JP2009267467A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device that performs suitable photography. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging device includes an image obtaining section which obtains a first image and a second image different from the first image, a recognition section which recognizes the presence of a photographer using the second image, and a control section which controls setting for obtaining the first image into setting suitable to person photography when the recognition section cannot recognize the presence of the photographer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In addition to a main camera that captures a subject in front, an imaging apparatus that includes a sub camera that captures an image in a direction different from that of the main camera is known. On the other hand, in self-portrait shooting where the photographer himself takes a picture of himself / herself, it is necessary to check whether the photographer's face is within the shooting angle of view. There is known a technique for confirming whether or not a photographer's face is within a shooting angle of view by using (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, a photographing apparatus that assists self-photographing using a face recognition function or the like needs to be set to a self-photographing mode by the photographer himself. For this reason, if normal subject shooting and self-portrait shooting are often used together, the shooting device may be set to self-shooting mode or re-set to normal shooting mode each time shooting is performed. There is a problem that it is necessary to perform an annoying operation.
JP 2007-324877 A

  The subject of this invention is providing the imaging device which can perform suitable imaging | photography.

  An imaging device according to the present invention includes a first image and an image acquisition unit that acquires a second image different from the first image, a recognition unit that recognizes the presence of a photographer using the second image, And a control unit that controls the setting for acquiring the first image to be a setting suitable for portrait photography when the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer.

  Preferably, the control unit controls the photographer to be in a self-photographing mode in which the photographer photographs the photographer himself when the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer. .

  Preferably, the optical system includes a first optical system that forms the first image and a second optical system that is provided in a different direction from the first optical system and forms the second image. .

  Preferably, the image display device further includes a display unit for displaying the first image, and the second optical system is provided in proximity to the display unit.

  Preferably, when the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer, the control unit at least one of a shooting mode, an angle of view, an exposure, and a contrast of the image acquisition unit when acquiring the first image. It is characterized by controlling to change one setting.

  Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes a shooting start signal generation unit that generates a shooting start signal for starting main shooting when the photographer recognized by the recognition unit is detected in the first image. To do.

  Preferably, the imaging start signal generation unit outputs the imaging start signal when the photographer is detected in the first image within a predetermined time after the recognition unit recognizes the presence of the photographer. It is generated.

  Preferably, a confirmation notifying unit for notifying the photographer of confirmation information is further provided, and the control unit recognizes the presence of the photographer in either the first image or the second image. Then, the confirmation notification unit notifies the photographer of confirmation information.

  Preferably, the recognition unit recognizes the photographer's face in the first image, and the control unit recognizes the photographer's face recognized in the first image within the angle of view of the first image. The focal length of the first optical system is varied so as to enter.

  Preferably, an error notification unit that notifies the photographer of error information is further provided, and the control unit recognizes the first image even when the focal length of the first optical system is varied. When the face does not fall within the angle of view of the first image, the error notification unit notifies the photographer of error information.

  Preferably, an acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the photographing apparatus is further provided, and the recognition unit detects the first image or the movement when the movement of the photographing apparatus detected by the acceleration sensor falls within a predetermined value. In the second image, recognition of the photographer is started.

  Since the photographing device according to the present invention acquires a second image different from the first image and recognizes the photographer, the photographing device shifts to a self-photographing photographing mode in which the photographer photographs the photographer himself as the first image. The operation can be assisted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments relating to an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the photographing apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment. The photographing apparatus 101 includes a main camera 102, a sub camera 103, and a common unit 104. The common unit 104 is a group of blocks common to the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103 so that the explanation is easy to understand. Therefore, in practice, there is no clear boundary between the main camera 102, the sub camera 103, and the common unit 104, as long as they are mounted in one photographing apparatus 101.

  The common unit 104 includes a control unit 105, an operation unit 106, a liquid crystal monitor 107, a memory 108, a card I / F 110 that connects the memory card 109, and an acceleration sensor 111.

  In the common unit 104, the photographer operates the photographing apparatus 101 using the operation unit 106. The control unit 105 operates according to a program incorporated therein in advance, and controls each block of the photographing apparatus 101 according to operation information obtained from the operation unit 106. Further, the control unit 105 displays an image obtained from the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103, a menu screen, and the like on the liquid crystal monitor 107. The memory 108 stores parameters, image information, and the like when the control unit 105 performs processing. In addition, the control unit 105 stores captured images obtained from the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103 in the memory card 109 via the card I / F 110. The acceleration sensor 111 is a sensor that detects camera shake or the like of the photographing apparatus 101.

  Next, the main camera 102 includes a lens optical system 112, an imaging unit 113, an analog signal processing unit 114, an A / D conversion unit 115, an image buffer 116, a digital signal processing unit 117, and an AE unit 118. The flash 119, the AF unit 120, the AF light 121, and the lens driving unit 122 are used to capture the first image.

