JP2010226675A - Image capturing apparatus and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate handling by improving total ease of operation while acquiring an image in timing not during a shutter key operation. <P>SOLUTION: An image capturing apparatus includes imaging systems 11 to 13 for capturing a subject image, a shutter key (23) for instructing photography, a memory card 32 in which the image obtained by the imaging systems 11 to 13 in indication timing of the shutter key (23) is recorded, an image buffer 14 which stores images obtained by the imaging systems 11 to 13 including the image obtained in the instruction timing of the shutter key (23) cyclically for a fixed time, a playback key (23) for instructing additional recording of the images stored in the image buffer 14 after the photography is instructed with the shutter key (23), and a control unit 20, a main memory 21 and a program memory 22 that additionally record the images stored in the image buffer 14 in the memory card 32 in response to the instruction of the playback key (23) and automatically erases the images stored in the image buffer 14 when a previously given predetermined condition is met. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program suitable for a digital camera or the like having a past function capable of capturing a still image while holding an image for a certain period of time immediately before.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, digital cameras having a past function capable of taking a still image while holding a continuous image for a certain period of time immediately before have been standardized and commercialized.

  In this type of digital camera, an image at a timing before the timing at which the shutter key is operated can be acquired by selecting an arbitrary image in the continuous shot image immediately after the shutter key is operated.

  As a similar technique, a technique that can be selected and acquired from continuously shot images before and after the operation of the shutter key is considered. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP 2006-080809 A

In the digital camera using the past function, including the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document, the function can be used only immediately after shooting, and any operation is performed even when the continuous shot image held by the function is not selected. In spite of the narrow application of functions, the necessary operations are complicated and the operability is very poor for the user.The present invention has been made in view of the above situation. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program that improve the overall operability and can be easily handled while being able to acquire an image at a timing other than when the shutter key is operated. It is in.

  The invention described in claim 1 records an image obtained by the imaging means in accordance with an instruction timing at the imaging instruction means, an imaging instruction means for instructing imaging of a still image, an imaging instruction means for instructing imaging of a still image. A recording unit, a temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit, including an image at an instruction timing by the imaging instruction unit, and a shooting instruction by the imaging instruction unit; An additional recording instruction means for instructing additional recording of an image stored in the temporary storage means; a recording control means for additionally recording the image stored in the temporary storage means in the recording means in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction means; And a temporary storage control means for automatically erasing the image stored in the temporary storage means in accordance with establishment of a predetermined condition given in advance.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the display means for displaying an image and the image obtained by the imaging means are displayed on the monitor by the display means as needed, and the instruction timing by the photographing instruction means In response, the monitor display is stopped, and instead, the image recorded by the recording means is preview-displayed for a predetermined time by the display means, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the preview display is stopped and the monitor display is restarted. Display control means, a second display control means for causing the display means to display a plurality of images stored in the temporary storage means in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction means, and a second display control means. Image selecting means for accepting selection of an arbitrary image from the displayed images, wherein the recording control means is configured to receive the selected image received by the image selecting means as the recording means. Imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the additionally recorded.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the temporary storage control unit stops the circular storage when a predetermined time has elapsed from the instruction timing of the photographing instruction unit. To do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the temporary storage unit is divided into a plurality of areas, and the temporary storage control unit is used at an appropriate timing each time an instruction is given by the photographing instruction unit. The area of the temporary storage means is sequentially switched.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the temporary storage control means immediately starts cyclic storage of images obtained by the imaging means after sequentially switching the areas of the temporary storage means. It is characterized by making it.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the above described invention, the temporary storage control means maintains the storage contents of the temporary storage means in the area before switching after sequentially switching the areas of the temporary storage means. Features.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the temporary storage means is divided into a plurality of areas, and whether or not to overwrite the image for each of the plurality of areas of the temporary storage means is individually determined. The temporary storage control means sequentially switches the area in which images are cyclically stored in the temporary storage means in accordance with the setting in the area setting means.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit for capturing a subject image, a shooting instruction unit for instructing shooting of a still image, and a recording unit for recording an image obtained by the imaging unit in accordance with an instruction timing at the shooting instruction unit. And an imaging method with an imaging device including a temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit, including an image at an instruction timing in the imaging instruction unit, for a certain period of time, the imaging instruction An instruction for photographing after the recording unit, and an additional recording instruction step for instructing additional recording of the image stored in the temporary storage unit, and the recording of the image stored in the temporary storage unit according to the instruction in the additional recording instruction step A recording control step of additionally recording in the recording unit, and a temporary storage control step of automatically erasing the image stored in the temporary storage unit in accordance with establishment of a predetermined condition given in advance.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit for capturing a subject image, a shooting instruction unit for instructing shooting of a still image, and a recording unit for recording an image obtained by the imaging unit in accordance with an instruction timing at the shooting instruction unit And a program executed by a computer built in an imaging apparatus including a temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit, including an image at an instruction timing in the imaging instruction unit, for a certain period of time. After the computer has instructed photographing with the photographing instruction unit, additional recording instruction means for instructing additional recording of the image stored in the temporary storage unit; in the temporary storage unit in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction unit Recording control means for additionally recording the stored image in the recording unit, and temporary storage control means for automatically erasing the image stored in the temporary storage unit in accordance with the establishment of a predetermined condition given in advance Characterized in that to function as a.

