JP2006109199A - Digital camera and image processing system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera presenting an understandable in-focus position to a photographer at a his/her glance when the in-focus position is determined by an auto-focusing function, and also to provide an image processing system using the digital camera. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera comprises a function for performing image processing on an image data inputted from an imaging device to compute an in-focus value, and for determining an in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In addition, the digital camera employs a configuration in which an in-focus mark is given to the in-focus position by a specific color for output on a monitoring screen. According to the arrangement, since the in-focus position (house at center) attached with the in-focus mark (X mark) in the specific color (for example, red) is displayed on the monitoring screen, a photographer checks the in-focus position easily. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera and an image processing system using the digital camera, and more particularly to a digital camera that enables a photographer to determine the in-focus position at a glance when the in-focus position is determined by an autofocus function. The present invention relates to an image processing system using the digital camera.

When the camera is in focus with respect to the subject, the details of the subject are resolved, and the resulting image has fine uneven pixel values. In the case of a digital camera (digital still camera), the best in-focus state is that a different pixel value is obtained for each adjacent pixel of the image sensor (CCD).
Conversely, when the focus is not achieved, the resolution is low, and the pixel value is similar to the neighboring peripheral pixel values.

Several methods for determining the in-focus point have been developed using this property.
By using the fact that the high-frequency component of the image signal increases due to fine resolution, for example, there is a method of extracting the high-frequency component of the image in the focus area and determining that the degree of in-focus is higher as the intensity is higher Yes (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

  In addition, for example, a method of counting the number of times of inversion of adjacent pixel values for each binarized bit plane for a digitalized image, and determining that the degree of in-focus is higher as the count value is larger (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

In addition, there are the following methods for determining the degree of focus.
A method of counting the number of pixels having “edges” where the difference between adjacent pixel values is large, and determining that the degree of in-focus is higher as the number of pixels is larger.
A method of counting the number of pixels isolated by an edge from the periphery with the size of one pixel, and determining that the degree of in-focus is higher as the number of pixels is larger.
A method of counting line pixels having a width of one pixel and isolated from the surrounding by an edge, and determining that the degree of in-focus is higher as the number of pixels is larger.

JP 2000-354194 A NHK Technical Report, 1965, Vol. 17, No. 1, No. 86, 21 pages

By the way, when taking a picture with a camera having an autofocus function, it is up to the camera to determine where the focus is in the shooting range. In many cases, there is a small focus area near the center in the shooting range, and the subject in that area is automatically focused.
However, the autofocus function is not perfect, and even if there is a subject in the focus area, the shooting result may not be in focus.

  In addition, some digital cameras have a small monitor on the main body and can display images in the shooting area on the monitor, but the monitor screen is small and has a low resolution and can only display reduced images with a reduced number of images. Even if it looks like the in-focus point on the monitor screen, the shooting result may not be in focus. Although there are some which can enlarge the display on the monitor screen to facilitate the in-focus determination, there is a problem that the photographing range (composition) cannot be confirmed.

In addition, a camera equipped with an optical viewfinder and capable of shooting while looking at the shooting area may show a mark indicating the focus area at the center of the viewfinder. It is difficult to determine the focal point by visual observation at an arbitrary position.
Eventually, it is necessary for the photographer to determine the in-focus point by looking at the same-size (no reduction) image after photographing.

  In addition, when confirming the photographing result on the monitor screen displayed on the camera after photographing, it is difficult to determine the focal point because the monitor screen is small and has a low resolution and can display only a reduced image with a reduced number of images. Some images can be enlarged and viewed, but in that case, the enlargement operation and the display operation of the target area are complicated.

  Also, the subject is not always at the center of the shooting range. There is a case where it is desired to focus on an object other than the center depending on the intention of the photographer. In such a case, move the camera once so that the subject is at the center of the shooting range, perform the focus adjustment (press the shutter button halfway), and then keep the focus fixed (hold the shutter button halfway down). ) To move the camera and take a picture when the desired composition is achieved (press the shutter button all the way). This is annoying.

  In addition to the center, the focus area is in multiple positions such as left, right, top and bottom, and after the focus is automatically adjusted in each focus area, it is automatically determined which area the focus will be adopted, or Some cameras are selected by the photographer and function to focus on locations other than the center. In this case, however, the focal point position is not limited to a specific small number of points within the photographing range, and the composition cannot be set as intended by the photographer. Also, the determination of automatically selecting from a plurality of focus areas is not complete.

Eventually, in order to shoot an image focused on a target subject intended by the photographer, a complicated operation may be required, or shooting may fail and focus may not be achieved.
In other words, in the prior art, the in-focus determination is performed by looking at the imaging target “image” displayed on the monitor screen, but in this case, there are various problems as described above.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. When a focal position is determined by an autofocus function, a digital camera in which a photographer can determine the focal position at a glance, and the digital camera are provided. An object is to provide an image processing system used.

In order to achieve this object, the invention described in claim 1 performs image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focal point value, and determines a focal point position based on the focal point value. In the digital camera with the function to
An in-focus mark is attached with a specific color to the in-focus position, and output to a monitor screen.

