JP2006172021A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor and an image processing method, capable of suitably comparing and displaying quantitative information such as photographic information or luminance distribution information about a plurality of images together with the images to allow a user to more smoothly select a desired image from a prescribed image group. <P>SOLUTION: This image processor acquires the plurality of images from a storage device storing the plurality of images together with the photographic information when photographing the respective images, and arranges and displays them side by side on a display device. At that time, respective pieces of the photographic information of the plurality of images are mixed and displayed in a different area 14 inside the same screen as an area displayed with the image. Respective pieces of the luminance distribution information of the respective images are mixed and graphically displayed in an additionally different area 15 inside the same screen as the area 14 displayed with the plurality of images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that displays an image stored in a storage device on a display and outputs the image to a printing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a lot of application software has been released that performs list display of reduced images, printing of specific images, correction processing, and the like for an image group taken by a digital camera. For example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 shown below describe the application software.

  First, the application software described in Non-Patent Document 1 provides data useful for an image photographer, such as acquiring and displaying shooting information from an image, or displaying a histogram indicating a luminance distribution of an image. In addition, the acquired shooting information includes detailed shooting data such as shooting mode, shutter speed, aperture value, and metering method, in addition to the shooting date and time and the model name of the shooting digital camera. These are items defined in the Exif (Exchangeable Image File format) standard, and include information unique to the digital camera manufacturer. Further, the application software provides a mode for displaying a focus point at the time of shooting.

  Similarly, the application software described in Non-Patent Document 2 can display shooting information and luminance distribution based on information of the Exif standard. Here, regarding the shooting information display, general shooting information and accurate Exif standard information are displayed separately. In particular, the former is classified into categories such as equipment information, shooting information, and image information, and the user can select whether to display for each category.

Further, in the application software described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, for example, in the operation of selecting an image for printing or an image for correction from an image group photographed with the same composition, on the screen. In addition to the subjective confirmation of images visually, the user's selection operation based on quantitative information such as photographing information and luminance distribution is supported. For example, quantitative information such as shooting information is useful information in a situation where an image having a desired shooting condition is selected from a group of landscape images that are continuously shot with exposure changed automatically.
“Canon EOS-1Ds Software Instruction Manual”, 2003, page 3-3 "OLYMPUS Studio Instruction Manual", 2003, page 82

  However, in order to perform the comparison work based on the quantitative information as described above, the application software described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above has only one area for displaying photographing information for each image. In addition, since it is only possible to confirm information about the image of interest, it is not efficient because shooting information of other images to be compared cannot be compared on the same screen.

  The same applies to the case where it is desired to compare images using the histogram of the luminance distribution, and it is impossible to compare how much the luminance distribution differs from the target image on the same screen.

  Further, in the application software of Non-Patent Document 1 described above, since the number of items displayed regarding shooting information and the display order thereof are constant, information unnecessary for a user is always displayed, or desired information is displayed. There is a problem that it is displayed in a place that is difficult to see. Furthermore, even in the case of Non-Patent Document 2 described above, display / non-display of shooting information or the like can be selected only for each category.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and quantitative information such as shooting information and luminance distribution information about a plurality of images can be suitably compared and displayed together with those images. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of selecting a desired image more smoothly from a predetermined image group.

In order to solve the above problems, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with each additional information;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
And additional information display means for displaying additional information relating to each of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed.

  The image processing apparatus is characterized in that the additional information is photographing information when the image is photographed by a photographing apparatus.

  Furthermore, the image processing apparatus further includes item setting means for setting a type of an item of additional information displayed on the screen by the additional information display means.

  Furthermore, the image processing apparatus is characterized in that the additional information display means highlights additional information regarding items having different values among the additional information displayed in a mixed manner.

Furthermore, the image processing apparatus includes:
A selecting means for selecting a value portion of any additional information among items having different values displayed on the screen by the additional information display means;
The image display means highlights an image having the value of the additional information selected by the selection means.

Furthermore, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with each additional information;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
Luminance distribution information display means for displaying the luminance distribution information of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed.

Furthermore, the image processing apparatus includes:
Image selection means for selecting any of a plurality of images displayed on the screen by the image display means;
The luminance distribution information display means highlights the luminance distribution information related to the image selected by the image selection means among the plurality of luminance distribution information displayed on the screen.

  Furthermore, the image processing apparatus is characterized in that the luminance distribution information display means displays the luminance distribution information on the screen using a graph that displays the luminance distribution information in a predetermined display form.

