JP2008141743A - Apparatus, method and program for photography - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photography apparatus capable of easily acquiring a required image. <P>SOLUTION: Two images are acquired in photography according to two photography methods. An intermediate image preparation part 86 prepares an intermediate image between the two images. Then, the intermediate image is displayed on a liquid crystal monitor 18 so as to be adjusted by an instruction from an operation system 10, a selection command of a required intermediate image is received and the intermediate image whose selection instruction is received is recorded in a recording medium 70. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus and method for acquiring an image by photographing, and a program for causing a computer to execute the photographing method.

  When shooting with a digital camera, the image is acquired by setting the shooting conditions such as exposure, in-focus position, and the presence or absence of flash emission, and image processing conditions such as gradation correction, color correction and white balance, Thereby, a high quality image can be obtained. In addition, an image is acquired by determining shooting conditions and image processing conditions so that a main subject such as a person's face, not the entire image, has a preferable image quality.

  By the way, the above-described shooting conditions and image processing conditions are determined by analyzing the pre-image or the main image obtained by pre-shooting or main shooting. However, if the analysis fails, appropriate shooting conditions and image processing conditions are set. It may not be possible to set. For example, if the analysis of the exposure and focus position fails, the image capturing condition cannot be set appropriately, so that the image is overexposed or out of focus. Further, if the analysis of the degree of white balance correction fails, for example, although tungsten is used as the light source, the image may become an atmosphere like a daylight scene. In such a case, an image having a desired image quality cannot be acquired.

Here, though it is at the time of printing, it creates an image corrected for red eyes that occurs when shooting using the flash, displays the corrected image and the image before correction, and makes the photographer select A technique has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). In addition, a method has been proposed in which a main subject included in an image acquired by photographing is enlarged and displayed on a monitor of a digital camera to facilitate image confirmation (see Patent Document 2). According to these methods, since the displayed image can be confirmed, the photographer can acquire a desired image by performing photographing until the user is satisfied.
JP 2004-112390 A JP 2005-318515 A

  However, even if the image is confirmed as in the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above, if the image desired by the photographer is not acquired by photographing, the photographer needs to perform photographing again. Therefore, the operation becomes very troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable easy acquisition of a desired image.

An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that acquires an image by imaging,
Display means for performing various displays including the image;
Input means for performing various inputs;
Photographing control means for controlling the photographing means so as to acquire two images by photographing by two photographing methods;
Intermediate image creating means for creating an intermediate image of the two images;
Recording that displays the intermediate image on the display unit so as to be adjustable in accordance with an instruction from the input unit, receives an instruction to select a desired intermediate image, and records the intermediate image on which the selection instruction has been received on a recording medium And a control means.

  An “intermediate image” is an image whose image content is intermediate between two images. For example, an image having an intermediate image quality between two images, or an intermediate facial expression in which two facial expressions are included in the two images It can be set as the image which has.

  In the photographing apparatus according to the present invention, the two photographing methods may be photographing methods in which at least one of exposure, focus position, flash emission, gradation, color correction, and white balance is made different. In addition to the above, the photographing method includes photographing in which facial expressions differ.

  In the photographing apparatus according to the present invention, the recording control means may be means for enlarging and displaying the main subject area included in the intermediate image on the display means.

An imaging method according to the present invention is an imaging method in an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit that acquires an image by imaging, a display unit that performs various displays including the image, and an input unit that performs various inputs.
Two images are acquired by shooting with two shooting methods,
Creating an intermediate image of the two images,
The intermediate image is displayed on the display means so as to be adjustable by an instruction from the input means,
Accept selection instruction of desired intermediate image,
The intermediate image for which the selection instruction is accepted is recorded on a recording medium.

  In addition, you may provide as a program for making a computer perform the imaging | photography method by this invention.

  According to the present invention, shooting is performed by two shooting methods, two images are acquired, and an intermediate image of the two images is created. Then, the intermediate image is displayed on the display unit so as to be adjustable, an instruction for selecting a desired intermediate image is received, and the intermediate image for which the selection instruction has been received is recorded on a recording medium. For this reason, the photographer can create an intermediate image that he / she prefers and record it on a recording medium, thereby obtaining a desired image without retaking the image.

  Further, by enlarging and displaying the area of the main subject included in the intermediate image, it becomes easy to confirm the main subject included in the image.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a digital camera to which a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 1 converts image data acquired by photographing into an image file in Exif format and records it on a recording medium 70 that can be attached to and detached from the main body.

