JP2008193196A - Imaging device and specified voice output method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To emphasize and reproduce only a voice of a specific subject which is easily and speedily specified for a specific image among images being photographed or having been photographed. <P>SOLUTION: An image is picked up and displayed by an image display means, and an input external voice is converted into a plurality of voice signals, which are output. Then the specific subject is specified in the image displayed by the image display means, and the direction of the specific subject is calculated from coordinate information and photography viewing angle of the specified subject. Based upon the calculated direction of the specific subject, a synthesized voice signal corresponding to the direction of the specific subject is generated from the plurality of voice signals, and output to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a designated audio output method in the imaging apparatus.

  In recent years, digital cameras using an image pickup device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) are rapidly spreading instead of conventional cameras using a silver salt film because of the remarkable spread of personal computers and their ease of use.

  Since the above-described digital camera can convert captured images into digital data for display and storage, various functions have been proposed, unlike a camera using a conventional silver salt film.

For example, as an example of such a function, when shooting with a digital camera, the digital camera detects the position of the subject in the shooting screen, and the digital camera communicates with the subject to collect related information about the subject. The related information is added to the image data and stored in association with the position in the shooting screen. Then, when reproducing and browsing the image data, if the subject that the user is interested in is specified on the playback screen, the related information corresponding to the specified position on the playback screen is read and displayed. Is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-174578 A

  Therefore, according to the above-described prior art, for example, when browsing an image and wanting to know about a historical building or the like shown in the image, the browsing of the image is temporarily stopped. You can quickly get the information you need without looking up in an encyclopedia or searching the internet. However, for example, it was not possible to respond to a request to emphasize and reproduce only the sound of a specific subject displayed in an image during shooting or in a specific scene where shooting was performed. .

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and emphasizes only the sound of a specific subject that is designated simply and quickly for a specific image during or during shooting. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus and a designated audio output method that can be reproduced.

The present invention proposes the following matters in order to solve the above problems.
(1) The present invention is an imaging device including an imaging unit that captures an image and an image display unit that displays an image captured by the imaging unit, and converts input external audio into a plurality of audio signals. A voice input stage that converts the voice signal into an audio signal and outputs the voice signal; a subject designation unit that designates a specific subject in the image with respect to the image displayed on the image display unit; and the subject designation unit Direction calculation means for calculating the direction of a specific subject based on the coordinate information of the subject and the shooting angle of view, and the plurality of audio signals based on the direction of the specific subject calculated by the direction calculation means. There has been proposed an imaging apparatus comprising: a synthesized voice signal generating unit that generates a synthesized voice signal corresponding to a direction of a specific subject; and an output unit that outputs the synthesized voice signal to the outside.

  (2) The present invention proposes an imaging apparatus characterized in that the imaging apparatus of (1) further includes storage means for storing the plurality of audio signals and images taken by the imaging means. Yes.

  (3) The present invention proposes an imaging apparatus characterized in that, in the imaging apparatus of (1) or (2), the sound input means is a microphone array arranged in two dimensions.

  (4) In the imaging apparatus according to (2), the synthesized audio signal generation unit may determine a specific subject from the plurality of audio signals based on the direction of the specific subject calculated by the direction calculation unit. An image pickup apparatus is proposed that uses the plurality of sound signals read from the storage means when generating a synthesized sound signal corresponding to a direction.

  (5) In the imaging apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), the subject designating unit designates an arbitrary subject designated by the touch panel as a specific subject. Has proposed.

  (6) The present invention relates to any one of (1) to (4), further comprising a face recognizing unit, wherein the subject designating unit specifies a subject recognized as a face by the face recognizing unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging apparatus is designated as a subject.

  (7) The present invention provides the imaging apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), further including subject tracking means, wherein the subject specifying means specifies a subject to be tracked by the subject tracking means as a specific subject. We propose an imaging device characterized by specifying as

  (8) The present invention is a designated voice output method in an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit that captures an image and an image display unit that displays an image captured by the imaging unit, A first step of displaying the image on the image display means, converting the input external sound into a plurality of sound signals, converting the sound into sound signals, and outputting the sound signals; and for the image displayed on the image display means, A second step of designating a specific subject, a third step of computing the direction of the specific subject based on the coordinate information and the shooting angle of view of the designated subject, and the calculated A fourth step of generating a synthesized audio signal corresponding to the direction of the specific subject from the plurality of audio signals based on the direction of the specific subject; and a fifth step of outputting the synthesized audio signal to the outside , Be prepared It proposes a specific sound output method characterized by the.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to emphasize and reproduce only the sound of a specific subject that is specified easily and quickly for a specific image during or during shooting.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.
Note that the constituent elements in the present embodiment can be appropriately replaced with existing constituent elements and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing constituent elements are possible. Therefore, the description of the present embodiment does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

<First Embodiment>
The imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, the sound of a specific subject (person, animal) designated by the user is reproduced in a through image displayed during imaging standby.

