JP2008085581A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus capable of obtaining an image balancing a background and a human face without requiring complicate image processing such as region capture of image data, image synthesis or the like when there is a person in a photographing scene. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus has an image-sensing element for generating image data by forming a subject image and a photographing-mode specifying operator for specifying an arbitrary photographing mode from a plurality of photographing modes. The imaging apparatus further has a face detecting section for detecting whether or not there is a human face in the photographing scene on the basis of the image data obtained by the image-sensing element. The imaging apparatus has a special photographing mode for conducting flash-off photographing when there is the human face in the photographing scene and the face has a specified brightness or more and when there is no human face in the photographing scene. The imaging apparatus has a special photographing mode for conducting flash-on photographing when there is the human face in the photographing scene and the face has a brightness less than a specified one. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus that forms a subject image on an image sensor and generates image data in accordance with a photographing operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a digital camera in which a user designates an arbitrary photographing mode from a plurality of photographing modes and performs photographing under photographing conditions corresponding to the designated photographing mode. These shooting modes include, for example, a night view mode suitable for shooting night scenes, a sunset mode suitable for shooting sunsets, a portrait mode suitable for shooting people, and a sport mode suitable for shooting fast-moving subjects. There is an auto mode that automatically controls shooting conditions on the digital camera side.

  Here, for example, when the user designates the sunset mode from a plurality of shooting modes, in the sunset mode, the flash is fixed to non-light emission so that the sunset can be taken beautifully, or the white color of the image data is adjusted. The white balance adjustment is automatically fixed to sunlight to prevent correcting the sunset color more than necessary.

  However, in this sunset mode, there is a problem that when a human face is photographed against a sunset background, the human face is backlit and appears dark.

  When the user designates the night view mode, in the night view mode, the flash is normally fixed to non-light emission so that the night view can be taken beautifully.

  However, in this night view mode, there is a problem that a human face appears dark.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a digital camera has been proposed that aims to obtain a balanced image of a human face and a night view in night view mode shooting (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-87645 A

  In the digital camera of Patent Document 1, when shooting a human face against a night view, flash-on shooting and flash-off shooting are performed for the same shooting scene, and a first image obtained by flash-on shooting is used. By performing image composition processing for replacing the human image area in the second image with the human image area in the first image from the second image obtained by flash-off shooting, the human face And the final image balanced with night view.

  However, the digital camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 has a problem in that it takes an extra amount of time for the image composition process, and there is a risk that the user may miss a photo opportunity when he / she wants to continue photographing.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an imaging device that does not require image composition processing when a person is present in a shooting scene and can obtain an image in which a background and a human face are balanced. Objective.

The photographing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object provides:
An image sensor that generates image data by forming a subject image;
A shooting mode designator for designating an arbitrary shooting mode from a plurality of shooting modes;
A face detection unit that detects whether or not a human face is present in the shooting scene based on the image data obtained by the imaging device;
If there is a human face in the shooting scene and the face is above the specified brightness, or if there is no human face in the shooting scene, flash-off shooting is performed, and there is a human face in the shooting scene. It has a special photographing mode for performing flash-on photographing when the face is less than a predetermined luminance.

  Here, the “photographing scene” referred to in the present invention means a scene within a photographing field angle that is scheduled to be photographed.

  According to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, when a human face exists in a photographing scene and the face is less than a predetermined luminance, flash-on photographing is performed, so that the face does not appear dark. In this case, the background color may be slightly crushed by flash-on shooting. However, an image in which the background and the human face are balanced can be obtained compared to the case where the face appears dark in flash-off shooting.

  Furthermore, it is possible to avoid the possibility of missing a photo opportunity when the user wants to continuously take an image because the image composition process is not required and unnecessary time is taken.

  Further, when a human face exists in the shooting scene and the face has a predetermined luminance or higher, the face does not appear dark in flash-off shooting. In this case, with respect to the background, the risk of the background color being crushed due to flash-off shooting is avoided. Therefore, an image in which the background and the human face are further balanced can be obtained as compared with the flash-on shooting when the human face is less than the predetermined luminance.

  In the photographing apparatus of the present invention, the special photographing mode is preferably a sunset mode in which photographing conditions suitable for photographing a sunset landscape are selected.

