JP2006254493A - Electronic camera apparatus and imaging method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera apparatus and imaging method capable of obtaining an image of appropriate brightness when imaging an object with a perspective difference in darkness. <P>SOLUTION: When imaging a central object 81 and a background object 82 (Fig.(a)) using a flash unit, first of all, imaging is performed while adjusting a flash exposure for the central object 81 in a through-image (Fig.(b)) with one time of shutter action, and a first stroboscopic image (Fig.(c)) is obtained and temporarily stored in a memory. Then, imaging is performed while adjusting a flash exposure for the background object 82 in the first stroboscopic image, and a second stroboscopic image (Fig.(d)) is obtained and temporarily stored in the memory. A portion of luminance within a fixed range from the luminance of the central object 81 is cut out from the first stroboscopic image and written over the second stroboscopic image, thereby obtaining a synthetic image (Fig.(e)) imaged with the proper quantity of light. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera device such as a digital camera, and more particularly to an imaging technique during strobe imaging.

  Conventionally, in an area where the amount of light is insufficient, an optical camera (silver salt camera) captures an image with a longer exposure time or compensates for the amount of light by emitting a strobe light. In the latter case, if the strobe is used, the exposure time can be shortened, so that images can be taken without fixing the camera even in a dark place.

On the other hand, an electronic camera such as a digital camera is equipped with a display element such as a liquid crystal display element, and an image captured by a CCD is displayed on the liquid crystal display element to check a subject, and is imaged / recorded at a desired timing. Some images can be reproduced and displayed on a liquid crystal display element.
In the case of such an electronic camera, a technique of capturing a bright image by increasing the sensitivity of the CCD (amplifying the signal from the CCD) in a dark place (referring to a place where the amount of light is insufficient) is used.

  However, if the sensitivity of the image sensor is increased too much in order to capture an image in a place where the amount of light is insufficient, an electrical noise component becomes conspicuous in the captured image and a good image cannot be obtained. In dark places as described above, some images are captured by using a strobe to compensate for the amount of light when taking an image with an electronic camera.

  In addition, an optical camera device having an autofocus function for automatically focusing on imaging is widely used. As an example of an autofocus system, the distance between the lens and the film surface is automatically adjusted by observing the presence or absence of in-focus and focusing.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (a), when a strobe is taken including a central subject (hereinafter referred to as a central subject) 81 and an object or the like (hereinafter referred to as a background subject) 82 located after the central subject, There may be a phenomenon in which only 81 is captured brightly and the background subject 82 is not well captured, or the background subject 82 appears bright but only the central subject 81 is whiteout.

  The above phenomenon is mainly due to which of the central subject 81 and the background subject 82 is imaged with the amount of stroboscopic light. In particular, there is a difference between the distance x1 between the camera and the central subject 81 and the distance x2 between the camera and the background subject 82. It is empirically known that it is likely to occur when it is large.

  In such a case, the conventional silver circle camera focuses on the center subject 81, and after using the strobe, the shutter is opened for a sufficient time until the background subject 82 is photographed. Although there is a method, if a digital camera simply compensates for the amount of light by delaying the shutter time after issuance of a strobe, the background subject 82 appears bright but the central subject 81 is overexposed.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-described problems and solutions of the prior art, and an electronic camera capable of obtaining an image with appropriate brightness when capturing a subject having a difference in perspective in a dark place. An object is to provide an apparatus and an imaging method.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic camera device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing. And image synthesizing means for obtaining a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing portions of appropriate brightness of the plurality of images taken by the imaging means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing. Image combining means for obtaining a combined image obtained by combining predetermined brightness portions from the image is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device capable of capturing / recording an image captured by an image sensor at a desired timing, and a strobe light emitting device that emits light by performing an imaging instruction at the desired timing; The luminance detection means for obtaining the luminance at a plurality of locations in the captured image, the strobe emission determining means for obtaining a plurality of strobe emission amounts according to the luminance value, and the strobe emission determination means by one imaging instruction. A strobe imaging unit that obtains a plurality of images by repeating the operation of capturing a plurality of images by causing the strobe light emitting device to emit light a plurality of times with a plurality of strobe emission amounts; Image synthesizing means for obtaining a synthesized image by repeating the extracting and synthesizing operation.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing, a distance measuring means capable of measuring a distance from a central subject and a background subject, and an imaging instruction at a desired timing. A strobe emission device that emits light by performing, a strobe emission amount determination unit that obtains a strobe emission amount for each subject from a distance detected by the distance measurement unit, and a strobe emission amount determination unit obtained by one imaging instruction A strobe imaging unit that obtains a plurality of images by repeating the operation of capturing a plurality of images by causing the strobe light emitting device to emit light a plurality of times with a strobe emission amount, and extracting a portion having a predetermined range of luminance for each of the plurality of images Image synthesizing means for obtaining a synthesized image by repeating the synthesizing operation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing, a strobe light emitting device that emits light when an imaging instruction is given at the desired timing, and a strobe light emitting device that emits light. An imaging unit that captures and captures an image, an imaging unit that captures an image in accordance with the shutter speed, an image captured by the strobe imaging unit, and an image captured by the imaging unit and a predetermined brightness The image synthesizing unit is provided to obtain a synthesized image obtained by extracting and synthesizing the portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing, a strobe light emitting device that emits light when an imaging instruction is issued at the desired timing, Strobe image capturing means for capturing and capturing images, image capturing means for capturing images with increased gain, images captured by the strobe image capturing means, and images captured by the image capturing means and a predetermined brightness An image composition means for obtaining a composite image obtained by extracting and synthesizing this portion is provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera device according to the sixth aspect, wherein the image pickup means is a strobe, and the center subject of the image in which the light quantity value of the background subject is taken in by the strobe image pickup means after the image pickup by the image pickup means An image may be captured when the amount of light becomes substantially equal to the amount of light.

  An electronic camera device according to an eighth aspect of the present invention includes the electronic camera device according to any of the third to sixth aspects of the present invention, and further includes recombining means for recombining images by expanding or reducing the cutout range of the central subject. Configure as follows.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in an electronic camera device capable of capturing / recording at a desired timing, a plurality of images with different brightnesses are captured by changing the capturing condition in response to a single capturing instruction. It is characterized in that a synthesized image is obtained by synthesizing portions of appropriate brightness of a plurality of images.

  As described above, according to the electronic camera device of the first invention and the imaging method of the ninth invention, a plurality of images with different brightness are captured by changing the imaging condition with a single shutter operation, and bright portions are detected. Since the images are combined, an image excluding a portion that is not shown in the image or an overexposed portion can be combined to obtain an image with appropriate brightness.

  According to the electronic camera device of the second aspect of the invention, a plurality of images with different strobe light quantities are captured by a single shutter operation, and a predetermined brightness portion is synthesized. A phenomenon that often occurs when shooting with a strobe, such as when only one subject is shot brightly and the background subject does not appear well, or the background subject appears bright, but the subject in front is white Even if they occur, it is possible to synthesize an image excluding a portion that is not shown in the image or an overexposed portion to obtain an image with appropriate brightness.

  According to the electronic camera device and the eighth imaging method of the third aspect of the invention, the strobe is caused to emit light by one shutter operation to capture an image, and the strobe is further emitted based on the brightness of the captured image. Therefore, even if there are multiple subjects, the gradient of the brightness of the images before and after each subject becomes gentle and natural. Can be obtained.

  According to the electronic camera device of the fourth aspect of the invention, after obtaining the distance for each subject and determining the strobe emission amount for each subject, the plurality of images are captured by causing the strobe to emit light a plurality of times with one shutter device. Based on the brightness of the captured image, a strobe is further emitted to obtain a plurality of images, and a portion having a predetermined range of brightness is extracted to obtain a composite image. Thus, an image with appropriate brightness can be obtained, and the synthesized image can be completed well.

  According to the electronic camera device of the fifth aspect of the invention, after taking an image by strobe light emission, the shutter speed is slowed down to wait for an increase in the integrated light amount of the background subject, and an image is taken from these two images. Therefore, a composite image with appropriate brightness can be obtained with a simple configuration.

  According to the electronic camera device of the sixth aspect of the invention, after taking an image by strobe light emission, the gain is increased and the image is taken after waiting for an increase in the light amount integral value of the background subject, and a composite image is obtained from these two images. An image with appropriate brightness can be obtained with a simple configuration.

  In the electronic camera device according to the seventh aspect of the invention, when the light amount value of the background subject and the light amount value of the central subject of the image captured by the strobe image pickup device are approximately equal, the image is captured. Brightness is almost equal, and an easy-to-view image can be obtained.

  In the electronic camera device according to the eighth aspect of the invention, the image can be recombined by enlarging or reducing the clipping range of the central subject. Synthesis can be performed to smooth the brightness of the screen.