  This digital camera is an operation part 10 such as an operation mode switch, a menu / OK button, a zoom lever, up / down / left / right buttons, a release button, and a power switch, and an interface part for transmitting the operation contents of these switches to the CPU 75. And an operation system control unit 74.

  In this embodiment, as the operation mode, in addition to the shooting mode and the playback mode, it is possible to set a multi-image shooting mode in which two shooting methods are set and two images are acquired.

  The optical system includes a focus lens 20a and a zoom lens 20b. Each lens can be moved in the optical axis direction by a focus lens driving unit 51 and a zoom lens driving unit 52 including a motor and a motor driver. The focus lens driving unit 51 controls the movement of each lens based on the focus driving amount data output from the AF processing unit 62 and the zoom lens driving unit 52 based on the operation amount data of the zoom lever.

  The diaphragm 54 is driven by a diaphragm driving unit 55 including a motor and a motor driver. The aperture drive unit 55 adjusts the aperture diameter based on aperture value data output from the AE processing unit 63.

  The shutter 56 is a mechanical shutter and is driven by a shutter drive unit 57 including a motor and a motor driver. The shutter driving unit 57 controls the opening and closing of the shutter 56 according to a signal generated by pressing the release button and the shutter speed data output from the AE processing unit 63.

  A CCD 58, which is an image sensor, is provided behind the optical system. The CCD 58 has a photoelectric surface in which a large number of light receiving elements are two-dimensionally arranged, and subject light that has passed through the optical system forms an image on the photoelectric surface and is subjected to photoelectric conversion. In front of the photocathode, a microlens array for condensing light on each pixel and a color filter array in which filters of R, G, and B colors are regularly arranged are arranged. The CCD 58 outputs the charges accumulated for each pixel as a serial analog photographing signal line by line in synchronization with the vertical transfer clock and horizontal transfer clock supplied from the CCD controller 59. The time for accumulating charges in each pixel, that is, the exposure time is determined by an electronic shutter drive signal given from the CCD controller 59. The gain of the CCD 58 is adjusted by the CCD control unit 59 so that an analog imaging signal having a predetermined size can be obtained.

  The analog photographing signal captured from the CCD 58 is input to the analog signal processing unit 60. The analog signal processing unit 60 includes a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) that removes noise from the analog signal, an auto gain controller (AGC) that adjusts the gain of the analog signal, and an A / D that converts the analog signal into a digital signal. It consists of a converter (ADC). The image data converted into the digital signal is CCD-RAW data having R, G, and B density values for each pixel.

  The timing generator 72 generates a timing signal. By supplying this timing signal to the shutter drive unit 57, the CCD control unit 59, and the analog signal processing unit 60, the operation of the release button, the opening and closing of the shutter 56, the CCD 58 Are taken in and the processing of the analog signal processing unit 60 is synchronized.

  The flash control unit 73 causes the flash 24 to emit light during shooting. Specifically, when the flash emission mode is set to flash on, and when the flash emission mode is the auto mode, the flash 24 is turned on when a pre-image to be described later is not at a predetermined brightness, and the flash is set at the time of shooting. 24 is caused to emit light. On the other hand, when the flash emission mode is set to flash off, the flash 24 is prohibited from emitting light during shooting.

  The image input controller 61 writes the CCD-RAW data input from the analog signal processing unit 60 in the frame memory 66.

  The frame memory 66 is a working memory used when various digital image processing (signal processing) described later is performed on image data. For example, an SDRAM (data transfer device that performs data transfer in synchronization with a bus clock signal having a fixed period. Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is used.

  The display control unit 71 displays the image data stored in the frame memory 66 on the liquid crystal monitor 18 as a through image, or displays the image data stored on the recording medium 70 in the playback mode on the liquid crystal monitor 18. belongs to. The through image is taken by the CCD 58 at predetermined time intervals while the shooting mode is selected.

  The AF processing unit 62 and the AE processing unit 63 determine shooting conditions based on the pre-image. The pre-image is an image represented by image data stored in the frame memory 66 as a result of the CPU 75 having detected a half-press signal generated by half-pressing the release button and causing the CCD 58 to perform pre-photographing. is there.

  The AF processing unit 62 detects the focal position based on the pre-image and outputs focus drive amount data (AF processing). As a focus position detection method, for example, a passive method that detects a focus position using a feature that the contrast of an image is high when a desired subject is in focus can be considered.

  The AE processing unit 63 measures subject brightness based on the pre-image, determines an aperture value, shutter speed, and the like based on the measured subject brightness, and determines aperture value data and shutter speed data as exposure setting values (AE). processing).

  The AWB processing unit 63 ′ automatically adjusts the white balance at the time of shooting (AWB processing). Note that the AWB processing unit 63 ′ can adjust the white balance before and after photographing.