  In the main camera 102, light incident from the subject is imaged on the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 113 via the lens optical system 112.

  The imaging unit 113 has a photoelectric conversion unit arranged two-dimensionally on the light receiving surface, converts the imaged light into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal to the analog signal processing unit 114.

  The analog signal processing unit 114 performs noise removal and amplification of the electrical signal output from the imaging unit 113 and outputs the result to the A / D conversion unit 115.

  The A / D converter 115 converts an analog electrical signal into image data and temporarily stores it in the image buffer 116.

  The digital signal processing unit 117 performs image processing such as color correction processing of image data temporarily stored in the image buffer 116 and outputs the processed image data to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 stores the captured image of the main camera 102 processed by the digital signal processing unit 117 in the memory 108 or the memory card 109 or displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 107. In the present embodiment, the digital signal processing unit 117 performs an image analysis process or the like in response to a command from the control unit 105. For example, face recognition processing is performed in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 105, whether or not a face is within the shooting angle of view of the captured image temporarily stored in the image buffer 116, and the identification result is determined by the control unit. Return to 105.

  The AE unit 118 outputs the result of exposure measurement in the area designated by the control unit 105 to the control unit 105, and the control unit 105 controls the exposure amount in the imaging unit 113 or emits the flash 119 as necessary. Let

  The AF unit 120 detects the focal position in the area designated by the control unit 105 and outputs it to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 turns on the AF light 121 or instructs the lens driving unit 122 to instruct the lens optical system. The position of the focus lens 112 is controlled. Note that the control unit 105 instructs the lens driving unit 122 to move the zoom lens of the lens optical system 112 in accordance with the zoom operation of the operation unit 106, thereby changing the focal length of the lens optical system 112.

  Next, the sub camera 103 includes a lens optical system 123, an imaging unit 124, an analog signal processing unit 125, an A / D conversion unit 126, an image buffer 127, and a digital signal processing unit 128. Take two images.

  In the sub camera 103, light incident from the subject is imaged on the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 124 via the lens optical system 123.

  The imaging unit 124 converts the light imaged by the photoelectric conversion unit arranged two-dimensionally on the light receiving surface into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the analog signal processing unit 125.

  The analog signal processing unit 125 performs noise removal and amplification of the electrical signal output from the imaging unit 124 and outputs the result to the A / D conversion unit 126.

  The A / D converter 126 converts an analog electric signal into image data and temporarily stores it in the image buffer 127.

  The digital signal processing unit 128 performs image processing such as color correction processing of image data temporarily stored in the image buffer 127 and outputs the processed image data to the control unit 105. In the present embodiment, the digital signal processing unit 128 performs image analysis processing in response to a command from the control unit 105. For example, face recognition processing is performed in response to a command from the control unit 105, whether or not there is a face in the captured image temporarily stored in the image buffer 127, extraction of facial features and facial expressions, The pupil position is detected and the result is output to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 controls settings and operations of the photographing apparatus 101 according to the processing result of the digital signal processing unit 128. Specific processing will be described later in detail. Further, as in the case of the main camera 102, the control unit 105 stores the captured image of the sub camera 103 processed by the digital signal processing unit 128 in the memory 108 or the memory card 109 or displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 107. It doesn't matter. In addition, the sub camera 103 does not draw blocks corresponding to the AE unit 118, the flash unit 119, the AF unit 120, the AF light 121, the lens driving unit 122, and the like, like the main camera 102, but is equivalent to these blocks. This block may be provided.

  Next, the appearance of the photographing apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 2A is a diagram depicting a state of the imaging apparatus 101 in the front direction. FIG. 2B is a diagram depicting the state of the photographing apparatus 101 in the back direction. 2A and 2B, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components. Various operation buttons included in the operation unit 106 in FIG. 1 are arranged on the housing of the photographing apparatus 101. For example, a power button 151, a release button 152, a zoom button 153, an OK button 154, up / down / left / right cursor buttons 155, 156, 157, 158 are arranged, and operation information of these operation buttons is output to the control unit 105. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the lens optical system 112 of the main camera 102 is disposed in the front portion of the photographing apparatus 101, and the sub camera is disposed in the rear portion of the photographing apparatus 101 as shown in FIG. Since the lens optical system 123 of 103 is arranged, the lens optical system 112 of the main camera 102 and the lens optical system 123 of the sub camera 103 can photograph different directions. In particular, in the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, the lens optical system 123 of the sub camera 103 is arranged in the same direction as the liquid crystal monitor 107 on the back surface of the photographing apparatus 101 as shown in FIG. The face of the photographer who wants to take a picture can be taken while looking at the screen of the liquid crystal monitor 107. The lens optical system 123 of the sub camera 103 is desirably arranged as close as possible to a liquid crystal monitor that displays an image photographed by the main camera 102.