Furthermore, the image processing apparatus includes:
A luminance distribution information selection unit that selects any one of the plurality of luminance distribution information displayed on the screen by the luminance distribution information display unit;
The image display means highlights an image corresponding to the luminance distribution information selected by the luminance distribution information selection means.

  Still further, in the image processing apparatus, the luminance distribution information display unit is configured to display the luminance distribution information when the image display unit displays a single image and when a plurality of images are displayed. It is characterized by changing.

  Furthermore, in the image processing apparatus, the luminance distribution information display means displays the luminance distribution information when a single image is displayed by the image display means as a columnar graph, and when the plurality of images are displayed. The luminance distribution information is displayed in a line graph display mode.

Furthermore, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with shooting information at the time of each shooting;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
Shooting information display means for displaying the mixed shooting information of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed;
Brightness distribution information display means for displaying the brightness distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a further area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. .

  Furthermore, the image processing apparatus further includes a printing unit that prints the predetermined number of images, shooting information of each image, and luminance distribution information on the same recording sheet.

Furthermore, an image processing method according to the present invention includes:
An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
And an additional information display step of displaying additional information related to each of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed.

Furthermore, an image processing method according to the present invention includes:
An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
And a luminance distribution information display step of displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area in the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed.

Furthermore, an image processing method according to the present invention includes:
An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with shooting information at the time of each shooting;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A shooting information display step of displaying the mixed shooting information of each of the predetermined number of images in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed;
A luminance distribution information display step of displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. .

  According to the present invention, quantitative information such as photographing information and luminance distribution information about a plurality of images can be suitably compared and displayed together with the images, and a user can more smoothly display a desired image from a predetermined image group. You can choose.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an image processing apparatus that displays a list of two or more images from a plurality of image groups and simultaneously displays their photographing information and the like and its operation will be described in detail.

  Here, FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for realizing the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 151 denotes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, 152 denotes management control of a system that implements the image processing method according to the present embodiment, input image correction and correction, print editing data generation processing, and the like. Central processing unit. Reference numeral 153 denotes a display device such as a display used for comparative display of images and shooting information, etc. Reference numeral 154 denotes an image file to which shooting information or the like is added or associated as a separate file, corresponding to the image A storage device such as a hard disk for storing an image correction command history file to be stored.

  Further, 155 is a printing device for outputting editing data, 156 is an image input device such as a film scanner or flatbed scanner, and a digital camera, and 157 is a portable storage medium used in a flexible disk drive or digital camera. It is an external storage device that can read and write data.

  In each of the following embodiments, it is possible to execute various processes such as image list display and printing using an image processing apparatus as shown in FIG.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selected image comparison screen displayed using the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the case where the two selected images are compared and displayed on the display device 153 is illustrated, but the number of images to be compared and displayed may be three or more.

  In the screen shown in FIG. 1, reference numerals 11 and 12 denote areas (image display areas) for displaying the first and second comparison target images, respectively. Under the image display areas 11 and 12, when the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. 1 is started, an image ID assigned in advance is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 1, image IDs 001 and 002 are displayed for the left and right images, respectively.

  Further, the user can perform a selection operation using the input device 151 such as a mouse for each image in FIG. 1, and the region is highlighted for the image in the selected state. For example, in FIG. 1, the image 001 is in a selected state. Such a highlighting function is useful when specifying a target image at the time of photographing information and luminance distribution display described later. Further, as an example of highlighting means, processing such as thickening, blinking, or changing the color of the contour line of the image display area itself can be performed.

  Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 13 denotes display tools for changing the display form for the images displayed in the image display areas 11 and 12. In FIG. 1, as an example, buttons for performing enlargement, reduction, and area scrolling from the left are arranged. For example, when the user selects an enlarge button, the user can recognize that the mouse cursor on the screen has changed to enter the enlargement processing mode, and in that state, the mouse is designated at a desired position of the image (for example, click etc. ) Enlargement display processing of the image is performed. Further, the designated position of the mouse moves to the center of the image area to be enlarged and displayed. Note that this enlargement display process may be performed in conjunction with the other image. That is, when the enlargement process is performed on the image 001, the corresponding part of the image 002 can be enlarged and displayed in conjunction with the enlargement process.