  According to the present invention, while it is possible to acquire an image at a timing other than when the shutter key is operated, the entire operability is improved and the handling becomes easy.

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a flowchart mainly showing processing contents of control of circular storage in the photographing mode according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the image buffer and main memory at the time of dividing the area | region which memorize | stores image data before and after a full press operation of a shutter key as another structure example which concerns on the embodiment into 2 parts. The figure which shows the structure of the image buffer and main memory at the time of making it possible to set arbitrarily the some area | region which memorize | stores image data as a deletion object individually as the other structural example which concerns on the same embodiment. 10 is a flowchart mainly showing processing contents of control of circular storage in the photographing mode according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of a digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, a light image of a subject is formed on the imaging surface of a CCD 12 that is a solid-state imaging device by an optical lens unit 11 disposed on the front surface of the camera casing.

  In the monitor state, also referred to as through image display or live view image display, the image signal obtained by imaging with the CCD 12 is sent to the image processing unit 13 to execute correlation square sampling, automatic gain adjustment, and A / D conversion processing. And digitize. The image processing unit 13 further performs color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing on the digital image data, and then temporarily stores the digital data in the image buffer 14 via the system bus SB.

  This image buffer 14 has a capacity capable of storing image data of a total of 300 frames for a fixed time, for example, a frame rate of 30 frames / second for 10 seconds so as to correspond to a circular storage operation described later. It shall be.

  The image data held in the image buffer 14 is read out to the image processing unit 13 via the system bus SB, sent again to the display unit 15 via the system bus SB, and displayed as a through image.

  Similarly to the optical lens unit 11, a microphone 16 having an acoustic directivity substantially equal to the shooting angle of view of the optical lens unit 11 is disposed on the front surface of the camera housing, and audio in the subject direction is input. The microphone 16 converts the input sound into an electrical signal and outputs it to the sound processing unit 17.

  The sound processing unit 17 converts the sound signal input from the microphone 16 into digital data during sound recording, and temporarily stores it in the sound buffer 18 formed of a ring buffer via the system bus SB. Furthermore, the audio processing unit 17 partially cuts out audio data stored in the audio buffer 18 as necessary, and compresses the data in a predetermined data file format, for example, AAC (moving picture experts group-4 Advanced Audio Coding) format. An audio data file is created and sent to a recording medium to be described later.

  In addition, the sound processing unit 17 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, uncompresses and converts the sound data file sent during sound reproduction into an analog signal, and a speaker 19 provided on the rear side of the casing of the digital camera 10. To sound a loud sound.

