JP2010045436A - Camera and photographing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera and a photographing system which can increase memories of not only historic spots but also family gathering photographs, the beauties of nature, etc. in accordance with the features of spots visited by a user and can create a varied photographic collection by determining a sort of a picture to be photographed, displaying an advice to the user and recording things enjoyed on each spot. <P>SOLUTION: In a digital camera 10, a position detection part 12 detects the positional information of a photographing position and a theme extraction part 18 groups the positional information of the photographing position and photographing time and extracts information for an object candidate to be photographed next on the basis of the grouped information. Then, a candidate display part 20a displays the information of the object candidate to be photographed next on the basis of an output from the theme extraction part 18 to notify an operator of the information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera and a photographing system, and more particularly to a photographing system that advises a photographing scene where a work and a story are born in a photograph.

  With the widespread use of digital cameras, images are digitized and can be easily transferred, and various image viewing possibilities such as the use of slideshows and automatic layout using electronic albums are expanding.

  Also, anyone can add music to BGM or synthesize characters into images if it takes time. Even in the above-mentioned slide show, it is possible to convey a richer feeling through interaction using a plurality of images.

  In this trend, when the number of people accustomed to viewing images with changes increases, even if the photographer shows only the images taken with the camera unplanned, if there is no change, it feels monotonous or tasteless Increasing number of cases.

Therefore, as a camera for determining the state and providing shooting advice, for example, proposals such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for recording a shooting date and time, calculating an average shooting interval, and issuing a message that prompts shooting when the shooting blank becomes longer than the average shooting interval. Has been. Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for providing shooting advice when the distance from the previous shooting location is far away.
JP 2002-183099 A JP 2006-74547 A

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a user with a long average shooting interval goes out to a different place that seems to have many shooting opportunities in a short time, a message prompting shooting is not notified. Has a problem.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 2 leaves a record in the middle of movement when the photographer moves, and does not enrich the types of captured images.

  In the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, it is impossible to advise to photograph even flowers and insects seen near a campsite.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to enhance not only historical sites but also group photos of family members, flowers and birds, etc. according to the characteristics of the places visited by the user. Provided is a camera and a photographing system capable of creating a photo book that can be changed by recording the features enjoyed at the place by determining the type of photograph to be taken and displaying advice to the user. That is.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 groups position detection means for detecting position information related to a position at the time of photographing, position information at the time of photographing and time at which the photographing is performed, and based on information on a result of the grouping. A theme extracting means for extracting information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next; a notifying means for notifying an operator of information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next based on an output from the theme extracting means; It is characterized by comprising.

  The invention according to claim 2 further comprises time detection means for detecting time information at the time of photographing in the invention according to claim 1, wherein the theme extraction means is detected by the position detection means. The position information and the time information detected by the time detecting means are grouped.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the theme extracting unit extracts information on the candidate for the next subject to be photographed in association with the subject photographed immediately before. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the notifying unit notifies photographing advice based on the theme extracted by the theme extracting unit.

  The invention described in claim 5 is the invention described in claim 4, wherein the notification means includes a candidate display section for displaying the photographing advice.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the notification means further includes a display unit for displaying a photographed image together with the photographing advice.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 6, wherein the notification means displays the photographed image and the photographing advice in association with each other.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the position information at the time of photographing acquired by the position detecting means and the time information at the time of photographing acquired by the time detecting means. And further comprising a communication unit for acquiring specific information from an external device.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the position information detected by the position detecting means is land use information.

  The invention described in claim 10 is the invention described in claim 2, wherein the time information detected by the time detection means includes season information.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a grouping of photographing means for photographing a subject, position detecting means for detecting position information relating to the position of the photographing means, position information of the photographing means, and time of photographing A theme extracting means for extracting information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next based on information on the result of the conversion, and information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next on the basis of an output from the theme extracting means And a notification means for notifying to the above.

  A twelfth aspect of the invention according to the eleventh aspect of the invention further comprises a time detecting means for detecting time information at the time of photographing, wherein the theme extracting means is detected by the position detecting means. The position information and the time information detected by the time detection means are grouped.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the theme extracting unit obtains information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next from a subject photographed immediately before by the photographing unit. It is characterized by being extracted associatively.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the thirteenth aspect, the notifying unit notifies photographing advice based on the theme extracted by the theme extracting unit.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the notification means includes a candidate display unit that displays the photographing advice.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, in the fifteenth aspect of the invention, the notification unit further includes a display unit that displays the image photographed by the photographing unit together with the photographing advice. To do.

