JP2006180253A - Digital still camera, its control method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the loss of a necessary area and the fetching of unnecessary data when a digital still camera digitizes a photograph film. <P>SOLUTION: The digital still camera comprises a zoom lens 211 for forming the image of a subject; an imaging element 212 for picking-up the image of the subject formed by the zoom lens; a storage 218 for storing the size and aspect ratio of the image of the photograph film being a photographing object; and a control circuit 218 for controlling the zooming position of the zoom lens, based on the size and aspect ratio of the image of the photograph film stored in the storage part, and controlling the aspect ratio of the image of the imaging element. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for photographing a photographic film with a digital still camera and converting it into digital data.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of scanners, conventional negative or positive photographic films can be stored as digital data with little deterioration in image quality. Digitization of photographic film using a scanner is generally performed by sequentially reading the photographic film while scanning it with a line sensor and converting it into digital data for each line. However, this method has a problem that it takes time to digitize the entire photographic film because the line sensor needs to be scanned in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the line sensor.

  On the other hand, in recent years, digital still cameras have been improved in image quality and pixels, and models of 10 million pixel class have been commercialized. By taking photographic film with a digital camera, the quality of the photographic film is degraded. It has become possible to convert it into digital data in a small state. That is, even if a photographic film is converted into digital data by a digital camera, a necessary and sufficient resolution has been obtained.

  In addition, it is easy to deal with negatives and positives. If it is a negative film, the image data captured by the digital camera is reversed and the color correction is performed appropriately. What is necessary is just to make it.

  Also, when digital film is converted into digital data with a digital camera, a digital still camera with a zoom function can be converted into digital data with a specific area cut out (trimming), which improves convenience. There are also advantages.

Since the digital still camera is an area sensor and additionally stores data in a predetermined image format, the digital data conversion operation can be performed quickly and easily.
JP 2001-145019 A

  However, since the aspect ratio (aspect ratio) of the screen of a generally used digital still camera is 4: 3, and the aspect ratio of the screen of a general 35 mm photographic film is 3: 2, the digital still camera When shooting photographic film, there is a problem that the aspect ratio of the screen of the digital still camera and that of the photographic film do not match. In addition, APS film has three aspect ratios of C type, H type, and P type, and when a brownie film is included, photographic films with various aspect ratios exist.

  The fact that the aspect ratios do not match means that when a photographic film is taken with a digital still camera, a part of the required area of the film is not taken or an unnecessary part is taken, and the unnecessary part is also converted into digital data. It means that the problem of being done occurs. In particular, if unnecessary data exists, it becomes disadvantageous as analysis data for performing negative automatic correction processing, for example.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent missing required areas and unnecessary data from being captured when digital film is converted into digital data with a digital still camera. Is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a digital still camera according to the present invention includes a zoom lens for forming a subject image, and an image pickup device for capturing a subject image formed by the zoom lens. Storage means for storing the screen size and aspect ratio of the photographic film to be photographed, and zooming of the zoom lens based on the screen size and aspect ratio of the photographic film stored in the storage means Control means for controlling the position and controlling the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor.

  Further, in the digital still camera according to the present invention, the control means controls the image pickup device so as not to output a signal of a margin area of the screen of the photographic film that is copied on the screen of the image pickup device. Thus, the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor is changed.

  Further, in the digital still camera according to the present invention, the control means changes the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed.

  In the digital still camera according to the present invention, when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed, the control unit causes the user to select whether to change the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor. Features.

  In the digital still camera according to the present invention, the storage means stores screen sizes and aspect ratios of a plurality of types of photographic film.

  Also, a digital still camera control method according to the present invention controls a digital still camera including a zoom lens for forming a subject image and an image pickup device for picking up the subject image formed by the zoom lens. A method for storing a screen size and an aspect ratio of a photographic film to be photographed, and the zoom based on the screen size and the aspect ratio of the photographic film stored in the storage step. And a control step of controlling the zooming position of the lens and controlling the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor.

  Further, in the control method of the digital still camera according to the present invention, in the control step, the image sensor is not output so as not to output a signal of a blank area of the screen of the photographic film that is copied on the screen of the image sensor. By controlling, the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor is changed.

  In the digital still camera control method according to the present invention, in the control step, the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor is changed when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed.

  In the digital still camera control method according to the present invention, in the control step, when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed, the user selects whether to change the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor. It is characterized by making it.

  In the digital still camera control method according to the present invention, the storage step stores the screen sizes and aspect ratios of a plurality of types of photographic films.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute the above control method.

  A storage medium according to the present invention stores the above-mentioned program so as to be readable by a computer.