  The control unit 20 performs overall control of the above circuit. The control unit 20 is composed of a CPU and is directly connected to the main memory 21 and the program memory 22. The main memory 21 is composed of SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) and functions as a work memory. The program memory 22 is composed of an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, for example, and fixedly stores an operation program, data including control in a photographing mode described later.

  The control unit 20 reads out necessary programs, data, and the like from the program memory 22 and executes the control operation of the entire digital camera 10 while temporarily expanding and storing it in the main memory 21 as appropriate.

  Further, the control unit 20 executes various control operations in response to key operation signals directly input from the key input unit 23. In addition to the image processing unit 13, the image buffer 14, and the display unit 15, the control unit 20 further includes a lens driving unit 24, a flash driving unit 25, a CCD driving unit 26, a compression / decompression processing unit 27, and a memory. A card controller 28 and a USB interface (I / F) 29 are also connected.

  The key input unit 23 includes, for example, a power key, shutter key, zoom key, shooting mode key, playback mode key, menu key, cursor (“↑” “→” “↓” “←”) key, set key, playback key, and the like. Is provided.

  The lens driving unit 24 receives a control signal from the control unit 20 and controls the rotation of the lens stepping motor (M) 30, and a part of a plurality of lens groups constituting the optical lens unit 11, specifically In this case, the positions of the focus lens and the zoom lens are individually moved along the optical axis direction.

  The flash drive unit 25 receives a control signal from the control unit 20 during still image shooting, and drives the flash unit 31 including a plurality of white high-intensity LEDs to be lit in synchronization with the shooting timing.

  The CCD driving unit 26 performs scanning driving of the CCD 12 according to the photographing conditions set at that time.

  The compression / decompression processing unit 27 converts the image data stored in the image buffer 14 into a predetermined data file format, for example, DCT if it is a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), at the time of shooting an image accompanying the shutter key operation of the key input unit 23. Data compression processing such as (discrete cosine transform) and Huffman coding is performed to create an image data file with a greatly reduced data amount. The created image data file is recorded on the memory card 32 via the system bus SB and the memory card controller 28.

The compression / decompression processing unit 27 receives the image data read from the memory card 32 via the memory card controller 28 in the playback mode via the system bus SB, and decompresses the decompression process in the reverse order of the recording process. Thus, the original size image data is obtained and held in the image buffer 14 via the system bus SB. Then, display for reproduction is executed on the display unit 15 by the image data held in the image buffer 14.
The memory card controller 28 is connected to the memory card 32 via the card connector 33. The memory card 32 is a memory for recording image data and the like, which is detachably attached to the digital camera 10 and serves as a recording medium for the digital camera 10, and has a nonvolatile memory that can be electrically rewritten in units of blocks. A flash memory and a driving circuit thereof are provided.

  The USB interface 29 controls transmission / reception of data when the digital camera 10 is connected to an external device such as a personal computer via the USB connector 34.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
The following operation is performed when the control unit 20 reads out an operation program and data stored in the program memory 22 and develops and stores them in the main memory 21 when shooting a still image in the shooting mode. Is what you want to do.

  For example, when the digital camera 10 is upgraded, the operation program stored in the program memory 22 is stored in the program memory 22 when the digital camera 10 is shipped from the factory. And a new operation program, data, etc. downloaded and stored from the outside via the USB connector 34 and the USB interface 29.

  The shutter key that constitutes a part of the key input unit 23 has a two-step operation stroke. The first-step operation stroke (hereinafter referred to as “half-press”) enters a shooting preparation state, and AF (automatic) It is assumed that the in-focus position and the AE (automatic exposure) process are executed to lock the in-focus position and the exposure value, and further, shooting is performed with a second stage operation stroke (hereinafter referred to as “full press”).

