JP2007135061A - Electronic camera and image reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for allowing reproduction in line with user's intention by automatically identifying an image photographed in a multi-consecutive photographing mode without requiring a complicated operation. <P>SOLUTION: An image reproducing apparatus has: a reading means; a display interface; an image processing part and a control part. The reading means reads composite image data obtained by combining a plurality of reduced images acquired by consecutive photography in one frame and a header file which records identification data showing that a kind of the image data is the composite image data. The display interface outputs a reproduced image of the image data to a monitor. The image processing part generates display images corresponding to the respective reduced images of the composite image data. The control part identifies the composite image data from the image data based on the identification data and displays the respective display images on the monitor by automatic switching in reproduction of the composite image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera capable of synthesizing a plurality of reduced images acquired by continuous shooting into one frame, and an image reproducing apparatus for reproducing the above-described image.

2. Description of the Related Art A recent electronic camera is known which has a continuous shooting mode (generally referred to as a multi-continuous shooting mode) in which a plurality of still images obtained by continuous shooting are combined into one frame and stored. Further, Patent Document 1 discloses an image reproduction apparatus that can cut out individual still images from a composite image in the multi-continuous shooting mode and display them in the order of shooting.
Japanese Patent No. 3253538

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to cut out individual still images from the composite image and view them in the shooting order, a moving image file must be created from the composite image in advance. For this reason, there is room for improvement in that the user is forced to perform complicated operations at the stage of preparation for playback.
The present invention is for solving the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to automatically identify an image shot in the multi-continuous shooting mode, and to satisfy the user's intention without requiring a complicated operation. It is an object to provide an electronic camera and an image playback device that enable playback along the screen.

  An electronic camera according to a first invention includes an imaging unit, an image processing unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit photoelectrically converts the light flux from the subject to generate a still image. The image processing unit generates a reduced image by reducing the still images generated by the imaging unit by continuous shooting, and generates combined image data by combining a plurality of reduced images into one frame. The control unit is a header file that records at least one of continuous shooting speed data of still images and data for calculating the image size of a reduced image, and identification data indicating that the type of the image data is composite image data And the header file is output in association with the composite image data.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, when the control unit continuously generates the composite image data, the control unit displays data indicating the previous composite image data and the last frame of the previous composite image data. Shooting interval data indicating the time from shooting to shooting of the first frame in the current composite image data is further recorded in the header file.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reproduction apparatus including a reading unit, a display interface, an image processing unit, and a control unit. The reading unit reads composite image data obtained by combining a plurality of reduced images acquired by continuous shooting into one frame, and a header file in which identification data indicating that the type of image data is composite image data is recorded. The display interface outputs a reproduced image of the image data to the monitor. The image processing unit generates a display image corresponding to each reduced image of the composite image data. The control unit identifies the composite image data from the image data based on the identification data, and displays each display image on the monitor by automatic switching when the composite image data is reproduced.

In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the continuous shooting speed data in continuous shooting is further recorded in the header file. Then, the control unit determines the display switching timing of the display image based on the continuous shooting speed.
According to a fifth aspect, in the third aspect, the information processing apparatus further includes an operation unit that receives an external input. And a control part determines the display switching timing of a display image based on the input from an operation part.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third to fifth aspects, the header file includes data indicating the previously captured composite image data and the last frame captured with the previous composite image data. Shooting interval data indicating the time until shooting of the first frame in the composite image data is further recorded. The control unit switches display between a display image corresponding to the last frame of the composite image data and a display image corresponding to the first frame of the next composite image data when a plurality of composite image data is reproduced in the shooting order. Is determined based on the shooting interval data.

In a seventh aspect based on any one of the third to sixth aspects, the control unit displays each of a normal playback mode in which a playback image of the composite image data is displayed in one frame on the monitor and each display at the time of playback of the composite image data. It is possible to select an automatic switching mode in which an image is displayed on the monitor by automatic switching.
In an eighth invention according to any one of the third to seventh inventions, data for calculating an image size of the reduced image is further recorded in the header file. Then, the control unit acquires the image size of the reduced image from the header file, and changes the image size of the display image based on the image size of the reduced image.

  It should be noted that the configuration relating to the above invention expressed by converting the image reproduction program corresponding to any one of the third to eighth inventions or a recording medium recording the program is also effective as a specific aspect of the present invention. It is.

  According to the present invention, the composite image in the multi-continuous shooting mode can be easily identified for the image reproducing apparatus, and the user can view each still image of the composite image as a moving image without performing a complicated operation. It becomes.