  The exposure and white balance can be set manually by the photographer of the digital camera 1 when the shooting mode is set to the manual mode. Even when the exposure and white balance are automatically set, the photographer can manually adjust the exposure and white balance by giving an instruction from the operation system 10.

  The image processing unit 64 performs image quality correction processing such as gradation correction, sharpness correction, and color correction on the image data of the main image, CCD-RAW data as Y data that is a luminance signal, and Cb data that is a blue color difference signal. Then, YC processing for converting into YC data composed of Cr data which is a red color difference signal is performed. The main image is an image based on image data that is captured from the CCD 58 by the main photographing executed when the release button is fully pressed and is stored in the frame memory 66 via the analog signal processing unit 60 and the image input controller 61. is there. The upper limit of the number of pixels of the main image is determined by the number of pixels of the CCD 58. For example, the number of recorded pixels can be changed by setting such as fine and normal. On the other hand, the number of images of the through image and the pre-image is smaller than that of the main image.

  The compression / decompression processing unit 65 performs compression processing on the image data of the main image that has been corrected and converted by the image processing unit 64 in a compression format such as JPEG, and generates an image file. A tag storing incidental information such as shooting date and time is added to the image file based on the Exif format or the like. In the reproduction mode, the compression / decompression processing unit 65 reads a compressed image file from the recording medium 70 and performs decompression processing. The decompressed image data is output to the liquid crystal monitor 18.

  The media control unit 67 accesses the recording medium 70 and controls writing and reading of the image file.

  The internal memory 68 stores various constants set in the digital camera 1, programs executed by the CPU 75, and the like.

  The CPU 75 controls each part of the main body of the digital camera 1 in accordance with signals from various processing units such as the operation system 10 and the AF processing unit 62. In addition, when the multi-image shooting mode is set, the CPU 75 configures the digital camera 1 so that two images are acquired by shooting with two shooting methods by pressing the release button once. Control the processing unit. That is, various processing units are controlled to acquire two images by setting at least one of exposure, focus position, flash emission, gradation, and white balance in two stages.

  Specifically, with regard to exposure, the determined exposure setting value and the two exposure setting values before or after centering on the determined exposure setting value, or two before and after centering on the determined exposure setting value. The AE processing unit 63 is controlled so as to set the exposure setting value of the stage. As for the in-focus position, the determined focal position and the two-stage position before or after the determined focal position are centered, or the two-stage in-focus before and after the determined focal position are focused. The AF processing unit 62 is controlled to set the position. As for flash emission, the flash controller 73 is controlled so that the flash is set in two stages of emission / non-emission. For gradation and color correction, the image processing unit 64 is controlled to perform two-stage gradation correction and color correction. As for white balance, the AWB processing unit 63 'is controlled so as to perform two-stage white balance adjustment.

  The intermediate image creation unit 86 creates an intermediate image having an intermediate image quality between the two acquired images. Here, the intermediate image has an intermediate image quality between the two images. For example, when the exposure is different as the photographing method and when the flash light emission / non-light emission is used, the two images have different brightness, so that an intermediate image having an intermediate brightness between the two images is created. If the gradation is different, an intermediate image having an intermediate gradation between the two images is created. If the white balance is different, an intermediate image having an intermediate white balance between the two images is created.

  The CPU 75 displays the two acquired images and the intermediate image on the liquid crystal monitor 18 so that the image quality of the intermediate image can be changed by an instruction from the operation system 10.

  The data bus 76 is connected to the image input controller 61, various processing units 62 to 65, a frame memory 66, a media control unit 67, an internal memory 68, a display control unit 71, an intermediate image creation unit 86, and a CPU 75. Exchange image data.

  Next, processing performed in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the present embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the multiple image shooting mode is set. When the photographer fully presses the release button, the CPU 75 starts processing, and performs two main photographings by two photographing methods to obtain two images (step ST1).

  Next, the intermediate image creating unit 86 creates an intermediate image having an intermediate image quality between the two images (step ST2), and the CPU 75 displays a selection screen for allowing the photographer to select an image on the liquid crystal monitor 18 (step ST3). ).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a selection screen in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the selection screen 32 displays a display area 32A for displaying an image. In the display area 32A, two images S1, S2 and an intermediate image Sm in which the face area included in the image is enlarged are displayed. The photographer can change the image quality of the intermediate image Sm between the two images S1 and S2 by operating the operation system 10. For example, the image quality of the intermediate image Sm is changed by changing the brightness when the brightness of two images is different, changing the brightness when the white balance is different, and changing the gradation when the gradation is different. Can do. Although the face area included in the image is enlarged here, the entire image may be displayed without enlarging the face area.