  FIG. 2 shows the contents of processing of image data mainly stored temporarily in the image buffer 14 in the still image shooting mode. At the beginning, a monitoring operation called “through image display” is started, and image data captured by the CCD 12 is temporarily stored in the image buffer 14 and displayed on the display unit 15 based on the stored image data. Thus, the content captured by the CCD 12 is displayed on the display unit 15 in real time (step S101).

  In this monitoring operation, the image data is updated and stored by using only a part of the image buffer 14 and the capacity for one piece of image data, unlike the case of performing circular storage described later.

In this monitoring operation, it is determined whether or not the shutter key of the key input unit 23 has been pressed halfway (step S102). If the shutter key has not been pressed halfway, it is then determined whether or not the playback key of the key input unit 23 has been operated (step S103). If it is determined that the playback key is not operated, the process returns to step S102.
Thereafter, the processes of steps S102 and S103 are repeatedly executed, and the process waits for the shutter key of the key input unit 23 to be half-pressed or the playback key to be operated.

  If the shutter key is half-pressed during the monitoring operation, it is determined in step S102, and the circular storage operation in the image buffer 14 is started (step S104).

  During this circular storage operation, the storage capacity of the image buffer 14 is fully utilized. For example, as described above, the image buffer 14 stores image data for a total of 300 frames for 10 seconds at a frame rate of 30 [frame / second]. Assuming that it has a possible capacity, after storing 300 frames of image data, the image data for up to 10 seconds can be stored by overwriting to erase the image data of the oldest frame before storing new image data. Store data cyclically.

  After starting the circular storage in the image buffer 14, it is further determined whether or not the shutter key has been fully pressed (step S105). If it is determined that the shutter key is not fully depressed, the process proceeds to step S103.

  If it is determined in step S105 that the shutter key is fully pressed, the latest image data stored in the image buffer 14 is compressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 27 according to a predetermined data file format, for example, the JPEG format. The image data file is recorded on the memory card 32 as a recording medium via the memory card controller 28 (step S106).

  At this time, the latest image data stored in the image buffer 14 is not recorded, but the image data is newly acquired by the imaging operation of the CCD 12, and the image data is compressed and decompressed via the image buffer 14. 27, and the data may be compressed and recorded in the memory card 32.

  At the same time, the monitoring operation is temporarily stopped, and a preview display for displaying the image data recorded in the memory card 32 on the display unit 15 for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds is executed (step S107). This is an operation for performing photographing in response to a full press operation of the shutter key and for allowing the user of the digital camera 10 to confirm the image data recorded on the memory card 32.

After performing the preview display for a predetermined time, the monitoring operation is resumed (step S108).
The processing related to the recording of a series of image data in steps S106 to S108 is referred to as normal recording processing A.

  After the monitoring operation is resumed in step S108, the circular storage in the image buffer 14 is stopped when a predetermined time, for example, 5 seconds elapses, and the contents of the image buffer 14 stored in the previous circular storage are maintained. After setting (step S109), the process proceeds to step S103.

  When it is determined in step S103 that the playback key of the key input unit 23 has been operated, if the monitoring operation is being executed at that time, the operation is stopped and stored in the image buffer 14. All the image data is read out and displayed as a list on the display unit 15 (step S110).

  At this time, when all the image data stored in the image buffer 14 cannot be displayed on the display unit 15, a part of the image data is appropriately displayed on the display unit 15 and the cursor key operation of the key input unit 23 is accepted. The range of image data to be displayed in a list may be scrolled as appropriate.

  Next, selection of additional image data to be recorded from the list-displayed images is accepted (step S111). The selected image is read out from the image buffer 14, compressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 27 into a data file, and then additionally recorded in the memory card 32 via the memory card controller 28 (step S112).

  Thereafter, the monitoring operation is resumed (step S113), and the process returns to step S102.