Hereinafter, an electronic camera and an image reproducing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
(Description of the electronic camera of this embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic camera of this embodiment. This electronic camera can select “multi-continuous shooting mode” as one of photographing modes. In the “multi-continuous shooting mode”, the electronic camera generates a still image of a plurality of frames by continuous shooting, and generates a composite image data by combining the still images of a plurality of frames into one frame.

  The electronic camera includes a photographing lens 11, an image sensor 12, an A / D conversion unit 13, a buffer memory 14, an image processing unit 15, a recording I / F 16, an operation member 17, a communication I / F 18, A display I / F 19 and a monitor 20, a CPU 21 and a data bus 22 are provided. Note that the buffer memory 14, the image processing unit 15, the recording I / F 16, the communication I / F 18, the display I / F 19, and the CPU 21 are connected via a data bus 22.

The image sensor 12 photoelectrically converts the light beam that has passed through the photographing lens 11 to generate an analog image signal of the subject image. Note that the image sensor 12 exposes the subject at predetermined intervals and outputs an analog image signal (through image signal) even when the shutter is not released (during shooting standby). This through image signal is used by the CPU 21 to generate AF calculation and AE calculation.
The A / D converter 13 converts the analog image signal of the image sensor 12 into a digital image signal. The buffer memory 14 temporarily stores data in the pre-process and post-process of image processing in the image processing unit 15. In the “multi-continuous shooting mode” shooting, a plurality of still images by continuous shooting are temporarily recorded in the buffer memory 14.

The image processing unit 15 performs image processing (defective pixel correction, gamma correction, interpolation, color conversion, edge enhancement, etc.) on the digital image signal to generate captured image data. In addition, the image processing unit 15 performs compression processing on the captured image data in the JPEG format or the like.
In the “multi-continuous shooting mode” shooting, the image processing unit 15 converts the resolution of each still image obtained by continuous shooting to generate a reduced image, and combines a plurality of reduced images into one frame. Generate an image.

A connector for connecting the recording medium 23 is formed in the recording I / F 16. The recording medium 23 is composed of a known semiconductor memory, a small hard disk, an optical disk, or the like. The recording I / F 16 controls writing / reading of photographed image data and the like with respect to the recording medium 23. In FIG. 1, a card type recording medium incorporating a semiconductor memory is illustrated as an example.
The operation member 17 includes an input button, a release button, and the like. The input button of the operation member 17 receives an input operation by the user. For example, the input button accepts input for switching the shooting mode of the electronic camera, setting of the image size (number of pixels) of the shot image, the number of continuous shooting frames in the “multi-continuous shooting mode”, and the continuous shooting speed.

  The communication I / F 18 has a connection terminal of a serial communication standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) or IEEE1394. The communication I / F 18 controls data transmission / reception with an external device (such as an image reproduction device) connected via the connection terminal in accordance with the serial communication standard. Note that the communication I / F 18 may perform data transmission / reception with an external device through wireless communication complying with the IEEE 802.11 standard or wireless communication based on Bluetooth (registered trademark).

A monitor 20 is connected to the display I / F 19. The display I / F 19 outputs various video signals to the monitor 20 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 21. Moreover, the monitor 20 is arrange | positioned at the back part of an electronic camera, for example. On the monitor 20, for example, a reproduced image of image data, a setting screen for changing various settings of the electronic camera, and the like are displayed.
The CPU 21 controls the operation of each part of the electronic camera according to a predetermined sequence program. Further, the CPU 21 executes a known contrast AF calculation, a known AE calculation, and the like based on the through image signal. The CPU 21 has a clock function.

  Further, the CPU 21 generates a header file in which shooting conditions and the like are recorded at the time of shooting in accordance with the Exif (Exchangeable image file format for digital still cameras) standard. This header file is recorded in a state associated with the captured image data. That is, each image file generated at the time of shooting is composed of shot image data and a header file.

Next, the operation of the electronic camera according to the present embodiment in the “multi-continuous shooting mode” will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
Step 101: The CPU 21 of the electronic camera accepts a user mode change input via the operation member 17. Then, the CPU 21 sets the shooting mode to the multi-continuous shooting mode in accordance with user input.

  Step 102: The CPU 21 accepts various setting inputs by the user in the “multi-continuous shooting mode” via the operation member 17. The contents of the setting input include the number of continuous shooting frames, the continuous shooting speed, the image size (number of pixels) per frame, and the like. In addition, CPU21 may abbreviate | omit the setting input process in S102 according to a user's operation. In this case, the CPU 21 executes the shooting operation of the “multi-continuous shooting mode” with the contents set in advance on the setting screen or the like.

