JP2006287515A - Camera apparatus, photographing method, and photographing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology for accurately and meticulously setting an AF region appropriate to an object at high speed and supporting photographing on the basis of information obtained from the set AF region. <P>SOLUTION: A camera apparatus disclosed herein calculates a degree of complexity in an object on the basis of a plurality of pixel data obtained by the imaging element during the standby state of a photographing instruction, discriminates a point with high complexity among calculated degrees of complexity, sets the discriminated point to be a discrimination region of a contrast value in an automatic focal adjustment operation and carries out the automatic focus point adjustment operation based on the set discrimination region when a photographing instruction is made to carry out photographing recording. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera device, a photographing method, and a photographing program.

In recent years, in a camera device having an AF (autofocus) function, a technique for changing an AF area, which is a focus target area in a finder, in accordance with designation by a photographer or subject information obtained from an image sensor is known. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-23286, a subject image obtained from an image sensor is separated into a region where a natural image exists and a region where a document image exists based on a luminance histogram distribution. The area is set as the AF area.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-23286

  With the method of specifying the histogram of the image data, the AF area suitable for the subject cannot be set accurately and finely. In addition, this AF area determination process takes a lot of time. In other words, it is possible to focus with priority on either the area where the natural image exists or the area where the document image exists, but for example, the more complex and important parts of the area where the natural image exists. The AF area cannot be set for an important part with higher complexity in the area where the document image exists.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and an object thereof is to set an AF area suitable for a subject accurately and finely at high speed. In addition, shooting is supported based on information obtained from the set AF area.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera apparatus, wherein a shooting instruction is waited for in each region of a subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from an image sensor. A calculation unit that calculates complexity; a determination unit that determines a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated by the calculation unit; and a region that is determined to be high by the determination unit automatically Setting means for setting as a contrast value determination area in the focus adjustment operation, and shooting recording means for performing shooting recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination area set by the setting means when a shooting instruction is given Are provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the calculation unit calculates the complexity for each region of the subject while sequentially changing the region, and the determination unit calculates the complexity 2. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets a predetermined number of regions having higher complexity as the determination region for the contrast value.

  Further, in the third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, when it is determined that the higher rank is ranked by the comparison, a predetermined number of areas for which the complexity should be determined are skipped. Execute.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the degree of skipping is changed according to the number of contrast value determination areas set by the setting means.

  Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to fourth aspects, the calculation unit arranges a plurality of spatially continuous pixel data in one area of the subject in order, The absolute value of the increase value or the decrease value in each section in which the value of the pixel data continuously increases or decreases is added, and a value obtained by the addition is set as the complexity of the area.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the automatic focus adjustment operation is performed on the contrast value determination region set by the setting unit. Second determination means for determining the sensitivity in the determination region of the contrast value based on the information, and determination means for determining the setting value of the imaging parameter based on the sensitivity determined by the second determination means; Are further provided.

  Further, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the average value of the maximum contrast values of each determination region is set as the sensitivity of the subject.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method for calculating a complexity in each region of a subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from an image sensor while waiting for a photographing instruction. And a determination step for determining a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated in the calculation step, and a region determined to have a high complexity in the determination step as a contrast value in the automatic focus adjustment operation. A setting step for setting as a determination area; and a shooting recording step for performing shooting recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination area set in the setting step when a shooting instruction is given.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shooting program for calculating complexity in each area of a subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from an image sensor while waiting for a shooting instruction to a computer. A determination step for determining a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated in the calculation step, and a region determined to have a high complexity in the determination step in the automatic focus adjustment operation. A setting step for setting as a determination region for a contrast value, and a shooting recording step for performing shooting recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination region set in the setting step when a shooting instruction is given .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to set the AF determination area to an optimal area so that there is no blurring of an important part in the subject by effectively using information on the complexity of the subject.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to set the shooting parameter based on the fineness obtained by performing the automatic focus adjustment operation on the important part in the subject, so that the part is affected by the focus state. It is possible to quickly determine the exact subtleness that does not occur, for example, to determine the character fineness of the subject including character information, and to adjust the resolution and focusing accuracy according to the character fineness It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera apparatus 1 such as a digital camera to which the present invention is applied.