  The present invention can be applied to an electronic camera device having a strobe light emission function that enables imaging in a dark place at the time of imaging, and an electronic camera device having a strobe light emission function and an autofocus function or a distance measuring function. In the following, the first embodiment will be described by way of example in which the present invention is applied to an electronic camera device having a strobe light emission function, and the second embodiment is a case in which the present invention is applied to an electronic camera device having a strobe light emission function and an autofocus function. As an example.

<Embodiment 1>
[Circuit configuration example]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of a digital camera as an embodiment of an electronic camera device to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1A, the digital camera 100 includes an optical system 10 and a strobe light emitting unit. 11, a signal conversion unit 12, a signal processing unit 13, a DRAM (dynamic memory) 14, a control unit 20, an operation unit 30, a display unit 40, an OSD data ROM 45, a recording unit 50, and a power supply 90.

  The optical system 10 includes an imaging lens 101, an automatic diaphragm mechanism 102 having a light amount detection unit and a diaphragm driving unit, and forms a light beam of a subject image collected through the imaging lens 101 on a CCD 121 at the subsequent stage.

  When the strobe light emitting unit 11 receives a shutter pressing signal from the control unit 20, the strobe light emitting unit 11 emits (emits light) a predetermined amount of light within an extremely short time to compensate for the surrounding light amount.

  The signal conversion unit 12 includes a CCD 121, a CCD drive timing signal generation circuit (TG) 122, a CCD drive vertical driver 123, an automatic gain control circuit (AGC) 124, and an A / D converter 125. Then, the image formed on the CCD 121 is converted into an electric signal, converted into digital data (hereinafter referred to as image data), and output for one frame at a constant cycle.

  If the strobe is not set or the peripheral light amount is equal to or higher than the lower limit of the threshold value (φmin to φmax), the AGC 124 keeps the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD at a predetermined value, but the peripheral light amount is an appropriate threshold value (φmin to φmax). When the value is lower than the lower limit φmin, the signal from the CCD 121 is amplified by the AGC 124 by the control of the CPU 21 and is supplied to the A / D converter. The result of the amplification is converted into the light amount by the control unit 20 and compared with the threshold value. Is fed back to the AGC 124. As a result, the signal from the CCD 121 is amplified until the amount of light falls within the appropriate threshold.

  The signal processing unit 13 includes a color process circuit and a DMA controller, and performs color process processing on the output from the signal conversion unit 12 to obtain digital luminance and color difference multiplexed signals (YUV data). YUV data is designated by the DRAM 14. DMA (direct memory access) transfer to the area and expand. Further, the signal processing unit 13 reads the YUV data written in the DRAM 14 at the time of recording and saving and performs JPEG compression processing. Further, the YUV data is reproduced by performing an expansion process on the image data stored and recorded in the recording medium (memory card) 51 taken in via the recording unit 50 in the reproduction mode.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the control unit 20 includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a ROM 23, and a timer 24. Note that an area allocated to the DRAM 14 may be used instead of the RAM 22 without providing the RAM 22.

  The CPU 21 is connected to the above-described circuits and a power supply switch (not shown) via a bus line, controls the entire digital camera 100 by a control program stored in the ROM 23, and outputs a status signal from the operation unit 30. Correspondingly, execution control of each function of the digital camera, for example, execution control of each mode processing by execution of each mode processing means stored in the ROM 23 is performed.

  The RAM 22 is used for temporary storage of data or processing results and an intermediate work area.

  The ROM 23 is a recording medium for recording the above-described control program and a program for executing the other functions of the strobe imaging / combining means 110 and the digital camera 100, and PROM, FROM (flash ROM) or the like is used. These programs can be configured to be stored in a removable recording medium (for example, a flash memory) other than the ROM 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 30 includes a processing mode changeover switch 105, function selection buttons 31 to 35, a main switch 106, a strobe setting button 36, a shutter button 37, an output button 38, and a recording / reproduction mode changeover switch 107. These switches and buttons are components, and when these switches or buttons are operated, a status signal is sent to the CPU 21.

  The display unit 40 is configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and a subject image (through image) is displayed on the screen at the time of imaging. Therefore, the liquid crystal display 40 can be used as a viewfinder. In addition, a playback image can be displayed in the playback mode.

  The ROM 45 stores OSD (0n Screen Display; insertion display) symbols displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 and information such as graphics and characters (for example, an aiming point, an icon for displaying a strobe charging state, etc.). .

  The recording unit 50 accommodates a recording medium and records image data from the signal processing unit 13 on the recording medium 51 under the control of the CPU 21. In the embodiment, the recording unit 50 is configured to be detachable from the memory card 51 as a recording medium, and is configured to write / read data. However, the data is stored in a recording medium such as a flash memory fixed inside. The writing / reading may be performed.

[Example of equipment appearance]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view (back view) of one embodiment of the digital camera of FIG. On the upper surface of the digital camera 100, a processing mode switching switch (slide switch) 105 for switching processing modes, function selection buttons 31 to 35, a main switch 106 for starting the digital camera 100, a strobe setting button 36, and a shutter button 37. An output button 38 is also provided.

  On the back, a recording / reproducing mode switch 107 for switching between a recording mode and a reproducing mode, a strobe display lamp 108, and a liquid crystal display 40 are provided. The strobe display lamp 108 is composed of an LED or the like, and in the embodiment, two types of light emission display (lighting) of red and green are possible. Further, a lens portion of the optical system, a strobe light emitting unit 11, and a light amount detection unit are provided on a front surface (front surface) (not shown).

<Example of DRAM 14 Area Setting>
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting areas of each buffer and the like in the DRAM 14 taking the circuit configuration of the digital camera 100 of FIG. 1 as an example.
In the example of FIG. 1, the same DRAM 14 is used for outputting image data from the signal processing unit 13, outputting image data to a video random access memory (VRAM), and writing / reading image data at the time of data compression / decompression. Therefore, by preparing a buffer divided into several areas as shown in FIG. 3 as the configuration of the area for recording image data on the DRAM 14, each area can be set according to the purpose.

  In FIG. 3, symbol 141 is an image buffer that is also used for a through image, a playback image, or a composite image, 142 is a buffer for an image captured with strobe light emission (hereinafter referred to as a strobe image buffer), and 143 144 denotes a work area (working area). In the example of FIG. 3, two strobe image buffers 142-1 and 142-2 are set. However, two or more strobe image buffers can be set.

[Example of processing mode]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the processing mode of the digital camera 100. The processing mode of the digital camera 100 is roughly divided into a normal mode including a recording and playback mode and a special shooting mode such as close-up shooting, and the processing mode is switched. Switching between the normal mode and the special photographing mode is performed by switching the switch 105, and switching between the recording mode and the reproduction mode is performed by operating the recording / reproducing mode switching switch 107. Note that even in the special shooting mode, there are a recording mode and a playback mode as in the normal mode (the following description will be made in the case of the normal mode, but the same applies in the special shooting mode).

Further, branching to each mode by switching each switch is a mode determination means (in the embodiment, branching to a corresponding mode processing circuit or program by examining a status signal sent from the operation unit 30 to the CPU 21 by operating each switch. This is done by a program).
(1) Recording mode The recording mode is an imaging mode in which a subject image is captured and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40, a strobe imaging mode in which imaging is performed by strobe light emission, and a timing at which the user wants to capture while visually confirming a through image. When the shutter button 37 is depressed, a recording / saving mode for saving the image data (image data (YUV data)) displayed at that time from the nonvolatile memory such as the DRAM 14 to the memory card 51 is included.
When the user slides the recording / playback mode switch 107 to the recording side, the recording mode is entered and the mode is changed to the imaging mode. When the user presses the strobe setting button 36 in the normal imaging mode, the mode is changed to the strobe imaging mode. When the shutter button 37 is pressed in the imaging mode, the mode is changed to the recording / storing mode. When the shutter button 37 is pressed in the flash imaging mode, a plurality of images with different flash emission intensities are captured. After the composite image is obtained, when the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the mode changes to the recording / saving mode.