Step 103: The CPU 21 determines whether or not the release button is fully pressed by the user (release instruction). If there is a full press operation (YES side), the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, when there is no full pressing operation (NO side), the CPU 21 waits for the full pressing operation of the release button.
Step 104: The CPU 21 executes continuous shooting of the subject according to the setting in S102. In the shooting of each frame in continuous shooting, the image sensor 12 outputs an image signal of a still image, and the image processing unit 15 converts the resolution of each still image to generate a reduced image. Then, the image data of the reduced image is sequentially stored in the buffer memory 14. Then, the image processing unit 15 combines a plurality of reduced images into one frame to generate image data of the combined image. FIG. 3 shows an example of a combined image obtained by combining 16 frames of reduced images into one frame.

Step 105: The CPU 21 records the shooting time of the last frame of continuous shooting in the buffer memory 14. This shooting time data is used to acquire a shooting interval between two composite images when a composite image is continuously shot.
Step 106: The CPU 21 determines whether or not a composite image has been generated twice consecutively (whether the previous shooting was also multi-continuous shooting). If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S107. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S108. In S106, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the shooting time of the last frame for the previous shooting is recorded in the buffer memory 14.

Step 107: The CPU 21 acquires shooting interval data between the two composite images from the shooting time of the last frame for the previous shooting (S105) and the shooting time of the first frame of this time.
Step 108: The CPU 21 generates a header file that records the composite image shooting conditions (S102). The editing of the header file by the CPU 21 is performed using the work area of the buffer memory 14. Then, the CPU 21 records an image file composed of the image data of the composite image and the header file on a recording medium.

  Here, the CPU 21 (1) identification information indicating the composite image data, (2) continuous shooting frame number, (3) continuous shooting speed, (4) reduced image size (vertical and horizontal pixel number), (5) immediately before Each data such as the file name of the composite image photographed and the photographing interval between the two composite images (S107) is recorded in the header file. Of course, the data of (5) is recorded only when the composite image is taken continuously.

Note that since the Exif standard does not support composite image data by multi-continuous shooting, the CPU 21 records each of the above data by using an Exif standard MakerNote tag (undefined tag).
Step 109: The CPU 21 determines whether or not there is an instruction to end shooting from the operation member 17. In the case of shooting end (YES side), the CPU 21 ends the processing in the “multi-continuous shooting mode”. On the other hand, when the shooting is continued (NO side), the process returns to S102 and the CPU 21 repeats the above operation.

(Description of Image Reproducing Device of this Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image reproduction apparatus of this embodiment. The image reproduction apparatus includes a CPU 31, a memory 32, a recording unit 33, a communication I / F 34, a display I / F 35, a recording medium reading unit 36, and an input unit 37.
The CPU 31 controls the operation of each part of the image reproduction device according to the image reproduction program. In the memory 32, data processed by the CPU 31, programs with high execution frequency, and the like are temporarily recorded. The recording unit 33 is composed of, for example, a hard disk. In the recording unit 33, various programs including an image reproduction program, an image file generated by an electronic camera, and the like are recorded.

  The communication I / F 34 has a connection terminal of a serial communication standard such as USB or IEEE1394. The communication I / F 34 controls data transmission / reception with an external device (such as an electronic camera) connected via a connection terminal in accordance with the serial communication standard. Note that the communication I / F 34 may perform data transmission / reception with an external device by wireless communication complying with the IEEE 802.11 standard or wireless communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  A monitor 38 is connected to the display I / F 35. The monitor 38 displays a reproduction image of each image file when the image reproduction program is executed. The recording medium reading unit 36 is formed with a connector for connecting a recording medium (card type recording medium, small hard disk, optical disk, etc.) on which an image file is recorded. Then, the recording medium reading unit 36 reads data from the recording medium. The input unit 37 accepts various input operations from the user.

Next, the operation of the image reproduction apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
Step 201: The CPU 31 of the image reproduction apparatus accepts a reproduction setting input by the user via the input means 37. In S201, “resolution setting during reproduction”, “composite image display setting”, and the like are input to the CPU 31.

  Here, in the “resolution setting at the time of reproduction”, the type of the monitor 38 (NTSC, PAL, HDTV, etc.) that displays the reproduced image is input to the CPU 31. Then, the CPU 31 determines the image size (number of pixels) of the reproduced image according to the resolution of the monitor 38. The “composite image display setting” is a setting relating to an image file in the multi-continuous shooting mode. More specifically, “whether or not the composite image is cut out and displayed in a plurality of frames”, “designation of an image switching speed when the composite image is displayed in a plurality of frames”, and the like are input to the CPU 31.