  The above configuration and operation are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, for example. In this way, the in-focus position (in this case, the central house) is displayed on the monitor screen with the in-focus mark (×) in a specific color (for example, red), so that the photographer can The focal position can be easily confirmed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the first aspect,
The in-focus mark is displayed in a blinking manner.
In this way, for example, the in-focus mark (red x mark) in FIG. 5 blinks, so that it is easier to confirm by “flashing” than when the in-focus position is “slightly lit”.

The invention described in claim 3 has a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on image data input from the image sensor and determining an in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
A gray scale image from which color components are removed from the image data is generated, an in-focus mark is attached to the in-focus position on the gray scale image with a specific color, and output to a monitor screen.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). In such a case, if a gray scale image (black and white image) is removed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed in black and white), the focal point is displayed in a specific color (for example, red). You can see the position (in this case, the flower) at a glance.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera according to the third aspect,
The in-focus mark is displayed in a blinking manner.
In this way, in addition to the image data being displayed as a grayscale image, the in-focus position “blinks”, so that “flashing” makes it easier to confirm by “flashing” compared to the case of “simple lighting”. .

Further, the invention described in claim 5 has a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
A low saturation image with weak color components is generated from the image data, and a focal point mark with a specific color is attached to the focal point position on the low saturation image and output to a monitor screen.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). In such a case, if a low saturation image with weak color components is displayed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed with low saturation), a specific color (for example, red) is relatively (low) Since it is highly saturated (compared to a saturation flower), the in-focus position (flower in this case) can be confirmed at a glance.

The invention described in claim 6 is the digital camera described in claim 5,
The in-focus mark is displayed in a blinking manner.
In this way, in addition to the image data being displayed with low saturation, the in-focus position “blinks”, so that “flashing” makes it easier to confirm by “flashing” than when it is “lit simply”. .

Further, the invention described in claim 7 has a function of calculating the in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
A grayscale image is generated by removing color components from the image data, and the saturation of the grayscale image is increased toward a specific color corresponding to the focus value of each pixel, and the focus position on the grayscale image is set. In this configuration, an in-focus mark is attached in a specific color and output on the monitor screen.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). In such a case, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed as a grayscale image on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed as a grayscale image), and the saturation of the grayscale image is specified according to the in-focus value. Since the image is displayed in a slightly strong color (for example, red when the in-focus value is high and a neutral gray when the in-focus value is low), the level of the in-focus value can be confirmed at a glance.

Further, the invention described in claim 8 has a function of calculating the in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
The saturation of the image is changed corresponding to the focus value of each pixel of the image data, and the image data is output to the monitor screen.
In this way, the saturation of the image is changed in accordance with the focus value of each pixel of the image data, so that the focus position can be easily confirmed.

The invention described in claim 9 has a function of calculating the in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
Generate a grayscale image excluding color components from the image data. If the focal point value of each pixel is large, the saturation of the grayscale image is increased toward a specific color. If the focal point value of each pixel is small, the grayscale image is generated. In this configuration, the saturation of the image is increased toward another specific color and output to the monitor screen.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). In such a case, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed as a gray scale image on the monitor screen. If the focal point value of each pixel is large, the saturation of the gray scale image is closer to a specific color (for example, red). If the focus value of each pixel is small, the saturation of the grayscale image is displayed closer to another specific color (for example, blue), so that the focus value of each pixel can be determined at a glance. I can confirm.

The invention described in claim 10 has a function of calculating the in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
A sharp filter is applied to the image at a position where the in-focus value is large, and a blur filter is applied to the image at a position where the in-focus value is small, and output to the monitor screen.

  In this way, the sharpness plus / minus is emphasized and displayed rather than the actual image, so the in-focus position is clearly displayed, and the out-of-focus position is displayed blurringly, and the normal monitor screen Sharpness that cannot be confirmed with can be visually confirmed.

Further, the invention described in claim 11 has a function of calculating the in-focus value by performing image processing on the image data input from the image sensor and determining the in-focus position based on the in-focus value. In digital cameras,
A representative value of the in-focus value is calculated for each of the small areas obtained by dividing the image data into partial areas, a specific color is given to the small area in accordance with the representative value of the in-focus value, and the image data is combined and monitored. It is configured to output to the screen.

  For example, the monitor screen shown in FIG. 5 is divided into 16 × 16 grids divided vertically and horizontally, and the representative value of the in-focus value of each region is calculated. Then, it is color-coded in a specific color according to the focal point value of the small area (red when the focal point value is large, blue when small), and is displayed on the monitor screen, so that the focal point position can be easily confirmed.

The invention according to claim 12 includes a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on image data input from the image sensor, and determining an in-focus position based on the in-focus value, In the digital camera that outputs the determined in-focus position to the monitor screen,
The monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and an image in which a mark is added with a specific color at the in-focus position is displayed on the other screen.

  For example, in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the “right flower” that is the in-focus object is hidden behind the focus mark. This may cause anxiety to the photographer who wants to focus on the “right flower”. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the image data of the shooting range is displayed on one screen (left screen), and the in-focus position on the other screen (right screen) is displayed. In this way, the presence of the “right flower” can be confirmed on the left screen, and the right screen can be confirmed that the “right flower” is in focus. There is no.