  When the above special shooting mode is sunset mode, if there is a human face in the shooting scene, flash-on / flash-off shooting is performed according to the brightness of the face, and the sunset and the human face are balanced. An image is obtained.

  In the photographing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the special photographing mode is a night scene mode in which photographing conditions suitable for photographing a night scene are selected.

  When the special shooting mode is the night view mode, as in the sunset mode, if there is a human face in the shooting scene, flash-on / flash-off shooting is performed according to the brightness of the face. A balanced image can be obtained.

  The photographing apparatus of the present invention further includes a white balance adjusting unit that performs white balance adjustment, and the white balance adjusting unit is a white level that retains the taste of scenery when performing flash-on shooting in the special shooting mode. It is preferable to perform balance adjustment.

  When a person is present in the photographic scene, an image in which the human face is blended into the photographic scene can be obtained by performing white balance adjustment at a level where the taste of the scenery remains on the human face.

  The photographing apparatus of the present invention further includes a sensitivity setting unit for setting photographing sensitivity, and the sensitivity setting unit is relatively higher when performing flash-on photographing in the night view mode than when performing flash-off photographing. The sensitivity is preferably set.

  When shooting beautiful night scenes, the shutter speed is usually slow, but if there is a human being, there is a possibility that the human may move. Can be prevented.

  In the photographing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the sensitivity setting unit increases the photographing sensitivity as the face distance increases when performing flash-on photographing in the night view mode.

  By increasing the shooting sensitivity as the distance of the face increases, it is possible to reduce the darkness of the human face even if the distance of the face increases.

In the photographing apparatus of the present invention, a photographing auxiliary light source capable of freely adjusting the color temperature of the flash light
A color temperature measurement unit for measuring the color temperature of the shooting scene;
A color temperature setting unit for setting the color temperature of the photographing auxiliary light source,
Preferably, the color temperature setting unit sets the color temperature of the flash light to a color temperature that matches the color temperature of the shooting scene when performing flash-on shooting in the special shooting mode.

  Here, the “color temperature matched to the color temperature of the shooting scene” in the present invention refers to the case where the color temperature of the flash light is the same as the color temperature of the shooting scene, or the color temperature of the flash light is R (red ), G (green), B (blue), and the like.

  By setting the color temperature of the flash light to a color temperature that matches the color temperature of the shooting scene, an image having a color close to the color of the subject at the time of shooting is obtained.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an imaging device that can obtain an image in which a background and a human face are balanced without the need for image composition processing when a human is present in a shooting scene.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed obliquely from above and forward.

  A front surface 11 of the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a lens barrel 10 having a photographing optical system, a flash light emission window 12 for emitting a flash toward a subject, and a viewfinder objective window 13 for viewing the subject. Has been. A release button 15 and a shooting mode dial 16 are provided on the upper surface 14 of the digital camera 1. The release button 15 has two operation modes of half-press and full-press. “Half-press” refers to an operation of pressing the release button 15 to some extent and stopping at that position. “Full press” is an operation of fully pressing the release button 15, and photographing is performed by the full press operation. The shooting mode dial 16 corresponds to an example of a shooting mode designation operator according to the present invention. The shooting mode designated by the shooting mode dial 16 of the digital camera 1 includes a night view mode, a sunset mode, a sports mode, a macro mode, and a portrait mode. It shall be used for night view mode, sunset mode, and portrait mode.

  Here, the sunset mode and the night view mode correspond to an example of the special mode according to the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the digital camera shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a power button 22 and a mode switch 23 are provided on the back surface 21 of the digital camera 1. The power button 22 is for turning on / off the power of the digital camera 1, and the mode switch 23 is a switch for switching between a photographing mode and a reproduction mode.

  Further, a menu switching and execution key 24 is provided on the back surface 21 of the digital camera 1. The menu switching and execution key 24 is a key for selecting and executing a setting condition by freely switching a menu used for still image shooting in the shooting mode and in the playback mode.

  Further, a wide-angle zoom key 25, a telephoto zoom key 26, a liquid crystal display panel 27, and a viewfinder eyepiece window 28 are provided on the back surface 21 of the digital camera 1. The wide angle zoom key 25 is a key for changing the focal length to the wide angle side, and the telephoto zoom key 26 is a key for changing the focal length to the telephoto side. The liquid crystal display panel 27 displays a subject image, menu switching, a menu of the execution key 24, and the like on a liquid crystal display. The viewfinder eyepiece window 28 is a window through which a user looks into a subject when photographing.