  Step 202: The CPU 31 accepts an image file reproduction instruction (which image file is to be reproduced) by the user via the input means 37. Then, the CPU 31 sequentially executes the reproduction process with the image file designated by the user as the reproduction target. Here, the image file reproduced by the CPU 31 is an image file read from a recording medium via the recording medium reading unit 36, an image file read from an electronic camera or the like via the communication I / F 34, or a recording unit 33. Includes an image file recorded in advance.

Step 203: The CPU 31 determines whether or not the reproduction target is a composite image (whether there is identification information indicating the composite image data in the header file). If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S204. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S215.
Step 204: The CPU 31 determines whether or not a setting of “cut out a composite image into a plurality of frames and display (S201)” is set. If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S205. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S215.

Step 205: The CPU 31 cuts out the reduced image from the composite image based on the “image size of reduced image” data in the header file, and generates reduced images for the number of continuous shooting frames.
Step 206: The CPU 31 calculates the ratio (reduced image / reproduced image value) between the image size according to “Resolution resolution setting (S201)” and the “reduced image size” of the header file. Then, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the value of the reduced image / reproduced image is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S207. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S208.

Step 207: In this case, even if the reduced image is enlarged and displayed in accordance with the resolution of the monitor 38, the image is not so unsightly. Therefore, the CPU 31 converts each reduced image into the image size in S201 and generates a display image (see FIG. 7A).
Step 208: In this case, if the reduced image is enlarged and displayed in accordance with the resolution of the monitor 38, there is a high possibility that the image will be unsightly compared to other reproduced images. Therefore, the CPU 31 converts each reduced image into an image size smaller than the image size in S201 and generates a display image. In this case, each display image is displayed smaller than the normal reproduction image on the monitor 38 (see FIG. 7B).

Step 209: The CPU 31 determines whether or not there is “designation of image switching speed (S201)”. If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S210. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S214.
Step 210: The CPU 31 determines whether or not the header file to be reproduced has data of “the file name of the composite image taken immediately before and the shooting interval between the two composite images”. If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S211. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S212.

Step 211: In this case, the CPU 31 determines the display switching timing of the display image based on the “continuous shooting speed” data in the header file. Then, the CPU 31 automatically displays each display image in the order of shooting in accordance with the continuous shooting speed at the time of shooting (see FIG. 8). Note that after the display is completed, the CPU 31 proceeds to S216.
Step 212: The CPU 31 determines whether or not the “composite image taken immediately before (S210)” has been reproduced immediately before. If the above condition is met (YES side), the process proceeds to S213. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the process proceeds to S211.

  Step 213: This case corresponds to the case where continuously shot composite images are reproduced in the shooting order. At this time, the CPU 31 displays the current composite image in the same manner as in S211 after the shooting interval (S210) has elapsed with reference to the display time of the last frame of the previous time. That is, in the case of S213, the last frame of the previous composite image to the first frame of the next composite image are played back at the same time as the actual shooting interval (see FIG. 9). Note that after the display is completed, the CPU 31 proceeds to S216.

  Step 214: In this case, the CPU 31 switches and displays each display image in the shooting order based on the switching speed designated in S201. Therefore, when the switching speed is faster than the continuous shooting speed, a series of display images is displayed as a moving image on the monitor by fast-forwarding. When the switching speed is slower than the continuous shooting speed, a series of display images are displayed as a moving image on the monitor in slow motion. When the switching speed is set to “manual” in S201, the user can instruct the CPU 31 to switch the display screen using the input means. Note that after the display is completed, the CPU 31 proceeds to S216.

Step 215: In this case, the CPU 31 converts the captured image data to be reproduced into the image size of S201 and generates a reproduced image. Then, the CPU 31 displays the reproduced image on the monitor. When the composite image is reproduced and displayed in S215, a plurality of reduced images are displayed in a state of being combined into one frame (see FIG. 10).
Step 216: The CPU 31 determines whether or not to continue the reproduction of the image file. If the above condition is met (YES side), the CPU 31 returns to S203 to reproduce the next image file. On the other hand, if the above condition is not met (NO side), the reproduction of the image is terminated.

(Effect of this embodiment)
Hereinafter, the effect of this embodiment will be described.
In the image playback apparatus of the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the playback target is a composite image based on the identification information of the header file. When the playback target is a composite image, each reduced image is cut out and played back in the order of shooting. Yes (S203, S211, S213, S214). That is, the user can directly reproduce the composite image data and view the display image corresponding to each reduced image as a moving image. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to convert the composite image data into a moving image file in advance before reproduction.