The invention according to claim 13 includes a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on image data input from the image sensor and determining an in-focus position based on the in-focus value, In the digital camera that outputs the determined in-focus position to the monitor screen,
The monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and a grayscale image having a luminance corresponding to the in-focus value is displayed on the other screen.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) matches the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). The “right flower” may be hidden behind the focus mark. In such a case, the image data is displayed in color as it is on one screen (left screen), and a grayscale image having a luminance corresponding to the in-focus value is displayed on the other screen (right screen). In this way, the “right flower” is displayed securely on the monitor screen, so that the photographer is not anxious and a grayscale image is displayed with a saturation corresponding to the in-focus value (for example, The in-focus position is white and the out-of-focus position is black), so that the photographer is not worried.

The invention according to claim 14 includes a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor, and determining an in-focus position based on the in-focus value, In the digital camera that outputs the determined in-focus position to the monitor screen,
The monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and different colors are displayed on the other screen according to the focus value.

  In this way, the image data is displayed in color as it is on one screen (left screen), and the other screen (right screen) has a different color (for example, the in-focus position is red, in-focus). Since the image data is displayed firmly in color on one screen and displayed in a different color according to the in-focus value, there is no concern for the photographer.

The invention according to claim 15 includes a function of calculating an in-focus value by performing image processing on image data input from an image element, and determining a in-focus position based on the in-focus value, When the subject image acquired by the digital camera that outputs the determined in-focus position to the monitor screen is transferred to the computer, stored, and displayed on the computer display,
A focus value is calculated from the image data, and an image based on the image data and the focus value is synthesized and displayed on the display of the personal computer.

  In this way, the display of a personal computer (PC) generally has a higher display resolution than the monitor output of a digital camera, and the captured image can be displayed in a non-compressed form. Image quality confirmation and selection are easy. In addition, since the calculation capability is high, processing can be performed at a higher speed than when image processing is performed by the digital camera body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the in-focus mark is attached to the in-focus position with a specific color and displayed on the monitor screen, the photographer can easily confirm the in-focus position.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the in-focus mark blinks, it is easier to confirm by “flashing” than when the in-focus position is “slightly lit”.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, if a gray scale image is removed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen, the in-focus position displayed in a specific color can be confirmed at a glance.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the image data being displayed as a gray scale image, the in-focus position “blinks”. It becomes easy to confirm.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, if a low saturation image with weak color components is displayed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen, the specific color becomes relatively highly saturated. I can confirm.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the image data being displayed with low saturation, the in-focus position “blinks”. It becomes easy to confirm.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen as a gray scale image, and the saturation of the gray scale image is increased toward a specific color corresponding to the in-focus value. Since it is displayed, the level of the in-focus value can be confirmed at a glance.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the saturation of the image is changed in accordance with the focal point value of each pixel of the image data, it is easy to confirm the focal point position.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen as a gray scale image. If the focal point value of each pixel is large, the saturation of the gray scale image is closer to a specific color. If the focus value of each pixel is small, the saturation of the grayscale image is displayed closer to another specific color, so that the focus value of each pixel can be confirmed at a glance.

  According to the invention of claim 10, the sharpness plus / minus is emphasized and displayed rather than the actual image, so that the in-focus position is clearly displayed, and the out-of-focus position is displayed dimly, Sharpness that cannot be confirmed on a normal monitor screen can be visually confirmed.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the monitor screen is divided into a grid that is divided vertically and horizontally, the representative value of the in-focus value of each area is calculated, and color-coded by a specific color according to the in-focus value of the small area Since it is displayed on the monitor screen, it is easy to confirm the in-focus position.
According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it can be confirmed on the left screen that the “focus object” exists, and it can be confirmed on the right screen that the “focus object” is in focus. No anxiety.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, since the “in-focus object” is firmly displayed on the monitor screen, the gray scale image is displayed with saturation according to the in-focus value without giving the photographer anxiety. Therefore, the photographer is not worried.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the image data is displayed as it is in color on one screen and is displayed in a different color according to the focus value on the other screen, so that the image data is displayed in color on one screen. Since it is displayed firmly and displayed in a different color according to the in-focus value, there is no concern for the photographer.

  According to the invention described in claim 15, since the display of a personal computer generally has a higher display resolution than the monitor output of a digital camera and can display a photographed image in a form close to non-compression, the display of in-focus information further improves the display. The image quality can be easily checked and selected. In addition, since the calculation capability is high, processing can be performed at a higher speed than when image processing is performed by the digital camera body.

<Overview of the present invention>
Prior to the description of embodiments of the present invention, an outline of the present invention will be described.
Means to Solve In a digital camera, an optical image is converted into a digital signal, subjected to various processing, and then stored in a storage device. The signal processing capability inside the digital camera has been dramatically improved, including a 4 million pixel CCD and a continuous shooting function.
By using such signal processing capability and displaying the in-focus information with respect to an image at the time of shooting or after shooting, it is possible to easily determine the focus at the time of shooting and reduce shooting failures. In addition, it makes it easy to evaluate and select images after shooting.