  The invention according to claim 17 is the invention according to claim 16, wherein the notification means displays the image photographed by the photographing means in association with the photographing advice.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the twelfth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the positional information at the time of photographing acquired by the position detecting means and the time information at the time of photographing acquired by the time detecting means. And further comprising a communication unit for acquiring specific information from an external device.

  The invention described in claim 19 is the invention described in claim 11, characterized in that the position information detected by the position detecting means is land use information.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the time information detected by the time detecting means includes season information.

  According to the present invention, according to the characteristics of the place where the user went, not only the historical sites but also family group photos, flowers and birds, etc. can be used to revive memories and determine the type of photo to be taken, By providing advice to the user, it is possible to provide a photographing system that can record a feature enjoyed at the place and create a photo book that changes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera 10 to which an imaging system is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the digital camera 10 includes a position detection unit 11, a time detection unit 12, a communication unit 13, a database (DB) unit 14, a photographing unit 16, a feature detection unit 17, and a theme extraction. The unit 18 includes a notification unit 20 having a candidate display unit 20 a and a control unit 22.

  The position detector 11 is a position detector for receiving radio waves from GPS and detecting / acquiring position information of the digital camera 10 at the time of shooting. Here, the location information includes, for example, land use information. The time detection unit 12 has a clock function built in the digital camera 10 and is time detection means for acquiring time information at the position acquired by the position detection unit 11. The time information includes not only time but also season information such as spring and summer.

  The communication unit 13 is for communication with an external device (not shown), for example, for acquiring specific information such as shooting spot information. The database unit 14 is a storage unit that stores shooting spot information and event information acquired from an external device (not shown) via the communication unit 13, and a shooting position and a feature of the shot image.

  The photographing unit 16 is photographing means for photographing a subject at the time of photographing and obtaining a photographic image. The feature detection unit 17 analyzes the photographic image obtained from the photographing unit 16 and detects the feature of the photograph, and has an image processing function. For this feature detection, for example, color distribution or face detection is used. The theme extraction unit 18 is a theme extraction unit for extracting a theme necessary for advice based on information such as a travel destination event stored in the database unit 14. As will be described in detail later, the theme extraction unit 18 extracts a sub-keyword related to (associated with) the main keyword.

  The notification unit 20 includes a candidate display unit 20a, and is a notification unit configured to include a display unit 20b (see FIG. 2) such as a display for displaying an image (photograph) acquired by the photographing unit 16. is there. The candidate display unit 20a displays advice on the next shooting scene from the theme extracted by the theme extraction unit 18 based on the combination of the characteristics of the photographed photograph and the shooting position information. The control unit 22 performs control in accordance with the user's operation, and controls the entire digital camera 10.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a method for displaying a shooting spot and a shooting candidate for the shooting spot will be described.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an unphotographed spot and a photographed spot arranged on a map on the display unit 20b of the digital camera 10. FIG.

  When the user starts photographing, in the digital camera 10, the current position information is acquired by the position detection unit 11. When the acquisition of the current position information is completed, an acquisition request for shooting spot information around the current position is made to an external server (not shown), and the digital map and shooting spot information are acquired. As a result, a map 24 as shown in FIG. 2A is displayed on the display unit 20 b provided in the digital camera 10.

  At this time, on the displayed map 24, the positions 27a, 27b,... Further, regarding the shooting spots where the user has already completed the shooting activity, marks 26a, 26b,... Indicating that the shooting has been completed are plotted and displayed on the map.

  FIG. 2A shows an example in which the captured thumbnail images 28a, 26b,... Are displayed together with the captured marks 26a, 26b,..., But the present invention is not limited to this. For example, thumbnail images 28a, 28b,... May be displayed when the photographed marks 26a, 26b,.

  Similarly, the message 29 with respect to the shooting spot positions 27a, 27b,... May be displayed when the map is displayed, or the shooting spots positions 27a, 27b,. It may be displayed when clicked with.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical tree of shooting candidates included in shooting spot information.