  On the other hand, when the user selects the reduction button, the reduced display processing of both images can be performed similarly. In the above-described image enlargement / reduction processing, the two images are enlarged / reduced according to a predetermined enlargement / reduction ratio preset in the image processing apparatus. That is, each time the mouse is designated when the enlarge button is selected, both images are enlarged and displayed at the same ratio. Similarly, when the reduction button is selected, both images are reduced and displayed at the same ratio. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that an upper limit value and a lower limit value are set for both the enlargement ratio and the reduction ratio. For example, values such as an upper limit value of up to 400% of the original image and a lower limit value of up to 20% are set in advance. Of course, the user may specify an arbitrary enlargement / reduction ratio and enlarge / reduce the image with or without providing these values.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the area scroll button can be selected only when the image is displayed in an enlarged manner. When the user selects the area scroll button in the state where the image is displayed in an enlarged manner, the mouse cursor changes in the same manner, and in this state, it is possible to drag on either display area of the two images. The region on the image displayed in the image display region can be scrolled in an arbitrary direction by a mouse drag operation. In the other image display area where the mouse is not dragged, the enlarged image of the corresponding part is similarly scroll-displayed in the same area.

  Furthermore, in FIG. 1, an area 14 is an imaging information display area for collectively displaying the imaging information and the like of both images displayed in the image display areas 11 and 12. That is, according to the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the user can easily check the shooting information of a plurality of images within the same screen. The shooting information display area 14 displays the combination of item names and values of shooting information for both images, and those items having different values depending on the image are highlighted. Therefore, the user can confirm the shooting information with different values at a glance.

  In the shooting information display area 14 in FIG. 1, the shooting mode, the aperture value, and the photometric method are the same among the shooting information regarding the two images (images 001 and 002). Each value is displayed as program AE, 5.6, evaluation metering, and so on. On the other hand, for shutter speed items whose values differ depending on the image, 1/20 and 1/30, which are the respective values, are displayed side by side, and the entire items are highlighted. In this way, by highlighting items having different values, the user can visually recognize the difference in the shooting information at a glance. Thus, according to the present image processing apparatus, since the user can select in advance the items of shooting information to be compared, it is possible to focus only on the items necessary for the user.

  Further, in the area of the item portion highlighted in the photographing information display area 14, the value of the selected image is further highlighted. In this figure, the value 1/20 is highlighted. Therefore, according to this image processing apparatus, the user can confirm at a glance the value of the shooting information of the image from the specific image.

  Here, when the user performs a selection operation with the mouse on one of the value areas on the displayed item area, an image having the selected value is selected and highlighted as described above. Is done. Therefore, according to this image processing apparatus, the user can confirm at a glance the image indicated by the value of the specific shooting information item. Also, the display method of the shooting information in the shooting information display area 14 and the type and number of shooting information items displayed in the display area can be changed when setting the environment of the image processing apparatus to be described later. .

  For example, when the setting is made so that the shooting information of a plurality of images is not mixedly displayed, the shooting information of only the image selected on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. 1 (for example, only the image 001) is displayed. To. By the above-described image selection operation, the selection state changes not only for the image display area but also for a corresponding graph on the luminance distribution display area 15 described later.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a luminance distribution display area of the comparison target image. In this way, by displaying within one screen, it is possible to confirm the luminance distribution information of a plurality of images together with the images within the same screen. For example, in the application software described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the luminance distribution of an image is displayed as a columnar histogram. In this embodiment, a plurality of luminance distributions are displayed on the same screen. , Using two line graphs instead of the columnar graph. Thereby, it can prevent that the other graph is concealed by one graph, and the user can visually recognize the whole state.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to make it easy for the user to understand which of the comparison target images the image pointed to by each line graph corresponds to, the line display form of each line graph is changed. For example, the luminance distribution of the image in the selected state is displayed with a solid line, and the luminance distribution of the other image is displayed with a broken line. Note that the lines of the line graph may be displayed not only by changing the display form between a solid line and a broken line but also by changing the thickness, color, and the like. In addition, when there are three or more images, the type of the broken line is changed and displayed. Therefore, according to the present image processing apparatus, the luminance distribution of the image can be confirmed at a glance from a specific image, and the luminance distributions of a plurality of images can be simultaneously viewed.

  Here, when an operation of selecting one of the graphs displayed in the luminance distribution display area 15 using a mouse or the like is performed, the selected graph is first displayed as a solid line. At the same time, an image (for example, image 001) corresponding to the graph displayed as a solid line is selected and highlighted. That is, according to the present image processing apparatus, an image indicated by a specific luminance distribution can be confirmed at a glance. In addition, in the environment setting described later, when it is set not to display the shooting information of a plurality of images in a mixed manner, the brightness distribution display of the selected image is displayed in a columnar graph on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. Automatically switch to the histogram for display. Thereby, it is possible to automatically select a display method that is easy to visually recognize according to the number of target images (in particular, whether the target image is one or more).