  Further, a recording medium loading port 32 is provided on the side surface 31 of the digital camera 1. A recording medium 134 on which image data is recorded is loaded from the recording medium loading port 32 so as to be freely taken out.

  Next, the internal hardware configuration of the digital camera 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal hardware configuration of the digital camera shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The digital camera 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100.

  The CPU 100 includes an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 100_1 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 100_2. The EEPROM 100_1 is composed of a rewritable nonvolatile memory. A program is stored in the ROM 100_2. The operation of the digital camera 1 is controlled by the CPU 100 according to the procedure of this program.

  In the digital camera 1, the subject distance is detected by TTL (Through The Lens) distance measurement, and the subject brightness is detected by TTL (Through The Lens) metering.

  In TTL distance measurement, distance measurement can be performed for each of a plurality of distance measurement areas obtained by two-dimensionally dividing the shooting angle of view. In TTL metering, the shooting angle of view is two-dimensionally. Photometry can be performed for each of the plurality of divided photometry areas. Further, as will be described later, when detecting the brightness of the face of the subject and the distance of the face, TTL photometry and TTL distance measurement can be performed in a spot manner on the area where the face is detected.

  The digital camera 1 includes an operation unit 20 and a power supply unit 110. The operation unit 20 receives the operation of each operator provided on the back surface 21 and the upper surface 14 of the digital camera 1 already described in FIG. 2 and outputs a signal indicating the reception to the CPU 100. The power supply unit 110 is provided with a battery (rechargeable battery) (not shown), and receives power supply operation to supply power to each block from the battery.

  The digital camera 1 includes an imaging unit 30. The imaging unit 30 includes a lens barrel 10 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) 104. The CCD 104 corresponds to an example of an image sensor according to the present invention.

  In the lens barrel 10, a zoom lens 101, a focus lens 102, and an iris 103 are provided in order from the front.

  Here, the subject light enters the zoom lens 101, passes through the focus lens 102, passes through the iris 103 that adjusts the amount of the subject light, and then forms an image on the CCD 104. Originally, a plurality of lenses are provided in the photographing optical system, and at least one of the plurality of lenses is largely involved in the focus adjustment, and the relative position of each lens is involved in the focal length. A lens related to changing the focal length is schematically shown as a zoom lens 101, and a lens related to focus adjustment is also shown schematically as a focus lens 102.

  The digital camera 1 includes a zoom lens motor (M1) 101_1 for driving a zoom lens, a focus lens motor (M2) 102_1 for driving a focus lens, an iris motor (M3) 103_1 for opening / closing an iris, and an optical control unit 115. Is provided. The optical control unit 115 causes the zoom lens motor 101_1 to drive the zoom lens 101 or causes the focus lens motor 102_1 to drive the focus lens 102 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 100. The optical control unit 115 also changes the opening diameter of the iris 102 in the iris motor 103_1 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 100.

  The digital camera 1 includes a CDS (Cragged Double Sampling) 111, an A / D conversion unit 112, a white balance adjustment unit 113, a γ (gamma) processing unit 114, and a clock generator 116. . The CDS 111 performs processing for reducing noise in the image signal output from the CCD 104, and the A / D converter 112 converts the analog signal into a digitized RGB signal.

  The white balance adjustment unit 113 adjusts the white balance of the image data by adjusting the balance of the R component, G component, and B component of the RGB signal converted by the A / D conversion unit 112. The white balance adjustment unit 113 is provided with an amplifier (not shown) that changes the amplification factor (gain) of the image signal from the CCD 104. The γ processing unit 114 adjusts the gradation characteristics (so-called γ curve) of the subject image.

  The clock generator 116 outputs a timing signal based on an instruction from the CPU 100, and controls the timing of the electronic shutter in the CCD 104 and the timing of reading the image signal.

  The digital camera 1 includes an AF (Auto Focus) detection unit 117 and an AE (Auto Exposure) detection unit 118. The AF detection unit 117 is instructed by the CPU 100 for a TTL distance measurement area, and detects an in-focus state in the distance measurement area based on an image signal representing a captured image. Based on the detected in-focus state and the position of the focus lens 102 at that time, the CPU 100 calculates the subject distance in the distance measurement area. The AE detection unit 118 is instructed by the CPU 100 for the TTL metering area, and detects the subject brightness in the measurement area based on the brightness information of the image from the brightness signal (Y) described later.