  In the present embodiment, display switching of the display image on the monitor can be automatically performed according to the continuous shooting speed at the time of shooting (S211). Also, in this embodiment, when continuously shot composite images are played back in the order of shooting, the same time as the actual shooting interval is taken from the last frame of the previous composite image to the first frame of the next composite image. Can also be displayed (S213). Therefore, in the present embodiment, when a display image corresponding to each reduced image is viewed as a moving image, it is possible to perform reproduction display with high presence reflecting the situation at the time of shooting.

When the image size of each reduced image is significantly smaller than the image size of the playback image, the image playback device of this embodiment generates a display image with an image size smaller than normal (S208). Therefore, when a display image corresponding to each reduced image is viewed as a moving image, the possibility that a display image with a remarkably low resolution is displayed on the monitor is reduced.
In the present embodiment, display switching of the display image on the monitor can be performed by automatic switching at an arbitrary speed or manual switching (S214). In the present embodiment, a plurality of reduced images can be displayed as they are in one frame (S204, S215). Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reproduce a variety of composite images according to the user's intention.

(Supplementary items of the embodiment)
As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated by said embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the electronic camera of the above embodiment may constitute an image playback device.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic camera of this embodiment Flow chart for explaining the operation of the electronic camera of this embodiment in the “multi-continuous shooting mode” Diagram showing an example of a composite image The block diagram which shows the structure of the image reproduction apparatus of this embodiment Flow chart for explaining the operation of the image reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment Flow chart for explaining the operation of the image reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment The figure which shows the display state of the display image on the monitor Explanatory drawing which shows the case where it reproduces | regenerates for every reduced image of a composite image Explanatory drawing which shows the reproduction | regeneration space | interval at the time of reproducing | regenerating the composite image taken continuously in order of photography Explanatory drawing which shows the case where a synthetic image is reproduced as one frame

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Image sensor, 13 ... A / D conversion part, 14 ... Buffer memory, 15 ... Image processing part, 16 ... Recording I / F, 17 ... Operation member, 18 ... Communication I / F, 19 ... Display I / F, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Monitor, 21 ... CPU, 23 ... Recording medium, 31 ... CPU, 32 ... Memory, 33 ... Recording part, 34 ... Communication I / F, 35 ... Display I / F, 36 ... Recording medium reading part, 37 ... Input Means, 38 ... monitor

Claims (8)

An imaging unit that photoelectrically converts a light beam from a subject to generate a still image;
An image processing unit that generates a reduced image by reducing each still image generated by continuous shooting by the imaging unit, and generates combined image data by combining the reduced images of a plurality of frames into one frame;
A header file that records at least one of data for continuous shooting speed of the still image and data for calculating the image size of the reduced image, and identification data indicating that the type of the image data is the composite image data; A control unit that generates and outputs the header file in association with the composite image data;
An electronic camera comprising: The electronic camera according to claim 1,
When the composite image data is continuously generated, the control unit includes the data indicating the composite image data captured last time and the composite image of the current time from the last frame captured with the previous composite image data. An electronic camera, wherein recording interval data indicating a time until shooting of the first frame in data is further recorded in the header file. Reading means for reading composite image data obtained by combining a plurality of reduced images acquired by continuous shooting into one frame, and a header file in which identification data indicating that the type of image data is the composite image data;
A display interface for outputting a reproduced image of the image data to a monitor;
An image processing unit for generating a display image corresponding to each reduced image of the composite image data;
A control unit that identifies the composite image data from the image data based on the identification data, and causes each display image to be automatically displayed on the monitor during reproduction of the composite image data;
An image reproducing apparatus comprising: The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 3,
The header file further records continuous shooting speed data in the continuous shooting,
The image reproduction apparatus, wherein the control unit determines a display switching timing of the display image based on the continuous shooting speed. The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 3,
It further includes an operation unit that accepts external input,
The image reproduction apparatus characterized in that the control unit determines a display switching timing of the display image based on an input from the operation unit. The image reproduction apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The header file includes data indicating the previously captured composite image data, and the time from the last frame capture with the previous composite image data to the first frame capture with the current composite image data. Recording interval data is further recorded,
The control unit, when a plurality of the composite image data is reproduced in the shooting order, a display image corresponding to the last frame of the composite image data and a display image corresponding to the first frame of the next composite image data An image reproduction apparatus characterized in that display switching timing is determined based on the photographing interval data. The image reproduction device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The control unit includes a normal playback mode in which a playback image of the composite image data is displayed on the monitor in one frame, and an automatic switching mode in which each display image is automatically displayed on the monitor when the composite image data is played back. And an image reproducing apparatus characterized by being selectable. The image reproduction device according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
Data for calculating the image size of the reduced image is further recorded in the header file,
The control unit acquires the image size of the reduced image from the header file, and changes the image size of the display image based on the image size of the reduced image.

Images