  Next, the operation of the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 3 operates according to a program incorporated in the control unit 105 in advance, and the control unit 105 performs digital signal processing unit 117 on the main camera 102 side and digital signal on the sub camera 103 side as necessary. The signal processing unit 125 performs image processing. Hereinafter, the operation of the photographing apparatus 101 will be described in order.

  (Step S101) The photographer presses the power button 151 of the photographing apparatus 101 to turn on the power. The control unit 105 first activates the main camera 102 and displays a preview of the image captured by the imaging unit 113 via the lens optical system 112 on the liquid crystal monitor 107 as described above. The photographer confirms the subject to be photographed while viewing the preview display.

  (Step S <b> 102) The control unit 105 activates the sub camera 103, and the image captured by the image capturing unit 124 via the lens optical system 123 is taken into the image buffer 127 as described above.

  (Step S <b> 103) The control unit 105 monitors the output of the acceleration sensor 111 and determines whether or not the casing of the photographing apparatus 101 is stationary. Here, when the output of the acceleration sensor 111 is zero or within a predetermined range, it is regarded as stationary. If the casing of the photographing apparatus 101 is stationary, the process proceeds to step S104. If the casing of the photographing apparatus 101 is not stationary, the process of step S103 is repeated. Note that this determination processing is for determining whether or not the photographer is holding the photographing apparatus 101 to photograph the subject, and therefore the determination of whether or not the casing of the photographing apparatus 101 is stationary It is not necessary to determine the complete quiesce of For example, if the photographer detects a stable operation such as panning or tilting the photographing apparatus 101, the determination of “Yes” may be performed.

  (Step S104) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 to perform image analysis processing. Here, the image analysis processing will be described. The image analysis processing is processing for analyzing an image captured by the sub camera 103 and determining a captured subject. In particular, in the present embodiment, it is analyzed whether or not there is a face in the image captured by the sub camera 103. For example, when the sub camera 103 is capturing an image including a face of a predetermined size or more as shown in FIG. 4A, it is determined that the face is included. When the face is not completely included as shown in FIG. 4B or when the face size is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size as shown in FIG. 4C, it is determined that the face is not included. . In addition, the determination process of whether or not there is a face may be performed by determining whether or not there is a face by using facial features such as the face outline and the arrangement of eyes, nose, and mouth. It may be determined by a pattern recognition process that takes the above correlation.

  (Step S105) As a result of the image analysis processing in step S104, the control unit 105 proceeds to step S106 if the image captured by the sub camera 103 includes a face, and the image captured by the sub camera 103. If no face is included, the process proceeds to the self-photographing mode in step S120.

  That is, when taking a self-portrait, the photographer becomes the subject of the main camera 102, so the face of the photographer is not photographed by the sub camera 103 that is photographing in the opposite direction to the main camera 102. It is based on the assumption. Here, when the sub camera 103 cannot recognize the presence of the photographer, the control unit 105 automatically shifts to the self-portrait shooting mode, and simultaneously performs exposure setting, contrast setting, and the like suitable for portrait shooting.

  (Step S <b> 106) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 to detect facial expressions. Here, the expression means facial features such as the shape of the face and the position and shape of the eyes, nose and mouth. The detected facial features are the facial expressions recognized first when the sub camera 103 is activated. As will be described later, the initial facial expression is an image on which a change in facial expression is detected. Therefore, the timing with the least change in facial expression is preferable. In general, the facial expression immediately after the start of shooting is often a normal facial expression with little emotion, so the initial facial expression is detected when the power is turned on and the camera is stationary.

  (Step S107) The control unit 105 determines whether or not the facial feature detected in step S106 matches the facial feature registered in the memory 108 in advance. If it matches the facial feature registered in the memory 108 in advance, the process proceeds to step S108, and if it does not match any facial feature registered in the memory 108, the process proceeds to step S109. Note that if the face feature does not match any of the facial features registered in advance in the memory 108, a menu for allowing the photographer to select whether or not to newly register the detected facial feature in the memory 108 is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 107. It may be displayed so that it can be additionally registered.

  When the facial feature detected in step S106 matches the facial feature registered in advance in the memory 108, the control unit 105 blinks the liquid crystal monitor 107 or displays the matched registered person's name and image. It may be displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 107 or blinked by changing the brightness of the liquid crystal monitor 107 so that the photographer is informed that it matches the registered person. Alternatively, an electronic sound generation unit may be provided to notify the photographer with an electronic sound.

  (Step S <b> 108) The control unit 105 sets a photographing mode for the photographer that matches the facial expression detected in step S <b> 106 in the photographing apparatus 101. It is assumed that the shooting mode of the shooting apparatus 101 is stored in advance in the memory 108 in correspondence with the photographer who matches the registered facial features. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when sensitivity, contour, and contrast are set as dedicated shooting modes, when the photographer A matches the facial features of the photographer A, sensitivity: ISO 400, contour: medium, contrast: weak Set to mode. Alternatively, when it matches the characteristics of the face of the photographer B, the photographing mode is set to sensitivity: ISO100, contour: soft, contrast: medium. Similarly, when matching with the facial features of the photographer C, the photographing mode is set to sensitivity: ISO 1600, contour: sharp, contrast: strong.