  The digital camera 1 includes a buffer memory 121, a YC processing unit 122, a YC / RGB processing unit 123, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) control unit 124, and a data bus 130. The buffer memory 121 temporarily stores the RGB signal subjected to the image processing in the γ processing unit 114 after the image processing in the white balance adjustment unit 113. The YC processing unit 122 converts the RGB signal stored in the buffer memory 121 into a YC signal composed of the luminance signal (Y) and the color signal (C) in order to provide the luminance signal (Y) to the AE detection unit 118. To do. The YC / RGB processing unit 123 converts the YC signal generated by the YC processing unit 122 into an RGB signal for through image display. The RGB signals are transmitted to the liquid crystal display panel 27 via the LCD control unit 124 that processes the RGB signals at high speed, and are displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 27 as a through image.

  The digital camera 1 includes a compression / expansion unit 131, an interface (I / F) unit 132, a medium recording device 133, and a recording medium 134.

  The compression / decompression unit 131 compresses or decompresses image data converted into a YC signal. The medium recording device 133 physically records image data on the recording medium 134. The interface (I / F) unit 132 provides a communication interface so that the compressed image data can be recorded on the recording medium 134.

  Further, the digital camera 1 includes a flash light emission control unit 151 and a flash light emission unit 152.

  The flash light emitting unit 152 uses LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) of three colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) as a flash light source.

  The flash light emitting unit 152 corresponds to an example of a photographing auxiliary light source according to the present invention.

  The flash light emission control unit 151 is designated with the color temperature of the flash light emission by specifying the color temperature from the CPU 100 and controlling the ratio of the light emission amounts of the LEDs of the flash light emission unit 152 to the ratio corresponding to the color temperature. The color temperature is adjusted. The flash light emission unit 152 emits the auxiliary photographing light according to the color temperature adjustment by the flash light emission control unit 151.

  Next, functions of the digital camera 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described using a functional block diagram and a flowchart. First, a functional block diagram will be described, and the internal hardware configuration of the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 3 will be referred to as necessary.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the digital camera 1 shown in FIG.

  Functionally, the digital camera 1 includes a shooting operation unit 200 and an imaging processing unit 201.

  The shooting operation unit 200 receives a shooting operation from the user and transmits a signal indicating which shooting operation is received to other functional blocks. The functions of the photographing operation unit 200 are performed by the operation unit 20 and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  When a full-press operation is transmitted from the imaging operation unit 200, the imaging processing unit 201 performs an imaging process of forming a subject image on the imaging element and outputting an RGB signal representing the subject signal.

  In addition to the above-described imaging process, the imaging processing unit 201 also performs a process of outputting an RGB signal representing a through image. In addition, the shooting mode designated by the shooting operation unit 200 is also determined, and when the shooting mode is one of the sunset mode and the night scene mode, the face detection unit 202 described later performs face detection. Also give instructions.

  In addition, the imaging processing unit 201 receives a half-press operation and determines the sensitivity of the digital camera 1 within the shooting angle of view by TTL photometry. In this case, ISO sensitivity '100', ISO sensitivity '200', ISO sensitivity '400', ISO sensitivity '800', ISO sensitivity, which are referred to as ISO sensitivity internationally standardized to express the sensitivity of the analog camera. The sensitivity of the digital camera 1 is selectively determined from the sensitivities corresponding to “1600”.

  The functions of the imaging processing unit 201 are performed by the imaging unit 30, the CDS 111, the A / D conversion unit 112, the optical control unit 115, the clock generator 116, the AE detection unit 118, and the CPU 100 on the hardware illustrated in FIG. ing.

  Functionally, the digital camera 1 also includes a face detection unit 202.