(2) Imaging Mode In the imaging mode, image data periodically captured from the CCD 121 is displayed on the finder (liquid crystal display) 40 as a through image.
(3) Strobe imaging mode When transitioning to the strobe imaging mode, strobe settings are made, the strobe display lamp 108 is displayed in red, and electric charges are applied to the strobe light emitting unit 11 from the power supply 90 until the strobe is ready to emit light. Charge is accumulated. When the strobe is ready to emit light, the strobe display lamp 108 is lit in green.
Under the stroboscopic imaging mode, image data periodically fetched from the CCD is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 as a through image, and when the amount of light around the detected camera is the lower limit of the threshold range, the signal from the CCD 121 is amplified. A bright through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40.
When the shutter button 37 is pressed in the stroboscopic imaging mode, a plurality of images (two in the embodiment) with different light amounts are captured, a composite image is obtained from the plurality of images, and the composite image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. After obtaining the confirmation of the user, the mode shifts to the record storage mode. Note that specific operations such as imaging under the strobe imaging mode and image composition / display will be described later.
(4) Recording / Saving Mode When the shutter button 37 is pressed in the normal imaging mode, the mode is changed to the recording / saving mode, and the image displayed at that time on the liquid crystal display 40 becomes a still image, and the content of the image buffer 141 is JPEG compression processing. And recorded on the memory card 51. On the other hand, when the composite image is displayed in the strobe imaging mode and the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the recording and storage mode is entered, and the contents of the image buffer 141 (in this case, the composite image is stored) are subjected to JPEG compression processing. To the memory card 51.
(5) Playback Mode In the playback mode, image data (image data or / and strobe image data) recorded on the memory card 51 is read and played back and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. The reproduced image data can be output (transmitted) to an external device such as a personal computer or a printer via an interface (not shown).

[Embodiment 1] Strobe imaging / combining means The following embodiment is an example in which a plurality of images with different light amounts are captured and combined after strobe light emission. Example 1-2 (strobe imaging / combining means 150) and Example 1-3 (strobe imaging / combining means 150 ') will be described.
The strobe imaging / combining means 110 (or 150, 150 ′) is activated when the user presses the strobe setting button 36, and executes strobe imaging mode processing.
The strobe imaging / synthesizing means 110 (or 150, 150 ′) can be constituted by a hardware circuit, but in the present embodiment, these are constituted by a program. Note that one of the modules of the strobe imaging / combining means 110 (or 150, 150 ′) may be configured by a hardware circuit, and the other modules may be configured by a program.
Also, each module of the strobe imaging / compositing means 110 (or 150, 150 ′) configured by the program is recorded in the ROM 23 or the memory card 51, and is executed and controlled by the CPU 21 under the control of the control program. Realize imaging / compositing processing.

(1) Example 1-1 (Multiple imaging method)
In this embodiment, the strobe imaging / compositing means 110 captures a plurality of images with different strobe emission intensities, obtains a composite image from the plurality of images, displays the composite image on the liquid crystal display 40, and displays the composite image of the user. After obtaining confirmation, it shifts to the record storage mode.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the strobe imaging / combining unit 110. The strobe imaging / combining unit 110 includes a light amount determination unit 111, an image determination unit 112, a strobe emission amount determination unit 113, a strobe imaging unit 114, and an image. Combining means 115 is included.
When the user presses the strobe setting button 36, the light amount determination unit 111 is switched to the strobe imaging mode by the mode determination unit, and the light amount detection value from the light amount detection unit of the automatic iris mechanism 102 and the light amount L ( The threshold value φ) is compared, and if L <φ, the process proceeds to the image determination unit 112. If L ≧ φ, the strobe setting is canceled and the strobe display lamp is released to stop the light emission display, and the charge application to the strobe light emitting unit 11 is stopped and the mode is changed to the normal imaging mode. Until 37 is pressed, the imaging state similar to the normal imaging mode is continued. That is, it is determined that the peripheral light amount is bright enough to be confirmed on the liquid crystal display 40, and a through image by signal processing similar to that in the liquid crystal display 40 imaging mode is displayed.

  In the following description, in an image including a plurality of subjects, a focused subject is set as a central subject and other subjects are set as background subjects. Specifically, in the embodiment, the center subject 81 of the through image is a focused subject (usually located at the center of the screen), and the background subject 82 is a convex portion detected in a luminance distribution diagram other than the center subject. (When there are a plurality of convex portions, the convex portion closest to the luminance γ having a predetermined luminance γ or more is used as the background subject).

The image determination means 112 is a through image temporarily stored in the image buffer 141 of the DRAM 14, the strobe image buffers 142-1 and 142-2, and a strobe image obtained by the first strobe imaging (hereinafter referred to as a first strobe). Image) and the luminance distribution of the strobe image obtained by the second strobe imaging (hereinafter referred to as the second strobe image), and the luminances y1 and y2 of the central subject and the background subject and the difference Δy thereof are examined. Thereby, the relative brightness of the center subject and the background subject can be known.
For example, the image determination unit 112 determines the luminances y1a, y1b, y1c of the central subject (81) of the through image, the first strobe image, and the second strobe image and the background subject (82) from the luminance distribution as shown in FIG. Luminances y2a, y2b, and y2c are obtained.

  Here, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the luminance distribution obtained by the image determination unit 112 for the image including the two subjects 81 and 82 shown in FIG. 8A, and FIG. ) Shows the actual luminance distribution of the through image of the subject, and FIG. 6B shows the result of the first strobe imaging (first strobe image) for the subject of FIG. FIG. 6C shows the luminance distribution of the result (second strobe image) obtained by performing the second strobe imaging on the subject of FIG. 8A in accordance with the background subject 82. FIG. 6A 'shows the luminance distribution of the through image when the distance between the central subject 81 and the background subject is small.

The strobe emission amount determining means 113 performs the following three operations.
First, based on the light amount detection value ρ1 from the light amount detection unit of the automatic iris mechanism 102 and the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B) obtained by the image determination unit 112, the first light emission unit 11 of the first strobe light emitting unit 11 is used. The strobe emission amount P1 for the second time is determined and the difference Δya between the luminances y1a and y2a is compared with the threshold δ. When Δya−δ ≧ 0, the strobe imaging flag is turned on, and when Δya−δ <0. The strobe imaging flag is turned off. However, it is easier to determine this determination based on the first strobe imaging data. This is because there is not much change in luminance between 81 and 82 in FIG. 8 (a), and a difference in luminance occurs only when a strobe is applied.

When the strobe imaging flag is on, the brightness of the background subject 82 is determined based on the luminance y2b of the background subject 82 in the first strobe image (FIG. 8C) and the light amount detection value ρ2 from the light amount detection unit. The second strobe emission amount P2 of the strobe light emitting unit 11 is determined so as to be in the range of the luminance of the central subject at -α.
Note that the strobe light emission amount can be controlled by the light emission control of the light emitting lamp by controlling the amount of emitted charge per unit time or the light emission control of the light emitting lamp by controlling the charge emission time for a predetermined emission charge. In this embodiment, the strobe emission amount determining means 113 determines the charge discharge time and sends the value (seconds) to the CPU 21. The CPU 21 controls the strobe light emitting unit 11 according to the determined charge discharge time value, and causes the strobe lamp to emit light for that time.

  When charges are accumulated until the strobe is ready to emit light (in this embodiment, the strobe display lamp 108 is lit in green), strobe imaging is possible. The strobe light emitting unit 11 can emit light a plurality of times when the charge is sufficiently accumulated.

The strobe imaging unit 114 is activated when the shutter button 37 is pressed, captures a plurality of images (two or one in this embodiment) by one shutter operation, and stores them in the strobe image memory 142.
In this case, when the shutter button 37 is pressed, the strobe imaging unit 114 sends a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (value based on the actual light amount) to the AGC 124 via the CPU 21. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value. Note that when the shutter button 37 is pressed, a control signal may be sent to the AGC 124 so as to change the amplification degree of the signal from the CCD 121 to a predetermined value at the time of flash emission via the CPU 21.

  The strobe imaging unit 114 also gives a light emission instruction signal to the strobe light emitting device 11 and switches the storage area on the DRAM 14 for the data fetched from the CCD 121 to the strobe image buffer 142-1. As a result, the strobe emits light (first strobe light emission), the surrounding light amount is compensated by the light emission amount P1, and the subject currently displayed as a through image on the liquid crystal display 40 is imaged. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P1 supplemented by the strobe light emission, and is stored as a first strobe image in the strobe image buffer 142-1. FIG. 8C shows an example of an image in which the center subject 81 is captured with an appropriate amount of light in the first strobe image, but the background subject 82 that is far from the center subject 81 is dark due to insufficient amount of light.

Next, the strobe imaging unit 114 checks the strobe imaging flag. If the strobe imaging flag is on, the gain is set to a normal value (value based on the actual light amount) or a predetermined value for the AGC 124 via the CPU 21. Send control signal. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value.
The strobe imaging means 114 also gives a light emission instruction signal to the strobe light emitting device 11, and switches the storage area on the DRAM 14 for data fetched from the CCD 121 to the strobe image buffer 142-2, which is determined by the strobe light emission amount determining means 113. The strobe is emitted with the strobe emission amount P2 to compensate for the amount of light, the same subject group is imaged, and the second strobe image (data) is stored in the strobe image memory 142-2. FIG. 8D shows an example of the second strobe image in which the center subject 81 has an excessively high light amount and is whitened, but the background subject 82 is captured with an appropriate light amount.
When the strobe imaging flag is off, image synthesis is not required (that is, the center subject 81 and the background subject 82 are properly captured in the first strobe image), and the second imaging is not performed.