-At the time of shooting In the prior art, the in-focus determination is performed by determining the object to be imaged displayed on the monitor screen by looking at the image. However, as described above in the “Problems to be solved by the invention” There was a problem.
In the present invention, instead of viewing the image on the monitor screen, the “focused state” of each image area over the entire screen is obtained by signal processing, and the focused state is displayed on the monitor screen. The in-focus state is displayed by, for example, displaying the in-focus area in red over the original image (see FIG. 5). This makes it possible to determine the in-focus point on the monitor screen, which has been difficult in the past.

  Further, the in-focus determination that is limited to the focus area at the center of the photographing range can be performed at any position in the image (see whether the position is red) (see FIG. 6). Even when the focus is set at the center, subjects that are equidistant outside the center are in focus, but it has been difficult to know in the past.

  In the case of a camera equipped with a manual focus function, the in-focus area shown on the monitor screen gradually changes as the manual focus operation is performed and the focus distance changes. The photographer may shoot when the target subject at an arbitrary position in the screen becomes a color indicating the in-focus state.

  In the case of a camera that has a manual focus function in addition to the auto focus function, the focus operation is first performed using the auto focus function, and the focus information is displayed on the image obtained at that time, and the photographer does not like it. In such a case, the focus may be further adjusted using the manual focus function. In many cases, the desired subject will be in focus by autofocus, so that the focus operation is less than in the case of operating only by manual focus, and photographing is easy.

After shooting, the main body After shooting, when displaying the captured image on the monitor screen equipped with the camera to check the in-focus state, in the present invention, instead of viewing the image on the monitor screen, it covers the entire screen The “focused state” of each image area is obtained by signal processing, and the focused state is displayed on the monitor screen. The in-focus state is displayed by, for example, displaying the in-focus area in red over the original image. This makes it possible to determine the in-focus point on the monitor screen, which has been difficult in the past, and to easily determine whether or not the image is good or bad.

  In this case, the signal processing for determining the in-focus state is performed when displaying on the monitor screen, or when the signal processing capability of the camera is sufficient in advance (such as when shooting is not performed with the power on). Good. When processing is performed in advance, the processing result is stored in association with the original image, and both images are combined and displayed when a display instruction is given.

・ After shooting, PC
The captured image of the digital camera is transmitted to a personal computer (PC), stored in a storage device of the PC, and when the image is displayed or edited by software, the image is analyzed and the in-focus state is displayed. The in-focus state is displayed by, for example, displaying the in-focus area in red over the original image. Thereby, it is easy to determine the in-focus point of the target subject, and it is easy to determine whether or not the image is good or bad.

In-focus determination method Any method of “Patent Literature 1”, “Non-Patent Literature 1”, and “Others exemplified” described in “Background Art” above may be used.

-Display method There are various methods for displaying the in-focus information at the same time while displaying the whole (composition) of one photographed image.
As a method of adding focus information on a single image,
An image is displayed, and a mark is drawn at the in-focus position using a conspicuous color.
The shape of the mark may be “Batsu ×”, “Square”, “Rhombus ◆”, “Star ★”, “Circle ●”, and the like.
The color is preferably pink, yellow, white, black, or the like, which is a small color for natural images and easy for the photographer to determine.
When the mark blinks, the photographer can easily determine.

Remove the color component from the original image, create a grayscale image with only the luminance component, and draw a colored mark at the focal point on the grayscale image.
Decrease the saturation of the original image, create an image with only light colors, and draw a highly saturated color mark at the focal point on the image.
The color component is removed from the original image to create a grayscale image with only the luminance component, and the original colored image is displayed at the focal point on the grayscale image (only the focal point is colored).

Remove the color component from the original image, create a grayscale image with only the luminance component, and replace the luminance component of the image at the in-focus position with a specific color (the in-focus position becomes a specific color).
Remove the color component from the original image, create a grayscale image with only the luminance component, and color each position with a color corresponding to the in-focus value (red at the high in-focus value and low at the in-focus value) Blue, etc.).

The original image is divided into vertical and horizontal meshes (rectangles). The mesh at the focal point position displays a color image, and the meshes at other positions display a gray scale image.
The original image is divided into vertical and horizontal meshes (rectangles), the mesh at the focal point position displays the image with the luminance component colored in a specific color, and the meshes at other positions display the gray scale image (the focal point position Only the mesh has a specific color).

  A strong sharp filter (edge enhancement filter) is applied to the original image at a position with a high focus value, and a blur filter is applied to a position with a low focus value. Even on a small monitor screen, the difference in image sharpness can be seen, so the in-focus position can be known.

As a focusing information display method by displaying a plurality of images,
Two screens are displayed side by side or vertically, the original image is displayed on the left screen, and the in-focus information is displayed on the right screen.
On the right screen, a colored mark is displayed at the in-focus position (see FIG. 7).
The right screen displays a grayscale image with the brightness at each position changed according to the in-focus value. The brighter the in-focus value, the brighter.

On the right screen, an image in which the pixels at each position are color-coded according to the in-focus value is displayed. For example, the high focus value is red, the low focus value is blue, and the middle portion is colored stepwise with a gradation color from red to blue.
The original image is divided into vertical and horizontal meshes (rectangles), and each mesh is filled with a color corresponding to the in-focus value and displayed on the image 2.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
First, a hardware configuration and processing used in the following embodiments will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera DC used in each embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a processing flow in the digital camera DC.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera DC includes an optical lens system 10, an image pickup device (CCD) 20, an A / D signal conversion unit 30, a storage unit 40, a focus value calculation unit 50, and an image generation. Means 60, display means 70, focus means 80, and control means 90 are provided.