  The photographing candidate means a typical subject indicating the photographing spot suitable for photographing. There are various types of shooting spots. For example, if it is a mountain represented by Mt. Fuji, there are scenery, and if it is a zoo, there are creatures.

  Therefore, the shooting candidates at the shooting spot are classified into the categories of landscape, creature, and person. The classified categories are further subdivided into mountains, rivers for landscapes, plants, animals for creatures, friends and family for people. Note that the shooting spot category is not limited to one, so there are, for example, a combination of landscape and creature, and there are a plurality of shooting candidates.

  The shooting spot information includes a plurality of such classified shooting candidate trees. This photographing candidate tree is appropriately selected according to the current location described above, for example. Further, when providing shooting advice, the classified shooting spot information is sequentially used as advice as shooting candidates.

  In the present embodiment, the shooting theme is determined before shooting is started. Therefore, at the time of shooting, shooting advice according to the determined shooting theme is given.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a shooting theme extraction method and a theme. (A) is a keyword classified from information acquired by the digital camera 10 via the position detection unit 11, the time detection unit 12, and the communication unit 13. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of a shooting theme for a combination of keywords that classifies information into seasons, times, and places.

  First, with reference to FIG. 3A, the classification of the extracted photographing information will be described.

  The season and time are determined from the information acquired by the time detection unit 12 of the digital camera 10. For example, when the acquired information is “2008.3.17 08:30:30”, the season is classified into the keyword “spring” from the date information, and the time is classified into the keyword “morning” from the time information. .

  Further, from the information acquired by the position detection unit 11 of the digital camera 10, an inquiry is made to an external server (not shown) via the communication unit 13, and a place on the map, for example, a sightseeing spot or a residential area is specified. , Classified as that keyword.

  Further, if the location on the map is a sightseeing spot based on the position information, since the shooting spot information exists as shown in FIG. 2A, the digital camera 10 takes a picture via the communication unit 13. Spot information is acquired. The shooting theme is narrowed down from the classified season, time, location information, and shooting spot information.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3B, the themes registered by a combination of season, time and place will be described.

  The shooting theme is recorded in advance in the database unit 14 of the digital camera 10 according to a combination of season + time + place. This theme group may be created by the user. Alternatively, a photography theme created by a third party may be acquired via the Internet or the like and recorded in the digital camera 10.

  The shooting theme is a theme when the user performs shooting. After setting the theme, shooting advice is given based on the theme. For example, if the keyword acquired and classified as described above is a combination of “spring + morning + mountain”, the registered information that matches the combination is “Let's take a spring landscape”. Photography advice related to “spring landscape” is extracted.

  Further, as a shooting theme, shooting spot information can be acquired if the shooting location is a sightseeing spot. Therefore, by combining the acquired shooting spot information, for example, “Autumn + Ta + Sightseeing spot (Shinjuku Gyoen) + Shooting spot information”, “Let's take autumn leaves at Shinjuku Gyoen” is more specific. Will match the shooting theme. In the case of this theme, shooting advice related to “Shinjuku Gyoen” and “Autumn leaves” is extracted thereafter.

  Note that the shooting spot information is acquired via the communication unit 13 and recorded in the database unit 14 as described above. And these photography spot information shall be updated for every event, for example.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a display of photographing advice and keywords for extracting advice will be described.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a state in which shooting advice is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a of the digital camera 10. FIG. As illustrated, the photographing advice is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a in a form that is superimposed on the through image displayed on the display unit 20b. In this case, the candidate display part 20a is arrange | positioned at a part of display part 20b.

  FIG. 4A is an example in which “mountain” is extracted from the position information, “spring” from the season, and “daytime” from the time. The place is “mountain” and the subject is “flower”. It is displayed as advice.

  FIG. 4B shows an example in which “station” is extracted from the location information, “summer” from the season, and “morning” is extracted from the time. The location is “station”, and “family” is displayed as the subject as advice. Has been.

  4C and 4D show an advice extraction method.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the shooting advice is extracted and displayed as a simple phrase “where” “what” is shot.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), keyword 1 is a keyword related to shooting conditions such as location and season, and keyword 2 is a subject such as a landmark, terrain, building, vehicle, food, creature, person, event, etc. The keywords about apply. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4D, the keyword 2 can be selected corresponding to the keyword 1.