  In the camera apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, in the photographing mode which is the basic mode, the photographing lens 11 is moved to the lens position corresponding to the aperture position or the normal photographing by driving the motor (M) 10 in the lens optical system. A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 12, which is an image sensor disposed behind the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens 11, is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 13 and a vertical driver 14, and is formed at regular intervals. The photoelectric conversion output corresponding to is output for one screen.

  The photoelectric conversion output is appropriately gain-adjusted for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog value signal, sampled and held by a sample hold (S / H) circuit 15, and digital data by an A / D converter 16. The color process circuit 17 further performs color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and gamma correction processing to generate a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb, Cr, and a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller. 18 is output.

  The DMA controller 18 once uses the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr output from the color process circuit 17 by using the composite synchronization signal, the memory write enable signal, and the clock signal from the color process circuit 17 once. And the DMA transfer to the DRAM 21 used as a buffer memory through the DRAM interface (I / F) 20.

  The control unit 25 includes a CPU, an R0M in which an operation program executed by the CPU, data, and the like are fixedly recorded, a RAM used as a work memory, and the like, and controls the entire camera device 1. .

  After completing the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals to the DRAM 21, the control unit 25 reads the luminance and color difference signals from the DRAM 21 via the DRAM interface 20 and writes them into the VRAM 27 via the VRAM controller 26.

  The digital video encoder 28 periodically reads luminance and color difference signals from the VRAM 27 via the VRAM controller 26, generates a video signal based on these data, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 29.

  The display unit 29 functions as a monitor display unit (electronic finder) in the shooting mode, and performs display based on the video signal from the digital video encoder 28 to display image information captured from the VRAM controller 26 at that time. The base image (through image) is displayed in real time.

  When a through image is displayed on the display unit 29 in real time, a trigger signal is generated when the shutter key of the key input unit 37 is operated at the timing of photographing a subject.

  In response to this trigger signal, the control unit 25 stops driving the CCD 12 at that time, and then performs an automatic exposure process to obtain an appropriate exposure value, and controls the aperture of the lens optical system and the exposure time of the CCD 12. Re-capture the image.

  After the newly obtained image data for one frame is DMA-transferred and written to the DRAM 21, the control unit 25 reads the image data for one frame written to the DRAM 21 and sends it to the image processing unit 30. Write. The image processing unit 30 encodes image data by JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group).

  The encoded image data is written to the memory card 32 that is detachably mounted as a recording medium of the camera device 1 or to the built-in memory 33 that is fixedly built when the memory card 32 is not mounted. .

  Then, with the completion of the writing of the image data to the memory card 32 or the built-in memory 33 for one frame, the control unit 25 resumes the drive for displaying the through image from the CCD 12 via the DRAM 21 on the display unit 29. .

  In addition, a key input unit 37, an audio processing unit 40, and a strobe driving unit 41 are connected to the control unit 25.

  The key input unit 37 includes a power key, a shutter key, a mode switch, a menu key, a selection key, a zoom button, a cross key (cursor key), and the like, and signals associated with these key operations are sent to the control unit 25. Directly sent.

  The audio processing unit 40 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, digitizes the audio signal input from the microphone unit (MIC) 42 when recording audio, and performs a predetermined data file format such as MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-). 3) According to the standard, the data is compressed and an audio data file is created and sent to the memory card 32 or the built-in memory 33, while the audio data file sent from the memory card 32 or the built-in memory 33 is uncompressed at the time of playing the sound. Then, it is converted into an analog signal and the speaker unit (SP) 43 is driven to emit loud sounds.

  Furthermore, the sound processing unit 40 generates various operation sounds, for example, a pseudo shutter sound associated with the operation of the shutter key, a beep sound associated with the operation of other keys, and the like based on the control from the control unit 25. The sound is emitted from 43.

  The strobe driving unit 41 charges a strobe capacitor (not shown) when photographing a subject, and then drives the strobe light emitting unit 45 to flash based on the control from the control unit 25.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a camera device used from shooting of a subject to viewing of a shot image.