The A / D signal conversion means 30 is configured by hardware, and converts an analog signal output from the CCD 20 into a digital signal.
The storage means 40 is constituted by a RAM and temporarily stores the digital signal output from the A / D signal conversion means 30.
The in-focus value calculation unit 50 includes an in-focus value calculation unit 51 and an in-focus determination unit 52 configured by software.
The image generation means 60 includes a focused store image generation unit 61 configured by software.

The display means (monitor) 70 includes an LED, and includes a display unit 71 that controls an image displayed on the LED.
The focus unit 80 includes a motor for driving the lens based on the in-focus information.
The control unit 90 includes an overall control unit 91 configured by software that controls the entire digital camera DC and an image reading unit 92 that controls image reading in the CCD 20.

Next, the operation of the digital camera DC will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, light from the outside passes through the optical lens system 10 to the image pickup device (CCD) 20, and the CCD 20 converts the intensity of the received light into an electrical signal and outputs it (step). S1).
The A / D signal conversion means 30 receives the output from the CCD 20, converts the analog electrical signal into digital image data (step S2), and stores the image data in the storage means 40 (step S3).

  The in-focus value calculation unit 50 performs image processing on the image data, and the in-focus value calculation unit 51 calculates an in-focus value at an arbitrary position in the entire image (step S4). Then, the in-focus determination unit 52 calculates the in-focus value for each pixel of the image data based on the relationship with the surrounding pixels, and performs the in-focus determination by sequentially shifting the pixels for all the pixels ( Step S5), the in-focus information (in-focus value data) is stored in the storage means 40.

The focused image generating unit 61 of the image generating unit 60 generates display image data based on the above-described image data and focused value data (step S6). When the size of the display image data is large, an image reduced in accordance with the size of the display monitor is generated.
The display unit 71 of the display unit 70 displays the display image data (step S7).

If the photographer who has viewed the image displayed on the display unit 70 determines that this is acceptable, the shutter is pressed (step S8: YES), and the image data is stored (step S9).
If the photographer who viewed the display image determines that the photographer is not satisfied (step S8: No), the photographer changes the input image using the autofocus function or manual focus function of the camera (step S10), and The acquisition operation is repeated (return to step S1).

<First embodiment>
This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a square indicating the focus area is drawn at the center of the imaging range.
FIG. 4 is an example of a photographed image, with a mountain at a long distance (500 m), a house at a middle distance (10 m), and flowers on the left and right at a short distance (0.5 m).
FIG. 5 is a diagram in the case where the central house has a focal point, and is a diagram in which a red cross mark (×) is attached to the house.
FIG. 6 is a diagram in the case where the front flower has a focal point, and is a diagram in which a red cross (x) is attached to the flower.

In the present embodiment, in the monitor display of a digital camera, an image to be photographed is displayed at the time of photographing, and a pixel region that is a focal point in the image is marked and displayed in an overlapping manner.
The photographer holds the digital camera DC toward the subject. Look at the image on the monitor, check the composition and focus, and take a picture. As shown in FIG. 3, a square indicating the focus area is drawn at the center of the shooting range. When the shutter button is pressed halfway, the object in the focus area is automatically focused (same as the conventional autofocus method).

  At this time, the image received by the CCD 20 is converted into digital image data and then stored in the storage means 40. The focal point calculation unit 51 refers to the image data, scans the pixels of the image data vertically and horizontally, and calculates the focal point value of each pixel from values such as adjacent pixel values. The in-focus value increases as the adjacent pixel value changes greatly. When the in-focus value is obtained for all the pixels, the data is stored in the storage means 40.

Further, the focus value data may be collected for each rectangular area having a pixel size of 10 × 10, and a representative value of the focus value may be obtained for each rectangular area. As the representative value, an arbitrary method such as an average value or a maximum value is used. The rectangular size is not limited to this size. Set the ratio based on the ratio of the original image size to the monitor display size and how precise the focal point you want to know.
A “focus threshold value” is set in advance to determine how many in-focus values are considered as in-focus. How severely the in-focus point is determined depends on the photographer's preference, so it may be set variably.

  For the image data from which the in-focus value is obtained, a pixel position having a value larger than the in-focus threshold value is regarded as the in-focus position. In the image data, a red “x” mark is given at a position regarded as the in-focus position (the mark color may be another color, and a color that allows easy recognition of the mark is preferable). The image after the marking is displayed on the monitor screen (see FIG. 5). When the display size of the monitor screen is smaller than the image data size, a reduction process is performed so that the image data fits on the monitor screen, and then the display is displayed on the monitor.

  In the photographed image example shown in FIG. 4, since the house is at the center and the focus area is there, the house is focused. The vicinity of the house is the in-focus area, and the monitor output is as shown in FIG. The photographer looks at the monitor display (FIG. 5), and if it is OK, presses the shutter, and this image (the state without the “x” mark) is recorded as a photographed image.