  The processing relating to the additional recording of the series of image data in steps S110 to S113 is referred to as playback recording processing B.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, an image captured at a timing other than when the shutter key is fully pressed is read out from the image buffer 14 by selecting the playback key, and is added to the display unit 15. When the image data stored in the image buffer 14 is unnecessary although it is possible to record it, there is no need to perform an operation such as erasing the image data. It is possible to concentrate on the next shooting without being particularly conscious of the stored series of image data. Therefore, the entire operability is improved and handling becomes easy.

  In addition, in the above embodiment, the monitoring operation is temporarily stopped when the shutter key is fully pressed while executing the monitoring operation for displaying the image captured by the CCD 12 at that time on the display unit 15 in real time. The image data recorded in the memory card 32 is displayed as a preview image on the display unit 15 for a predetermined time.

  As a result, it is possible to check the image recorded by the shutter key operation immediately after shooting without performing any special key operation, and it is possible to determine whether shooting has been performed at the timing intended by the user. When it is not the shooting timing, the process can quickly shift to the selection of the image data temporarily circulated and stored, and the shooting operation can be efficiently advanced for the user.

  In the above embodiment, the series of image data stored in the image buffer 14 is automatically stopped when a predetermined time has elapsed after the shutter key is fully pressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary deletion of image data that is likely to be important near the timing when the shutter key is fully pressed by continuing to overwrite and store the image buffer 14 unnecessarily.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image data is cyclically stored in the image buffer 14, but the image buffer 14 is divided into two regions, and the shutter key all is centered on the timing of the full press of the shutter key. An area for cyclically storing image data obtained before the pressing operation and an area for cyclically storing image data obtained after the shutter key full-pressing operation may be provided separately.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a simplified configuration of the image buffer 14 and various registers configured in the main memory 21 for controlling the image buffer 14 as another example of the configuration. In the same figure, when the image buffer 14 has a capacity capable of storing image data of 8 frames from “1” to “8”, “1” to “4” are displayed before the shutter key is fully pressed. The case where the obtained image data is cyclically stored as an area for storing “5” to “8” as the area for storing subsequent image data including the time when the shutter key is fully pressed is illustrated. .

  In the figure, a past table 21B and an after table 21D are provided for managing the writing position of the image buffer 14. Before the shutter key is fully pressed, the image data is cyclically stored in the numbers “1” to “4” of the image buffer 14 as shown in the contents of the past table 21B.

  If the frame number of the image data obtained when the shutter key is fully pressed is “frmn”, in the figure, “4”, “1” to “3” of the image buffer 14 are in chronological order. This shows a state where images of frame numbers “frm n-4” to “frm n−1” are sequentially stored. In the image data before the shutter key full press operation, the contents of the past index 21A that stores the storage position of the image data at the timing closest to the shutter key full press operation is "3" according to the contents of the past table 21B.

  The image data of frame numbers “frm n” to “frm n + 3” acquired during and after the shutter key full press operation are sequentially stored in the positions “5” to “8” of the image buffer 14. The content of the after index 21C that stores the storage position of the image data at the timing closest to the shutter key full-press operation in the image data during and after the shutter key full-press operation is “1” according to the content of the after-table 21D. "No."

  Furthermore, when performing additional recording after the shutter key full-press operation, an additional table 21F for storing candidate positions of image data to be added in the image buffer 14, and designation of the image buffer 14 based on the contents of the additional table 21F An additional index 21E for storing the position is provided.

  As described above, the area used by the image buffer 14 is divided before and after the shutter key is fully depressed, and after the shutter key is fully depressed, the shutter key is fully depressed. A certain amount of image data before operation can be maintained without being erased by overwriting.

  Further, by selecting image data as a deletion target that is not likely to be additionally recorded later from among a plurality of image data stored in the image buffer 14, the image buffer 14 storing the selected image data is used thereafter. It is also conceivable to select only these areas as a storage target and store them in a circular manner.

