinal direction of the image. The display means includes a display such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, and a CRT display. The imaging means includes a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD (charge coupled device) or a CMOS image sensor.

  Here, in the present invention, the control means causes the image indicated by the image information acquired by the imaging means to continuously match the vertical direction of the image with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus and the display means without missing. When the image is displayed, the image information indicating the image to be displayed next and the image information indicating the image to be displayed next are 90 degrees or approximately 90 degrees in the direction orthogonal to the subject direction of the photographing apparatus. In the case where the image is acquired by the imaging means by shooting in a rotated state (vertical shooting when the shooting device is a digital camera), the two images indicated by the two image information are the lengths of the respective images. The display means is controlled so that the direction is aligned with the short direction of the display area and arranged in the longitudinal direction of the display area.

  As described above, according to the photographing apparatus of the first aspect, the display unit having the display area having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 and the image information indicating the image having the aspect ratio different from 1: 1 are acquired by imaging. The display means and the imaging means are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the display area and the longitudinal direction of the image coincide with each other, and acquired by imaging by the imaging means When the image indicated by the image information is displayed continuously by the display means without causing the image to coincide with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus and without being lost, the image information indicating the next image to be displayed and the next display are displayed. Two pieces of image information of image information indicating an image to be captured are captured by photographing in a state in which the photographing apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction. In the case where the images are acquired by the stage, the two images indicated by the two image information are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the display area, with the longitudinal direction of each image matching the lateral direction of the display area. Since the display means is controlled so as to display in a state, an empty area of the display area can be used effectively.

  In the present invention, the aspect ratio of the display area of the display means is 16: 9, and the aspect ratio of the image indicated by the image information acquired by the imaging means is 4 as in the invention described in claim 2. : 3 or 16: 9 is preferable. As a result, it is possible to cope with the display area and the aspect ratio of the captured image that are currently becoming mainstream.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the image reproducing method of the photographing apparatus according to claim 3 is a display unit having an aspect ratio of a display area different from 1: 1 and an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by imaging. An image of a photographing apparatus provided with an image capturing unit that acquires image information indicating an image, and in which the display unit and the image capturing unit are disposed so that a longitudinal direction of the display area matches a longitudinal direction of the image In the reproduction method, when an image indicated by image information acquired by imaging by the imaging unit is continuously displayed on the display unit without matching the vertical direction of the image with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus Two pieces of image information, that is, image information indicating an image to be displayed next and image information indicating an image to be displayed next, are displayed in the direction orthogonal to the subject direction. Alternatively, in the case where the images are acquired by the imaging unit by photographing in a state of being rotated by approximately 90 degrees, the two images indicated by the two image information are represented by the longitudinal direction of each image being the short direction of the display area. And the display means is controlled so as to display in a state of being aligned in the longitudinal direction of the display area.

  Therefore, since the image reproducing method of the photographing apparatus according to the third aspect can be applied to the photographing apparatus in the same manner as the invention according to the first aspect, the display area of the photographing apparatus is similar to the first aspect. Free space can be used effectively.

  In the present invention, the aspect ratio of the display area of the display means is 16: 9, and the aspect ratio of the image indicated by the image information acquired by the imaging means is 4 as in the invention described in claim 4. : 3 or 16: 9 is preferable. As a result, it is possible to cope with the display area and the aspect ratio of the captured image that are currently becoming mainstream.

  Note that the photographing apparatus according to the present invention includes all portable electronic devices having a photographing function and an image display function such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a mobile phone, in addition to a digital camera.

  According to the present invention, the display device includes a display unit having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1, and an image pickup unit that acquires image information indicating an image having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by imaging. The display means and the imaging means are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the display area coincides with the longitudinal direction of the image, and the image indicated by the image information acquired by the imaging by the imaging means is displayed on the image. Two images of image information indicating an image to be displayed next and image information indicating an image to be displayed next when the vertical direction is made to coincide with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus and are continuously displayed by the display unit without being missing. The information is acquired by the imaging unit by photographing in a state where the photographing apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction. The two images indicated by the two image information are displayed so that the longitudinal direction of each image is aligned with the short direction of the display area and arranged in the longitudinal direction of the display area. Since the means is controlled, there is an effect that the free area of the display area can be effectively used.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described.

  First, an external configuration of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In front of the digital camera 10, a lens 21 for forming a subject image, a strobe 44 that emits light to irradiate the subject when necessary, and a viewfinder used to determine the composition of the subject to be photographed. 20 is provided. Further, on the upper surface of the digital camera 10, a release button (so-called shutter) 56A that is pressed when performing shooting and a power switch 56B are provided.