  According to the present invention, when a photographic film is converted into digital data by a digital still camera, it is possible to prevent a lack of necessary areas and unnecessary data capture.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a top view of a photographic film photographing system using a digital still camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 shows that a digital still camera 101 is used to photograph a photographic film 105 set in a film folder 104 with a shutter button 103 and convert it into digital data. Reference numeral 102 denotes a power switch. The film folder 104 is formed with an opening 106 that transmits one frame of the photographic film 105, and a light source 107 is disposed at a position facing the digital still camera 101 across the film folder 104. The photographic film 105 is illuminated by the light from the light source 107, the image is taken by the digital still camera 101, and the image on the photographic film 105 is acquired as digital data. The digital still camera 101 and the film folder 104 are fixed by a support frame 108 and their relative positions are determined, and the photographing lens 211 (see FIG. 3) that can obtain an optimum angle of view according to the screen size of the photographic film. The zooming position is uniquely determined.

  Here, an example will be described in which a 35 mm photographic film having a general 3: 2 aspect ratio screen and a digital still camera having a general 4: 3 aspect ratio screen are used.

  In this combination, depending on zooming, margin portions 202a and 202b are photographed at the upper and lower ends of the screen of the digital still camera 101 as shown in FIG. 2A, or the photographic film as shown in FIG. Both ends of the screen 201 are cut off. In the figure, a rectangular hatched area 201 is a photographic film screen (aspect ratio 3: 2), and a rectangular area 202 drawn by a broken line is a digital still camera screen (aspect ratio 4: 3).

  Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digital still camera 101 used in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 211 denotes a photographing lens for forming a subject image on the image sensor 212, and is constituted by a zoom lens. 212 is an image sensor such as a CCD that photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the photographing lens 211, 213 is an A / D converter that converts an image signal output from the image sensor 212 into digital data, and 214 is digitized. An image processing circuit for performing necessary image processing on the image data, 215 a removable storage medium such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory for storing the image processed image data, and 216 an image for driving the image sensor An element driving unit 217 drives the focus lens in the photographing lens 211 to adjust the focus, and a lens driving unit 218 drives the zoom lens to perform zooming. It is a system control circuit to control.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a photographic film photographing operation in the photographic film photographing system shown in FIG.

  First, the user selects the “film shooting mode” of the digital still camera 101 (step S301). At this time, the user inputs size information (35 mm film here) and aspect ratio (3: 2) information of the photographic film 105 to be photographed into the digital still camera 101. Then, the system control circuit 218 of the digital still camera 101 stores the size and aspect ratio of the photographic film 105 (step S302). Further, the user operates the zooming operation unit of the digital still camera 105 to drive the lens driving unit 217 so that the screen 201 of the photographic film and the screen 202 of the digital still camera have the relationship shown in FIG. The photographing lens 211 is zoomed. At this time, since the relative positions of the digital still camera 101 and the film folder 104 are determined as described above, the zooming position where the screen of the photographic film and the digital still camera are in the relationship as shown in FIG. Is determined. Then, the system control circuit 218 stores the zooming position as a preset value (initial setting value) when shooting a 35 mm film (step S303). In the digital still camera 101, when the “film photographing mode” is selected again later, the system control circuit 218 automatically adjusts the zooming position of the photographing lens 211 to the preset value.

  If the relationship between the screen 201 of the photographic film and the screen 202 of the digital still camera is set as shown in FIG. 2A, the margin portions of the screen 201 of the photographic film are set as 202a and 202b in the digital still camera 101. It will be reflected. Therefore, the system control circuit 218 controls the image sensor driving unit 216 so as to skip the pixel portion of the image sensor 202 corresponding to the blank portions 202a and 202b. As a result, only the effective portion of the screen 201 of the photographic film is taken into the digital still camera 101 as data.

  As described above, when the photographic film is converted into digital data in the “film shooting mode” of the digital still camera 101, a predetermined zoom magnification and aspect ratio are stored in the digital still camera 101, and the angle of view is automatically set at the next film shooting. Since the aspect ratio is set, digitization of the film image is facilitated.

  Next, another feature of the present embodiment will be described.

  That is, it has a function of automatically switching the aspect ratio when a change is made to the preset magnification (zooming position). Changing the zoom magnification may mean that the user wants to perform trimming with some intention, that is, to convert a specific area into digital data.

  In this case, it may be preferable to take a picture with an aspect ratio that can fully demonstrate the performance of the camera. That is, the digital data in this case is stored in a state where the aspect ratio is 4: 3. That is, when the user changes the zoom magnification, the default 3: 2 aspect ratio is automatically switched to the 4: 3 aspect ratio, or when the user returns to the stored zoom magnification, the predetermined 3: 2 ratio is set. Switch to the aspect ratio. This eliminates the hassle of changing the aspect ratio of the digital still camera one by one, and the aspect ratio can be changed by immediately reflecting the user's trimming intention.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the case has been described in which the aspect ratio is automatically changed according to the change of the zoom magnification of the user. However, in the second embodiment, the change of the aspect ratio is further confirmed. Steps are provided.

  This is a step for reflecting the intention of trimming without changing the aspect ratio of the user. That is, it is not desirable to change the aspect ratio when it is desired to convert a specific place into digital data with the same aspect ratio of the photographic film by increasing the zoom magnification.