  FIG. 4 shows the frame number “frm n-2” of “2”, “frm n-4” of “4” and “frm n” of “5” from the state of FIG. , Each image data “frm n + 2” of “7” is selected as a deletion target. In this case, in the additional table 21F, by rewriting the content of the target position to “0”, the image buffer 14 uses only the selected position in accordance with the content of the additional table 21F during the subsequent shooting operation. Cycle overwriting.

  In this manner, the image buffer 14 is divided into a plurality of areas, and an unnecessary image is selected in the image buffer 14 by selecting whether or not to store image data obtained by subsequent shooting for each area. Only the area in which data is stored can be used effectively for subsequent shooting operations.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The circuit configuration of the digital camera 10 'according to the present embodiment is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts and their illustration and description are omitted. Shall.

  In the present embodiment, the display unit 15 is divided into a plurality of areas, and a still image shooting operation is executed while appropriately switching the divided areas for each operation of the shutter key.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
The following operation is performed when the control unit 20 reads out an operation program and data stored in the program memory 22 and develops and stores them in the main memory 21 when shooting a still image in the shooting mode. Is what you want to do.

  For example, when the digital camera 10 is upgraded, the operation program stored in the program memory 22 is stored in the program memory 22 when the digital camera 10 is shipped from the factory. And a new operation program, data, etc. downloaded and stored from the outside via the USB connector 34 and the USB interface 29.

  FIG. 5 shows the processing contents of handling image data mainly temporarily stored in the image buffer 14 in the still image shooting mode. At the beginning, a monitoring operation called “through image display” is started, and image data captured by the CCD 12 is temporarily stored in the image buffer 14 and displayed on the display unit 15 based on the stored image data. Thus, the content captured by the CCD 12 is displayed on the display unit 15 in real time (step S201).

  In this monitoring operation, the image data is updated and stored by using only a part of the image buffer 14 and the capacity for one piece of image data, unlike the case of performing circular storage described later.

  In this monitoring operation, it is determined whether or not an operation for shifting to the effective mode for playback shooting has been performed by a key operation at the key input unit 23 (step S202).

  If it is determined that the key operation is not performed, a normal photographing operation based on the monitoring operation is executed, and the obtained image data is displayed on the display unit 15 (step S203), and then the process returns to step S202. .

  In this way, the process of steps S202 and S203 is repeated to execute the monitoring operation, and waits for the operation to shift to the effective mode for playback shooting.

  When the operation for shifting from the monitoring operation to the effective mode for playback shooting is performed, it is determined in step S202, and then one area to be circularly stored is selected in the image buffer 14 (step S204). .

  Then, even if an area is selected, a circular storage operation to the area of the selected image buffer 14 is started (step S205).

  At the time of this circular storage operation, the storage capacity of the selected area of the image buffer 14 is fully utilized. For example, the area of the image buffer 14 has a frame rate of 30 [frames / second] for 10 seconds, for a total of 300 frames. If the image data has a capacity capable of storing the image data, after storing the image data for 300 frames, the image data of the oldest frame is erased at any time before storing the new image data. The image data for a second is cyclically stored in the area.

  After the circular storage in the selected area is started, it is determined whether or not a key operation for canceling the playback shooting effective mode has been performed (step S206).

  If it is determined that a key operation for canceling the effective mode for playback shooting has been performed, the cyclic storage operation to the currently selected area of the image buffer 14 is stopped (step S207). The process proceeds to step S203.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the key operation for canceling the playback shooting effective mode has not been performed, it is then determined whether or not the shutter key has been operated to instruct shooting (step S208). Only when it is determined that the shutter key has been operated, the normal recording process is executed (step S209).

  In this normal recording process, the latest image data stored in the area of the image buffer 14 is compressed by a compression / decompression processing unit 27 in a predetermined data file format, for example, JPEG, as in the processes of steps S106 to S108 in FIG. Data compression is performed according to the format, and the obtained image data file is recorded on a memory card 32 as a recording medium via the memory card controller 28.