  (Step S109) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 to detect the pupil position. By detecting this pupil position, the line of sight of the photographer can be recognized. Here, the detection of the pupil position is to detect where the pupil is in the eye. For example, in the case of FIG. 6A, “center” (photographer's line of sight is the front direction), FIG. In the case of (b), “left” (the photographer's line of sight is directed in the right direction) is detected, and in the case of FIG. 6 (c), “right” (the photographer's line of sight is directed in the left direction) is detected. 6 does not depict the eyes and pupil positions of the actual photographer, but depicts the eyes and pupil positions of the photographer photographed by the sub camera 103. For example, in FIG. If it is, the photographer's line-of-sight direction is rightward, and if the pupil position is on the right side of the page, the photographer's line-of-sight direction is leftward. Further, in FIG. 6, for the sake of easy understanding, the case where the pupil position is detected separately in the center and the left and right is shown, but the pupil position may be detected more finely including the vertical direction.

  (Step S110) The control unit 105 estimates the position of the main subject in the image captured by the main camera 102 according to the pupil position detected in step S109. For example, in the captured image 201 of FIG. 7, in the case of FIG. 6A, it is estimated that the main subject is at the position of the central portion a of the captured image 201. In the case of FIG. 6B, it is estimated that the main subject is located at the position of the right portion b of the captured image 201. Similarly, in the case of FIG. 6C, it is estimated that the main subject is present at the position of the left side portion c of the captured image 201.

  The position of the main subject estimated in this way is used for exposure control and focus control during shooting. For example, the control unit 105 can perform optimal exposure control for the main subject by performing exposure measurement at the position of the main subject when inputting from the AE unit 118. Alternatively, the control unit 105 can focus on the main subject portion by detecting the focus position input from the AF unit 120 at the position of the main subject.

  (Step S <b> 111) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 to detect facial expressions. The facial expression is detected in the same manner as in step S106, for example, based on facial features such as the shape of the face and the position and shape of the eyes, nose and mouth.

  Here, as an example of detecting the facial expression, an example of detecting the degree of smile will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8A shows a normal expression without a smile, FIG. 8B shows a small expression, and FIG. 8C shows a big expression.

  For example, in order to detect the degree of smile, the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 detects changes in the mouth corners and the corners of the corners of the eyes. An example of this is shown in FIG. (A), (b), and (c) of FIG. 9 correspond to the facial expressions of (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 8, respectively, and extract features of the mouth and eyes. . When a general human face smiles, the corner of the mouth goes up and the corner of the eye goes down. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, in the case of a normal facial expression without a smile, the corner of the mouth is not raised, and conversely, the corner of the eye is not lowered. On the other hand, when a small smile is made, as shown in FIG. 9B, the corner of the mouth is slightly raised and the corner of the eye is slightly lowered. Further, when a big smile is made, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the corner of the mouth rises greatly and the corner of the eye falls greatly. In this way, the degree of smile can be grasped by detecting the inclination of the portion surrounded by the dotted circle. For example, the inclination of the mouth corner in the case of FIG. 9A is 0 degree and the inclination of the eyelid heel is 30 degrees, the inclination of the mouth angle in the case of FIG. 9B is 30 degrees and the inclination of the eyelid heel is 45 degrees, In the case of FIG. 9C, the inclination of the mouth angle can be expressed by a numerical value such as 60 degrees and the inclination of the eyelid ridges of 60 degrees. Incidentally, the inclination of the mouth corner and the corner of the corner of the eye can be obtained using a general image processing technique. For example, the angle can be obtained from the coordinates between two points that are linearly approximated after being converted into a line drawing by edge extraction processing.

  (Step S112) The control unit 105 compares the initial facial expression detected in step S106 with the current facial expression detected in step S111, and detects the amount of change in facial expression.

  In the case of the example described in step S111, the change amount of the facial expression can be represented by the change amount of the inclination of the mouth corner and the change amount of the inclination of the eyelid eyelid. For example, as in the previous example, the inclination of the mouth angle in the case of FIG. 9A is 0 degree and the inclination of the eyelid heel is 30 degrees, and the inclination of the mouth angle in FIG. Assume that the inclination of the eyelid is 45 degrees, the inclination of the mouth angle in the case of FIG. 9C is 60 degrees, and the inclination of the eyelid eyelid is 60 degrees.