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes a print button. When the user selects the print button 16 with a mouse or the like, the group of images displayed on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. 1 and the shooting information and luminance distribution information of each image are currently selected. Is output to the printer. Details of the printing process will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of the shooting information display area 14 displayed on the selected image comparison screen by the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. On the other hand, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the photographing information display area realized by the conventional technique. In the shooting information display area shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the item names of various shooting information embedded in (or stored in correspondence with) the image selected on the selected image comparison screen are displayed. Its value is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, for example, in the application software described in Non-Patent Document 1, as shooting information to be displayed in the shooting information display area, a file name, a camera model name, a shooting mode, an aperture value, a photometric method, exposure correction, and the like. Information such as ISO sensitivity, lens, focal length, image size, image quality, flash use, white balance, and AF mode are displayed with their item names and values separated from each other. In addition, in the application software described in Non-Patent Document 2, the item name of the shooting information and its value are displayed on the same line, and the general information and the Exif standard information can be switched and displayed on different screens. it can.

  On the other hand, in the shooting information display area according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3, for example, shooting information of each image is displayed in a state where two images are targeted as described above. In the display, only one value is displayed for shooting information items having the same value, and each value is displayed for shooting information items having different values. At this time, the character color and the background of the character are displayed. Highlight different color combinations. In addition, when there are many display items or images, it is difficult to display all in the area at once. In that case, a scroller is displayed in the area and the user uses a mouse or the like. The desired items can be viewed by scrolling.

  Some digital cameras support a mode in which exposure is automatically changed during shooting to continuously shoot. It can be confirmed that the items strongly related to exposure, such as the aperture value and the shutter speed, have changed for the group of images continuously shot in this way. According to the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, such a change in the shooting parameter for each image can be confirmed at a glance by highlighting. For example, it can be confirmed from the diagram shown in FIG. 3 that the aperture value is unchanged and only the shutter speed is changed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of the luminance distribution display area 15 displayed on the selected image comparison screen by the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a luminance distribution display area realized by the conventional technique. In the luminance distribution display area shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, for the color information of all pixels extracted from the target image, the luminance distribution is displayed on the horizontal axis and the luminance distribution on the vertical axis is the frequency at the intensity. ing. In this figure, the intensity of luminance increases from left to right.

  Here, in FIG. 4, the luminance distribution is represented by a columnar graph, and the inside of the graph is filled. On the other hand, in FIG. 5, in a state where two images are selected, the luminance distribution of each image is mixedly displayed in one region. In FIG. 5, the data displayed on the solid line is the data of the image selected on the screen, and the data displayed on the broken line is the data of the other image. Here, when the user selects a broken line graph, the graph changes to a solid line display, and the display area of the image corresponding to the graph is selected and highlighted. At the same time, another graph becomes a broken line, and the display area of the corresponding image changes to a non-selected state.

  Since the images captured in the above-described mode in which the exposure is automatically changed and continuously shot are considered to be scenes similar to each other, the corresponding graphs are basically similar in shape. Thus, it can be confirmed that the whole is shifted in luminance intensity, that is, in the horizontal direction. For example, the image corresponding to the solid line display in FIG. 5 is shifted to the right, indicating that it is generally brighter than the image corresponding to the broken line display.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining photographing information display processing by the selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The processing starts with the start of drawing of the photographing information display area at the initial startup of the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. Thereafter, in steps S101 to S102, processing for obtaining shooting information is performed for each image displayed on the selected image comparison screen. In steps S103 to S109, processing for displaying values for each item of the target image is performed for each item of the acquired shooting information.

  First, it is determined whether there is an image from which shooting information is to be acquired (step S101). As a result, when there is photographing information (Yes), the process proceeds to step S102, and values are acquired for all items that are displayed and set in the environment setting of the image processing apparatus described later. Here, items and values are managed in pairs for each image. On the other hand, if there is no image to be acquired (No), the process proceeds to step S103.

  In step S103, it is determined whether there is an item of shooting information to be displayed. As a result, if there is an item (No), the process proceeds to step S104, and if there is no item (Yes), this process is terminated.

  In step S104, the values of all the images corresponding to the target photographing information item are compared. As a result, if all the values are the same (Yes), the background color and the character color are set to normal colors (step S106). On the other hand, if there is at least one different value (No), the background color and the character color are set as highlight colors (step S105). After setting the background color in steps S105 and S106, drawing is performed to fill the background of the entire item with the background color (step S107). The item name is drawn with the set character color (step S108), all other values are drawn with the set character color (step S109), and the process returns to step S103.