  In-focus information indicating where the in-focus is may be recorded separately from the image data. It is convenient to judge whether the image is good or bad by recording the image data and the in-focus information in association with each other and displaying them by overlaying them when necessary.

  However, if the photographer does not like this image (FIG. 5), for example, if he / she wants to focus on the two flowers on both sides, the focus adjustment operation is started. If the focus is changed to the near side by operating the manual focus adjustment ring (or pressing the manual focus adjustment button) from this state, the image received by the CCD 20 changes accordingly, and the in-focus point obtained by image processing is changed. The position changes.

Then, the position of the in-focus mark displayed on the monitor changes, and a mark is placed on the subject on the near side (FIG. 6). When the in-focus mark is added to the two flowers in front, and the composition of the entire image is as intended by the photographer, the shutter is pressed to record the image. In-focus information may also be recorded separately.
In the conventional method, it is difficult to confirm in one screen that the two flowers on both sides in front are in focus at the same time.

<Second Embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the display method on the monitor.
In a state where the image data and the focal point information are stored in the storage unit 40, the image generation unit 60 first generates a grayscale image of only the luminance component obtained by removing the color component from the image data. On the gray scale image, a red “x” mark is given to the in-focus position obtained from the in-focus information (the mark color may be another color, preferably a color that allows easy recognition of the mark). The image after the mark is added is displayed on the monitor.
In the first embodiment, the basic image is a colored image of the original image, but the present embodiment is different in that it is a grayscale image.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red) (FIG. 6). reference). In such a case, if a gray scale image (black and white image) is removed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed in black and white), the focal point is displayed in a specific color (for example, red). You can see the position (in this case, the flower) at a glance.

<Third embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
In a state where the image data and the in-focus information are stored in the storage unit 40, the image generation unit 60 first generates a low-saturation image (low saturation image) in which the color component is weakened from the image data. On the low-saturation image, a red “x” mark is given to the in-focus position obtained from the in-focus information (the mark color may be another color. A high-saturation color. A color that allows easy recognition of the mark is preferable. ). The image after the mark is added is displayed on the monitor.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red) (FIG. 6). reference). In such a case, if a low saturation image with weak color components is displayed from the image data and displayed on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed with low saturation), a specific color (for example, red) is relatively (low) Since it is highly saturated (compared to a saturation flower), the in-focus position (flower in this case) can be confirmed at a glance.

<Fourth embodiment>
In the first to third embodiments or other embodiments, the in-focus mark is blinked. The flashing alerts you and makes it easier to check the in-focus position.

<Fifth embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first to fourth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
In a state where the image data and the focal point information are stored in the storage unit 40, the image generation unit 60 first generates a grayscale image of only the luminance component obtained by removing the color component from the image data. With reference to the in-focus value of the in-focus information, the gray scale image is colored so that the higher the in-focus value, the higher the saturation of red at that position (the color may be another color. Colors that are easily visible when high are preferred). Display the colored image on the monitor.
For example, the in-focus position is displayed in red, and the out-of-focus position is displayed in achromatic gray in different colors step by step.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red) (FIG. 6). reference). In such a case, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed as a grayscale image on the monitor screen (flowers are also displayed as a grayscale image), and the saturation of the grayscale image is specified according to the in-focus value. Since the image is displayed in a slightly strong color (for example, red when the in-focus value is high and a neutral gray when the in-focus value is low), the level of the in-focus value can be confirmed at a glance.

<Sixth embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first to fifth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
With the image data and the in-focus information stored in the storage unit 40, the in-focus value of the in-focus information is referred to by referring to the in-focus value of the in-focus information so that the higher the in-focus value, the higher the saturation of the image at that position. The lower the value is, the lower the saturation of the image at that position is (the color is the color of the image). Display the colored image on the monitor.
For example, the in-focus position is displayed with a saturated color, and the out-of-focus position is displayed in achromatic gray with gradually different saturation.

In this way, the saturation of the image is changed corresponding to the focal point value of each pixel of the image data, so that it is easy to confirm the focal point position.
Note that the change in saturation includes a change due to the intensity of saturation and a change due to inversion of saturation.

<Seventh embodiment>
The present embodiment is different from the first to sixth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
In a state where the image data and the focal point information are stored in the storage unit 40, the image generation unit 60 first generates a grayscale image of only the luminance component obtained by removing the color component from the image data. Referring to the in-focus value of the in-focus information, the higher the in-focus value, the higher the saturation of red at that position. The lower the in-focus value, the higher the saturation of blue at that position. As described above, the gray scale image is colored (the color may be a different color. The color is easily visible when the saturation is high). Display the colored image on the monitor.
For example, the in-focus position is displayed in red, and the out-of-focus position is displayed in blue.

  For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) may match the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red) (FIG. 6). reference). In such a case, the color component is removed from the image data and displayed as a grayscale image on the monitor screen. If the focal point value of each pixel is large, the saturation of the grayscale image is increased toward a specific color (for example, If the focus value of each pixel is small, the saturation of the grayscale image is displayed closer to another specific color (for example, blue), so the focus value of each pixel can be increased or decreased. You can see at a glance.