<Appearance configuration of imaging device>
The external configuration of the imaging apparatus (digital camera 100) according to the present embodiment is as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 1 (A) is a front view thereof, and FIG. 1 (B) is a rear view thereof. . As shown in FIG. 1 (A), a strobe light emitting unit 1 and an imaging lens (lens group) 2 are provided on the front side of the imaging apparatus (digital camera 100) on the front side, and two-dimensionally with a predetermined interval. A plurality of microphones 11a to 11i are provided. The plurality of microphones 11a to 11i may be configured by a microphone array. In this case, unlike a single microphone, the assembly is easy and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, on the rear surface of the image pickup apparatus (digital camera 100), a mode dial 3, a display monitor 4, a cursor key 5, a SET key 6, and a zoom key used during telephoto shooting. (Wide button 7-1, Tele button 7-2) 7, a shooting mode selection key 10 as selection means for selecting an imaging mode, a speaker 12, and the like are provided. The audio output function of the present invention may always be in the ON state, or may be set using the mode dial 3 for power saving.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a shutter key 8, a power button 9, and the like are provided on the upper surface of the imaging apparatus (digital camera 100). On the side surface, a connection portion of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal used when connecting an external device such as a personal computer or a modem with a USB cable, a slot for inserting a memory card, and the like are provided.

<Electrical configuration of imaging device>
As shown in FIG. 2, the image pickup apparatus (digital camera 100) according to the present embodiment includes an image pickup lens 62, a lens driving block 63, a diaphragm shutter 64, a CCD 50, a TG (Timing Generator) 66, and a unit. A circuit 67, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 68, a memory 69, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 70, an image display unit 71, a key input unit 72, an external communication I / F (Interface) 73, A strobe driving unit 74, a strobe light emitting unit 75, a card I / F (Interface) 76, an audio input unit 81, an audio output unit 82, a subject designating unit 83, and an audio signal processing unit 90 are provided. The card I / F 76 has a digital card (not shown). Memory card is detachably connected to La 100 body of the card slot.

  The imaging lens 62 includes a focus lens and a zoom lens, and a lens driving block 63 is connected thereto. The lens drive block 63 drives a focus motor and a zoom motor that drive a focus lens and a zoom lens (not shown) in an optical axis direction parallel to the imaging surface, respectively, and drives the focus motor and the zoom motor in accordance with a control signal from the CPU 70, respectively. It consists of a focus driver and a zoom motor driver.

  The aperture / shutter 64 includes a drive circuit (not shown), and this drive circuit operates the aperture / shutter according to a control signal sent from the CPU 70. The aperture / shutter 64 functions as an aperture and a shutter.

  Here, the aperture refers to a mechanism that controls the amount of light that enters from the imaging lens 62, and the shutter refers to a mechanism that controls the time during which light is applied to the CCD 50. Further, since the time (exposure time) during which light is applied to the CCD 50 varies depending on the opening / closing interval time (shutter speed) of the shutter, the exposure amount can be determined by the aperture and the shutter speed.

  The CCD 50 converts the light of the subject projected via the imaging lens 62 and the aperture / shutter 64 into an electrical signal and outputs it to the unit circuit 67 as an imaging signal. The CCD 50 is driven according to a timing signal having a predetermined frequency generated by the TG 66. A unit circuit (CDS / AGC / AD) 67 is connected to the TG 66.

  A unit circuit (CDS / AGC / AD) 67 is a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that holds the imaged signal output from the CCD 50 by correlated double sampling, and an AGC (Automatic Gain Adjustment) for the imaged signal after the sampling. (Automatic Gain Control) circuit and an A / D converter that converts the analog image pickup signal after the automatic gain adjustment into a digital signal. The image pickup signal of the CCD 50 is sent to the CPU 70 as a digital signal through the unit circuit 67. It is done.