  Note that the release button 56A of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment is pressed down to an intermediate position (hereinafter referred to as “half-pressed state”) and to a final pressed position beyond the intermediate position. A two-stage pressing operation of a state (hereinafter referred to as a “fully pressed state”) can be detected.

  In the digital camera 10, the release button 56A is pressed halfway to activate the AE (Automatic Exposure) function to set the exposure state (shutter speed, aperture state), and then AF (Auto Focus). , Automatic focusing) function is performed to control focusing, and then exposure (photographing) is performed when the button is fully pressed.

  On the other hand, on the back of the digital camera 10, an eyepiece of the above-described finder 20, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “LCD”) 38 for displaying a photographed subject image, a menu screen, and the like are photographed. There is provided a mode changeover switch 56C that is slid and operated when setting a shooting mode that is a mode to be performed and a reproduction mode that is a mode for reproducing a subject image on the LCD 38.

  In the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, a so-called wide-size LCD 38 having a display area aspect ratio of 16: 9 is applied as the LCD 38.

  Also, on the back of the digital camera 10, a cross cursor button 56D and a wide switch that is pressed when the aspect ratio of the captured subject image is selectively switched to either 16: 9 or 4: 3. 56E. Is further provided.

  The cross-cursor button 56D includes four arrow keys that indicate the upward, downward, left, and right movement directions in the display area of the LCD 38. In addition, each time the wide changeover switch 56E is pressed, the aspect ratio set at that time is switched to the other aspect ratio.

  Next, the main configuration of the electrical system of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The digital camera 10 includes an optical unit 22 including the lens 21 described above, a charge coupled device (hereinafter referred to as “CCD”) 24 disposed behind the optical axis of the lens 21, and an input analog. And an analog signal processing unit 26 that performs various analog signal processing on the signal.

  On the other hand, the digital camera 10 performs an analog / digital converter (hereinafter referred to as “ADC”) 28 for converting an input analog signal into digital data, and performs various digital signal processing on the input digital data. And a digital signal processing unit 30.

  The digital signal processing unit 30 has a built-in line buffer having a predetermined capacity, and also performs control to directly store the input digital data in a predetermined area of the memory 48 described later.

  The output terminal of the CCD 24 is connected to the input terminal of the analog signal processing unit 26, the output terminal of the analog signal processing unit 26 is connected to the input terminal of the ADC 28, and the output terminal of the ADC 28 is connected to the input terminal of the digital signal processing unit 30. . Accordingly, the analog signal indicating the subject image output from the CCD 24 is subjected to predetermined analog signal processing by the analog signal processing unit 26, converted into digital image data by the ADC 28, and then input to the digital signal processing unit 30.

  On the other hand, the digital camera 10 generates a signal for displaying a subject image, a menu screen or the like on the LCD 38 and supplies the signal to the LCD 38, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 40 that controls the operation of the entire digital camera 10. A memory 48 for storing digital image data obtained by photographing, and a memory interface 46 for controlling access to the memory 48 are included.

  Further, the digital camera 10 includes an external memory interface 50 for enabling the portable memory card 52 to be accessed by the digital camera 10, and a compression / decompression processing circuit 54 for performing compression processing and decompression processing on the digital image data. It is configured to include.

  In the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, a VRAM (Video RAM) is used as the memory 48 and a smart media (Smart Media®) is used as the memory card 52.

  The digital signal processing unit 30, the LCD interface 36, the CPU 40, the memory interface 46, the external memory interface 50, and the compression / decompression processing circuit 54 are connected to each other via a system bus BUS. Therefore, the CPU 40 controls the operation of the digital signal processing unit 30 and the compression / decompression processing circuit 54, displays various information via the LCD interface 36 to the LCD 38, and the memory interface 46 or the external memory interface to the memory 48 and the memory card 52. 50 can be accessed each.

  On the other hand, the digital camera 10 includes a timing generator 32 that mainly generates a timing signal for driving the CCD 24 and supplies the timing signal to the CCD 24, and the driving of the CCD 24 is controlled by the CPU 40 via the timing generator 32.

  Further, the digital camera 10 is provided with a motor drive unit 34, and driving of a focus adjustment motor, a zoom motor, and an aperture drive motor (not shown) provided in the optical unit 22 is also controlled by the CPU 40 via the motor drive unit 34. The

  In other words, the lens 21 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of lenses, is configured as a zoom lens that can change (magnify) the focal length, and includes a lens driving mechanism (not shown). The lens drive mechanism includes the focus adjustment motor, the zoom motor, and the aperture drive motor, and these motors are each driven by a drive signal supplied from the motor drive unit 34 under the control of the CPU 40.