  The face detection unit 202 receives a face detection instruction from the imaging processing unit 201, detects a face within the shooting angle of view, detects the brightness of the face range, and detects the distance of the face. Specifically, the face detection unit 202 detects the face portion of the subject image by extracting the skin color portion using the image data representing the through image, and the position of the face within the shooting angle of view. Coordinate data for specifying the face and a face detection area (horizontal width, vertical width) where the face exists are obtained. When a face is detected, the AE detection unit 118 receives a TTL metering instruction from the CPU 100 to the face detection area, and obtains the brightness of the face based on the luminance signal at each point in the face detection area. Also, the AF detection unit 117 receives an instruction for TTL distance measurement into the face detection area from the CPU 100, detects the in-focus state based on the image signal of each point in the face detection area, and the CPU 100 detects the in-focus state. Is used to find the face distance. That is, the function of the face detection unit 202 is performed by the AF detection unit 117, the AE detection unit 118, and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  Functionally, the digital camera 1 also includes a face luminance determination unit 203 and a sensitivity setting unit 204.

  The face luminance determining unit 203 determines whether to flash on or off based on the luminance of the face detection area detected by the face detecting unit 202. The function of the face luminance determination unit 203 is performed by the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  When the face detection unit 202 detects a face in the night scene mode, the sensitivity setting unit 204 sets the sensitivity determined by the imaging processing unit 201 as the sensitivity of the digital camera 1 to the distance of the face detected by the face detection unit 202. Change the sensitivity accordingly. In this case, the sensitivity increases as the face distance increases. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the fact that a human face is photographed darkly even if the face distance is increased.

  The function of the sensitivity setting unit 204 is performed by the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The digital camera 1 also has a white balance image processing unit 205, a signal processing unit 206, a display unit 207, and a recording unit 208 functionally.

  The white balance image processing unit 205 performs white balance adjustment of image data and realizes the determined photographing sensitivity. The functions of the white balance image processing unit 205 are performed by the white balance adjustment unit 113 and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The signal processing unit 206 adjusts the gradation characteristics of the image data after the white balance adjustment and converts it into a YC signal. The function of the signal processing unit 206 is performed by the γ processing unit 114, the YC processing unit 122, and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The display unit 207 displays a through image on the liquid crystal display panel 27 shown in FIG. The functions of the display unit 207 are performed by the YC / RGB processing unit 123, the LCD control unit 124, the liquid crystal display panel 27, and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG. The recording unit 208 records image data on a recording medium.

  The functions of the recording unit 208 are performed by the compression / expansion unit 131, the interface (I / F) unit 132, the medium recording device 133, and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The digital camera 1 functionally includes a flash emission control processing unit 209, a color temperature measurement unit 210, and a color temperature variable flash emission unit 211.

  The color temperature measurement unit 210 measures the color temperature of the shooting scene based on the through image data. The function of the color temperature measurement unit 210 is performed by the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The flash light emission control processing unit 209 adjusts the ratio of the light emission amounts of the LEDs included in the color temperature variable flash light emission unit 211 so that the color temperature measured by the color temperature measurement unit 210 is obtained. The flash emission control processing unit 209 corresponds to an example of a color temperature setting unit according to the present invention.

  The function of the flash emission control processing unit 209 is performed by the flash emission control unit 151 and the CPU 100 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  The color temperature variable flash light emitting unit 211 emits each LED to emit light according to the light emission amount ratio adjusted by the flash light emission control processing unit 209. The function of the color temperature variable flash light emitting unit 211 is performed by the flash light emitting unit 152 on the hardware shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing functions of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the user performs a power-on operation such as pressing the power button 22 shown in FIG. 2, the photographing operation unit 200 transmits a signal indicating that the power-on operation has been received to the CPU 100. In the CPU 100, as the initialization of the digital camera 1, the execution of the program in the ROM 100_2 is started, a through image is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 27, and the setting operation of the shooting conditions and the operation of the release button 15 are accepted. .

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is started upon initialization of the digital camera 1.

  First, when a shooting mode is designated by the shooting operation unit 200, the imaging processing unit 201 or the like receives a signal representing the shooting mode (step S101).

  When the release button 15 is pressed halfway (step S102), the imaging processing unit 201 determines which shooting mode is designated (step S103).

  When the shooting mode is one of the sunset mode and the night view mode, the imaging processing unit 201 issues a face detection instruction to the face detection unit 202, and the face detection unit 202, as described above, The coordinate data for specifying the position of the face within the shooting angle of view and the face detection area (horizontal width, vertical width) where the face exists are obtained (step S104).

  Next, it is determined whether or not a face has been detected (step S105).