  The CPU 70 performs image processing (pixel interpolation processing, γ correction, luminance / color difference signal generation, white balance processing, exposure correction processing, etc.) of image data sent from the unit circuit 67, blur correction processing, and compression / decompression of image data. A one-chip microcomputer that has a function of performing processing (for example, compression / decompression in JPEG format) and the like, and controls each unit of the digital camera 100 according to a control program, and includes a clock circuit that measures time.

  The DRAM 68 is also used as a working memory for the CPU 70. The image display unit 71 includes a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and its driving circuit, and displays the subject imaged by the CCD 50 as a through image in the imaging standby state. A touch panel is incorporated on the surface of the image display unit 71. As a result, the user can easily specify a specific subject from the images displayed on the image display unit 71.

  The key input unit 72 includes a plurality of operation keys such as a shutter button, a mode key, a SET key, a cross key, and a shooting mode selection key, and outputs an operation signal according to the user's key operation to the CPU 70.

  The external communication I / F 73 is for inputting / outputting data to / from an external electronic device (for example, a personal computer), and enables input / output according to various interface standards such as the USB standard and the IEEE 1394 standard. It can be connected to electronic devices such as personal computers that can input and output data according to the above standards. In addition, the image data may be input / output to / from an external electronic device by infrared communication based on the IrDA standard or wireless communication based on the Bluetooth (TM) standard.

  The strobe driving unit 74 drives the strobe light emitting unit 75 to flash according to the control signal of the CPU 70, and the strobe light emitting unit 75 thereby causes the strobe to flash. The CPU 70 determines whether or not the shooting scene is dark using a photometry circuit (not shown), and determines that the shooting scene is dark and controls the strobe driving unit 74 when shooting (when the shutter button is pressed). Output a signal.

  The memory 69 records and stores a program necessary for control of each part of the digital camera 100 by the CPU 70 and data necessary for control of each part, and the CPU 70 executes processing according to this program.

  The audio input unit 81 converts the input external audio into a plurality of audio signals by the microphones 11a to 11i, and outputs the audio signal to the audio signal processing unit 90 described later. The audio output unit 82 outputs the audio signal-processed by the audio signal processing unit 90 to the speaker 12. The subject designation unit 83 touches an image of a specific subject that the user designates with a touch pen or the like in order to designate a specific subject (person, animal) displayed on the image display unit 71 configured by a touch panel, for example. The coordinate information corresponding to the specific subject is recognized, and the coordinate information is output to the audio signal processing unit 90. The audio signal processing unit 90 executes a process of emphasizing only the audio signal of a specific subject specified by the user in the subject specifying unit 83 based on the input coordinate information and the audio signal, and the processed audio signal is output to the audio output unit. 82.

<Structure block of main part>
As shown in FIG. 3, the main constituent blocks of the imaging apparatus (digital camera 100) according to the present embodiment are an audio input unit 81, a CCD (image input unit) 50, an image display unit 71, and a subject designation unit 83. And an audio signal processing unit 90 and an audio output unit 82. As shown in FIG. 4, the audio signal processing unit 90 further includes a subject direction calculation unit 91, a delay amount calculation unit 92, The delay amount adjusting unit 93 and the combining unit 94 are included.

  Here, the subject direction calculation unit 91 calculates the subject direction of the specified specific subject in the image based on the coordinate information input from the subject specifying unit 83 and the view angle information input from the CPU 70. Details of the calculation method will be described later.

  The delay amount calculation unit 92 calculates the arrival delay amount of the audio signal from the subject in each of the microphones 11a to 11i from the subject direction calculated in the subject direction calculation unit 91 and the arrangement position information of each of the microphones 11a to 11i. .

  The delay amount adjustment unit 93 adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal from each microphone 11a to 11i based on the arrival delay amount of the audio signal from the subject in each microphone 11a to 11i calculated by the delay amount calculation unit 92. The phase of each audio signal is matched. Then, the synthesis unit 94 synthesizes the audio signals adjusted in delay amount output from the delay amount adjustment unit 93 and outputs the synthesized audio signals to the audio output unit 82. Thereby, it is possible to emphasize and output only the sound corresponding to the specific subject on the captured image designated by the user using the subject designation unit 83.

<Calculation processing of subject direction calculation unit>
Next, calculation processing in the subject direction calculation unit 91 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 illustrates a one-dimensional model in which the horizontal pixel array of the image display unit is the X direction for convenience of explanation. Even in the case of a two-dimensional model in which the horizontal pixel array of the image display unit is the X direction and the vertical pixel array is the Y direction, the subject direction angle can be calculated by the method described in detail below. .