  It should be noted that the shooting advice phrase is not limited to the phrase “Let's take XX with XX”, and may be another phrase.

  Next, a master-slave relationship between keywords used for shooting advice and keywords related to each keyword will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a master-slave relationship between keywords used as shooting advice and keywords related thereto.

  If the shooting theme as shown in the explanation of FIG. 3B is “Let's take a spring landscape”, a keyword related to “Spring landscape” is used at the time of shooting advice. This is, for example, an entrance ceremony, cherry-blossom viewing, cherry blossoms, etc.

  Next, when the entrance ceremony is the main keyword, the keywords such as cherry blossoms and children are subordinate. Similarly, if the family is the main keyword, the subordinate keywords are children, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, etc.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of the master-slave relationship when the main keyword is a combination of a plurality of keywords.

  When the main keyword is “cherry tree + child”, “climb the tree” becomes the subordinate keyword. Alternatively, if the main keyword is “entrance ceremony + children”, “school bag appearance” becomes the subordinate keyword.

  FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an example of keywords set for each time.

  Based on the time information acquired by the time detection unit 12 of the digital camera 10, classification is performed as shown in FIG. For example, if the acquired time information is “07:30”, “breakfast” is extracted as a keyword.

  In FIG. 5C, the time information is associated with the keyword. However, for example, a time from the previous photographing time may be measured and a database associated with the keyword corresponding to the time change may be created. For example, if about 1 hour has passed since the last shooting time and “lunch” is applied from the time information, a database that can extract the keyword “I am hungry” is set.

  As a result, for example, when the shooting period starts from the last shooting time, the time space when the user plays back as a slide show later between the next shooting subject and the last shooting subject is displayed. It is possible to advise you to take pictures to fill.

  FIG. 5D is a diagram showing an example of keywords set for each movement distance.

  A difference between the current shooting position information and the current position information is considered as a movement distance, and a certain keyword is set to associate the movement distance with which moving means.

  For example, if the movement distance is “within 1 km”, “walking” and “bicycle” are used as keywords. This contributes to stimulating the inspiration of shooting by the user associating that he / she moved on foot or bicycle from the location where the previous shooting was taken.

  These keywords shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D are recorded in advance in the database unit 14 in the digital camera 10 as information relating to candidates for subjects to be photographed next.

  The keywords and the master-slave relationship may be edited by the user. Or you may acquire and use what was edited by the third party via the internet etc.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a flow in which shooting advice becomes more accurate and specific while shooting is performed in accordance with shooting advice.

  When shooting starts, a shooting theme is first selected. The shooting themes include, for example, “Let's take a spring landscape” (M101), “Let's take a street” (M102), “Let's take a festival” (M103), and so on. In this case, it is assumed that “Let's shoot a spring landscape” (M101) is selected.

  Here, when “spring landscape” is selected, the purpose (keyword) of “spring landscape” can be specified, and shooting advice “Let's take a cherry blossom in the park” (M111) and “ “Let's take the entrance ceremony” (M112) is extracted.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, the displayed shooting advice is selected by the user by key input or the like. In this case, it is assumed that “Let's take a cherry blossom in the park” (M111) is selected. By selecting this shooting advice, an event (keyword) can be specified.

  Next, “sakura” is extracted as a keyword related to the keyword “cherry blossom” in “park”. As a result, “Let's take a cherry tree in the park” (M121) is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a as the shooting advice. When this shooting advice is accepted by the user, “sakura” can be specified as the subject.

  In order to recommend a subject with a person, the keywords “family” and “friends” are used to suggest subjects with people, so “Let's take a family under the cherry” (M131) and “Let's take a friend under the cherry” "(M132)" is extracted as photographing advice and displayed on the candidate display unit 20a.

  Here, when the user accepts “Let's take a family under cherry blossoms” (M131), the group can be specified. In this case, it is possible to specify that the user is with the “family”. By specifying “family”, keywords “children” and “grandmother” are extracted. Then, shooting advices such as “Let's take a child under the cherry” (M141) and “Let's take a grandmother under the cherry” (M142) are displayed on the candidate display unit 20a.

  Here, by accepting “Let's take a child under cherry blossoms” (M141) by the user, it becomes possible to identify the person the user is trying to shoot and the person who is together, and the shooting advice becomes more specific. .