  Here, the first facial expression (initial facial expression) detected in step S106 is shown in FIG. 8A, and the current facial expression detected in step S111 is shown in FIG. 8B. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the change amount of the facial expression detected in step S112 is 30 ° −0 ° = 30 °, and the change in the corner of the eye is 45 ° −30 ° = 15 °. Can be calculated. Similarly, the current facial expression detected in step S111 is shown in FIG. In this case, the amount of change in facial expression detected in step S112 is, as shown in FIG. 9, the amount of change in mouth angle is 60 degrees-0 degrees = 60 degrees and the amount of change in eye corners is 60 degrees-30 degrees = 30 degrees. Can be calculated.

  In this way, the amount of change in facial expression can be detected. For the sake of easy understanding in the above description, the facial expression change is detected using the angle of the mouth corner and the corner of the corner of the eye, but the change of the face may be detected by another method such as the movement of the lips. I do not care.

  (Step S113) The control unit 105 determines whether or not the facial expression has changed based on the amount of change in facial expression detected in step S112. If the facial expression has changed, the process proceeds to step S114. If the facial expression detected in step S111 has not changed, the process proceeds to step S116.

  Here, as described above, whether or not the facial expression has changed can be determined based on whether or not the mouth angle and the inclination of the corner of the eye have changed by a predetermined value or more in the case of FIG. For example, when it is determined whether or not the facial expression has changed with a mouth angle change amount of 20 degrees or more and an eye corner change amount of 10 degrees or more as a predetermined value, FIG. 9B and FIG. Referring to FIG. 9 (a), both the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes are greater than or equal to predetermined values, so it is determined that the facial expression has changed. In the previous example, if the change amount of the mouth angle is 45 degrees or more and the change amount of the corner of the eye is 20 degrees or more as a predetermined value, FIG. 9C shows both the mouth angle and the corner of the eye in FIG. 9A. Since it is equal to or greater than the value, it is determined that the facial expression has changed, but in FIG. 9B, it is determined that the facial expression has not changed because both the mouth corner and the corner of the eye are less than the predetermined values with respect to FIG. 9A. . Of course, it is determined that the facial expression has not changed even in the state of FIG.

  (Step S114) The control unit 105 determines whether or not it is a smile from the facial expression detected in step S111. When it is a smile, it progresses to step S115, and when it is not a smile, it progresses to step S116.

  Here, as described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, it is possible to determine whether the facial expression is a smile based on the inclination of the mouth corner and the inclination of the corner of the eye. For example, when it is determined whether the facial expression is a smile when the inclination of the mouth corner is 20 degrees or more and the inclination of the corner of the eye is 40 degrees or more as a predetermined value, it is determined that FIG. 9B and 9C are determined to be a smile because both the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes are equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the inclination of the mouth corner is 50 degrees or more and the inclination of the corner of the eye is 40 degrees or more as a predetermined value, FIG. 9C is determined to be a smile because both the mouth corner and the corner of the eye are above the predetermined value. 9 (b) is determined not to be a smile because both the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes are less than the predetermined values.

  The determination may be made not only by the vertical movement of the mouth corners and the corners of the eyes, but also by whether or not the lips are moving. For example, when the subject is a person, the photographer often shoots while talking, so the photographer's lips are moving, and it can be estimated that the subject is a person. Further, the image taken by the main camera 102 may be rated according to the degree of smile determined here.

  (Step S115) The control unit 105 sets the photographing mode of the photographing apparatus 101 to the person photographing mode. The person photographing mode is a photographing mode in which, for example, color correction processing for making a person's skin look beautiful or processing for softening an outline is performed. When the portrait shooting mode is set, when the main camera 102 captures an image, the control unit 105 causes the digital signal processing unit 117 of the main camera 102 to set exposure settings, contrast settings, color correction processing, and contour suitable for portrait shooting. Commands to perform processing.

  (Step S116) The control unit 105 sets the photographing mode of the photographing apparatus 101 to the landscape photographing mode. Note that the landscape shooting mode is a shooting mode in which, for example, a contrast process for making the contrast clear and a process for sharpening the contour are performed. When the landscape shooting mode is set, when the main camera 102 captures an image, the control unit 105 causes the digital signal processing unit 117 of the main camera 102 to perform exposure setting, contrast setting, color correction processing, and contour suitable for landscape shooting. Commands to perform processing.

  (Step S117) When the release button 152 of the operation unit 106 is pressed, the control unit 105 performs shooting with the main camera 102 (manual shooting). In the photographing process, as described above, subject light incident through the lens optical system 112 is photoelectrically converted by the imaging unit 113 to be converted into an electrical signal, and converted into digital image data by the A / D conversion unit 115. The converted image is temporarily captured in the image buffer 116.

  (Step S 118) The image data temporarily captured in the image buffer 116 in step S 117 is subjected to color conversion processing or contour processing according to the shooting mode in the digital signal processing unit 117, and then via the control unit 105. Are stored in the memory card 109 via the memory 108 or the card I / F 110. Further, it is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 107 as necessary.