  In FIG. 5, θ represents the angle of view of the digital camera at the time of shooting. Here, the angle of view θ can be obtained from the movement amount of the zoom ring of the zoom lens in the case of zoom photography, and the fixed value of the fixed lens in the case of photography using a fixed lens. This information is supplied from the CPU 70. Is done.

In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the distance from the lens principal point to the subject is Y. In the figure, X is a length corresponding to the distance Y from the center to the end of the image. Further, x represents the distance from the optical axis center of a specific person on the image display unit 71 specified by the user in the subject specifying unit 83, and θx represents the angle from the optical axis center in x. . Here, between x and Y,
x = Ytan θx (1)
Is established, and between X and Y,
Y = Xtanθ
... (2)
The following relational expression holds.

Here, when Y is eliminated from the above formulas (1) and (2), θx is represented by the following formula (3).
θx = arctan (x / (X · tan θ)) (3)
Accordingly, if x / X and θ are known from the expression (3), the direction angle θx of the subject can be obtained. Here, x / X is determined by the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the captured image (= 2X) and how many pixels the specified person is away from the center of the image (= x), and θ is the lens state ( Therefore, the direction angle θx of the subject can be determined from the lens state and the position in the image.

<Calculation processing of delay amount calculation unit>
Next, calculation processing in the delay amount calculation unit will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 schematically shows the direction in which the sound (displayed as a sound source in the figure) of a specific subject (person, animal) designated by the user in the subject designation unit 83 arrives at each of the microphones 11b and 11e. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the angle formed by the center of the optical axis and the direction of arrival of the sound (sound source) of the subject is θx obtained by the subject direction calculation unit 91 described above. Here, for example, if the interval between two microphones 11b and 11e provided on the imaging lens mounting surface of the digital camera 100 is L, the interval L between the microphones 11b and 11e is determined from the subject position (sound source) to the microphones 11b and 11e. Since the distance between the microphones 11b and 11e and the arrival direction of the subject sound (sound source) is also the angle between the center of the optical axis and the arrival direction of the subject sound (sound source). It can be regarded in the same way as the angle θx.

Therefore, in order to obtain the delay amount, in FIG. 6, when a perpendicular is drawn from the center of the microphone 11 e to the arrival direction of the sound (sound source) of the subject with respect to the microphone 11 b, the delay amount is expressed by the following equation (4): )become that way.
Lsin θx (4)
In this way, the delay amount from the reference microphone can be obtained by performing the same calculation for other microphones.

<Processing of Imaging Device>
Next, processing of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in the shooting standby state, the image display unit 71 displays an image captured by the CCD 50 as a through image, and the audio input unit 81 captures audio from each microphone 11a to 11i for each microphone 11a to 11i. And output to the audio signal processing unit 90 (step S101).

  Next, when the user designates a specific subject (person, animal) displayed on the image display unit 71 by the subject designation unit 83, the subject designation unit 83 displays the coordinates of the specific subject displayed on the image display unit 71. Information is output to the subject direction calculation unit 91 (step S102).

  The subject direction calculation unit 91 calculates the arrival direction (angle) θx of the sound of the subject from the calculation formula (3) based on the coordinate information input from the subject specification unit 83 and the view angle information input from the CPU 70. And output to the delay amount calculation unit 92 (step S103). The delay amount calculation unit 92 calculates the delay amount of each microphone from the equation (4) based on the input arrival direction (angle) θx and the installation interval L of each microphone, and the delay amount adjustment unit 93. (Step S104).

  The delay amount adjustment unit 93 adjusts the delay amount of the corresponding audio signal based on the input delay amount for each microphone, and outputs the audio signal having the phase matched to the synthesis unit 94 (step S105). The synthesis unit 94 synthesizes the audio signal from the delay amount adjustment unit 93 and outputs the synthesized audio signal to the audio output unit 82 (step S106). The audio output unit 82 converts the signal input from the synthesizing unit 94 into an electric signal and supplies it to the speaker 12, thereby emitting the sound to the outside (step S107).

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to emphasize and reproduce the sound of a specific subject specified by the user using the subject specifying unit 83 in the shooting standby state. In addition, since a specific subject that the user wants to hear is specified on the image display unit using a touch pen or the like, there is an advantage that the human interface is excellent.