The image synthesizing unit 115 synthesizes the first strobe image (FIG. 8C) and the second strobe image (FIG. 8D) stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 when the strobe imaging flag is on. Thus, an image with an appropriate light amount (FIG. 8E) is obtained.
If the luminance distribution of the first strobe image is the distribution shown in FIG. 6B, the luminance y1b of the central subject 81 in FIG. 8A is 0 << y1b <255, and the luminance of the background subject 82 y2b is 0 <y2b << 255. If the luminance distribution of the second strobe image is the distribution shown in FIG. 6C, the luminance y1c of the central subject 81 in FIG. 8A is the maximum luminance, and the luminance of the background subject 82 is 0 <y2c = y1b. -Α << 255. Here, an image with an appropriate amount of light is defined as an image portion having a luminance in a range of ± β (α <β <Δyb) from the luminance y1b of the central subject 81 of the first strobe image in the strobe image buffer 142-1.

The image synthesizing unit 115 writes the second strobe image (data) of the strobe image buffer 142-2 into the image buffer 141, and the luminance of the first strobe image of the strobe image buffer 142-1 is in a range of y1b to y1b-α. Cut out and write to the image buffer 141. In this case, since the second strobe image has already been written in the image buffer 141, the cut out portion of the first strobe image is overcoated on the second strobe image. That is, since it is overwritten, the composite image in the image buffer 141 becomes an image with the luminance of the central subject being y1b and the luminance of the background subject being y2c, and this composite image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40.
Further, when the displayed composite image does not have a desired brightness, an image recombining unit is provided at the subsequent stage of the image combining unit 115 to recombine by reducing or expanding the cutout range of the central subject 81 according to the user's selection. The strobe imaging / combining means 110 may be configured.
Note that when the strobe imaging flag is off, the second strobe image is not captured, so the first strobe image (data) written in the strobe image buffer 142-1 without performing the above image composition is stored in the image buffer 141. Write. As a result, the first strobe image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 as a still image.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the digital camera by the multiple imaging method under the strobe imaging mode, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a strobe imaging / compositing processing procedure based on the flowchart. Hereinafter, a description will be given based on FIGS.
In FIG. 7, when the recording mode is selected, the mode is changed to the imaging mode and a through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40.
Here, when the photographer determines that the flash photography is necessary from the brightness of the surroundings, or presses the flash setting button 36 after judging that the flash photography is necessary from the brightness of the screen of the finder or the liquid crystal display 40, the mode determination is performed. The strobe mode is changed to the strobe mode by the means, the strobe imaging / compositing means 110 is activated, the strobe display lamp 108 is turned on, and the process proceeds to S2. The strobe display lamp 108 lights red when the strobe is charged and blue when the strobe is ready to emit light. When the strobe setting button 36 is pressed again, the strobe display lamp 108 is turned off, the processing by the strobe imaging / compositing means 110 is interrupted, and the normal imaging mode is restored (S1).

Next, the light quantity determination unit 111 is activated, and the detected light quantity from the light quantity detection unit is compared with the light quantity L (threshold value φ) required for imaging. If L <φ, the process proceeds to S3. If L ≧ φ, strobe imaging is not required and the strobe setting is canceled to stop the light emission display by the strobe display lamp, and the charge application to the strobe light emitting unit 11 is stopped to shift to the normal imaging mode (S2). .
If L <φ in S2, the luminance distribution of the through image taken from the CCD 121 into the image buffer 141 is examined to obtain the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 and the luminance y2a of the background subject 82 of the through image (S3).
Further, the first strobe light emission amount P1 of the strobe light emission unit 11 is determined from the light amount detection value ρ1 from the light amount detection unit of the automatic iris mechanism 102 and the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B). At the same time, the difference Δya between y1a and y2a is compared with the threshold value δ. When Δya−δ ≧ 0, the strobe imaging flag is turned on, and when Δya−δ <0, the strobe imaging flag is turned off (S4). . The same can be said for this determination as in the strobe emission amount determining means.

When the user presses the shutter button 37 at an arbitrary timing after the strobe is ready to emit light, a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (a value based on the actual light amount) is sent to the AGC 124 and the strobe. A light emission instruction signal is given to the light emitting device 11, and the storage area on the DRAM 14 for data taken in from the CCD 121 is switched to the flash image buffer 142-1, and the process proceeds to S6. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light (first strobe light emission) to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P1. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P1 supplemented by the strobe light emission, and the first strobe image is stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 (S5).
Next, the strobe imaging flag is checked (S6). If it is on, the process proceeds to S8. If it is off, the first strobe image (data) written in the strobe image buffer 142-1 is stored in the image buffer 141. The process proceeds to writing S12. Thereby, the first strobe image is displayed as a still image on the liquid crystal display 40 (S7).

When the strobe imaging flag is turned on in S6, the brightness of the background subject 82 is determined based on the brightness y2b of the background subject 82 of the first strobe image (FIG. 8C) and the light quantity detection value ρ2 from the light quantity detection unit. The second flash emission amount P2 of the flash emission unit 11 is determined so that the luminance of the central subject 81 of the first flash image 81 falls within the range of -α, and the process proceeds to S9 (S8).
A control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (value based on the actual light amount) is sent to the AGC 124, a light emission instruction signal is given to the strobe light emitting device 11, and a storage area on the DRAM 14 for data taken from the CCD 121 Is switched to the strobe image buffer 142-2, and the process proceeds to S10. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light (second strobe light emission) to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P2. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P2 supplemented by the strobe light emission, and the second strobe image is stored in the strobe image buffer 142-2 (S9).

  The second strobe image (data) of the strobe image buffer 142-2 is written into the image buffer 141, and the brightness of the first strobe image of the strobe image buffer 142-1 is cut out from the range W1 of y1b to y1b-α to be the image buffer. Write to 141. As a result, a composite image (FIG. 8E) is obtained in which the central subject portion of the first strobe image (FIG. 8C) is overcoated on the second strobe image (FIG. 8D) (S10). .

  When the composite image does not have the desired brightness, when the user presses a function button (for example, button 34), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is reduced, and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. When the user presses another function button (for example, the button 35), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is enlarged and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 (S11).

When the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the mode is switched to the recording / saving mode, and the contents of the image buffer 141 (in this case, the composite image is stored) are JPEG-compressed and recorded in the memory card 51. When another function button (for example, the button 33) is pressed, the captured image is canceled and returns to the imaging mode (S12).
In the above example, when there are a plurality of background subjects (when there are a plurality of convex portions in the luminance distribution of the through image), the central subject is defined as a background subject with a convex portion that is equal to or higher than the predetermined luminance γ and has a luminance closest to γ. In the above example, two images of one background subject are combined. However, it is also possible to compose two or more background subjects and combine three or more images. In this case, three or more strobe image buffers 142 are provided, and when determining the strobe emission amount, the strobe emission amount with respect to the central subject 81 is set to P1, and the brightness of the convex portion (FIG. 6) indicating the presence of the background subject is indicated. P2, P3,... Are determined in descending order, and at the time of synthesis, a strobe image n (n is a natural number) having a luminance equal to or higher than a predetermined luminance γ and closest to γ is obtained from a strobe image buffer 141-n (not shown). The flash image n-1,..., The flash image 2, and the flash image 1 are sequentially written from the flash image buffer 141-n-1,..., 141-2, 141-1 to the image buffer 141. Writing is performed so that the written strobe image n is overcoated.

(2) Example 1-2 (Slow Synchro Shooting (Part 1))
In this embodiment, the shutter speed is controlled to compensate for the amount of light so that the background subject 82 is well captured after the flash is emitted, and the strobe image and the background image supplemented with the amount of light are combined.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the strobe imaging / combining unit 150. The strobe imaging / combining unit 150 includes a light amount determination unit 151, an image determination unit 152, a strobe emission amount determination unit 153, a strobe imaging unit 154, and a shutter. Operation control means 155 and image composition means 156 are included.

  Here, the light amount determination unit 151 is the same as the light amount determination unit 111 of FIG. 5 (Example 1-1), and determines whether or not the transition to the strobe imaging mode by the user's strobe setting operation is appropriate based on the detected light amount. . That is, the light amount L (threshold value φ) required for imaging is compared, and if L <φ, the process proceeds to the image determination unit 152. Transition to the imaging mode.

  Similar to the image determination unit 112 in FIG. 5 (Embodiment 1-1), the image determination unit 152 examines the luminance distribution of the through image temporarily stored in the image buffer 141 of the DRAM 14 to determine the central subject and the background subject. The luminances y1a and y2a and the difference Δy are examined. Thereby, the relative brightness of the center subject and the background subject can be known.