  When the captured image is stored in the memory 108 or the memory card 109, the rating result determined in step S114 may be added as rating information to the image data to be stored. For example, when image data is stored in the Exif standard, rating information may be added to a user area in the Exif standard. As a result, it is possible to easily know whether or not it is a smile and the degree of smile by simply checking the captured image data. Also, the rating information itself may be represented by numerical values or symbols, or may be represented by the number of ☆ marks.

  (Step S119) When the series of photographing processes is finished and the photographing is continuously performed, the processes from Step S102 are repeated.

  The process when the determination result is “Yes” in the determination process of step S105 has been described above. Next, processing when the determination result in step S105 is “No” will be described.

  (Step S120) If the determination result in Step S105 is “No”, that is, if the image captured by the sub camera 103 does not include a face as a result of the image analysis processing in Step S104, The photographing apparatus 101 is automatically set to the self-portrait photographing mode.

  Here, the self-portrait shooting mode is a shooting mode in which the photographer himself / herself takes a picture of himself / herself as a subject. In the self-portrait shooting mode in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the photographer's face is within the angle of view of the image to be photographed by the main camera 102, and the photographer's face is within the angle of view of the photographer. If the photographer's face is not within the field angle of view, the focal length is changed or the photographer is alerted. Hereinafter, the flow of processing in the self-portrait shooting mode will be described.

  (Step S <b> 121) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 117 of the main camera 102 to determine whether a face is included in the image captured by the main camera 102. If the image captured by the main camera 102 includes a face, the process proceeds to step S122. If the image captured by the main camera 102 does not include a face, the process proceeds to step S128.

  If a face is included in the image captured by the main camera 102, processing is performed in the same manner as in step S107, and the detected facial feature matches the facial feature registered in the memory 108 in advance. In this case, the AF light 121 may be blinked or an electronic sound generator may be provided to notify the photographer with an electronic sound. In addition, the determination process in step S121 may be in a standby state until a predetermined time elapses after the self-portrait shooting mode is set in step S120. Thereby, it is possible to make the determination process wait for the time when the photographer moves to the main camera 102 side.

  (Step S122) The control unit 105 determines whether or not the face of the photographer himself who wants to shoot with the main camera 102 is within the shooting angle of view. If the photographer's face is within the shooting angle of view, the process proceeds to step S127. If the photographer's face is not within the shooting angle of view, the process proceeds to step S123.

  Here, the determination as to whether or not the photographer's face is within the shooting angle of view is performed, for example, in the same manner as the image analysis processing in step S104. The difference from step S104 is that in the image analysis processing in step S104, the image captured by the sub camera 103 is analyzed by the digital signal processing unit 128, but in step S121, the image captured by the main camera 102 is digitally processed. The analysis is performed by the signal processing unit 117.

  Whether or not the photographer's face is within the shooting angle of view is determined, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 4, for example, a face of a predetermined size or larger as shown in FIG. When an image included in the corner is being photographed, it is determined that the photographer's face is within the photographing field angle. When the face is not completely included as shown in FIG. 4B, or when the face size cannot be recognized below a predetermined size as shown in FIG. 4C, the photographer's face is captured. It is determined that it is not in the corner. Further, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the photographer's face is too large with respect to the shooting angle of view, it is determined that the photographer's face is not within the shooting angle of view.

  (Step S123) The control unit 105 determines whether or not the zoom position of the zoom lens of the lens optical system 112 of the main camera 102 is at the Wide end (wide angle end). When the zoom position of the zoom lens is at the wide end, the process proceeds to step S125, and when the zoom position of the zoom lens is not at the wide end, the process proceeds to step S124. Since the control unit 105 controls the lens driving unit 122 by operating the zoom button 153 of the operation unit 106 to change the zoom position of the zoom lens of the lens optical system 112, the control unit 105 grasps the current zoom position. To do.

  (Step S124) The control unit 105 moves the zoom position of the zoom lens of the lens optical system 112 of the main camera 102 to the Wide side, and returns to Step S121.

  Here, by moving the zoom position to the Wide side, even when the photographer's face is too large with respect to the shooting angle of view as shown in FIG. 10A, shooting is performed as shown in FIG. 10B. The person's face can be kept within the shooting angle of view.

  (Step S <b> 125) The control unit 105 emits the AF light 121 and blinks it to notify the photographer that the photographer's face is not within the photographing field angle. Normally, the AF light 121 is used as auxiliary light for AF, but here it is used for light emission of a photographer. Instead of using the AF light 121, the photographer may be informed that the photographer's face is not within the photographing angle of view by using another LED, flash 119, or electronic sound.

  In this processing step, if the photographer's face does not fall within the shooting angle of view as shown in FIG. 10C even if the zoom position is moved to the Wide end in step S124, the photographer's face is shown to the photographer. Is a process for warning that it cannot fit within the shooting angle of view. With this warning, the photographer can change the composition and take a self-portrait again, thereby preventing the photographer's face from accidentally taking an image whose face is not within the shooting angle of view.