  Further, coordinate information is generated from an image designated by the user on the image display unit, and the arrival direction of the sound of a specific subject to be heard is calculated from the coordinate information and the angle-of-view information. The amount of delay corresponding to each microphone is obtained from the installation interval, and the audio signal with the adjusted delay amount is synthesized and output, so only the sound of the specific subject you want to hear is emphasized and output Can do.

<Second Embodiment>
The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, an already captured image is displayed on the image display unit 71, and the sound of a specific subject (person, animal) designated by the user is reproduced. Note that the external configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and components having the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment have similar functions. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.

<Structure block of main part>
As shown in FIG. 8, the main constituent blocks of the imaging apparatus (digital camera 100) according to the present embodiment are an audio input unit 81, a CCD (image input unit) 50, a storage unit 84, an image display unit 71, and the like. , A subject designation unit 83, an audio signal processing unit 90, and an audio output unit 82. The audio signal processing unit 90 further includes a subject direction calculation unit 91, a delay amount, as shown in FIG. The calculation unit 92, the delay amount adjustment unit 93, and the synthesis unit 94 are configured.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that a storage unit 84 is provided. The storage unit 84 stores the audio from the microphones 11a to 11i input to the audio input unit 81 in a separate track corresponding to the microphones 11a to 11i. In addition, the storage unit 84 stores the captured image information and the audio information in association with each other. By doing so, it is possible to emphasize and reproduce the sound of a specific subject (person, animal) designated by the user in an already captured image.

  The storage unit 84 may be provided separately, or the DRAM 68 as the storage unit 84 is used as a buffer memory that temporarily stores the audio signals input from the microphones 11a to 11i in correspondence with the captured image data. May be. Moreover, you may preserve | save the compressed audio | voice signal from each microphone 11a-11i corresponding to the compressed image data to the memory card | curd which is an external storage element as the memory | storage part 84. FIG.

<Processing of Imaging Device>
Next, processing of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described using FIG.
First, image data is read from the storage unit 84 by the user's operation, and the image data to be selected is displayed on the image display unit 71 (step S201). When the selected image data is read from the storage unit 84, the related audio data is read (step S202).

  Next, when the user designates a specific subject (person, animal) displayed on the image display unit 71 by the subject designation unit 83, the subject designation unit 83 displays the coordinates of the specific subject displayed on the image display unit 71. Information is output to the subject direction calculation unit 91 (step S203).

  Based on the coordinate information input from the subject specifying unit 83 and the angle-of-view information input from the CPU 70, the subject direction calculation unit 91 calculates the arrival direction (angle) θx of the sound from the subject from the calculation formula (3). Calculate and output to the delay amount calculation unit 92 (step S204). The delay amount calculation unit 92 calculates the delay amount of each microphone from the equation (4) based on the input arrival direction (angle) θx and the installation interval L of each microphone, and the delay amount adjustment unit 93. (Step S205).

  The delay amount adjustment unit 93 reads out the audio data from the storage unit 84 for each track, adjusts the delay amount of the corresponding audio signal based on the input delay amount for each microphone, and adjusts the phase of the audio signal. Is output to the synthesis unit 94 (step S206). The synthesis unit 94 synthesizes the audio signal from the delay amount adjustment unit 93 and outputs the synthesized audio signal to the audio output unit 82 (step S207). The audio output unit 82 converts the signal input from the synthesizing unit 94 into an electric signal and supplies the signal to the speaker 12, thereby emitting the sound to the outside (step S208).

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the image data is stored, and the audio data is stored for each track corresponding to each microphone in association with the image data. The sound of a specific subject (person, animal) designated by 83 can be emphasized and reproduced.

  In addition, since a specific subject that the user wants to hear is specified on the image display unit using a touch pen or the like, there is an advantage that the human interface is excellent. Further, coordinate information is generated from an image designated by the user on the image display unit, and the arrival direction of the sound of a specific subject to be heard is calculated from the coordinate information and the angle-of-view information. The amount of delay corresponding to each microphone is obtained from the installation interval, and the audio signal with the adjusted delay amount is synthesized and output, so only the sound of the specific subject you want to hear is emphasized and output Can do.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes a design and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the method in which the user manually designates the subject using the touch panel has been described, but automatic designation by face recognition may be used.