  The stroboscopic light emission amount determining means 153 is stroboscopic based on the light amount detection value ρ from the light amount detecting portion of the automatic iris mechanism 102 and the luminance y1a of the central subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B) obtained by the image determining means 152. The strobe emission amount P of the light emitting unit 11 is determined.

The strobe image pickup unit 154 is activated when the shutter button 37 is pressed, similarly to the strobe image pickup unit 114 (Example 1-1) in FIG. 5, and picks up a single image with a single shutter operation and takes a strobe image. Store in the memory 142-1.
The strobe image pickup means 154 also gives a light emission instruction signal to the strobe light emitting device 11 and switches the storage area on the DRAM 14 for data fetched from the CCD 121 to the strobe image buffer 142-1. As a result, the strobe emits light and the surrounding light amount is compensated by the light emission amount P, and the subject currently displayed as a through image on the liquid crystal display 40 is imaged. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P supplemented by the flash emission, and is stored as a flash image in the flash image buffer 142-1.

  Next, the strobe imaging unit 154 sends a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (a value based on the actual light amount) or a predetermined value to the AGC 124 via the CPU 21. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and the through image is taken into the image buffer 141.

  The shutter operation control means 155 examines the luminance distribution of the strobe image stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 of the DRAM 14 and the through image stored in the image buffer 141, and the central subject 81 and the background as shown in FIG. The peak luminances y1b, y2b, y1c, and y2c of the subject 82 are examined.

  Here, FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the luminance distribution obtained by the image determination unit 152 and the shutter operation control unit 155 for the image including the two subjects 81 and 82 shown in FIG. 8A. ) Shows the actual luminance distribution of the through image of the subject shown in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 10B shows the result of the strobe imaging of the subject shown in FIG. FIG. 10C shows the luminance distribution of the through image (FIG. 8D) delayed by controlling the shutter speed after the stroboscopic imaging of the subject of FIG. 8A. FIG. 10D shows the luminance distribution of a composite image (FIG. 8E) described later.

The shutter operation control unit 155 controls the timing of closing the aperture (shutter) with respect to the aperture driving unit of the automatic aperture mechanism 102.
That is, the shutter operation control unit 155 determines the peak luminance distribution of the through image obtained by accumulating the light amount between the luminance y1b of the luminance distribution peak of the flash image buffer 142-1 and the shutter delay time t in the image buffer 141. The difference Δy = y1b−y2c of y2c is examined, and when | Δy | <δ, an aperture closing signal is output to the aperture driving unit to block the accumulation of the light quantity to the through image of the image buffer 141, and the image synthesizing unit 156 Transition to. When | Δy | ≧ δ, the aperture closing signal is not output to the aperture driver, and the luminance comparison operation is continued until | Δy | <δ. Here, δ is a threshold value (δ ≧ 0).

The image synthesizing unit 156 synthesizes the through image (FIG. 8D) stored in the image buffer 141 and the stroboscopic image stored in the stroboscopic image buffer 142-1 (FIG. 8C) to obtain an image with an appropriate light amount. (FIG. 8E) is obtained.
In addition, when the displayed composite image does not have a desired brightness, an image resynthesizing unit is provided at the subsequent stage of the image synthesizing unit 156 to recombine by reducing or expanding the cutout range of the central subject 81 according to the user's selection. Alternatively, the strobe imaging / combining means 150 may be configured.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the digital camera by the slow sync photographing under the strobe photographing mode. The strobe imaging / combination processing procedure based on the flowchart of FIG. 11 is the same as the explanatory diagram of FIG.
In FIG. 11, when the recording mode is selected, the mode is changed to the imaging mode and a through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. Here, steps U1 to U3, U8, and U9 are the same operations as steps S1 to S3, S11, and S12 in FIG.
When the photographer presses the strobe setting button 36 (FIG. 2), the strobe mode is entered and the strobe imaging / combining means 150 is activated and the process proceeds to U2 (U1). Next, the light quantity determining means 151 is activated and the light quantity is activated. The amount of light detected from the detection unit is compared with the amount of light L required for imaging (threshold value φ), and if L <φ, the process proceeds to U3, and if L ≧ φ, the strobe setting is canceled so that the strobe image is not required. (U2). When L <φ, the luminance distribution of the through image taken from the CCD 121 into the image buffer 141 is checked to obtain the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 and the luminance y2a of the background subject 82 of the through image (U3).

Further, the strobe light emission amount P of the strobe light emitting unit 11 is determined from the light amount detection value ρ from the light amount detection unit of the automatic iris mechanism 102 and the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B) (U4). .
When the user presses the shutter button 37 at an arbitrary timing after the strobe is ready to emit light, a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (a value based on the actual light amount) is sent to the AGC 124 and the strobe. A light emission instruction signal is given to the light emitting device 11, and the storage area on the DRAM 14 for data fetched from the CCD 121 is switched to the strobe image buffer 142-1, and the process proceeds to U6. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P supplemented by the flash emission, and the flash image buffer 142-1 stores the flash image (U5).

Next, the difference Δy = the peak luminance y1b of the strobe image luminance distribution of the strobe image buffer 142-1 and the peak y2c of the through-image luminance distribution in which the light amount is accumulated while the shutter operation is delayed in the image buffer 141 = Check y1b-y2c. If | Δy | <δ, the process proceeds to U7. If | Δy | ≧ δ, the shutter operation is stopped until | Δy | <δ, and the light quantity of the through image in the image buffer 141 is reached. Accumulation is performed (U6).
When | Δy | <δ, the range W1 (FIG. 10B) where the luminance of the flash image (data) in the flash image buffer 142-1 is y1b to y1b-α is cut out and written into the image buffer 141. As a result, a composite image (FIG. 8E) is obtained (U7) in which the central subject portion of the strobe image (FIG. 8C) is overcoated on the through image (FIG. 8D) (U7).

  When the composite image does not have the desired brightness, when the user presses a function button (for example, button 34), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is reduced, and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. When the user presses another function button (for example, the button 35), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is enlarged and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 (U8).

  When the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the mode is switched to the recording / saving mode, and the contents of the image buffer 141 (in this case, the composite image is stored) are JPEG-compressed and recorded in the memory card 51. When another function button (for example, the button 33) is pressed, the captured image is canceled and returns to the imaging mode (U9).

(3) Example 1-3 (Slow Synchro Shooting (Part 2))
In this embodiment, the gain is controlled so as to compensate for the amount of light so that the background subject 82 is well captured after the strobe light is emitted, and the strobe image and the background image supplemented with the amount of light are combined.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the strobe image capturing / combining unit 150 ′. The strobe image capturing / combining unit 150 ′ includes a light amount determining unit 151, an image determining unit 152, a strobe emission amount determining unit 153, and a strobe image capturing unit 154. , Gain control means 155 ′ and image composition means 156.
Of the constituent elements of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 150 ′, the configurations and functions of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 150 to the strobe imaging means 154 and the image synthesizing means 156 are the same as those of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 150 of FIG.

  The gain control means 155 ′ examines the luminance distribution of the strobe image temporarily stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 of the DRAM 14 and the through image temporarily stored in the image buffer 141, as shown in FIG. The peak luminances y1b, y2b, y1c, and y2c of the central subject 81 and the background subject 82 are examined.

Then, the gain control means 155 ′ uses the luminance distribution peak of the through image obtained by accumulating the light amount between the luminance y1b of the luminance distribution peak of the strobe image buffer 142-1 and the shutter delay time t in the image buffer 141. The difference Δy = y1b−y2c between y2c is examined, and when | Δy | <δ, the AGC 124 is controlled to increase the gain after the strobe imaging until the brightness of the central subject 81 and the background subject 82 becomes approximately the same. The AGC 124 amplifies the signal from the CCD 121 and gives it to the A / D converter when the control signal is given by the gain control means 155 ′. The amplification result is converted into light quantity by the control unit 20, compared with the threshold value δ by the gain control means 155 ′, and the comparison result is fed back to the AGC 124. As a result, the signal from the CCD 121 is amplified until the amount of light falls within an appropriate threshold (| Δy | <δ), so the brightness of the through image in the image buffer 141 is almost the same as the brightness of the strobe image in the strobe image buffer 142-1. Be the same. Here, δ is a threshold value (δ ≧ 0).
Further, the operation of the digital camera in this case is the same as that in the flowchart of FIG. 11, and the operation in step U6 may be replaced with the luminance comparison operation and gain control operation by the gain control means 155 ′.

<Embodiment 2>
In this embodiment, as an example of an electronic camera to which the present invention is applied, a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as a digital camera 200) provided with an autofocus mechanism in the configuration of the digital camera 100 in FIG. 1 will be described as an example.