  Then, more specific shooting advices such as “Let's take a child climbing a cherry tree” (M151) are extracted from the keywords “park”, “sakura”, and “kid” that have appeared so far, and displayed as candidates. Displayed on the part 20a.

  In addition, “Let's take a lunch with a child” (M161) is extracted as shooting advice from the above-described personal information at the timing when the time suitable for “lunch” is reached due to time change during shooting, Is displayed. Further, when a change from the previous shooting location is detected and the vehicle approaches the vicinity of the station, “Let's take a train at the station” (M171) is extracted and displayed as shooting advice.

  As described above, by generating shooting advice from related keywords from the shooting theme, prompting the user to shoot, and accepting it, the user can obtain more specific shooting conditions. Can provide shooting advice.

  As a result, when a slide show is played after shooting, the outline before and after the photo becomes clear, and it becomes possible to generate and play a slide show having a story.

  When the above-described shooting advice is displayed, if a subject not corresponding to the keyword is shot, shooting advice for a new group is created at that time and displayed on the candidate display unit 20a. Become. For example, when a shooting advice “Let's take a child under the cherry blossoms” (M141) is displayed, a shooting advice is not “Let's take a child climbing a cherry tree” (M151). From the keyword “bird”, for example, shooting advice such as “Let's take a flying bird” is displayed on the candidate display section 20a.

  Alternatively, similarly, when shooting a subject that does not correspond to the keyword when shooting advice is displayed, a vibrator or the like is provided in the digital camera 10 as a notification unit, and the user is alerted by the vibration. May be.

  Further, the order in which the above-described photographing advice is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a may be changed according to the use frequency of the user.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  This control operation is mainly performed by the control unit 22.

  First, in step S1, shooting conditions are acquired when the digital camera is activated. Here, the acquired imaging conditions are time information and position information. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not a shooting theme is to be extracted. Here, if the shooting theme has not been extracted, the process proceeds to step S3, the shooting theme is extracted, and then the process proceeds to step S4. Details of the theme extraction in step S3 will be described later. On the other hand, if a shooting theme has been extracted in step S2, step S3 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S4.

  Here, the detailed operation of the subroutine “theme extraction” in step S3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When entering this subroutine, date information is first acquired in step S21. Next, in step S22, the season is determined from the date / time information acquired in step S21. Here, if the acquired information is information that can determine the season, the process proceeds to step S23 and the season is specified. On the other hand, if the information is such that the season cannot be determined in step S22, the season is not specified and step S23 is skipped.

  Next, time information is acquired in step S24. In step S25, the time acquired in step S24 is determined. Here, if the acquired time is information that can be determined, the process proceeds to step S26, and the time is specified. The time specified here is, for example, “morning” or “noon” as shown in FIG. Thereafter, position information is acquired in step S27. On the other hand, if the acquired time information is information that cannot specify the time, step S26 is skipped, and the position information is acquired in step S27 without specifying the time.

  Next, in step S28, the location is determined from the position information acquired in step S27. If the acquired location is information that can be determined, the process proceeds to step S29 to specify the location. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S30. Further, if the position information cannot be determined in step S28, the process proceeds to step S30 without specifying the location.

  In step S30, shooting spot information is searched. Then, in the subsequent step S31, it is determined whether or not shooting spot information can be acquired. Here, if it is acquirable, it will transfer to step S32 and acquisition of imaging | photography spot information will be performed. On the other hand, if the shooting spot information is not acquired, step S32 is skipped.

  Next, in step S33, an appropriate shooting theme is extracted by a combination of the keywords from the season, time, and place information specified in each step described above. In step S34, the extracted shooting theme is displayed on the display unit 20b of the digital camera 10 to prompt selection of the theme.

  As a result, in step S35, a suitable one for own photographing is selected from the photographing themes extracted by the user. Thereby, in the subsequent step S36, the shooting theme is determined. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S4 in the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S4 of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the shooting mode is determined. Here, in the shooting mode, that is, when shooting is performed, the process proceeds to step S5 where shooting and advice extraction are performed.

  Now, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9, the detailed operation of the subroutine “shooting and advice” in step S5 of the flowchart of FIG. 7 will be described.