<Eighth embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first to seventh embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
With the image data and the in-focus information stored in the storage means 40, the in-focus information is referred to, a sharp filter (sharpness enhancement filter) is applied to the in-focus position of the image data, and the non-focus point of the image data A blur filter is applied to the area, and the processed image is displayed on the monitor.

  The sharpness plus / minus is emphasized and displayed rather than the actual image. The in-focus position is clearly displayed, and the out-of-focus position is displayed dimly. In this way, sharpness that cannot be confirmed on a normal monitor screen can be visually confirmed.

<Ninth Embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first to eighth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
In a state where the image data and the focal point information are stored in the storage means 40, the image is divided into a grid shape divided into 16 × 16 vertically and horizontally, for example. In addition, the size to divide may be other. Set a size that is easy to see on the monitor display. The image is divided into 256 rectangular blocks (regions). Each block includes a plurality of pixels. The in-focus values are aggregated for a plurality of pixels in the block, and the representative value of the block is calculated. As the representative value, an arbitrary method such as an average value or a maximum value is used.
Depending on the in-focus representative value obtained for each block, red is assigned if the value is large, and blue is assigned if the value is small, and the image is displayed translucently on the original image data.

For example, the monitor screen shown in FIG. 5 is divided into 16 × 16 grids divided vertically and horizontally, and the representative value of the in-focus value of each region is calculated. Then, it is color-coded in a specific color according to the focal point value of the small area (red when the focal point value is large, blue when small), and is displayed on the monitor screen, so that the focal point position can be easily confirmed.
Further, for example, if the division is about 16 × 16, it is a rough division, so that the weight in the case of software processing can be reduced. In addition, since the monitor screen (display) itself is small in the case of a digital camera, it is easy to grasp where the in-focus position is roughly by dividing into small areas.

<Tenth embodiment>
This embodiment is different from the first to ninth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
With the image data and the in-focus information stored in the storage means 40, as shown in FIG. 7, two screens are arranged in the monitor display, and the image data is displayed on one screen (left screen). Focus information is displayed on the other screen (right screen).
The in-focus information is provided on a black background (however, the background is displayed in white in FIG. 7), and a red “x” mark is given to the in-focus position (the mark color may be another color. Mark recognition) A color that is easy to remove). Display the processed image on the monitor.

  For example, in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the “right flower” is hidden behind the focus mark. This may cause anxiety to the photographer who wants to focus on the “right flower”. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the image data of the shooting range is displayed on one screen (left screen), and the in-focus position on the other screen (right screen) is displayed. In this way, the presence of the “right flower” can be confirmed on the left screen, and the right screen can be confirmed that the “right flower” is in focus. There is no.

<Eleventh embodiment>
The present embodiment is different from the first to tenth embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
With the image data and the in-focus information stored in the storage means 40, as shown in FIG. 7, two screens are arranged in the monitor display, and the image data is displayed on one screen (left screen). Focus information is displayed on the other screen (right screen).
The in-focus information creates a gray scale image to which a bright color is given when the value is large and a dark color is given when the value is small according to the focus value. Display the processed image on the monitor.

For example, when image data is displayed on the monitor screen, the color of the image data at the in-focus position (for example, the flower is red) matches the color of the in-focus mark (for example, red). The “right flower” may be hidden behind the focus mark. In such a case, the image data is displayed in color as it is on one screen (left screen), and a grayscale image having a luminance corresponding to the in-focus value is displayed on the other screen (right screen).
In this way, the “right flower” is displayed securely on the monitor screen, so that the photographer is not anxious and a grayscale image is displayed with a saturation corresponding to the in-focus value (for example, The in-focus position is white and the non-focus position is black), so that the photographer is not worried.

<Twelfth embodiment>
The present embodiment is different from the first to eleventh embodiments in the display method on the monitor.
With the image data and the in-focus information stored in the storage means 40, two screens are arranged in the monitor display as shown in FIG. 7, and the image data is displayed on one screen (left screen). Focus information is displayed on the other screen (right screen).
The in-focus information creates a color image with a red color at a large value and a blue color at a small value according to the focus value. The intermediate value uses a gradation color from red to blue. Display the processed image on the monitor.

  In this way, the image data is displayed in color as it is on one screen (left screen), and the other screen (right screen) has a different color (for example, the in-focus position is red, in-focus). Since the image data is displayed firmly in color on one screen and in a different color depending on the focus value, it is easy for the photographer to check the focus position. .

<Thirteenth embodiment>
After shooting, the image data stored in the digital camera main body is displayed on a monitor equipped in the digital camera main body, and the determiner determines whether the image is good or bad and selects the image. At that time, the monitor output displays the in-focus information based on the in-focus value together with the captured image. As the method for displaying the in-focus information, any one of the first to twelfth embodiments is used. A plurality of display methods may be prepared and selected.

The in-focus information is obtained in advance at the time of photographing and stored together with the image data, or is obtained from the image data at the time of monitor display after photographing.
This makes it easy to determine the in-focus point on the monitor display, which has been difficult in the past, and allows the image to be quickly deleted when the target subject is not in focus.

<Fourteenth embodiment>
After shooting, the image data stored in the digital camera body is taken into a personal computer (PC) by means such as transfer via a memory device, transfer via a communication cable, transfer via wireless communication, etc. The image is displayed on the PC display by image display software.