  (Step S126) Shooting is stopped, the process proceeds to step S119, and a series of shooting processes is terminated.

  (Step S127) When the photographer's face recognized by the sub camera 103 is recognized by the main camera 102 and the photographer's face is within the shooting angle of view, the control unit 105 automatically presses the release button 152. The photograph is taken, and the process proceeds to step S118. Specifically, the control unit 105 generates a shooting start signal corresponding to the pressing of the release button 152 and performs automatic shooting.

  (Step S128) The control unit 105 sets the photographing mode of the photographing apparatus 101 from the self-portrait photographing mode to the normal photographing mode. Note that the normal shooting mode is a special mode such as determining whether or not an image captured by the main camera 102 has a face, whether or not the image is within the shooting angle of view, as in the self-portrait shooting mode. This is a shooting mode in which shooting is performed under preset shooting conditions (sensitivity setting, exposure setting, etc.) when the release button 152 is pressed without performing any processing. After the normal shooting mode is set, the process proceeds to step S117 to perform a shooting process. If the main camera 102 does not recognize the photographer's face in step S121, the process may return to the first step S104 without executing step S128.

  As described above, the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment is automatically set to the self-portrait shooting mode when the sub-camera 103 does not have a photographer's face. Even when the camera is used frequently in a mixed environment, it is not necessary to perform troublesome operations such as setting the camera to self-shooting mode or resetting to normal shooting mode every time you take a picture. Shooting can be performed.

  Also, after shifting to the self-portrait shooting mode, it is determined whether or not the face is within the shooting angle of view so that the face is within the shooting angle of view even if the face protrudes from the shooting angle of view. Since the zoom position of the lens optical system 112 is automatically moved to the Wide side, it is not necessary for the photographer to adjust the shooting angle of view and optimal self-portrait shooting can be performed.

  In addition, even if the zoom position of the lens optical system 112 is moved to the Wide end, if the photographer's face does not fall within the shooting angle of view, the AF light 121 emits a warning light. It can be seen that it is not within the shooting angle of view, and it is possible to prevent shooting mistakes.

  Alternatively, when the photographer's face recognized by the sub-camera 103 is recognized by the main camera 102 after shifting to the self-photographing shooting mode, the release button 152 is automatically pressed to shoot, so that the photographer There is no need to operate the camera, so you can take pictures with a natural feel.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the imaging device 101 according to the second embodiment will be described. The configuration of the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  In the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, a photographer who has been photographing with the sub camera 103 for a while after turning on the power of the photographing apparatus 101 moves to the main camera 102 side to perform self-photographing thereafter. Assume that you want to. In this case, the photographer who has been photographed by the sub camera 103 once disappears from the photographing screen of the sub camera 103, moves to the main camera 102 side, and appears on the photographing screen of the main camera 102.

  The photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment can automatically set the self-portrait photographing mode with high accuracy even in the above case.

  Next, the operation of the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart corresponding to FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, and the processes with the same step numbers as those in FIG. 3 indicate the same processes. Here, only processing different from FIG. 3 will be described.

  In FIG. 11, the processing from step S101 to step S110 is the same as the flowchart of FIG. In the present embodiment, a process of step S110b is newly provided between the process of step S110 and the process of step S111.

  (Step S <b> 110 b) The control unit 105 instructs the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 to determine whether a face is included in the image captured by the sub camera 103. If the image captured by the sub camera 103 includes a face, the process proceeds to step S111. If the image captured by the sub camera 103 does not include a face, the process proceeds to the self-photographing mode of step S120. .

  As described above, even if a face is included in the image captured by the sub camera 103 at the time of step S105, the photographer can then perform a self-portrait from the shooting screen of the sub camera 103. Even when it disappears and moves to the shooting screen side of the main camera 102, it is possible to shift to the selfie shooting mode. In FIG. 11, step S110b is provided between the process of step S110 and the process of step S111, but the same effect can be obtained as long as it is between the processes from step S106 to step S116.

  In particular, after the process of step S105 is performed and “Yes” is determined, the process of step S110b may be performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. In general, since the photographer often takes a picture with the sub camera 103 for a while after turning on the power of the photographing apparatus 101, the self-photographing can be performed with high accuracy by executing the process of step S110b after a predetermined time has elapsed. Switch to shooting mode.

  When shifting to the self-photographing mode in step S110b, the photographer's face detected from the image captured by the main camera 102 in step S127 is detected by the photographer's face detected from the image captured by the sub camera 103 in step S106. If the image matches the face, the release button 152 may be automatically pressed to take a picture. Accordingly, when the photographer's face recognized by the sub camera 103 is recognized by the main camera 102 without manually pressing the release button 152 of the operation unit 106, the release button 152 is automatically pressed. Therefore, it is not necessary for the photographer to perform the photographing operation, and a natural feeling of photographing can be performed.