[Circuit configuration example]
The digital camera 200 of this embodiment has a configuration in which an autofocus mechanism 103 (FIG. 13) is added to the configuration of the optical system 10 of the digital camera 100 in FIG. 1A, and automatic focus control (autofocus control) is used. Light from the subject is imaged on the CCD 121 of the signal conversion unit 12 at the subsequent stage. The circuit configuration other than the optical system 10 is the same as that of the digital camera 100 of FIG. The same applies to the DRAM 14 area setting, device appearance, and processing mode.
The ROM 23 records a control program and a program for executing the other functions of the strobe imaging / combining means 210 and the digital camera 200.

<Autofocus mechanism>
[Configuration example]
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an autofocus mechanism provided in the optical system 10. The autofocus mechanism 103 is driven by a lens drive signal and moves a lens 101 back and forth (for example, a step). Motor) 1031, a focus verification unit 1032 for determining whether the focus is correct based on the optical image from the lens 101, and sending a determination signal to the control unit 20, and a lens based on the control signal from the control unit 20 A lens drive control unit 1033 that supplies a drive signal to the lens drive unit 1031 is provided. Then, the autofocus mechanism 103 gives the movement distance ΣΔX of the lens 101 and the angle of view information to the control unit 20 and receives a lens drive control signal from the control unit 20.

[Principle of auto focus control]
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of autofocus control by the autofocus mechanism. In FIG. 14, if the distance between the subject 1 and the lens 101 is A, the distance between the lens 101 and the surface of the CCD 121 is B, and the focal length of the lens is F, 1 / A + 1 / B = 1 / F is established.
Here, when the lens 101 is moved by ± ΔX (ΔX << B << A),
1 / (A−ΔX) + 1 / (B + ΔX) = 1 / F or
1 / (A + ΔX) + 1 / (B−ΔX) = 1 / F
However, since B << A, it can be considered that 1 / (A + ΔX) ≈1 / A of the first term on the left side, and therefore 1 / A + 1 / (B ± ΔX) = 1 / F is established.
Here, the in-focus state of the subject at a new distance B ′ = B ± ΔX between the lens 101 and the CCD 121 is detected to determine whether or not the focus is in focus, and the lens movement distance ΔX is calculated based on the result, thereby calculating the lens. By performing movement control 101, autofocus (automatic focusing) can be performed.

[Auto focus operation]
When the user points the digital camera 200 toward the subject 1 in the imaging mode, the focus verification unit 1032 focuses on the image of the center (indicated by a bright spot or the like in the finder) of the finder (not shown). When the verification is performed and there is no focus, the difference data (determination signal) is given to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 calculates the movement distance ΔX necessary for focusing, and controls based on this. A signal (drive amount signal) is sent to the lens drive control unit 1033. The lens drive control unit 1033 gives a lens drive signal to the lens drive unit 1031 based on the control signal, and the lens drive unit 1031 moves the lens 101 by the designated distance. This result is fed back via the focus verification unit 1032 to perform focusing.

[Example 2]
The following embodiment is an example in which a distance to a subject is measured to obtain a strobe light amount and strobe light is emitted, and then a plurality of images having different light amounts are picked up and image-combined. / Combining means 210), embodiment 2-2 (strobe imaging / combining means 250), and embodiment 1-3 (strobe imaging / combining means 250 ') will be described.

The strobe imaging / combining means 210 (or 250, 250 ′) is activated when the user presses the strobe setting button 36, and executes strobe imaging mode processing.
The strobe imaging / combining means 210 (or 250, 250 ′) can be configured by a hardware circuit, but in the present embodiment, these are configured by a program. Note that one of the modules of the strobe imaging / combining means 210 (or 250, 250 ′) may be configured by a hardware circuit, and the other modules may be configured by a program.
Also, each module of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 210 (or 250, 250 ′) configured by a program is recorded in the ROM 23 or the memory card 51, and is executed and controlled by the CPU 21 under the control of the control program. Realize imaging / compositing processing.

(1) Example 2-1 (Multiple imaging method)
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the strobe image capturing / combining unit 210. The strobe image capturing / combining unit 210 includes a distance measuring unit 211, an image determining unit 212, a strobe emission amount determining unit 213, a strobe image capturing unit 214, and Image composition means 215 is included.
The distance measuring unit 211 calculates the distance from the focused subject and the position in the screen by performing an operation of focusing the center subject and the background subject after the user presses the strobe setting button 36, The data is temporarily stored in the spare area 143 (FIG. 3) of the DRAM 14.

In calculating the distance, as described in FIG. 14, when the lens 101 is moved ± ΔX (ΔX << B << A) during focusing, 1 / A + 1 / (B ± ΔX) = 1 / F is established. . Here, since the new distance B ′ = B ± ΔX between the lens 101 and the CCD 121 and the focal length F of the lens 101 are known,
From 1 / A = 1 / F−1 / (B ± ΔX),
Distance between subject 1 and lens 101 A = {(B ± ΔX) · F} / (BF)
Therefore, the distances between the central subject and the background subject and the lens 101 can be obtained in the same manner when focusing.

  In addition, the distance measuring unit 211 calculates the largest difference ΔXi among the distance differences ΔX1, ΔX2,..., ΔXn between the center subject and each background subject, and compares it with the threshold value ψ. The process proceeds to the image determination unit 212. If ΔXi <ψ, strobe imaging is not required and the strobe setting is cancelled, the flash display by the strobe display lamp is stopped, the charge application to the strobe light emitting unit 11 is stopped, the mode is changed to the normal imaging mode, and the shutter button is pressed. Until 37 is pressed, the imaging state similar to the normal imaging mode is continued. That is, it is determined that the peripheral light amount is bright enough to be confirmed on the liquid crystal display 40, and a through image by signal processing similar to that in the imaging mode is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40.

  The configuration and function of the image determination unit 212 are the same as the configuration and function of the image determination unit 112 (FIG. 5) of the first embodiment. However, in the example, the central subject 81 of the through image is first focused for explanation. The combined subject (usually located at the center of the screen) is used, and the background subject 82 is the final focused subject.

The strobe emission amount determining means 213 performs the following three operations.
First, based on the distance x1 between the central subject 81 and the lens 101 and the luminance y1a of the central subject 81 in the through image (FIG. 8B) obtained by the image determination unit 112, the first flash emission amount of the flash emission unit 11 is obtained. P1 is determined. Also, the difference Δya between y1a and y2a is compared with the threshold value δ, and the strobe imaging flag is turned on when Δya−δ ≧ 0, and the strobe imaging flag is turned off when Δya−δ <0. The strobe imaging flag may be turned on and off depending on the difference in distance.

When the strobe imaging flag is on, the brightness of the background subject 82 is set to the first strobe image based on the brightness y2b of the background subject 82 and the distance x2 between the background subject 82 and the lens 101 in the first strobe image (FIG. 8C). The second flash emission amount P2 of the flash light emitting unit 11 is determined so that the luminance of the subject at the center of the image is in the range of α.
The configuration and function of the strobe imaging unit 214 are the same as the configuration and function of the strobe imaging unit 114 (FIG. 5) of the first embodiment.
The configuration and function of the image composition unit 215 are the same as the configuration and function of the image composition unit 115 (FIG. 5) of the first embodiment. In addition, when the displayed composite image does not have a desired brightness, image recombining means for recombining the cut-out range of the central subject 81 by reducing or expanding the cut-out range of the central subject 81 by the user's selection as in the first embodiment. The strobe imaging / combining means 210 can be configured to be provided in the subsequent stage of 215.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the digital camera 200 under the strobe imaging mode. The strobe imaging / combination processing procedure based on the flowchart of FIG. 16 is the same as the explanatory diagram of FIG. Hereinafter, description will be made based on FIGS. 1 to 4, 6 and 8 to 16. Further, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the image to be captured is two strobe images in which the light amount is adjusted to the central subject 81 and the background subject 82.
In FIG. 16, when the recording mode is selected, the mode is changed to the imaging mode, and a through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40.
Here, when the photographer determines that the flash photography is necessary from the brightness of the surroundings, or presses the flash setting button 36 after judging that the flash photography is necessary from the brightness of the screen of the finder or the liquid crystal display 40, the mode determination is performed. The strobe mode is switched by the means to activate the strobe imaging / combining means 210, the strobe display lamp 108 is turned on, and the process proceeds to T2. When the strobe setting button 36 is pressed again, the strobe display lamp 108 is turned off, the processing by the strobe imaging / combining means 210 is interrupted, and the normal imaging mode is restored (T1).

Next, when the user presses the strobe setting button 36 and performs an operation of focusing on the center subject 81 and the background subject 82, the distances x1 and x2 between the lens 101 and the in-screen display for each subject that is in focus. The position (coordinate value) is calculated and temporarily stored in the spare area 143 (FIG. 3) of the DRAM 14 (T2).
Further, the difference ΔX1 between the distance between the center subject 81 and the background subject 82 is calculated and compared with the threshold value ψ. If ΔX1 ≧ ψ, the process proceeds to T4. If ΔX1 <ψ, strobe imaging is not required and the strobe setting is cancelled, the flash display by the strobe display lamp is stopped, the charge application to the strobe light emitting unit 11 is stopped, the mode is changed to the normal imaging mode, and the shutter button is pressed. The imaging state similar to the normal imaging mode is continued until 37 is pressed (T3). The brightness of the subject may be determined in the same manner as (S4).