  First, the following processing is performed before shooting and recording. The complexity / definition calculation unit 110 determines the complexity and sensitivity of the subject based on a plurality of pixel data (through images) obtained from the CCD 12 serving as an image sensor while waiting for a shooting instruction from the photographer. calculate. Details of this will be described later. The resolution / size input unit 111 is a part for inputting the resolution and size at the time of viewing a captured image assumed by the photographer. The shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 is required for the detail confirmation of the shot image using the output information from the complexity / definition calculation unit 110 and the information input via the resolution / size input unit 111. Judging recording quality. Note that it is also possible to determine the photographing recording quality based only on the output information from the complexity / definition calculator 110.

  The shooting / recording quality input unit 113 is a part where the photographer inputs shooting / recording quality required for color reproducibility and noise of the shot image. The brightness / hue measurement unit 114 measures the brightness and hue of the subject based on the light taken into the camera device 1. The operability input unit 115 is a part for inputting operability at the time of photographing required by the photographer. The remaining amount information acquisition unit 116 is a portion that acquires information regarding the remaining battery level and the remaining memory capacity.

  The shooting / recording condition determination unit 117 outputs information from the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112, information input via the shooting / recording quality input unit 113, output information from the brightness / hue measurement unit 114, and operability input. The photographing recording condition is determined by appropriately using the information input via the unit 115 and the output information from the remaining amount information acquiring unit 116. For example, based on the output information from the brightness / hue measuring unit 114, shooting parameters 118 that affect the brightness and hue of the shot image, such as the exposure value and white balance, are determined. Further, based on the output information from the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 and the information input to the shooting / recording quality input unit 113, shooting parameters 119 that affect the noise of the shot image, such as exposure time and sensitivity, are determined. To do. Further, based on the output information from the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 and the information input to the operability input unit 115, the shooting parameters 121 that affect the operability at the time of shooting such as the speed and accuracy of autofocus. To decide. Further, based on the output information from the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 and the information input to the shooting / recording quality input unit 113 or the information input to the operability input unit 115, the exposure time, sensitivity, or autofocus speed The shooting parameters 120 that affect the blurring and blurring of the captured image, such as accuracy and accuracy, are determined. Further, based on the output information from the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 and the output information from the remaining amount information acquisition unit 116, the resolution and compression rate 122 when recording a shot image are determined as shooting parameters. The above is the description of the functional blocks related to the processing before shooting and recording.

  Next, at the time of shooting and recording, the shooting and recording unit 123 executes a recording operation using the shooting parameters determined by the shooting and recording condition determination unit 117 as recording conditions. As a result, the image data 124 is captured and recorded.

  Next, the following processing is performed during image viewing. The appropriateness determination unit 125 determines appropriateness of brightness and hue from the image data 24 recorded and recorded. The degree determination unit 126 determines the degree of blurring or blurring from the image data 24 recorded and recorded. The resolution / size input unit 127 is a part for inputting the resolution and size when the photographer actually views the image data 24 recorded and recorded. The image processing content determination unit 128 includes a color correction process 129, a sharpness process 130, a noise removal 131, an enlargement / reduction 132, and the like based on outputs from the appropriateness determination unit 125, the degree determination unit 126, and the resolution / size input unit 127. The requested image processing content is determined.

  The image processing / output unit 133 executes the determined image processing and outputs the processed image to the display screen 134 or the printing paper 135.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a procedure of subject complexity calculation processing in the complexity / definition calculator 110 of FIG. In the present invention, when calculating the complexity, the imaging region is divided into a plurality of partial regions, and the complexity or delicacy of the subject is determined based on the image data of each divided region. A procedure for calculating the complexity of each line when the imaging area is divided into line areas will be described below. That is, in the through image (photographing frame 100) in the standby state of the photographing instruction as shown in FIG. 4, first, the scanning direction is initialized to 0 degree, that is, the horizontal direction (step S1), and the target color is initially set to G (green). (Step S2), and the scanning line is initialized to 1 (step S3). Next, image data composed of a plurality of pixel data that are spatially continuous in the designated scanning direction, line, and color is extracted from the image data of the photographing frame 100 currently displayed as a through image (step S4). Next, a line complexity calculation process is performed on the extracted image data (step S5).