  Note that the imaging information item name and the value corresponding to the item may be drawn on the same line, or the item name and value may be drawn on different lines. However, in any case, if the value is different for each image, the portion of each value is selectable and the display area of the image having the selected value is in the selected state. It needs to be.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the luminance distribution display process by the selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The process starts with the start of drawing the luminance distribution display area at the time of initial activation of the selected image comparison screen. In the following, in each process of steps S201 to S205, luminance distribution information is acquired for each image displayed on the selected image comparison screen, and a graph is displayed based on the information.

  In the process, first, it is checked whether there is an image from which luminance distribution information is to be acquired (step S201). As a result, if there is an image to be checked (Yes), the process proceeds to step S202, and if there is no image to be checked (No), this process is terminated. In step S202, luminance distribution information of the target image is acquired.

  For example, in this embodiment, in order to acquire the luminance distribution information, the gradation of the luminance intensity on the horizontal axis is set from 0 to 255, the luminance component is calculated based on the RGB value of each pixel data of the image, A method of calculating the frequency in intensity is used. On the other hand, when the size of the luminance distribution display area on the selected image comparison screen is small, the luminance distribution information may be acquired from the thumbnail data of the image in order to speed up the processing.

  Then, it is checked whether or not the image is selected on the selected image comparison screen, that is, whether or not the display area of the image is highlighted (step S203). As a result, when the image is in a selected state (Yes), the corresponding luminance distribution graph is drawn with a solid line (step S205). On the other hand, when the image is in a non-selected state (No), a graph is drawn using a broken line (step S204). Thereafter, the process returns to step S201.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print layout output by executing a print process from the selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, images 81 and 82 display images 001 and 002 which are comparison targets on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. In the layout shown in FIG. 8, the entire image is output within the specified display area regardless of the enlarged / reduced display state of the image on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 8, two images are printed in correspondence with the state of FIG. 1, but the same is true even if the number of images is more than that. Also, at the time of layout output, the ID of each image is also output at the bottom of each image.

  In FIG. 8, a region 83 is a shooting information display region for the output images (here, images 81 and 82). In this area, the item name set on the imaging information item setting screen described later and the value in each image corresponding to each item are output in a table format. Note that when the number of comparison target images increases, the number of image columns increases accordingly. Similarly to the display on the selected image comparison screen, for a row of an item having an image corresponding to even one corresponding value, highlighting such as changing the color is performed.

  Further, in FIG. 8, an area 84 is a luminance distribution display area of the comparison target image, and the display form is changed for each image (for example, a solid line and a broken line, different colors), and is output using a line graph. Note that, on the right side of the luminance distribution area, an image ID and a display form of a graph indicated by the image are output as a legend. Although not shown in the present embodiment, in order to more specifically indicate the coordinate system of the luminance distribution region, a method of indicating the luminance intensity value on the horizontal axis and the frequency on the vertical axis may be used. In addition, the horizontal axis may indicate a grayscale gradation indicating luminance.

  However, in the present embodiment, if the number of images is equal to or less than the number that can be set when specifying the maximum number of comparison target images in the environment setting described later, the number of comparison target images or the display items of shooting information increased. Even in this case, it is assumed that the above-described image, shooting information, and luminance distribution can be output within one page.

  9A to 9C are flowcharts for explaining a printing process procedure designated on the selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this process, the image output process for the comparison target image is repeated in steps S301 to S303. That is, it is first determined whether there is an image to be output (step S301). As a result, if there is no image to be output (Yes), the process proceeds to step S304. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that there is an image to be output (No), image data is acquired and the image is output to a specified position (step S302). Further, the ID of the image is output to a specified position (step S303).

  In this processing, steps S304 to S306 are imaging information output processing. First, when it is determined in step S301 that there is no image to be output, a ruled line of a table for outputting a list of shooting information is output from the number of comparison target images and the number of display items of shooting information (step S304). . In steps S305 to S306, the photographing information acquisition process for each comparison target image is repeated. That is, first, it is determined whether there is an image for which shooting information is to be acquired (step S305). As a result, if there is no image to be acquired (Yes), the process proceeds to step S307. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S305 that there is an image for which shooting information is to be acquired, that is, when it is determined that the image is not the end (No), the shooting information of the image is acquired (step S306). Return to S305.

  In this process, from step S307 to S313, the process of outputting the corresponding value of the image for each item of the shooting information to the corresponding position in the table created in step S304 is repeated.

  First, in step S307, it is determined whether there is an item to be processed. As a result, if there is no item to be processed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S314. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S307 that there is an item to be processed (No), it is then checked whether the values for the shooting information items of all the images are the same (step S308).