At that time, in-focus information based on the in-focus value is displayed together with the captured image on the display output. As a display method of the image display software, any one of the first to thirteenth embodiments is used.
As a method for displaying the in-focus information, any one of the methods in the first to thirteenth embodiments is used. A plurality of display methods may be prepared and selected.

The in-focus information is obtained in advance at the time of photographing and stored together with the image data, or obtained from the image data at the time of display.
The display of a PC generally has a higher display resolution than the monitor output of a digital camera, and can display a captured image in a form close to uncompressed. By displaying the in-focus information, it becomes easier to check and select the image quality of the image. In addition, since the calculation capability is high, processing can be performed at a speed higher than that of image processing performed by the digital camera body.

It is a block diagram of a digital camera used in each embodiment of the present invention. It is a processing flow of the digital camera shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state in which the square which shows a focus area | region is drawn in the center part of the imaging | photography range in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is an example of a picked-up image in the first embodiment, and shows a case where a mountain exists at a long distance (500 m), a house at a middle distance (10 m), and a flower at a short distance (0.5 m). In the first embodiment, it is a diagram when the central house has a focal point, and is a diagram in which a red cross mark (×) is attached to the house. In the same first embodiment, it is a figure when the front flower has a focal point, and is a figure in which a red cross mark (x) is attached to the flower. In the tenth embodiment, two screens are arranged in a monitor display, image data is displayed on one screen, and focusing information is displayed on the other.

Explanation of symbols

DC digital camera 10 Optical lens system 20 Image sensor (CCD)
30 A / D signal conversion unit 40 Storage unit 50 In-focus value calculation unit 51 In-focus value calculation unit 52 In-focus determination unit 60 Image generation unit 61 In-focus store image generation unit 70 Display unit 71 Display unit 80 Focus unit 90 Control unit 91 Overall control unit 92 Image reading unit

Claims (15)

In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A digital camera characterized in that an in-focus mark is attached with a specific color to the in-focus position and output to a monitor screen. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein
A digital camera characterized in that the in-focus mark is displayed blinking. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A digital camera which generates a gray scale image from which color components are removed from the image data, attaches a focus mark with a specific color to a focus position on the gray scale image, and outputs the focused image to a monitor screen . The digital camera according to claim 3.
A digital camera characterized in that the in-focus mark is displayed blinking. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A low-saturation image with weak color components is generated from the image data, a focal point mark with a specific color is attached to a focal point position on the low-saturation image, and the image is output to a monitor screen Digital camera. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein
A digital camera characterized in that the in-focus mark is displayed blinking. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A grayscale image is generated by removing color components from the image data, and the saturation of the grayscale image is increased toward a specific color corresponding to the focus value of each pixel, and the focus position on the grayscale image is set. A digital camera characterized by attaching a focus mark in a specific color and outputting it on a monitor screen. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A digital camera characterized in that the saturation of an image is changed in correspondence with a focus value of each pixel of the image data and is output to a monitor screen. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
Generate a grayscale image excluding color components from the image data. If the focal point value of each pixel is large, the saturation of the grayscale image is increased toward a specific color. If the focal point value of each pixel is small, the grayscale image is generated. A digital camera that enhances the saturation of an image toward a specific color and outputs it to a monitor screen. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A digital camera that applies a sharp filter to an image at a position where the in-focus value is large, and applies a blur filter to the image at a position where the in-focus value is small, and outputs the image to a monitor screen. In a digital camera having a function of performing image processing on image data input from an image sensor to calculate a focus value, and determining a focus position based on the focus value,
A representative value of the in-focus value is calculated for each of the small areas obtained by dividing the image data into partial areas, a specific color is given to the small area in accordance with the representative value of the in-focus value, and the image data is combined and monitored A digital camera that outputs to the screen. The image data input from the image sensor is subjected to image processing to calculate a focal point value, and a function for determining the focal point position based on the focal point value is provided. The determined focal point position is displayed on the monitor screen. In the output digital camera,
The digital display characterized in that the monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and an image with a mark in a specific color is displayed on the other screen. camera. The image data input from the image sensor is subjected to image processing to calculate a focal point value, and a function for determining the focal point position based on the focal point value is provided. The determined focal point position is displayed on the monitor screen. In the output digital camera,
A digital camera characterized in that the monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and a grayscale image having a luminance corresponding to the in-focus value is displayed on the other screen. . The image data input from the image sensor is subjected to image processing to calculate a focal point value, and a function for determining the focal point position based on the focal point value is provided. The determined focal point position is displayed on the monitor screen. In the output digital camera,
A digital camera characterized in that the monitor screen is divided into two screens, the image data is displayed on one screen, and a different color is displayed on the other screen according to the focus value. The image data input from the image element is subjected to image processing to calculate a focus value, and a function for determining the focus position based on the focus value is provided. The determined focus position is displayed on the monitor screen. When the subject image acquired by the digital camera to output is transferred to the computer and stored, and displayed on the computer display,
An in-focus value is calculated from the image data using the personal computer, an image based on the in-focus value is synthesized with the image data, and is displayed on the display of the personal computer. Image processing system.

Images