  The line complexity calculation process will be described below. Here, in the through image in the photographing frame 100 as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the scanning direction = 0 degrees (horizontal direction), the target color = G (green), and the designated line m = 240. Further, it is assumed that the pixel value of the target color (here, G) on the line m = 240 changes as shown in FIG. 5 as it shifts from A to B via B and C in the photographing frame 100.

  Then, a point at which the pixel value at m = 240 changes from plus to minus or from minus to plus (inflection points indicated by a to i in FIG. 5) is extracted to obtain an absolute difference between the points. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the absolute value of the increase value or the decrease value in each section where the pixel value continuously increases or decreases (for example, decreases in the section ab and increases in the section bc). Ask. And after taking the logarithm with respect to each acquired absolute value, the value which added each value is made into line complexity. By determining the line complexity by such a method, the method simply determines the complexity of the subject by calculating the number of variations in brightness, hue, and saturation in the color components constituting the subject using a histogram or the like. Compared to the method that uses the sensitivity of the subject that is determined by the gradient of the change in the color component, the complexity of the subject can be determined quickly and accurately. It is possible to accurately determine the important part of the subject. That is, even if the image is somewhat blurred, it can be detected as a line complexity comparable to that when the image is not blurred.

  The reason why the logarithm is taken in the above process is to suppress the influence of a section having an absolute value larger than a predetermined value to a predetermined value or less. Without performing the process of taking the logarithm, when the difference between each point becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the value equal to or greater than the predetermined value may be discarded. As a result, in areas where the color difference is greater than a predetermined value, no matter how large the color difference, the complexity of the subject will not be affected. On the contrary, if this value is too large, information on areas where the color difference is small will be buried. The complexity of the subject can be determined more accurately.

The above will be described specifically. In FIG. 5, points a to i are inflection points, and the difference between the points is 9 between a and b, 15 between bc, 12 between cd, and 58 between de. 29, ef is 13, gh is 38, gh is 38, and hi is 2. Therefore, taking the logarithm and adding for each of these values, the line complexity =
log ₁₀ (9) + log ₁₀ (15) + log ₁₀ (12) + log ₁₀ (58) + log ₁₀ (29) + log ₁₀ (13) + log ₁₀ (38) + log ₁₀ (2) = 9.43
It becomes.

  Since the difference between the points d and e is the largest, the position of {d position (467) + e position (483)} / 2 = 475 is set as the maximum change position.

  Next, after the complexity for one line is calculated in step S5, it is determined whether or not the calculated line complexity is ranked higher in the already calculated line complexity (step S5). S7). The first line complexity calculation is YES. If YES here, the rank information of the line complexity is updated (step S7). That is, the line complexity calculated this time is compared with other line complexity already calculated, and the order is changed in ascending order. An example of the rank information is shown in FIG.

  Next, the complexity calculation target line is updated to a value obtained by adding 10 lines (step S8). Here, skipping 10 lines is considered to have the same level of complexity when the line complexity is ranked higher, so it is possible to save time by omitting the calculation of the complexity of the surrounding lines. This is for shortening.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S6 is NO, the line for which the complexity is to be calculated is updated to a value obtained by adding one line (step S9).

  Note that the number of lines added for updating may be changed as appropriate. For example, in AF area setting processing (FIG. 7) described later, when the number of AF areas to be set is small, 10 lines or more are added to reduce the calculation time, and when the number of AF areas is large, the number to be added Can be set to 10 lines or less.