  If a face is detected, the process proceeds to step S106, and the face detection unit 202 obtains the brightness of the face and the distance of the face.

  Next, the face luminance determining unit 203 determines whether or not the luminance of the face is a luminance that does not have to compensate for the shortage of external light by emitting a flash (step S107).

  When the brightness of the face is low enough to compensate for the shortage of external light by emitting a flash, the process proceeds to step S108, and it is determined whether or not the shooting mode is the night scene mode.

  If the night scene mode is determined in step S108, the process proceeds to sensitivity setting processing in step S109, and the sensitivity setting unit 204 determines ISO sensitivity '400', ISO sensitivity '800', ISO according to the face distance. The sensitivity of the digital camera 1 is determined as one of the sensitivities corresponding to the sensitivity “1600”. This sensitivity setting process is skipped in the sunset mode.

  In step S110, the color temperature measurement unit 210 measures the color temperature of the shooting scene.

  Subsequently, the flash light emission control processing unit 209 adjusts the ratio of the light emission amounts of the LEDs included in the color temperature variable flash light emission unit 211 so as to be the color temperature measured by the color temperature measurement unit 210 (step S111).

  Thereafter, when the release button 15 is fully pressed by the user (step S112), the photographing operation unit 200 sends a photographing start signal to the imaging processing unit 201 and the flash emission control processing unit 209. In response to this shooting start signal, the flash light emission control processing unit 209 instructs the color temperature variable flash light emission unit 211 so that the color temperature variable flash light emission unit 211 measures the color temperature measured by the color temperature measurement unit 210. Shooting assist light suitable for. In synchronization with the flash emission timing, the imaging processing unit 201 generates image data composed of RGB converted into digital signals (step S113).

  When shooting in sunset mode, the flash fires in a color that matches the color of the sunset instead of the light that disturbs the orange color of the sunset. can get.

  Also, when shooting in night view mode, the flash is emitted in a color that matches the color of the streetlight, not the light that disturbs the color of the streetlight, etc. A captured image is obtained.

  Subsequently, the white balance image processing unit 205 performs white balance adjustment considering the color of the face (step S114). Specifically, when the color of the face due to sunset or street lights is completely corrected, the color of the sunset or night view itself is weakened, so that the white balance adjustment is performed while suppressing the taste of the sunset or night view. Therefore, not only the brightness of the face but also the color of the face can be suitably photographed.

  Subsequently, processing of the signal processing unit 206 is executed.

  Here, the display unit 207 displays the captured image, and the recording unit 208 records the image data on the recording medium 134 (step S115).

  After the image data is recorded on the recording medium 134, when the power is turned off by the user (step S116: Yes), the processing routine of the photographing operation shown in FIG. 5 ends. On the other hand, if the power is not turned off by the user (step S116: No), the process returns to accepting the shooting mode in step S101. When shooting in the same shooting mode, when pressed halfway (step S102), the process proceeds to the determination of the shooting mode in step S103. When changing the shooting mode, the shooting mode is switched in step S101. When pressed halfway (step S102), the process proceeds to the determination of the shooting mode in step S103.

  As described above, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, a human face exists in a night scene or sunset scene, and flash-on shooting is performed when the brightness of the face is low, so the face is dark. It is not necessary to capture the image, and an image in which the background and the human face are balanced can be obtained. Furthermore, complicated processing such as image composition is not required, and it does not take extra time, so that the possibility of missing a photo opportunity is avoided when the user wants to continue shooting.

  In the face detection determination in step S103 described above, when a human face is not detected in a night scene or sunset shooting scene, and in the face brightness determination in step S105, the face brightness is flash. When the brightness is higher than the brightness that does not have to compensate for the shortage of external light, the flash emission control processing unit 209 first sets the flash to non-emission, and the release button 15 is fully pressed by the user. Thus (step S121), flash-off shooting is performed with the sensitivity setting at the time of half-pressing by the imaging processing unit 201 being the same, and the imaging processing unit 201 generates image data composed of RGB converted into digital signals ( Step S122).

  Next, white balance adjustment is performed so that the night view / sunset color remains (step S123).

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S115, and after this step S115, the same processing as the above-described processing is executed, and thus a duplicate description is omitted.