  At this time, the latest image data stored in the image buffer 14 is not recorded, but the image data is newly acquired by the imaging operation of the CCD 12, and the image data is compressed and decompressed via the image buffer 14. 27, and the data may be compressed and recorded in the memory card 32.

  At the same time, the monitoring operation is temporarily stopped, and a preview display for displaying the image data recorded in the memory card 32 on the display unit 15 for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds is executed. This is an operation for performing photographing in response to the operation of the shutter key and for allowing the user of the digital camera 10 'to confirm the image data recorded on the memory card 32.

Then, after the preview display is performed for a predetermined time, the monitoring operation is resumed.
Regardless of whether or not the normal recording process in step S209 is executed, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time, for example, 5 seconds has elapsed since the shutter key of the key input unit 23 was operated next time (step S210). ).

  Here, when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the circular storage operation to the area of the image buffer 14 selected at that time is further stopped (step S211).

  Thereafter, after switching to another area of the image buffer 14 to be circularly stored (step S212), the circular storage operation to the switched area is started again (step S213).

  After starting the circular storage in step S213 or when it is determined in step S210 that the predetermined time has not yet elapsed since the shutter key of the key input unit 23 was operated last time, the key input unit 23 It is determined whether or not the playback key has been operated (step S214).

  If it is determined that the playback key of the key input unit 23 has been operated, playback recording processing is further executed (step S215).

  In this playback recording process, as in the process of steps S110 to S113 in FIG. 1, if the monitoring operation is being executed at that time, the operation is stopped and the image buffer 14 is selected up to that point. All the image data stored in the stored area is read and displayed as a list on the display unit 15.

  At this time, when all the image data stored in the area of the image buffer 14 cannot be displayed on the display unit 15, a part of the image data is appropriately displayed on the display unit 15 and the cursor key operation of the key input unit 23 is performed. And the range of image data to be displayed in a list may be scrolled as appropriate.

  Next, selection of image data to be additionally recorded from images displayed in a list is accepted. The selected image is read from the image buffer 14, compressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 27 into a data file, and then additionally recorded on the memory card 32 via the memory card controller 28. Thereafter, the monitoring operation is resumed.

  After the above-described playback recording process relating to the additional recording of image data is completed, or when it is determined in step S214 that the playback key has not been operated, the process returns to the process from step S206. Repeat.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the image buffer 14 is divided into a plurality of areas, and the cyclic storage is executed while sequentially switching the areas. As a result, taking advantage of the capacity of the image buffer 14, the time until the image data once stored is automatically erased by the next overwriting operation is set to the maximum, and more images can be recorded later. It can be recorded on the memory card 32 which is a recording medium by processing.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the cyclic storage to the area is automatically started immediately after the area of the image buffer 14 is switched. Therefore, the photographing operation is temporarily stopped due to the switching of the area in the circular storage. Captured images can be reliably acquired with minimum.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the area of the image buffer 14 is switched, the area in which the image data is circularly stored before the switching is stored until the area of the image buffer 14 is switched once and switched to the area again. Can be held.

  Therefore, although it depends on the capacity of the entire image buffer 14, the time until the stored image data is automatically erased by the overwriting operation can be extended to the maximum according to the capacity of the image buffer 14, resulting in a large number of results. These images can be recorded on the memory card 32 as a recording medium as necessary in the later additional recording process.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a video movie camera or a mobile phone terminal having a camera function is used. It can be similarly applied to other various electronic devices such as a mobile computer equipped with a web camera.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect is obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10 '... Digital camera, 11 ... Optical lens unit, 12 ... CCD, 13 ... Image processing part, 14 ... Image buffer, 15 ... Display part, 16 ... Microphone, 17 ... Sound processing part, 18 ... Sound buffer, 19 ... Speaker, 20 ... Control unit, 21 ... Main memory, 21A ... Past index, 21B ... Past table, 21C ... After index, 21D ... After table, 21E ... Addition index, 21F ... Addition table, 22 ... Program memory, 23 ... Key input unit, 24 ... lens driving unit, 25 ... flash driving unit, 26 ... CCD driving unit, 27 ... compression / decompression processing unit, 28 ... memory card controller, 29 ... USB interface (I / F), 30 ... stepping for lens Motor (M), 31 ... flash unit, 32 ... memory card, 3 ... card connector, SB ... system bus.