  Further, the release button 56A, the power switch 56B, the mode changeover switch 56C, the cross cursor button 56D, and the wide changeover switch 56E (generically referred to as “operation unit 56” in the figure) are connected to the CPU 40. Can always grasp the operation state of the operation unit 56.

  In addition, the digital camera 10 includes a charging unit 42 that is interposed between the strobe 44 and the CPU 40 and charges power for causing the strobe 44 to emit light under the control of the CPU 40. Further, the strobe 44 is also connected to the CPU 40, and the light emission of the strobe 44 is controlled by the CPU 40.

  The digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment is compatible with the Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) standard, and digital image data obtained by shooting is stored in the memory card 52 as an Exif standardized electronic file (image file). To be recorded.

  As described above, since the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment is compatible with the Exif standard, the electronic file 60 obtained by shooting and recorded in the memory card 52 is schematically shown in FIG. Includes a start code area 60A, a tag area 60B, a thumbnail image area 60C, and a main image area 60D.

  Next, an overall operation at the time of shooting of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment will be briefly described.

  First, the CCD 24 performs imaging through the optical unit 22 and sequentially outputs analog signals for R (red), G (green), and B (blue) indicating the subject image to the analog signal processing unit 26. The analog signal processing unit 26 performs analog signal processing such as correlated double sampling processing on the analog signal input from the CCD 24 and sequentially outputs the analog signal to the ADC 28.

  The ADC 28 converts the R, G, and B analog signals input from the analog signal processing unit 26 into 12-bit R, G, and B signals (digital image data) and sequentially outputs them to the digital signal processing unit 30. To do. The digital signal processing unit 30 accumulates digital image data sequentially input from the ADC 28 in a built-in line buffer and temporarily stores the digital image data directly in a predetermined area of the memory 48.

  The digital image data stored in a predetermined area of the memory 48 is read out by the digital signal processing unit 30 under the control of the CPU 40, and white balance adjustment is performed by applying a digital gain according to a predetermined physical quantity. Processing and sharpness processing are performed to generate 8-bit digital image data.

  The digital signal processing unit 30 performs YC signal processing on the generated 8-bit digital image data to generate a luminance signal Y and chroma signals Cr and Cb (hereinafter referred to as “YC signal”), and the YC signal. Are stored in an area different from the predetermined area of the memory 48.

  The LCD 38 is configured to display a moving image (through image) obtained by continuous imaging by the CCD 24 and can be used as a finder. When the LCD 38 is used as a finder, the LCD 38 is generated. The YC signals thus output are sequentially output to the LCD 38 via the LCD interface 36. As a result, a through image is displayed on the LCD 38.

  Here, when the release button 56A is half-pressed by the user, after the AE function is activated and the exposure state is set as described above, the AF function is activated and focus control is performed, and then the fully-pressed state is continued. In this case, the YC signal stored in the memory 48 at this time is compressed in a predetermined compression format (in this embodiment, JPEG format) by the compression / decompression processing circuit 54 and then passed through the external memory interface 50. The image file is recorded on the memory card 52 as an Exif standard image file.

  In the digital camera 10, the image file recorded on the memory card 52 by shooting is shot in a state where the digital camera 10 is set in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction (hereinafter referred to as “vertical shooting”). Is obtained by shooting in a state in which the digital camera 10 is in a normal posture (a shot image is in a landscape orientation) (hereinafter referred to as “normal shooting”). Information indicating whether it exists (hereinafter referred to as “photographing posture information”) is a predetermined address of the tag area 60B in the image file by an operation on the menu screen displayed on the LCD 38 by pressing a menu switch (not shown). Can be stored in the region.

  Incidentally, in the digital camera 10, as described above, the aspect ratio of the captured subject image is selectively set to either 16: 9 or 4: 3 by pressing the wide changeover switch 56E. However, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, when the shooting mode is executed, the subject image having the set aspect ratio is displayed as a through image on the LCD 38 and the release button 56A is fully pressed. In addition, digital image data indicating a subject image having the set aspect ratio is recorded in the memory card 52.

  Here, in the digital camera 10, as shown in FIG. 4, a CCD 24 having an imaging area with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is applied, and the aspect ratio of the subject image is set by the user as 16: 9. The pixel data is obtained from the digital image data obtained by imaging by the CCD 24 so that the image area on the upper end side and the image area on the lower end side of the subject image indicated by the digital image data are evenly deleted. By deleting, a subject image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is shown.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, when a CCD 24 having an imaging area aspect ratio of 16: 9 is applied and the user sets the aspect ratio of the subject image to 4: 3, the CCD 24 By deleting the pixel data from the digital image data obtained by the imaging so that the image area on the left end side and the image area on the right end side of the subject image indicated by the digital image data are equally deleted. A subject image having an aspect ratio of 3: can be displayed.