When ΔX1 ≧ ψ at T3, the luminance distribution of the through image taken from the CCD 121 into the image buffer 141 is examined to obtain the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 and the luminance y2a of the background subject 82 of the through image (T4).
Further, the first strobe light emission amount P1 ′ of the strobe light emitting unit 11 is determined from the measured distance x1 and the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B), and the difference Δya between y1a and y2a and the threshold value are determined. δ is compared. When Δya−δ ≧ 0, the strobe imaging flag is turned on, and when Δya−δ <0, the strobe imaging flag is turned off (T5). Also in this case, the strobe imaging flag may be turned on / off depending on the difference in distance.

  When the user presses the shutter button 37 at an arbitrary timing after the strobe is ready to emit light, a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (a value based on the actual light amount) is sent to the AGC 124 and the strobe. A light emission instruction signal is given to the light emitting device 11, and the storage area of the DRAM 14 for data taken in from the CCD 121 is switched to the strobe image buffer 142-1, and the process proceeds to T7. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light (first strobe light emission) to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P1 '. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P1 'supplemented by the strobe light emission, and the first strobe image is stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 (T6).

Next, the strobe imaging flag is checked (T7). If it is on, the process proceeds to T9. If it is off, the first strobe image (data) written in the strobe image buffer 142-1 is stored in the image buffer 141. The process proceeds to writing T13. As a result, the first strobe image is displayed as a still image on the liquid crystal display 40 (T8).
When the strobe imaging flag is on at T7, the brightness of the background subject 82 is the central subject of the first strobe image based on the brightness y2b and the distance x2 of the background subject 82 of the first strobe image (FIG. 8C). The second strobe emission amount P2 ′ of the strobe light emitting unit 11 is determined so as to be in the range of luminance-α of 81, and the process proceeds to T10 (T9).
A control signal for setting the gain to a normal value (value based on the actual light amount) is sent to the AGC 124, a light emission instruction signal is given to the strobe light emitting device 11, and a storage area on the DRAM 14 for data taken from the CCD 121 Is switched to the strobe image buffer 142-2, and the process proceeds to T11. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light (second strobe light emission) to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P2 ′. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P2 ′ supplemented by the strobe light emission, and the second strobe image is stored in the strobe image buffer 142-2 (T10).

  The second strobe image (data) of the strobe image buffer 142-2 is written into the image buffer 141, and the brightness of the first strobe image of the strobe image buffer 142-1 is cut out from the range W1 of y1b to y1b-α to be the image buffer. Write to 141. As a result, a composite image (FIG. 8E) is obtained in which the central subject portion of the first strobe image (FIG. 8C) is overcoated on the second strobe image (FIG. 8D) (T11). .

When the composite image does not have the desired brightness, when the user presses a function button (for example, button 34), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is reduced, and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. When the user presses another function button (for example, the button 35), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is enlarged and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 (T12).
When the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the mode changes to the recording / saving mode, and the contents of the image buffer 141 are JPEG compressed and recorded on the memory card 51. When another function button (for example, the button 33) is pressed, the captured image is canceled and returns to the imaging mode (T13).
In the above example, the center subject 81 of the through image is the first focused subject (usually located at the center of the screen), the background subject 82 is the next focused subject, and two strobe images are captured. However, when there are a plurality of background subjects, it is also possible to capture three or more strobe images and obtain a composite image.

  In this case, three or more strobe image buffers 142 are provided, and when the distance is measured, the center subject is focused, then the background subject is sequentially focused, and the distances x1, x2,. When determining the flash emission amount, the flash emission amount for the central subject is P1, and the background subject is determined as P2, P3,... By examining the luminance of the portion corresponding to the distance x2,. At the time of synthesis, a strobe image n (n is a natural number) having a luminance equal to or higher than a predetermined luminance γ and closest to γ is written from the strobe image buffer 141-n (not shown) to the image buffer 141, and the strobe image n-1 is written. ,..., Strobe image 2 and strobe image 1 are sequentially written to the image buffer 141 from the strobe image buffer 141-n-1,..., 141-2, 141-1. Write to the top of the trobo image n.

(2) Example 2-2 (Slow Synchro Shooting (Part 1))
In this embodiment, the shutter speed is controlled to compensate for the amount of light so that the background subject 82 is well captured after the flash is emitted, and the strobe image and the background image supplemented with the amount of light are combined.
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the strobe image pickup / combination unit 250. The strobe image pickup / combination unit 250 includes a distance measurement unit 251, an image determination unit 252, a strobe emission amount determination unit 253, a strobe image pickup unit 254, and a shutter. Operation control means 255 and image composition means 256 are included.

The distance measuring unit 251 is the same as the distance measuring unit 211 in FIG. 15 (Embodiment 2-1), and after the user presses the strobe setting button 36, the user performs an operation to focus on the center subject and the background subject. The distance to the focused subject and the position in the screen are calculated and temporarily stored in the spare area 143 (FIG. 3) of the DRAM 14.
In addition, the distance measuring unit 251 calculates the largest difference ΔXi among the distance differences ΔX1, ΔX2,..., ΔXn between the center subject and each background subject, and compares it with the threshold value ψ. To the image determining means 252. If ΔXi <ψ, strobe imaging is not required and the strobe setting is canceled and the imaging state similar to the normal imaging mode is continued.

  Similar to the image determination unit 212 in FIG. 15 (Embodiment 2-1), the image determination unit 252 examines the luminance distribution of the through image temporarily stored in the image buffer 141 of the DRAM 14 and determines the central subject and the background subject. The luminances y1 and y2 and the difference Δy are examined.

The strobe emission amount determining means 253 is based on the distance x1 between the center subject 81 and the lens 101 and the brightness y1a of the center subject 81 in the through image (FIG. 8B) obtained by the image determination means 252. The light emission amount P is determined.
The configuration and function of the strobe imaging unit 254 are the same as the configuration and function of the strobe imaging unit 154 (FIG. 9) of the first embodiment.

The configuration and function of the shutter operation control unit 255 are the same as the configuration and function of the shutter operation control unit 155 (FIG. 9) of the first embodiment.
The configuration and function of the image synthesizing unit 256 are the same as the configuration and function of the image synthesizing unit 156 (FIG. 9) of the first embodiment, and the through image (FIG. 8D) stored in the image buffer 141 and the strobe image. A strobe image (FIG. 8C) stored in the buffer 142-1 is combined to obtain an image with an appropriate light amount (FIG. 8E).
Further, when the displayed composite image does not have the desired brightness, the image recombining means for recombining the cutout range of the central subject 81 by reducing or expanding the cutout range of the central subject 81 by the user's selection as in the first embodiment. The strobe imaging / synthesizing unit 250 can be configured to be provided in the subsequent stage of the synthesizing unit 255.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the digital camera by the slow sync photographing under the strobe photographing mode. The strobe imaging / compositing process procedure based on the flowchart of FIG. 18 is the same as the explanatory diagram of FIG.
In FIG. 18, when the recording mode is selected, the mode is changed to the imaging mode, and the through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. Here, steps V1 to V4, V9, and V10 are the same operations as steps T1 to T4, T12, and T13 of FIG.
When the photographer presses the strobe setting button 36 (FIG. 2), the strobe mode is entered and the strobe imaging / combining means 250 is activated to go to V2 (V1). Next, the center subject 81 and the background subject 82 are focused. When the operation is performed, the distance to the lens 101 and the position within the screen are calculated for each focused subject and temporarily stored in the spare area 143 (FIG. 3) of the DRAM 14 (V2).

Further, the difference ΔX1 between the distance between the center subject 81 and the background subject 82 is calculated and compared with the threshold value ψ, and when ΔX1 ≧ ψ, the transition is made to V4. If ΔX1 <ψ, strobe imaging is not required and the strobe setting is canceled and the mode changes to the normal imaging mode (V3).
When ΔX1 ≧ ψ in V3, the luminance distribution of the through image taken from the CCD 121 into the image buffer 141 is examined to obtain the luminance y1a of the central subject 81 and the luminance y2a of the background subject 82 of the through image (V4).
Further, the strobe light emission amount P ′ of the strobe light emitting unit 11 is determined from the measured distance x1 and the luminance y1a of the center subject 81 of the through image (FIG. 8B) (V5).