  If it is determined in step S308 that all values are the same (Yes), the process proceeds to step S310. If there is even one different value (No), the process proceeds to step S309. In step S309, a background color and a character color for highlighting are set. In step S310, a background color and a character color for normal display are set.

  Then, using the background color and character color set in step S309 or step S310, background drawing is performed to fill the background of the entire line indicating the item (step S311). Next, the item name is drawn (step S312), and the photographing information values of all images for the drawn item are drawn in the created table (step S313), and the process returns to step S307.

  In step S314, the entire frame of the region where the luminance distribution is output is output. In subsequent steps S315 to S318, the luminance distribution output processing is repeated for each corresponding image. First, it is determined whether there is an image to be output (step S315). As a result, if there is no image to be output (Yes), all printing processes are terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S315 that there is an image to be output (No), the luminance distribution information of the image is acquired (step S316), and the luminance distribution information is output as a line graph (graph drawing) (step drawing). S317). In the present embodiment, the line graph is output in a display form such as a different color for each image, and is represented by a color generated using a random number or the like, for example. Then, the image ID and a straight line of the display form such as the color are output as a legend to the right of the luminance distribution output area in the output layout (step S318). Note that when outputting the legend, adjustment is performed so that the vertical direction is shifted in the iterative process so that it does not overlap the position of the legend output last time.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting information item setting screen which is one of environment setting functions of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This shooting information item setting screen is a screen for selecting various shooting information items displayed on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, 101 is a non-display item list that is not displayed as shooting information, and 102 is a display item list that is displayed on the selected image comparison screen. On the display item list 102, the user can change the order of display items by mouse dragging or the like. Further, the display order of items on the display item list 102 is the same as the display order of shooting information displayed on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, 103 is an item addition button for adding to the display item list 102 to display the item selected on the non-display item list 101, and 104 is selected on the display item list 102. This is an item deletion button for deleting an item to hide it. Reference numeral 105 denotes a reset button for resetting the contents of display items and non-display items to the initial state. The initial state may be set arbitrarily. Further, 106 is an OK button for confirming the currently set display item and closing this screen, and 107 is a cancel button for closing the screen without reflecting the contents changed on this screen.

  In the present embodiment, the items that can be set using the shooting information item setting screen shown in FIG. 10 are items that are formulated in the Exif standard, which is the standard for the image format of a digital camera. It may be possible to handle items and values specific to the manufacturer developing the digital camera.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a mixed display setting screen for performing mixed display of information of a plurality of images, which is one of the environment setting functions of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. That is, the user can set whether or not to display shooting information and luminance distribution information of each of a plurality of images in the same region using the screen shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 11, radio buttons 111 and 112 are alternative buttons for selecting whether or not to shoot information and luminance distribution information of a plurality of images in the same area. Note that FIG. 11 shows that the latter (mixed display) is in a selected state. In the former (no mixed display), it is specified on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. 1 that the shooting information and the luminance distribution information are displayed only for the image being selected and displayed. That is, in this case, the shooting information and luminance distribution information for a plurality of images are not displayed as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 11, when the radio button 112 is selected, a check box 113 for selecting whether or not to display mixed data only for data of the same digital camera model, and a maximum number of comparison target images are displayed. The setting can be made in the comparison target image maximum number setting box 114 for setting. When the user selects the check box 113, only when it is determined that the images displayed on the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. Comparison display of luminance distribution information is performed.

  Here, in the initial state of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that a predetermined value is set in advance in the comparison target image maximum number setting box 114, and is set to 3 as shown in FIG. 11, for example. . When the selected image comparison screen is displayed for selected images that exceed the number set in the comparison target image maximum number setting box, the same situation as the state in which the radio button 111 is selected, that is, shooting information And luminance distribution information are not mixedly displayed. The maximum value that can be set in the comparison target image maximum number setting box 114 is determined in advance by the image processing apparatus, and is set to 10, for example.

  Further, in FIG. 11, 115 is an OK button for confirming the currently set item and closing the screen, and 116 is a cancel button for closing the screen without reflecting the contents changed on the screen.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, in the second embodiment, a process of selecting a plurality of images on a screen displayed by the image processing apparatus and displaying shooting information and luminance distribution information of the selected image on a part of the same screen will be described. Note that the hardware configuration for realizing the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image list display screen displayed in the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The image list display screen shown in FIG. 12 displays an image list when three images are selected, and shooting information and luminance distribution information of the selected images. The screen is the main screen of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In the image list display screen shown in FIG. 12, reference numeral 121 denotes a main menu, which can perform various operations performed by the same image processing apparatus as the application software of Non-Patent Document 1 described above. Reference numeral 122 denotes a tool window for selecting a function with relatively high use frequency from the main menu 121 and displaying it as a menu button. Reference numeral 123 denotes a directory selection screen for displaying a directory on the storage device of the image processing apparatus and selecting a display target directory from which a desired image is stored.