  Here, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the subject image according to the aspect ratio set by the wide changeover switch 56E is the longitudinal direction of the display area of the LCD 38, regardless of the aspect ratio of the imaging area in the CCD 24. The direction corresponds to the direction, that is, the left-right direction of the digital camera 10.

  By the way, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of image files are recorded in the memory card 52 when the playback mode is executed, the LCD 38 displays a plurality of subject images indicated by the plurality of image files. The display can be switched in chronological order according to the date and time of shooting by operating the cross cursor button 56D.

  In the digital camera 10, each time the right arrow key of the cross-cursor button 56D is pressed, the digital camera 10 switches to display the subject image that is taken next to the subject image displayed on the LCD 38 at that time, and the left arrow Each time the key is pressed, the subject image taken immediately before the subject image displayed on the LCD 38 at that time is displayed. Here, when the right arrow key is pressed and the subject image displayed on the LCD 38 at that time is that of the newest image file recorded on the memory card 52, the oldest image file indicates. When the left arrow key is pressed and the subject image displayed on the LCD 38 at that time is the one of the oldest image file recorded on the memory card 52, The subject image indicated by the newest image file is displayed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the operation of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment when the playback mode is executed will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of an image playback processing program executed by the CPU 40 of the digital camera 10 when the playback mode is executed.

  In step 100 in the figure, the shooting posture information in the tag area 60B of two image files (hereinafter referred to as “processing target image files”) in order from the oldest image file recorded in the memory card 52 is obtained. read out.

  In the next step 102, it is determined whether or not both of the read shooting posture information indicate “vertical shooting”. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 104 and is indicated by the processing target image file. The LCD interface 36 is controlled so that the two subject images are displayed side by side in the longitudinal direction of the display area of the LCD 38, and then the process proceeds to step 108. In this step 104, each subject image is rotated 90 degrees so that the vertical direction of the two subject images coincides with the vertical direction of the digital camera 10, and each subject image can be displayed in a maximum size that is not lost. In this way, control is performed so that each subject image is reduced or enlarged and displayed so that the longitudinal direction of each subject image coincides with the lateral direction of the display area of the LCD 38.

  FIG. 6A shows an example of the display state of the LCD 38 by the processing in this step 104 when the aspect ratios of the two subject images are both 4: 3. FIG. 6B shows an example of the display state of the LCD 38 by the process of this step 104 when the aspect ratios of the two subject images are both 16: 9. Further, FIG. 6C shows an example of the display state of the LCD 38 by the processing of this step 104 when the aspect ratios of the two subject images are 4: 3 and 16: 9, respectively.

  As shown in these figures, since the subject image to be displayed next is displayed in an empty region that occupies half or more of the display region that occurs when the above two subject images are displayed on the LCD 38 one by one, Free space can be used very effectively.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 102, that is, if at least one of the two subject images has been recorded by normal shooting, the process proceeds to step 106, where the display order on the LCD 38 is the old side ( The LCD interface 36 is controlled so that the subject image on the side to be displayed first) is displayed on the LCD 38, and then the process proceeds to step 108. In step 106, control is performed so that the subject image is displayed in a reduced or enlarged state so that the subject image can be displayed in a maximum size that does not lack without being rotated.

  FIG. 7A shows an example of the display state of the LCD 38 by the processing in this step 106 when the aspect ratio of the subject image is 16: 9. FIG. 7B shows an example of the display state of the LCD 38 by the processing of this step 106 when the aspect ratio of the subject image is 4: 3. Note that these display states are the same as the display states according to conventionally known techniques, and are not particularly related to the present invention, so that further explanation is omitted.

  In step 108, it is determined whether or not a predetermined key (here, the left arrow key or the right arrow key) of the cross cursor button 56D has been pressed. If the determination is affirmative, the process returns to step 100, and a negative determination is made. If so, the process proceeds to step 110.

  Note that when performing the processing from step 100 to step 108 again, in step 100, the next and next two image files to be displayed on the LCD 38 according to the type of the arrow key that was pressed immediately before are processed. As the image file, the shooting posture information in the tag area 60B of the processing target image file is read out.