  A procedure for converting a photographic film into digital data in a state where the “film shooting mode” has already been set will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as described so far, the user selects a predetermined “film shooting mode” (step S401). At this time, the zoom magnification and the aspect ratio are set to preset values (initial values). When the user wants to zoom into a specific area and convert it into digital data, the zoom magnification is changed (step S402). At this time, it is possible to select whether it is desired to convert to digital data with the same aspect ratio or to capture an image with an aspect ratio that fully utilizes the performance of the digital still camera (step S403). Here, only when an aspect ratio change is requested, the aspect ratio is changed to a predetermined aspect ratio (step S404).

  As a result, a user who does not edit the image later using photo retouching software or the like can convert the desired area into digital data for each frame with the same aspect ratio of the photographic film.

(Third embodiment)
In the above, a general 35 mm photographic film having an aspect ratio of 3: 2 has been described as an example. However, for example, when considering a mode specialized for each shooting type of the above-described APS film, the method of the present invention can be applied. Needless to say.

  At this time, by providing the digital still camera with a plurality of “film shooting modes” and a plurality of aspect ratio image generation modes, various photographic films and desired aspect ratios can be stored as preset values.

  Thus, even when there are a plurality of aspect ratios as in the case of an APS film, the “film photographing mode” can be set for each aspect ratio type (C, H, P). For example, a preset value for converting the H type of the APS film into digital data is stored as the “APS film H type mode”, and the aspect ratio at this time may be set to 16: 9.

  In addition, in step S403 in FIG. 4, a desired aspect ratio can be selected from a plurality of aspect ratios. In other words, since a desired aspect ratio can be selected from a plurality of aspect ratios when changing the zoom magnification, the labor of changing the aspect ratio can be significantly reduced.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to dramatically improve the efficiency of the conventional digitizing operation for photographic film. In particular, if a plurality of preset values corresponding to the type of photographic film are stored, it is possible to easily convert the data into digital data with unnecessary aspect data omitted at an optimum aspect ratio. For example, data superior to automatic analysis when correcting a negative film can be generated.

  In addition, when the specified zoom magnification is changed during the operation, it is considered as a manual trimming mode, and digital data can be converted into an aspect ratio that makes full use of the performance of a digital still camera. It is possible to convert the data into digital data in an advantageous state for the above processing.

  Furthermore, by providing a step for confirming the change of the aspect ratio when changing the zoom magnification, a user who does not want to change the aspect ratio can continue the work of digitizing with the same aspect ratio.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, an object of each embodiment is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) on which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the expansion card or 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.

  When the present invention is applied to the above storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the procedure described above.

1 is a top view of a photographic film photographing system using a digital still camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect ratio of the screen of a photographic film and a digital still camera. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the digital still camera used in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging | photography operation | movement of the photographic film in the photographic film imaging system of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging | photography operation | movement of the photographic film in the photographic film imaging system of 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Power switch of digital still camera 102 103 Shutter button 104 Film folder 105 Photo film 106 Opening 107 Light source 201 Photo film screen 202 Digital still camera screen

Claims (12)

A zoom lens for forming a subject image;
An image sensor for imaging a subject image formed by the zoom lens;
Storage means for storing the screen size and aspect ratio of the photographic film to be photographed;
Control means for controlling the zooming position of the zoom lens based on the size and aspect ratio of the screen of the photographic film stored in the storage means, and for controlling the aspect ratio of the screen of the imaging device;
A digital still camera comprising:   The control means controls the image pickup device so as not to output a signal of a margin area of the screen of the photographic film that has been copied to the screen of the image pickup device, thereby adjusting an aspect ratio of the screen of the image pickup device. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital still camera is changed.   2. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes an aspect ratio of a screen of the image sensor when a zooming position of the zoom lens is changed.   2. The digital still according to claim 1, wherein when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed, the control unit causes the user to select whether to change the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor. camera.   The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores screen sizes and aspect ratios of a plurality of types of photographic films. A method for controlling a digital still camera comprising: a zoom lens for forming a subject image; and an image sensor that picks up the subject image formed by the zoom lens,
A storage process for storing the screen size and aspect ratio of the photographic film to be photographed;
Based on the screen size and aspect ratio of the screen of the photographic film stored in the storage step, the zooming position of the zoom lens is controlled, and the control step of controlling the aspect ratio of the screen of the imaging device;
A method for controlling a digital still camera, comprising:   In the control step, the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor is controlled by controlling the image sensor so as not to output a signal of a margin area of the screen of the photographic film that is copied to the screen of the image sensor. The digital still camera control method according to claim 6, wherein the digital still camera is changed.   The digital still camera control method according to claim 6, wherein, in the control step, the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor is changed when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed.   The digital still image according to claim 6, wherein in the control step, when the zooming position of the zoom lens is changed, the user is allowed to select whether to change the aspect ratio of the screen of the image sensor. Camera control method.   7. The digital still camera control method according to claim 6, wherein in the storing step, screen sizes and aspect ratios of a plurality of types of photographic films are stored.   A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.   A storage medium storing the program according to claim 11 in a computer-readable manner.

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