Claims (9)

Imaging means for capturing a subject image;
Photographing instruction means for instructing photographing of a still image;
A recording unit that records an image obtained by the imaging unit according to an instruction timing of the imaging instruction unit;
A temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit, including an image at an instruction timing by the imaging instruction unit, for a certain period of time;
Additional recording instruction means for instructing additional recording of an image stored in the temporary storage means after instructing photographing by the photographing instruction means;
A recording control means for additionally recording the image stored in the temporary storage means in the recording means in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction means;
An image pickup apparatus comprising: temporary storage control means for automatically erasing an image stored in the temporary storage means in accordance with establishment of a predetermined condition given in advance. Display means for displaying an image;
The image obtained by the imaging means is displayed on the monitor at any time by the display means, the monitor display is stopped according to the instruction timing at the photographing instruction means, and instead the image recorded by the recording means is fixed by the display means. First display control means for displaying a time preview, stopping the preview display after a certain period of time, and restarting the monitor display;
Second display control means for causing the display means to display a plurality of images stored in the temporary storage means in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction means;
Image selection means for accepting selection of an arbitrary image from the images displayed by the second display control means,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording control unit additionally records the selected image received by the image selection unit on the recording unit.   2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary storage control unit stops the circular storage when a predetermined time elapses from an instruction timing of the imaging instruction unit. Dividing the temporary storage means into a plurality of areas;
2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary storage control means sequentially switches the area of the temporary storage means to be used at an appropriate timing whenever an instruction is given from the photographing instruction means.   5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the temporary storage control means immediately starts cyclic storage of images obtained by the imaging means after sequentially switching the areas of the temporary storage means.   5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the temporary storage control means maintains the stored contents of the temporary storage means in the area before switching after sequentially switching the areas of the temporary storage means. The temporary storage means is divided into a plurality of areas,
Further comprising region setting means for individually setting whether or not to perform overwrite storage of images for each of the plurality of regions of the temporary storage means,
2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary storage control means sequentially switches the area in which the image is cyclically stored in the temporary storage means in accordance with the setting in the area setting means. An imaging unit that captures a subject image, a shooting instruction unit that instructs to capture a still image, a recording unit that records an image obtained by the imaging unit according to an instruction timing at the shooting instruction unit, and a shooting instruction unit An imaging method with an imaging device including a temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit including a command timing image for a certain period of time,
An additional recording instruction step for instructing additional recording of the image stored in the temporary storage unit after instructing shooting by the shooting instruction unit;
A recording control step of additionally recording the image stored in the temporary storage unit in the recording unit in response to an instruction in the additional recording instruction step;
An imaging method comprising: a temporary storage control step of automatically erasing an image stored in the temporary storage unit in accordance with establishment of a predetermined condition given in advance. An imaging unit that captures a subject image, a shooting instruction unit that instructs to capture a still image, a recording unit that records an image obtained by the imaging unit according to an instruction timing at the shooting instruction unit, and a shooting instruction unit A program executed by a computer built in an imaging device including a temporary storage unit that cyclically stores an image obtained by the imaging unit including an instruction timing image for a certain period of time, the computer including the imaging instruction unit Additional recording instruction means for instructing additional recording of the image stored in the temporary storage unit after instructing photographing at
Recording control means for additionally recording an image stored in the temporary storage section in response to an instruction from the additional recording instruction means, and an image stored in the temporary storage section in accordance with a predetermined condition given in advance. A computer-readable program that functions as temporary storage control means for automatically erasing.

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