  After step S8 or step 9, it is determined whether or not the final line has been reached (step S10). If NO, the process returns to step S4 to execute the subsequent processing. Then, when the complexity for all the horizontal lines in the frame is calculated, the determination in step S10 is YES and the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, the target color is updated from G to B. Next, it is determined whether or not the final color has been reached (step S12). If NO, the process returns to step S3 to execute the subsequent processing. When the process for R is executed after the process for B is completed, the determination as to whether or not the final color in step S12 has been reached is YES. In step S13, the scanning direction is updated from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction. Next, it is determined whether or not the final scanning direction has been reached (step S14). If NO, the process returns to step S2 to execute the subsequent processing. When the complexity is calculated for all the vertical lines in the frame, the determination in step 14 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, the rank information of the line complexity is viewed, and the information of the frames older than the predetermined number of frames is considered to be low and not important and is deleted. Next, an average value of a predetermined number of line complexity ranked higher is obtained, and the average value is stored or updated as the complexity of the subject. Next, it is confirmed whether or not the photographing is finished (step S17). If NO, the process returns to step S1 to perform the subsequent processing. When the photographing is finished, step S17 becomes YES and the processing is finished. To do.

  FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of line complexity rank information. Here, each time the complexity of one line is calculated, it is compared with the complexity of other lines that already exist, and the table is updated so as to be ordered in descending order of complexity. Further, in this embodiment, when the next frame image is captured at the time when the line complexity is calculated from the first line of the current frame image to the n-line position in the middle of the frame. The next line whose complexity should be calculated is not the n + 1 line of the current frame image, but the n + 1 line of the next frame image, and the line complexity is sequentially calculated for the lines below it. It has become. With this method, the line complexity can be calculated uniformly over the entire frame without affecting the frame rate.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the complexity of the entire subject is accurately updated in real time on the basis of the complexity calculated sequentially based on the partial area, even after the calculation process for the entire imaging area is not completed. Shooting parameters can be determined.

  In the above embodiment, the entire image is divided into a plurality of lines and the complexity is calculated for each line. However, the entire image is further divided into a plurality of rectangular areas, and each rectangular area is divided into the rectangular areas. The complexity may be calculated for the image data in the image data by the method described above. In this way, the processing speed is somewhat slow, but the setting accuracy of the AF area can be increased.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining AF area setting processing in the present embodiment. First, for example, a predetermined number of points are extracted from those having higher line complexity with reference to the line complexity rank information table as shown in FIG. 4 (step S20). Next, an area including the extracted point is set as an AF target area (step S21).

  FIG. 8 shows three AF areas 1 to 3 set by the setting process.

  The above method is suitable for, for example, photographing document images including characters having different character sizes. In other words, if a focus is set by focusing on a high-complexity portion that is thought to contain a character with a small character size as an AF area, it is possible to shoot a document with characters printed with different character sizes. Even in such a case, it becomes possible to accurately detect and focus on a small-sized character, and it is possible to reduce information lost due to being unreadable.

  Here, the high complexity part of the subject or the subject image is a part where the amount of information per unit area is larger, and the part where the spatial color change is not regular but changes more irregularly. . In other words, just because many colors are included, the amount of information is not necessarily large. For example, when the color changes smoothly in a spatial manner like gradation, the amount of information is low, and the white background Even if a document is written in black characters, if the fine characters are densely arranged, the number of changes from black to white or white to black per unit area is large and the amount of information is large. Become. Also, just because the color change is steep, it does not necessarily mean that the color change is irregular. For example, in the outline part of a character, the color changes smoothly from white to black because the focus is sweet. The degree of irregularity of the color change is almost the same between the case where the color changes sharply from white to black because the focus is accurately adjusted.

  Further, the high-definition part in the subject or the subject image is a sharper and sharper color change, for example, a part where the contrast change per unit distance is large. While the above complexity is information that can be determined without being affected by the focus much, the determination of the sensitivity is greatly influenced by the focus.

  When shooting a subject that includes high and low complexity parts, the amount of information that is lost is low even if the focus is low on the low complexity part, but it is lost as the focus is low on the high complexity part. The amount of information increases. Therefore, when trying to obtain a photographed image that can be confirmed in detail up to the details of the subject, it is necessary to focus on a part with higher complexity.

  FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of the subject fineness determination process during shooting standby using the AF area obtained by the above method. First, contrast obtained sequentially by continuous AF, which is set by the “AF area setting process” described above and performs continuous focusing operation by tracking the subject in each AF target area having a high degree of complexity in the subject. The maximum contrast value among the values is obtained and stored or updated (step S30). In the continuous AF, it is possible to appropriately set which AF area of the plurality of AF areas is to be focused on, for example, focus on the closest subject or all subjects. You may focus on the middle. Next, an average value of the maximum contrast values in each stored AF target area is obtained, and the average value is stored or updated as the sensitivity of the subject (step S31).

  Next, it is determined whether or not shooting is completed (step S32). If NO, the process returns to step S30 to perform the subsequent processing, and when YES is determined, the shooting is ended.

  As described above, since the focus is set on a portion with high complexity in the subject and the sensitivity of the subject is determined based on the harmonic component of the portion, the accuracy of the determination is improved.

  In the following, how the shooting parameters used at the time of shooting and recording are determined based on the complexity / definition of the subject will be described. First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, information on the complexity or sensitivity of the subject is acquired from the complexity / definition calculator 110 (step S100). Next, information regarding the image resolution or image size input by the photographer via the resolution / size input unit 111 is acquired (step S101). Next, in the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112, a request for details confirmability of a shot image is made by referring to a table as shown in FIG. 13 based on the complexity or fineness of the acquired subject and the image resolution or image size. The shooting recording quality to be performed is determined (step S102). Note that the shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 can also determine the shooting / recording quality based only on information relating to the complexity or sensitivity of the subject.

  Next, information on the degree of operability at the time of photographing designated by the photographer via the operability input unit 115 is acquired (step S103). Next, a table as shown in FIG. 14 is obtained from the photographing recording quality determined in step S102 in the photographing / recording condition determining unit 117 and the degree of operability at the time of photographing designated through the operability input unit 115. Referring to FIG. 4, the speed / accuracy ratio, which are mutually contradictory parameters during autofocus, is determined (step S104). For example, if the required operability at the time of shooting is fast (for example, index 9) and the shooting recording quality required for detail confirmation is low (for example, index 2), the ratio (8: 2) is selected.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 determines the shooting / recording quality required for the detailed confirmation of the shot image by the same method as in the first example (steps S100 to S102).

  Next, information on the photographing recording quality required for the color reproducibility and noise of the photographed image designated by the photographer via the photographing / recording quality input unit 113 is acquired (step S105). Next, the table as shown in FIG. 15 is based on the shooting record quality determined in step S102 in the shooting record condition determination unit 117 and the shooting record quality designated via the shooting record quality input unit 113. Referring to FIG. 5, the ratio of exposure time and sensitivity, which are mutually contradictory parameters when setting the exposure, is determined (step S106). For example, if the photographic recording quality required for color reproducibility and noise is high (for example, index 9) and the photographic recording quality required for detail confirmation is low (for example, index 1), exposure time is more important than sensitivity. The selected ratio (9: 1) is selected.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The shooting / recording quality determination unit 112 determines the shooting / recording quality required for the detailed confirmation of the shot image by the same method as in the first example (steps S100 to S102).

  Next, information regarding the remaining memory capacity is acquired from the remaining capacity acquiring unit 116 (step S107). Next, the shooting / recording condition determination unit 117 refers to a table as shown in FIG. 16 based on the shooting / recording quality determined in step S102 and the remaining memory amount acquired from the remaining amount acquisition unit 116. The resolution (compression rate) for recording the captured image is determined (step S108). For example, if the remaining memory capacity is sufficient (90%) and the recording quality required for detail confirmation is high (index 9), the highest resolution is selected.