  In FIG. 12, reference numeral 124 denotes an image list display area for displaying a list of images in the directory selected on the directory selection screen 123. Note that the size of the image displayed on the image list display area 124 can be arbitrarily set by the user, for example, in the size of large, medium, small, etc., by the menu button on the main menu 121 or the tool window 122. Is possible. Further, the user can select a single image or a plurality of images to be in an emphasized state by operating a mouse, a keyboard, or the like.

  For the selected image, the user can further display the selected image comparison screen shown in FIG. 1 by selecting a menu button on the main menu 121 or the tool window 122. Further, general image processing operations such as enlargement display and rotation for a specified image, various corrections and corrections, and file operations such as image display order change and deletion are possible.

  Note that when the mixed display setting screen shown in FIG. 11 is set to perform the mixed display, the display frame of the selected image is highlighted with a different color or the like for each image. Further, when emphasized by a color or the like, this color is the same as a color for distinguishing each information set in a photographing information display area 125 and a luminance distribution display area 126 described later for each image. The color is automatically generated at the time of image selection using a random number or the like, similar to the rendering process in step S317 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 described in the first embodiment, every time the selection state of the image is changed. Are managed by application software. The color is used as needed when displaying the photographing information display area 125 and the luminance distribution display area 126.

  The shooting information display area 125 is an area for displaying shooting information for all images selected in the image list display area 124. In this example, the shooting information is displayed in a table in which item names of shooting information are set on the vertical axis and values for each image are set on the horizontal axis.

  The luminance distribution display area 126 is an area for displaying luminance distribution information for all images selected in the image list display area 124. In this example, each selected image is displayed as a graph with different colors. Details of each display area will be described later.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display area of photographing information that can be displayed in the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The display format shown in FIG. 13 is the format displayed in the shooting information display area 125 of FIG. Similar to the case shown in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, the value is set when there is a shooting information item having a different value for each image among the shooting items selected in advance when setting the environment. Different lines are highlighted.

  On the other hand, although the method is different from that shown in FIG. 3, the table displays item names and all values on the same line and divides columns for each selected image on the horizontal axis. Therefore, the user can confirm at a glance which image has which value within the range of items having different values.

  Further, the cell indicating the image ID of the table changes the background color for each image, and this color is displayed in the color of the frame of the image selected in the image list display area 124 and in the luminance distribution display area 126. The color of the graph is the same. That is, the image selected on the image list display area 124, the shooting information display area 125 indicated by the image, and the luminance distribution information graph of the luminance distribution display area 126 are represented in the same color. For example, if the image frames of the images 001, 002, and 003 that are currently selected in the image list display area 124 are highlighted in blue, red, and yellow, the image IDs in the shooting information display area 125 in FIG. 12 are displayed. The background colors of the cells are also blue, red and yellow, respectively.

  FIG. 14 shows a state in which the luminance distribution graph is displayed with different colors for each image in the luminance distribution display area 126 displayed on the screen of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. In the luminance distribution display area 15 shown in FIG. 1 and the luminance distribution display area shown in FIG. 5, the difference between the target images on the luminance distribution display is indicated by a solid line and a broken line. In FIG. Change to display. At this time, the color of the graph matches that highlighted in the image frame selected in the image list display area 124.

  That is, as in FIG. 13, if the image frames of the images 001, 002, and 003 being selected in the image list display area 124 are highlighted in blue, red, and yellow, respectively, the graphs 141, respectively corresponding to the images, The colors 142 and 143 are also blue, red and yellow. If there is one selected image in the image list display area 124, the graph corresponding to the selected image is displayed in a conventional columnar histogram format.

  In the present embodiment, as a highlighting method for distinguishing selected images in the image list display area 124, a method of drawing with different colors in the frame of the selected image has been described, but the selected image and the color corresponding to the selected image are different. Any display method can be used as long as it can be distinguished at a glance. For example, a method of displaying a figure such as a small rectangle in a part of each image display area and drawing a color corresponding to the rectangle may be used. Further, a method may be used in which the character color of the image ID itself is changed to a corresponding color.