  As described above, the photographing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment recognizes the photographer's face acquired by the sub camera 102 and automatically sets the photographing apparatus 101 to the self-portrait shooting mode, or in the self-portrait shooting mode. Complex operations can be assisted.

  In each embodiment, the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103 are described separately through the common unit 104, but the parts common to the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103 are combined into one. It doesn't matter. For example, in FIG. 1, the image buffer 116 of the main camera 102 and the image buffer 127 of the sub camera 103 may use the same buffer memory. Similarly, the digital signal processing unit 117 of the main camera 102 and the digital signal processing unit 128 of the sub camera 103 may be the same digital signal processing unit.

  Alternatively, the main camera 102 and the sub camera 103 may be shared as one image acquisition unit. For example, the lens optical system 112 and the imaging unit 113 of the main camera 102 and the lens optical system 123 and the imaging unit 124 of the sub camera 103 are provided independently, and the blocks after the analog signal processing 114 of the main camera 102 are provided. Also, the blocks after the analog signal processing 125 of the sub camera 103 may be shared. Alternatively, a mechanism for switching an optical path using an optical member such as a mirror may be provided so that all blocks including the lens optical system 112 of the main camera 102 and the lens optical system 123 of the sub camera 103 are shared. .

1 is a block diagram of a photographing apparatus 101 according to a first embodiment. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an appearance of a photographing apparatus 101. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the photographing apparatus 101. It is an auxiliary | assistant figure for demonstrating the detection of a face. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a registration table of imaging | photography mode. It is an auxiliary | assistant figure for demonstrating a pupil position. It is an auxiliary diagram for explaining the position of the main subject. It is an auxiliary | assistant figure for demonstrating the change of a facial expression. It is an auxiliary | assistant figure for demonstrating the detection of the variation | change_quantity of a facial expression. FIG. 6 is an auxiliary diagram for explaining detection of whether or not a face is within a shooting angle of view. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the imaging device 101 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Imaging device 102 ... Main camera 103 ... Sub camera 104 ... Common part 105 ... Control part 106 ... Operation part 107 ... Liquid crystal monitor 108 ... Memory 109 ...・ Memory card 110 ... Card I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 ... Acceleration sensor 112 ... Lens optical system 113 ... Imaging part 114 ... Analog signal processing part 115 ... A / D conversion part 116 ... Image buffer 117 ... Digital signal processing part 118 ... AE unit 119 ... flash 120 ... AF unit 121 ... AF light 122 ... lens driving unit 123 ... lens optical system 124 ... imaging unit 125 ... analog signal processing Numeral 126: A / D converter 127 Image buffer 128 Digital signal processor 151 Power button 152 Release button 153 Zoom button 154 OK button 155 156, 157, 158 ... Up / Down / Left / Right cursor buttons

Claims (11)

An image acquisition unit that acquires a first image and a second image different from the first image;
A recognition unit for recognizing the presence of the photographer using the second image;
And a control unit configured to control the setting for acquiring the first image to be a setting suitable for human photography when the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit controls the photographing unit to take a self-photographing mode in which the photographer photographs the photographer himself when the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer. The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2,
A first optical system for forming the first image;
An imaging device comprising: a second optical system that is provided in a different direction from the first optical system and that forms the second image. An imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
A display unit for displaying the first image;
The imaging apparatus, wherein the second optical system is provided close to the display unit. It is an imaging device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-4,
When the recognition unit cannot recognize the presence of the photographer, the control unit changes at least one of the shooting mode, the angle of view, the exposure, and the contrast of the image acquisition unit when acquiring the first image. An imaging device characterized by controlling the camera. An imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging start signal generation unit that generates an imaging start signal for starting actual imaging when the photographer recognized by the recognition unit is detected in the first image. The imaging device according to claim 6,
The photographing start signal generating unit generates the photographing start signal when the photographer is detected in the first image within a predetermined time after the recognition unit recognizes the presence of the photographer. An imaging device. It is an imaging device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-7,
A confirmation notification unit for notifying the photographer of confirmation information;
The control unit notifies the photographer of confirmation information from the confirmation notification unit when the recognition unit recognizes the presence of the photographer in either the first image or the second image. Shooting device to do. The imaging device according to claim 6,
The recognizing unit recognizes the photographer's face in the first image;
The control unit varies a focal length of the first optical system so that a face of the photographer recognized in the first image falls within an angle of view of the first image. In the imaging device according to claim 9,
An error notification unit for notifying the photographer of error information;
When the focal length of the first optical system is varied, the control unit may detect the error notifying unit when the photographer's face recognized by the first image does not fall within the angle of view of the first image. An imaging apparatus characterized in that error information is notified to a photographer. It is an imaging device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-10,
An acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the imaging device;
The recognizing unit starts recognizing the photographer in the first image or the second image when the movement of the photographing apparatus detected by the acceleration sensor falls within a predetermined value. .

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