  In this way, when a human face is present in a night scene or sunset scene and the brightness of the face is high, or when there is no human face, flash-off shooting is performed to Therefore, an image in which a night view or a sunset scene is suitably photographed can be obtained.

  If the portrait mode is selected in the determination of the shooting mode in step S103, the process skips to step S131, the portrait mode shooting conditions are set, and the release button 15 is fully pressed by the user. Thus (step S132), the imaging processing unit 201 generates image data composed of RGB converted into digital signals (step S133).

  Subsequently, the white balance image processing unit 205 performs white balance adjustment according to the portrait mode (step S134).

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S115, and since the same process as the process described above is executed after step 115, a duplicate description is omitted.

  Above, description about embodiment of this invention is complete | finished.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, an example in which the color temperature of flash emission is adjusted and light is emitted in the special mode according to the present invention is shown. However, the photographing apparatus of the present invention uses a xenon tube as a flash light source. And only the flash on / flash off switching control may be performed in the special mode.

1 is an external perspective view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed obliquely from above and front. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the digital camera shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions inside the digital camera shown in FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 3. It is a flowchart which shows the function of the digital camera of one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 10 Lens barrel 11 Front surface of digital camera 1 Flash emission window 13 Viewfinder objective window 14 Upper surface of digital camera 15 Release button 16 Shooting mode dial 20 Operation unit 21 Rear surface of digital camera 22 Power button 23 Mode switch 24 Menu switching And execution key 25 wide-angle zoom key 26 telephoto zoom key 27 liquid crystal display panel 28 finder eyepiece window 31 side surface 32 recording medium loading port 100 CPU
100_1 EEPROM
100_2 ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Zoom lens 101_1 Zoom lens motor 102 Focus lens 102_1 Focus lens motor 103 Iris 103_1 Iris lens motor 104 CCD
110 Power supply 111 CDS
112 A / D conversion unit 113 White balance adjustment unit 114 γ (gamma) processing unit 115 Optical control unit 116 Clock generator 117 AF detection unit 118 AE detection unit 121 Buffer memory 122 YC processing unit 123 YC / RGB processing unit 124 LCD control unit DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 Data bus 131 Compression / decompression part 132 I / F part 133 Medium recording device 134 Recording medium 151 Flash light emission control part 152 Flash light emission part 153 Color temperature measurement part 154 Color temperature setting part 200 Shooting operation part 201 Imaging process part 202 Face detection Unit 203 face luminance determination unit 204 sensitivity setting unit 205 white balance image processing unit 206 signal processing unit 207 display unit 208 recording unit 209 flash emission control processing unit 210 color temperature measurement unit 211 color temperature variable flash emission unit

Claims (7)

An image sensor that generates image data by forming a subject image;
A shooting mode designator for designating an arbitrary shooting mode from a plurality of shooting modes;
A face detection unit that detects whether or not a human face is present in a shooting scene based on image data obtained by the image sensor;
When a human face is present in the shooting scene and the face is equal to or higher than the predetermined brightness, and when there is no human face in the shooting scene, flash-off shooting is performed, and a human face exists in the shooting scene and A photographing apparatus having a special photographing mode for performing flash-on photographing when the face is less than a predetermined luminance.   2. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the special photographing mode is a sunset mode in which photographing conditions suitable for photographing a sunset landscape are selected.   2. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the special photographing mode is a night view mode in which photographing conditions suitable for photographing a night view are selected.   A white balance adjustment unit that performs white balance adjustment, and the white balance adjustment unit performs white balance adjustment at a level that retains the taste of scenery when performing flash-on shooting in the special shooting mode. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein:   A sensitivity setting unit for setting shooting sensitivity, and the sensitivity setting unit sets a relatively higher sensitivity when performing flash-on shooting in the night scene mode than when performing flash-off shooting. The photographing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein   6. The photographing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, when performing flash-on photographing in the night scene mode, the sensitivity setting unit increases photographing sensitivity as the face distance increases. A shooting auxiliary light source with adjustable flash color temperature,
A color temperature measurement unit for measuring the color temperature of the shooting scene;
A color temperature setting unit for setting the color temperature of the photographing auxiliary light source,
The color temperature setting unit, when performing flash-on shooting in the special shooting mode, sets the color temperature of the flash light to a color temperature that matches the color temperature of the shooting scene. The imaging apparatus according to 1.

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