  In step 110, it is determined whether or not the end of image reproduction has been instructed by determining whether or not the mode changeover switch 56C has been operated. If a negative determination is made, the process returns to step 108, and an affirmative determination is made. If this happens, the image reproduction processing program ends.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the display means (in this case, the LCD 38) whose display area has an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 and the image whose aspect ratio differs from 1: 1 by imaging. Imaging means (in this case, a CCD 24) for acquiring image information indicating the display area, and the display means and the imaging means are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the display area coincides with the longitudinal direction of the image. The image shown by the image information acquired by the imaging means is made to match the vertical direction of the image with the vertical direction of the photographing apparatus (here, the digital camera 10) and is continuously displayed by the display means without being lost. When the image capturing apparatus displays the image information, the image information indicating the image to be displayed next and the image information indicating the image to be displayed next are displayed by the photographing apparatus. In a case where the image is acquired by the imaging unit by shooting (vertical shooting) in a state rotated 90 degrees or approximately 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the body direction, the two images indicated by the two image information are Since the display means is controlled so that the longitudinal direction of each image coincides with the lateral direction of the display area and is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the display area, the empty area of the display area is It can be used effectively.

  According to the present embodiment, the aspect ratio of the display area of the display unit is set to 16: 9, and the aspect ratio of the image indicated by the image information acquired by the imaging unit is set to 4: 3 or 16: 9. Therefore, it is possible to deal with the display area and the aspect ratio of the photographed image that are currently becoming mainstream.

  In this embodiment, the case where the aspect ratio of the display area is 16: 9 is applied as the LCD 38, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the aspect ratio of the display area is Any device can be applied as long as the aspect ratio is not 1: 1, including 4: 3. Also in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the case has been described in which shooting posture information is recorded by a manual operation by a user. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the posture of the digital camera 10 is set to the digital camera 10. It is also possible to provide a sensor for detection and record the shooting posture information according to the detection result by the sensor. In this case, although the cost of the digital camera 10 increases as compared with the present embodiment, the convenience for the user can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the photographing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a digital camera has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, any device having a photographing function, such as a PDA or a mobile phone. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus.

  Further, the processing flow of the image reproduction processing program described in the present embodiment (see FIG. 5) is also an example, and it goes without saying that it can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  Furthermore, the configuration of the digital camera 10 described in this embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4) is also an example, and it is needless to say that the configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is an external view which shows the external appearance of the digital camera which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the electric system of the digital camera which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the digitization file (image file) which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aspect ratio of an imaging area of a CCD according to an embodiment and a description of a procedure for generating a subject image having another aspect ratio. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the image reproduction process program which concerns on embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of a display state in the case of displaying two subject images side by side with LCD in the digital camera which concerns on embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of a display state in case only one subject image is displayed by LCD in the digital camera which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Digital camera 24 CCD (Imaging means)
38 LCD (display means)
40 CPU (control means)
56E Wide selector switch

Claims (4)

Display means having an aspect ratio of the display area different from 1: 1, and imaging means for acquiring image information indicating an image having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by imaging, and a longitudinal direction of the display area An imaging device in which the display means and the imaging means are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the image coincides,
An image to be displayed next when an image indicated by image information acquired by imaging by the imaging unit is continuously displayed by the display unit without causing the image to coincide with the vertical direction of the imaging apparatus and without being missing. The image pickup means is obtained by shooting in a state in which the image pickup apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction, and image information indicating image information indicating the image to be displayed next is displayed. The two images indicated by the two pieces of image information are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the display area and the longitudinal direction of each image coincides with the lateral direction of the display area. An imaging apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the display means so as to display the image. The aspect ratio of the display area of the display means is 16: 9,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of an image indicated by image information acquired by the imaging unit is 4: 3 or 16: 9. Display means having an aspect ratio of the display area different from 1: 1, and imaging means for acquiring image information indicating an image having an aspect ratio different from 1: 1 by imaging, and a longitudinal direction of the display area An image reproduction method of an imaging apparatus in which the display unit and the imaging unit are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the image coincides,
An image to be displayed next when an image indicated by image information acquired by imaging by the imaging unit is continuously displayed by the display unit without causing the image to coincide with the vertical direction of the imaging apparatus and without being missing. The image pickup means is obtained by shooting in a state in which the image pickup apparatus is rotated 90 degrees or substantially 90 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the subject direction, and image information indicating image information indicating the image to be displayed next is displayed. The two images indicated by the two pieces of image information are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the display area and the longitudinal direction of each image coincides with the lateral direction of the display area. An image reproducing method of the photographing apparatus, wherein the display means is controlled so as to display the image. The aspect ratio of the display area of the display means is 16: 9,
The image reproducing method of the photographing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an aspect ratio of an image indicated by image information acquired by the imaging unit is 4: 3 or 16: 9.

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