  In FIG. 3, the triangle mark on the left and right of the “adjustment” character indicates that the image quality of the intermediate image Sm can be adjusted by pressing the up / down / left / right button to the left / right, and “OK: decision” presses the OK button. Indicates that the selection of the image can be confirmed.

  The photographer can operate the operation system 10 to change the image quality of the intermediate image Sm and display it on the display area 32A. When the intermediate image Sm having the desired image quality is displayed, the selection of the intermediate image Sm having the desired image quality can be confirmed by operating the operation system 10 to confirm the selection. .

  The CPU 75 starts monitoring whether or not the selection of the image by the photographer is confirmed (step ST4), and when step ST4 is affirmed, records the intermediate image Sm selected by the photographer on the recording medium 70 (step ST5). The process is terminated.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the intermediate image Sm having the intermediate image quality of the two images S1 and S2 is displayed so that the image quality can be changed. Can be created and recorded on the recording medium 70, whereby an image having a desired image quality can be obtained without re-shooting.

  In the above embodiment, an intermediate image is created and recorded on the recording medium 70. However, depending on the image quality adjustment state, the intermediate image may have the same image quality as one of the two images. There is something.

  In the above-described embodiment, at least one of exposure, focus position, flash emission, gradation, color correction, and white balance is set as a shooting method. However, a plurality of photometry methods may be set. For example, two images may be acquired by two photometry methods, ie, an average photometry method and a face area weighted photometry method.

  Further, the zoom magnification may be changed as a photographing method. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, two images having different magnifications are acquired by photographing, and the intermediate image has an intermediate magnification between the two images.

  Further, as a photographing method, for example, the photographing may be performed twice with different facial expressions. In this case, for example, when an expressionless face and a smiling face are photographed, an intermediate image Sm including a face with an expression between the expressionless face and the smiling face is created as shown in FIG. Thus, the photographer can create an intermediate image having a facial expression that he / she prefers and record it on the recording medium 70.

  In the above embodiment, the two images S1 and S2 are displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 18, but only the intermediate image Sm may be displayed.

  Although the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, a program that causes a computer to function as means corresponding to the intermediate image creating unit 86 and to perform processing as shown in FIG. One of the forms. A computer-readable recording medium in which such a program is recorded is also one embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera to which a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. A flowchart showing processing performed in the present embodiment The figure which shows the selection screen in this embodiment Diagram showing two images with different zoom magnifications The figure for demonstrating preparation of the intermediate image from two images from which a facial expression differs

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Camera 18 Liquid Crystal Monitor 24 Flash 62 AF Processing Unit 63 AE Processing Unit 63 ′ AWB Processing Unit 64 Image Processing Unit 71 Display Control Unit 73 Flash Control Unit 75 CPU
86 Intermediate Image Creation Unit

Claims (5)

Photographing means for acquiring an image by photographing;
Display means for performing various displays including the image;
Input means for performing various inputs;
Photographing control means for controlling the photographing means so as to acquire two images by photographing by two photographing methods;
Intermediate image creating means for creating an intermediate image of the two images;
Recording that displays the intermediate image on the display unit so as to be adjustable in accordance with an instruction from the input unit, receives an instruction to select a desired intermediate image, and records the intermediate image on which the selection instruction has been received on a recording medium And a control means.   2. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two photographing methods are photographing methods by making at least one of exposure, focus position, flash emission, gradation, color correction, and white balance different.   The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit is a unit that enlarges and displays the main subject area included in the intermediate image on the display unit. In a photographing method in a photographing apparatus comprising photographing means for obtaining an image by photographing, display means for performing various displays including the image, and input means for performing various inputs,
Two images are acquired by shooting with two shooting methods,
Creating an intermediate image of the two images,
The intermediate image is displayed on the display means so as to be adjustable by an instruction from the input means,
Accept selection instruction of desired intermediate image,
An imaging method comprising: recording an intermediate image for which the selection instruction has been received on a recording medium. In a program for causing a computer to execute an imaging method in an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit that acquires an image by imaging, a display unit that performs various displays including the image, and an input unit that performs various inputs.
A procedure for acquiring two images by shooting with two shooting methods;
Creating an intermediate image of the two images;
A procedure for displaying the intermediate image on the display means in an adjustable manner by an instruction from the input means;
A procedure for receiving an instruction to select a desired intermediate image;
And a procedure for recording an intermediate image for which the selection instruction has been received on a recording medium.

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