  Note that parameters other than the above-described shooting parameters, for example, shooting parameters that affect the brightness and hue of the shot image, are also determined by creating a table based on the complexity or delicacy of the subject using the above method. be able to.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera apparatus 1 such as a digital camera to which the present invention is applied. It is a functional block diagram of a camera device used from shooting of a subject to appreciation of a shot image. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a procedure of subject complexity calculation processing in a complexity / definition calculator 110 in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the through image in the standby of the imaging | photography instruction | indication. It is a figure which shows the change of the pixel value in line m = 240 of an imaging frame. It is a table which shows an example of the rank information of line complexity. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the setting process of AF area | region in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows three AF area | regions 1-3 set by the setting process of this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of a process for determining the degree of sensitivity of a subject during shooting standby. It is a figure for demonstrating 1st Embodiment which determines the imaging parameter used at the time of imaging | photography recording based on the complexity / definition of a to-be-photographed object. It is a figure for demonstrating 2nd Embodiment which determines the imaging parameter used at the time of imaging | photography recording based on the complexity / definition of a to-be-photographed object. It is a figure for demonstrating 3rd Embodiment which determines the imaging parameter used at the time of imaging | photography recording based on the complexity / definition of a to-be-photographed object. It is a table for judging the imaging | photography recording quality requested | required regarding the detailed confirmation property of a picked-up image. It is a table for determining the ratio of speed and accuracy during autofocus. It is a table for determining the ratio of the exposure time and sensitivity at the time of exposure setting. It is a table for determining the resolution (compression rate) at the time of recording a picked-up image.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Camera device,
21 ... DRAM,
25. Control unit,
29 ... display part,
37: Key input section.

110: Complexity / definition calculator,
111 ... resolution / size input section,
112 ... Shooting / recording quality judgment unit,
113 ... Shooting record quality input section,
114 ... Brightness / hue measuring section,
115 ... operability input unit,
116... Remaining amount information acquisition unit,
117 ... Shooting / recording condition determining unit,
118: Shooting parameters that affect the brightness and hue of the shot image;
119: Shooting parameter 119 that affects the noise of the shot image;
120: Shooting parameters that affect blurring and blurring of the captured image,
121: Shooting parameters that affect operability during shooting,
122... Resolution and compression rate when recording captured images,
123: A photographing recording unit.

Claims (9)

Calculation means for calculating the complexity of each area of the subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from the image sensor while waiting for a shooting instruction;
Determination means for determining a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated by the calculation means;
A setting unit that sets a region determined to be high in complexity by the determination unit as a determination region for a contrast value in an automatic focus adjustment operation;
A shooting and recording unit for performing shooting and recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination region set by the setting unit when a shooting instruction is given;
A camera apparatus comprising: The calculation means calculates the complexity for each area of the subject while sequentially changing the area, the determination means sequentially compares the calculated complexity and performs ordering, and the setting means 2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined higher number of regions are set as the contrast value determination region. 3. The camera device according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined by the comparison that the rank is ranked in the upper predetermined number, the predetermined number of regions to be subjected to complexity determination are skipped and executed. 4. The camera apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the degree of skip is changed according to the number of contrast value determination areas set by the setting means. When the calculation means arranges a plurality of spatially continuous pixel data in one area of the subject in order, the absolute value of the increase value or the decrease value in each section where the value of the pixel data continuously increases or decreases 5. The camera device according to claim 2, wherein values are added, and a value obtained by the addition is set as a complexity of the region. Second determination means for determining the degree of sensitivity in the contrast value determination area based on information obtained during the automatic focus adjustment operation for the contrast value determination area set by the setting means; 6. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit that determines a setting value of the imaging parameter based on the fineness determined by the second determination unit. apparatus. The camera apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an average value of maximum contrast values of each determination region is defined as a subject's sensitivity. A calculation step for calculating the complexity in each area of the subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from the image sensor while waiting for a shooting instruction;
A determination step of determining a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated in the calculation step;
A setting step for setting a region determined to have high complexity in the determination step as a determination region for a contrast value in the automatic focus adjustment operation;
A shooting and recording step for performing shooting and recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination region set in the setting step when a shooting instruction is given; and
A photographing method characterized by comprising: On the computer,
A calculation step for calculating the complexity in each area of the subject based on a plurality of pixel data obtained from the image sensor while waiting for a shooting instruction;
A determination step of determining a region having a high complexity among the complexity calculated in the calculation step;
A setting step for setting a region determined to have high complexity in the determination step as a determination region for a contrast value in the automatic focus adjustment operation;
An imaging program for executing an imaging and recording step of performing imaging and recording by performing an automatic focus adjustment operation based on the determination area set in the setting step when an imaging instruction is given.

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