<Other embodiments>
Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention can take embodiments as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium (recording medium). The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a single device or an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in the figure) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus Is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program of the present invention itself or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  By means of examples in each of the embodiments described above, it is possible to realize means for easily confirming the difference in the photographing information that is quantitative information of the comparison target image and the difference in the luminance distribution of the image.

It is a figure which shows an example of the selection image comparison screen displayed using the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the imaging | photography information display area example implement | achieved by a prior art. It is a figure which shows the detail of the imaging | photography information display area 14 displayed on the selection image comparison screen by the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the luminance distribution display area example implement | achieved by a prior art. It is a figure which shows the detail of the luminance distribution display area 15 displayed on the selection image comparison screen by the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart for explaining photographing information display processing by a selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the luminance distribution display process by the selection image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print layout output by executing a print process from a selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. , , 6 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of a printing process designated on a selected image comparison screen of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging | photography information item setting screen which is one of the environment setting functions of the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the composite display setting screen for performing the composite display of the information of the several image which is one of the environment setting functions of the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an image list display screen displayed in the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display area example of the imaging | photography information which can be displayed in the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that the color of a luminance distribution graph is changed and displayed for every image in the luminance distribution display area 126 displayed on the screen of the image processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example for implement | achieving the image processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 12 Image display area 13 Display tools 14 Shooting information display area 15 Luminance distribution display area 16 Print button 17 OK button 151 Input device 152 Central processing unit 153 Display device 154 Storage device 155 Printing device 156 Image input device 157 External storage apparatus

Claims (20)

Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with each additional information;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
And an additional information display means for displaying additional information relating to each of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. .   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is photographing information when the image is photographed by a photographing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an item setting unit configured to set a type of an item of additional information displayed on the screen by the additional information display unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the additional information display unit highlights additional information regarding items having different values among the additional information displayed in a mixed manner. A selecting means for selecting a value portion of any additional information among items having different values displayed on the screen by the additional information display means;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image display unit highlights an image having the value of the additional information selected by the selection unit. Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with each additional information;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
A luminance distribution information display unit configured to display the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed; Processing equipment. Image selection means for selecting any of a plurality of images displayed on the screen by the image display means;
7. The luminance distribution information display unit highlights luminance distribution information related to an image selected by the image selection unit among a plurality of luminance distribution information displayed on the screen. Image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the luminance distribution information display means displays the luminance distribution information on the screen using a graph that displays the luminance distribution information in a predetermined display form. A luminance distribution information selection unit that selects any one of the plurality of luminance distribution information displayed on the screen by the luminance distribution information display unit;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image display unit highlights an image corresponding to the luminance distribution information selected by the luminance distribution information selection unit.   The luminance distribution information display unit changes a display mode of the luminance distribution information between a case where a single image is displayed by the image display unit and a case where a plurality of images are displayed. Item 10. The image processing device according to any one of Items 6 to 9.   The luminance distribution information display means displays the luminance distribution information when a single image is displayed by the image display means as a column graph, and displays the luminance distribution information when a plurality of images are displayed as a line graph. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image processing apparatus displays the image. Storage means for storing a plurality of images together with shooting information at the time of each shooting;
Obtaining means for obtaining a predetermined number of images from the storage means;
Image display means for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on a screen;
Shooting information display means for displaying the mixed shooting information of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed;
Brightness distribution information display means for displaying the brightness distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a further area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. Image processing device.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a printing unit that prints the predetermined number of images, shooting information of each image, and luminance distribution information on the same recording sheet. An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
An additional information display step of displaying additional information relating to each of the predetermined number of images in a separate area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. . An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A luminance distribution information display step for displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. Processing method. An acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with shooting information at the time of each shooting;
An image display step of displaying the predetermined number of acquired images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A shooting information display step of displaying the mixed shooting information of each of the predetermined number of images in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed;
A luminance distribution information display step of displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. Image processing method. On the computer,
An acquisition procedure for acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display procedure for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A program for executing an additional information display procedure for displaying additional information relating to each of the predetermined number of images in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. On the computer,
An acquisition procedure for acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with each additional information;
An image display procedure for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A luminance distribution information display procedure for displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in another area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed. On the computer,
An acquisition procedure for acquiring a predetermined number of images from a storage device that stores a plurality of images together with shooting information at the time of shooting,
An image display procedure for displaying the acquired predetermined number of images side by side on the screen of the image processing apparatus;
A shooting information display procedure for displaying the shooting information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a different area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed;
A luminance distribution information display procedure for displaying the luminance distribution information of each of the predetermined number of images mixedly in a further area within the same screen as the area where the predetermined number of images are displayed.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to any one of claims 17 to 19.

Images