  Further, the user may arbitrarily designate the subject after narrowing down the candidate subjects by face recognition. Furthermore, the subject to be autofocused may be a specific subject that wants to hear sound. Further, in the subject tracking mode, the subject to be tracked may be a specific subject to be heard.

  In addition, using a microphone that can adjust the directivity, the directivity according to the subject direction angle is set, and only the sound of a specific subject to be heard can be emphasized. Depending on the distance, the sensitivity may be varied to emphasize only the sound of a specific subject to be heard.

  Also, as described above, the direction of the subject is determined by the coordinate information and the angle of view specified by the user, and the delay amount is determined by the direction angle of the subject and the distance between the microphones. The data table and the audio data stored in tracks corresponding to each microphone are output to an external device, and the external device performs the above delay amount calculation and audio synthesis processing. You may make it perform.

1 is an external configuration diagram of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of an electrical configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a main configuration block diagram of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an audio processing unit of the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation process of the to-be-photographed object direction calculating part in the imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation process of the delay amount calculating part in the imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a processing flow of the imaging device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a main block diagram of the imaging device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a block diagram of a configuration of an audio processing unit of an imaging apparatus according to a second embodiment. It is a processing flow of the imaging device concerning a 2nd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Strobe light emission part, 2 ... Imaging lens (lens group), 3 ... Mode dial, 4 ... LCD monitor screen, 5 ... Cursor key, 6 ... SET key, 7 ..Zoom key, 8 ... Shutter key, 9 ... Power button, 10 ... Shooting mode selection key, 11a to 11i ... Microphone, 12 .... Speaker, 20 ... First lens, 21 ... second focus lens, 30 ... second lens, 31 ... reflecting mirror, 32 ... optical zoom lens, 33 ... first focus lens, 40 ... light movable reflection Mirror, 50 ... CCD, 62 ... Imaging lens, 63 ... Lens drive block, 64 ... Shutter / shutter, 66 ... TG, 67 ... Unit circuit, 68 ... DRAM, 69 ... Memory, 70 ... CPU 71... Image display unit 72. Key input unit 73. External communication I / F 74 74 Strobe drive unit 75 75 Strobe light emitting unit 76 Card I / F, 81 ... audio input unit, 82 ... audio output unit, 83 ... subject designation unit, 84 ... storage unit, 90 ... audio signal processing unit, 91 ... subject direction calculation Unit, 92 ... delay amount calculation unit, 93 ... delay amount adjustment unit, 94 ... synthesis unit, 100 ... digital camera

Claims (8)

An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; and an image display unit that displays an image captured by the imaging unit,
An audio input stage that converts input external audio into a plurality of audio signals, converts them into audio signals, and outputs them;
Subject designation means for designating a specific subject in the image with respect to the image displayed on the image display means;
Direction calculating means for calculating the direction of a specific subject based on the coordinate information of the subject specified by the subject specifying means and the shooting angle of view;
Based on the direction of the specific subject calculated by the direction calculation means, synthesized speech signal generation means for generating a synthesized speech signal corresponding to the direction of the specific subject from the plurality of speech signals;
Output means for outputting the synthesized speech signal to the outside;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the plurality of audio signals and images captured by the imaging unit.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice input unit is a microphone array arranged two-dimensionally.   The synthesized sound signal generating means generates the synthesized sound signal corresponding to the direction of a specific subject from the plurality of sound signals based on the direction of the specific subject calculated by the direction calculating means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of audio signals read from the means are used.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the subject designating unit designates an arbitrary subject designated by a touch panel as a specific subject.   5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a face recognizing unit, wherein the subject specifying unit specifies a subject recognized as a face by the face recognizing unit as a specific subject. .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a subject tracking unit, wherein the subject specifying unit specifies a subject that is a tracking target of the subject tracking unit as a specific subject. A designated audio output method in an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit that captures an image and an image display unit that displays an image captured by the imaging unit,
A first step of capturing the image, displaying the image on the image display means, converting the input external sound into a plurality of sound signals, converting the sound into sound signals, and outputting the sound signals;
A second step of designating a specific subject in the image with respect to the image displayed on the image display means;
A third step of calculating the direction of the specific subject based on the coordinate information of the designated subject and the shooting angle of view;
A fourth step of generating a synthesized audio signal corresponding to the direction of the specific subject from the plurality of audio signals based on the calculated direction of the specific subject;
A fifth step of outputting the synthesized speech signal to the outside;
A designated audio output method characterized by comprising:

Images