  When the user presses the shutter button 37 at an arbitrary timing after the strobe is ready to emit light, a control signal for setting the gain to a normal value is sent to the AGC 124 and a light emission instruction signal is sent to the strobe light emitting device 11. In addition, the storage area on the DRAM 14 for the data fetched from the CCD 121 is switched to the strobe image buffer 142-1 and the process proceeds to V 7. As a result, the amplification factor of the signal from the CCD 121 is returned to the normal value, and then the strobe emits light to compensate the surrounding light amount by the light emission amount P ′. The signal from the CCD 121 increases by adding the light amount P ′ supplemented by the strobe light emission, and the strobe image is stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 (V 6).

Next, the difference Δy = the luminance y1b of the peak of the luminance distribution of the flash image buffer 142-1 and the peak y2c of the luminance distribution of the through image in which the light amount is accumulated while the shutter operation is delayed in the image buffer 141 = Check y1b-y2c. If | Δy | <δ, shift to V8. If | Δy | ≧ δ, the shutter operation is stopped until | Δy | <δ. Accumulation is performed (V7).
When | Δy | <δ, the range W1 (FIG. 10B) where the luminance of the flash image (data) in the flash image buffer 142-1 is y1b to y1b-α is cut out and written into the image buffer 141. As a result, a composite image (FIG. 8E) is obtained (V8) in which the central subject portion of the strobe image (FIG. 8C) is overcoated on the through image (FIG. 8D).

When the composite image does not have the desired brightness, when the user presses a function button (for example, button 34), the cutout range W1 of the central subject 81 is reduced, and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40. When the user presses another function button (for example, button 35), the cut-out range W1 of the central subject 81 is enlarged and the image is recombined and displayed on the liquid crystal display 40 (V9).
When the shutter button 37 is pressed again, the mode is switched to the recording / saving mode, and the contents of the image buffer 141 (in this case, the composite image is stored) are JPEG-compressed and recorded in the memory card 51. Further, when another function button (for example, button 33) is pressed, the captured image is canceled and returns to the imaging mode (V10).

(3) Example 2-3 (slow sync photography (2))
In this embodiment, the gain is controlled so as to compensate for the amount of light so that the background subject 82 is well captured after the strobe light is emitted, and the strobe image and the background image supplemented with the amount of light are combined.
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the strobe imaging / combining unit 250 ′. The strobe imaging / combining unit 250 ′ includes a light amount determining unit 251, an image determining unit 252, a strobe emission amount determining unit 253, and a strobe imaging unit 254. , Gain control means 255 ′ and image composition means 256 are included.
Of the constituent elements of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 250 ′, the configurations and functions of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 250 to the strobe imaging means 254 and the image synthesizing means 256 are the same as those of the strobe imaging / synthesizing means 250 of FIG.

The gain control means 255 ′ is the same as the gain control means 155 ′ of the first embodiment (Example 1-3), and is stored in the strobe image stored in the strobe image buffer 142-1 of the DRAM 14 and in the image buffer 141. The luminance distribution of the live view image is checked, and the brightness distribution of the live view image obtained by accumulating the light amount between the peak brightness y1b of the flash image brightness distribution in the flash image buffer 142-1 and the shutter delay time t in the image buffer 141 is obtained. The difference Δy = y1b−y2c between the peaks y2c is obtained. Then, when | Δy | <δ, the AGC 124 is controlled to increase the gain after strobe imaging until the brightness of the central subject 81 and the background subject 82 becomes approximately the same.
Further, the operation of the digital camera in this case is the same as the flowchart of FIG. 18, and the operation of step V7 may be replaced with the luminance comparison operation and gain control operation by the gain control means 155 ′.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made. This method is considered sufficient in the dark.
In the present invention, the flash emission amount is controlled based on the brightness and distance of the subject. However, a plurality of images are shot while the flash emission amount is simply changed sequentially, and then an appropriate brightness portion is extracted. May be synthesized.
In the present invention, a plurality of images are taken after flash emission and combined to obtain an appropriate image. However, a plurality of images taken at different shutter speeds or gains without using flash emission are combined. You may make it do.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of a digital camera as an embodiment of an imaging apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view (rear view) of one Example of the digital camera of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of area | region settings, such as each buffer in DRAM. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the processing mode of a digital camera. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a strobe imaging / combining means. It is explanatory drawing of the luminance distribution of two to-be-photographed objects. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the digital camera by a multiple imaging system in strobe imaging mode. It is explanatory drawing of a strobe imaging / synthesis process procedure. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the flash image picking / synthesizing means in the slow sync photographing method. It is explanatory drawing of the luminance distribution of two to-be-photographed objects. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the digital camera by the slow synchro imaging | photography in strobe imaging mode. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the flash image picking / synthesizing means in the slow sync photographing method. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of an auto-focus mechanism. It is a principle explanatory view of autofocus control by an autofocus mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the strobe imaging / combining means in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the digital camera in strobe imaging mode in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the flash image picking / synthesizing means in the slow sync photographing method. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the digital camera by the slow synchronization imaging | photography system under strobe imaging mode. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the flash image picking / synthesizing means in the slow sync photographing method.

Explanation of symbols

1 Subject 11 Strobe light emitting device 42 Liquid crystal display device (display device)
51 Recording medium (memory card)
100 Digital camera (imaging device)
102 Automatic iris device (light quantity detection means)
112 Image determination means (luminance detection means)
113 Strobe emission detection means 114 Strobe imaging means 115 Image composition means 103 Autofocus mechanism 121 CCD (imaging device)
155 Shutter operation control means (imaging means)
155 'gain control means (imaging means)

Claims (9)

  In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing, an imaging unit that captures a plurality of images with different brightness by changing imaging conditions with a single imaging instruction, and a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit An electronic camera apparatus comprising image composition means for obtaining a composite image obtained by combining portions having appropriate brightness. In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing,
A stroboscopic imaging unit that captures a plurality of images in which the amount of stroboscopic light is changed by a single imaging instruction, and an image synthesizing unit that obtains a composite image obtained by synthesizing portions of appropriate brightness of the captured images. An electronic camera device. In an electronic camera device capable of capturing / recording an image captured by an image sensor at a desired timing,
A strobe light emitting device that emits light by instructing imaging at the desired timing;
Luminance detection means for obtaining the luminance of a plurality of locations in the captured image;
Strobe emission amount determining means for obtaining a plurality of strobe emission amounts according to the brightness value;
Strobe imaging that obtains a plurality of images by repeating the operation of capturing a plurality of images by causing the strobe light emitting device to emit light a plurality of times with a plurality of strobe light emission amounts obtained by the strobe light emission amount determining means in response to a single imaging instruction. Means,
Image synthesizing means for obtaining a synthesized image by repeating an operation of extracting and synthesizing a portion having a predetermined range of brightness for each of the plurality of images;
An electronic camera device comprising: In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing,
A distance measuring means capable of measuring a distance from a central subject and a background subject, a strobe light emitting device that emits light by giving an imaging instruction at the desired timing;
A strobe emission determining means for obtaining a strobe emission for each subject from the distance detected by the distance measuring means;
Strobe imaging means for obtaining a plurality of images by repeating the operation of capturing a plurality of images by further causing the strobe light emitting device to emit light a plurality of times with the strobe light emission amount obtained by the strobe light emission amount determining means by one imaging instruction. When,
Image synthesizing means for obtaining a synthesized image by repeating an operation of extracting and synthesizing a portion having a predetermined range of brightness for each of the plurality of images;
An electronic camera device comprising: In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing,
A strobe light emitting device that emits light by instructing imaging at the desired timing;
Strobe imaging means for capturing the image by emitting light from the strobe light emitting device, and
An imaging means for capturing images by slowing down the shutter speed;
An electronic camera apparatus comprising: an image synthesizing unit that obtains a synthesized image by extracting a portion having a predetermined brightness from an image captured by a strobe imaging unit and an image captured by the imaging unit; . In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing,
A strobe light emitting device that emits light by instructing imaging at the desired timing;
Strobe imaging means for capturing images by causing the strobe light emitting device to emit light; and
An image pickup means for picking up an image by increasing the gain and capturing the image;
An electronic camera apparatus comprising: an image synthesizing unit that obtains a synthesized image by extracting a portion having a predetermined brightness from an image captured by a strobe imaging unit and an image captured by the imaging unit; .   6. The image capturing unit captures an image when a light amount value of a background subject becomes substantially equal to a light amount of a central subject of an image captured by the strobe image capturing unit after capturing the image by the strobe image capturing unit. Or the electronic camera apparatus of 6.   7. The electronic camera apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a re-synthesizing unit that re-synthesizes an image by expanding or reducing the extraction range. In an electronic camera device capable of imaging / recording at a desired timing,
An imaging method, comprising: capturing a plurality of images having different brightness by changing imaging conditions; and obtaining a composite image obtained by synthesizing portions of appropriate brightness of the plurality of captured images.

Images