  When this subroutine is entered, first, the time is determined in step S41. If the time information can be determined, the process proceeds to step S42, and keywords based on the time information are extracted. The keywords extracted here are “morning” and “noon”. On the other hand, if the time information cannot be determined in step S41, step S42 is skipped.

  Next, in step S43, position information is determined. Here, if the position information can be determined, the process proceeds to step S44, and keywords based on the position information are extracted. On the other hand, if the position information cannot be determined in step S43, step S44 is skipped.

  In step S45, it is determined whether or not there is already-photographed data. Here, the photographed data is a keyword group based on the photographed image and photographing advice given to the image. If it is determined in step S45 that there is already photographed data, the process proceeds to step S46, and these keyword groups are extracted. If it is determined in step S45 that there is no captured data, step S46 is skipped.

  Next, in step S47, it is determined whether or not shooting advice is extracted from the keyword extracted from the time, position, and shot data described above. Here, the extracted photographing advice is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a of the digital camera 10 in step S48. On the other hand, if no shooting advice is extracted in step S47, step S48 is skipped.

  Here, it is assumed that time elapses until a shutter button (not shown) of the digital camera 10 is pressed. In the digital camera 10, since changes in time and position are monitored, it is determined in step S49 whether there is a change in state in this case. As a result, if there is a change in state, the process proceeds to step S41, and keywords are extracted again from the time, position, and photographed information described above.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S49 that there is no change in state, the process proceeds to step S50, and it is determined whether or not a photograph has been taken. In this photography, when a shutter button (not shown) of the digital camera 10 is pressed, it is determined that the user has accepted the photography advice displayed on the candidate display unit 20a. Thereby, a photographing process is performed in the subsequent step S51.

  Features are extracted from the photographic image taken in step S51 by the feature detection unit 17 in the digital camera 10 in step S52. Next, in step S53, the feature information extracted as described above, the extracted keyword, and shooting advice are given as information to the shot image.

  Then, in step S54, it is determined whether or not shooting by shooting advice is continued. As a result, if shooting continues, the process proceeds to step S41, and the above-described processing operation is performed again from the keyword extraction. On the other hand, if shooting is not performed, the present subroutine is exited, and the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG.

  If it is determined in step S4 in the flowchart of FIG. 7 that the shooting mode is not selected, the process proceeds to step S6, and it is determined whether or not a playback mode for performing slide show playback of the captured images is executed. The Here, when the reproduction mode is executed, the process proceeds to step S7, and images captured so far are selected. On the other hand, in step S6, when the reproduction mode is stopped, the process proceeds to step S2 and the theme extraction determination is performed again.

  When an image is selected in step S7, it is determined in subsequent step S8 whether the image selected in step S7 is acceptable. If there is no selected image, the process proceeds to step S6. If there is a selected image, the process proceeds to step S9, and it is determined whether or not photographing advice information is given to the image.

  Here, if the shooting advice is given, the process proceeds to step S10, and the keyword or the shooting advice based on the reproduction of the image and the given shooting advice is superimposed as a comment on the image of the display unit 20b, and the candidate Playback is performed on the display unit 20a. On the other hand, if the image is not given shooting advice, the process proceeds to step S11 and only the image is reproduced.

  In this way, according to the digital camera of the present embodiment, it is possible to encourage photography that enlivens memories, and to create a photo book that changes.

  In the above-described embodiment, the notification of shooting advice is described as being displayed by the candidate display unit 20a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a speaker may be provided as the notification unit 20 of the digital camera 10 to provide shooting advice by voice.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention other than the above-described embodiment.

  Further, the above-described embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the column of the effect of the invention Can be obtained as an invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera 10 to which an imaging system is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention. A method for displaying shooting spots and shooting candidates for shooting spots will be described. (A) is a diagram showing an unphotographed spot and shooting spots arranged on a map on the display unit 20b of the digital camera 10, and (b). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical tree of shooting candidates included in shooting spot information. The example of the photography theme extraction method and themes is shown, and (a) is a diagram showing keywords classified by the digital camera 10 from information acquired via the position detection unit 11, the time detection unit 12, and the communication unit 13. (B) is the figure which showed the example of a photography theme with respect to the combination of the keyword which classified information into the season, the time, and the place. The display of the shooting advice and the keyword for extracting the advice will be described. (A) and (b) are diagrams showing how the shooting advice is displayed on the candidate display unit 20a of the digital camera 10, and (c) and (d). ) Is a diagram showing an advice extraction method. A description will be given of a keyword used for shooting advice and a master-slave relationship between keywords related to each keyword. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a keyword used as shooting advice and a master-slave relationship between keywords. Is a diagram showing an example of the master-slave relationship when the main keyword is a combination of a plurality of keywords, (c) is a diagram showing an example of keywords set for each time, and (d) is set for each moving distance It is the figure which showed the example of the keyword currently performed. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow from which photography advice becomes more exact and concrete while advancing photography according to photography advice. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the digital camera of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating detailed operation | movement of the subroutine "theme extraction" of step S3 in the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detailed operation | movement of the subroutine "photography and advice" in step S5 of the flowchart of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Position detection part, 12 ... Time detection part, 13 ... Communication part, 14 ... Database (DB) part, 16 ... Imaging | photography part, 17 ... Feature detection part, 18 ... Theme extraction part, 20 ... Notification Part, 20a ... candidate display part, 20b ... display part, 24 ... map, 25 ... current location, 26a, 26b, ... mark already taken, 27a, 27b, ... shooting spot position, 28a, 28b, ... thumbnail Image, 29 ... message.

Claims (20)

Position detecting means for detecting position information relating to the position at the time of shooting;
Grouping the positional information at the time of shooting and the time of shooting, and based on the information on the result of the grouping, theme extracting means for extracting information on candidate subjects to be shot next;
Notification means for notifying an operator of information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next based on an output from the theme extraction means;
An imaging system comprising: Further comprising time detection means for detecting time information at the time of photographing,
The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the theme extraction unit groups the position information detected by the position detection unit and the time information detected by the time detection unit.   3. The photographing system according to claim 2, wherein the theme extracting unit extracts information related to a candidate for a subject to be photographed next in association with a subject photographed immediately before.   4. The photographing system according to claim 3, wherein the notifying unit notifies photographing advice based on the theme extracted by the theme extracting unit.   The imaging system according to claim 4, wherein the notification unit includes a candidate display unit that displays the imaging advice.   6. The photographing system according to claim 5, wherein the notification unit further includes a display unit that displays a photographed image together with the photographing advice.   The imaging system according to claim 6, wherein the notification unit displays the captured image and the imaging advice in association with each other.   A communication unit for acquiring specific information from an external device based on at least one of the position information at the time of photographing acquired by the position detecting means and the time information at the time of photographing acquired by the time detecting means. The imaging system according to claim 2, wherein:   2. The photographing system according to claim 1, wherein the position information detected by the position detecting means is land use information.   The photographing system according to claim 2, wherein the time information detected by the time detecting means includes season information. Photographing means for photographing the subject;
Position detecting means for detecting position information relating to the position of the photographing means;
Grouping the position information of the photographing means and the time of photographing, a theme extracting means for extracting information on candidate subjects to be photographed next based on the information of the grouping result;
Notification means for notifying an operator of information on a candidate for a subject to be photographed next based on an output from the theme extraction means;
A camera comprising: It further comprises time detection means for detecting time information at the time of shooting,
The camera according to claim 11, wherein the theme extraction unit groups position information detected by the position detection unit and time information detected by the time detection unit.   The camera according to claim 12, wherein the theme extracting unit extracts information related to a candidate for a subject to be photographed next in association with a subject photographed immediately before by the photographing unit.   The camera according to claim 13, wherein the notification unit notifies photographing advice based on the theme extracted by the theme extraction unit.   The camera according to claim 14, wherein the notification unit includes a candidate display unit that displays the photographing advice.   The camera according to claim 15, wherein the notification unit further includes a display unit that displays the image taken by the photographing unit together with the photographing advice.   The camera according to claim 16, wherein the notifying unit displays the image photographed by the photographing unit and the photographing advice in association with each other.   A communication unit for acquiring specific information from an external device based on at least one of the position information at the time of photographing acquired by the position detecting means and the time information at the time of photographing acquired by the time detecting means. The camera according to claim 12.   12. The camera according to claim 11, wherein the position information detected by the position detection means is land use information.   The camera according to claim 12, wherein the time information detected by the time detection means includes season information.

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