JP2010268357A - Imaging apparatus, image storage method, and, program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a subject image at a user-desired arbitrary aperture value through simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: An arbitrary aperture value set by a user is stored (step SA1) and when an aperture mechanism is operated, the time until the stored aperture value is obtained is acquired from a database (step SA2). When the aperture mechanism operation is initiated, imaging is performed after the lapse of a time corresponding to the arbitrary aperture value (step SA3), and the captured subject image is recorded (step SA4). Thus, a subject image captured at any other arbitrary value than an aperture value, which can be set by an aperture of the imaging apparatus, is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device capable of imaging with a plurality of aperture values, an image storage method, and a program.

  Many imaging apparatuses have an automatic aperture function that opens the aperture when determining the composition and reduces the aperture when shooting. In this type of imaging apparatus, when an aperture value is set in advance, an automatic aperture setting (AE) is known in which the aperture is automatically controlled so that the aperture is set during shooting.

  For example, in the case of an imaging apparatus in which a two-stage aperture (F1.0 / F22) can be set, an image can be captured from a preset aperture of F1.0 to an aperture of F22.

  However, in the case of an imaging apparatus in which the above-described two-stage aperture (F1.0 / F22) can be set, imaging at a preset aperture value is possible, but imaging at other aperture values cannot be performed. .

  In addition, when a plurality of images of the same subject are imaged while changing the aperture value, it is necessary to change the aperture setting each time, so that the operation is complicated and the time required for imaging becomes long.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it is possible to obtain a subject image at an arbitrary aperture value desired by a user with a simple operation.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the imaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the imaging unit, the diaphragm unit that adjusts the light incident on the imaging unit by a plurality of diaphragm blades, and the diaphragm unit are set. A first storage unit that stores a plurality of aperture values, a setting unit that sets an arbitrary aperture value from a plurality of aperture values stored in the first storage unit, and an aperture value set by the setting unit Storage control means for operating the aperture means within a range of a plurality of aperture values and controlling to store an image captured by the imaging means when the set aperture value is reached. And

  In the image pickup apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the diaphragm control unit is operated by the storage control unit, each aperture value and the time required to reach the aperture value from the start of operation The storage control means reads out the time corresponding to the set aperture value from the second storage means, and the image captured when the time is reached. It controls to memorize | store.

  In the image pickup apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the time measuring means for measuring the time from the start of the operation to the aperture means by the storage control means, and the time measured by the time measuring means Determining means for determining whether the time corresponds to the set aperture value, and the storage control means is a time corresponding to the aperture value set by the determination means. When it is determined that the image is picked up by the image pickup means, control is performed to store the image picked up by the image pickup means.

  In the image pickup apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the aperture means is operated from the maximum aperture value to the minimum aperture value, and the image pickup means is controlled to perform continuous imaging by the image pickup means. The image capturing control unit further includes an image capturing control unit that selects and stores an image captured at the set aperture value from a plurality of images captured by the image capturing control unit.

  In the image pickup apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage control unit further sets a gain when the image pickup unit picks up the picked-up image with respect to the picked-up image. It is characterized by being controlled and stored in accordance with the above.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging method for a camera comprising an imaging unit and a diaphragm unit that adjusts light incident on the imaging unit by a plurality of diaphragm blades. A setting step for setting an arbitrary aperture value from a memory for storing a plurality of aperture values set in advance in the aperture section, and a range of a plurality of aperture values including the aperture value set in the setting step. And a storage control step for controlling to store the image picked up by the image pickup unit when the stop value is set and when the set aperture value is reached.

  Furthermore, in the imaging program according to the invention of claim 7, a computer having a camera including an imaging unit and a diaphragm unit that adjusts light incident on the imaging unit by a plurality of diaphragm blades is provided in advance. A setting means for setting an arbitrary aperture value from a memory for storing a plurality of aperture values set in the aperture section, and operating the aperture section within a range of a plurality of aperture values including the aperture value set by the setting means And a storage control unit that controls to store an image captured by the imaging unit when the set aperture value is reached.

  According to the present invention, a subject image captured with an arbitrary aperture value can be obtained in an imaging device capable of setting a plurality of apertures.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the drive state of an aperture mechanism. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of CPU core when the recording mode is set. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an aperture stop and a gain. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an aperture value and operation time. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of an imaging process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of an imaging process. It is a figure which shows the drive state of the aperture mechanism of the digital camera in the imaging process of FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a digital camera 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This digital camera has a recording mode for shooting as a basic operation mode and a playback mode for playing back a shot image.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment receives an aperture mechanism 12 disposed behind the photographing lens 1 and photographing light converged by the photographing lens 1 via the shutter 2 and a light receiving surface. CMOS image sensor 3 which is an image sensor that photoelectrically converts an optical image of a subject formed on the image and outputs it as an image signal, A / D converter 4 that converts an output signal of CMOS image sensor 3 into digital image data, and conversion A DRAM 5 for sequentially storing subsequent image data is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the diaphragm mechanism 12 is formed by a plurality of diaphragm blades 12 a to 12 h, and by moving each of the diaphragm blades 12 a to 12 h, the area of the aperture region (shooting light incident on the CMOS image sensor 3) Can be changed. 2A shows the state of the diaphragm at the maximum aperture value, FIG. 2C shows the state of the diaphragm at the minimum aperture value, and FIG. 2B shows the state during the diaphragm.

  The operation of the shutter 2 is controlled by the shutter control unit 7b according to a command from the CPU core 7a, and the operations of the CMOS image sensor 3 and the A / D converter 4 are controlled by the light reception control unit 7c according to a command from the CPU core 7a. The image data for one sheet stored in the DRAM 5, that is, the RAW data is interpolated into color information for each pixel by the demosaic unit 7 d and converted into YUV data, and then displayed on the liquid crystal display screen 8 via the liquid crystal display controller 6. Is done. The converted YUV data is also temporarily stored in the DRAM 5.

  The image data converted into YUV data by the demosaic unit 7d at the time of shooting in the recording mode is compressed by the CPU core 7a according to a predetermined compression method such as JPEG and then recorded as a still image file or a moving image file on the external storage medium 11. Is done. In the reproduction mode, the image data recorded on the external storage medium 11 is read by the CPU core 7a and expanded as necessary, and then displayed on the liquid crystal display screen 8 via the liquid crystal display controller 6. The external storage medium 11 is constituted by, for example, a memory card that is detachable from the camera body, a flash memory built in the camera body, or the like.

  Further, a shutter button 9 and a mode button 10 are connected to the CPU core 7a. The memory (not shown) in the CPU core 7a stores various programs necessary for the operation of the CPU core 7a and various data used when executing the programs. May be stored in another memory.

  The CPU core 7a controls the operation of each part of the digital camera according to the pressing operation of the shutter button 9 according to the program.

  In response to an instruction from the CPU core 7a, the image deformation / synthesis adding unit 7h generates a pixel addition image by modifying the subject image captured by the CMOS image sensor 3.

  The aperture control unit 13 controls the aperture mechanism 12 within a range between a predetermined maximum aperture value and a specified minimum aperture value in accordance with an instruction from the CPU core 7a. For example, in an imaging apparatus in which a two-stage aperture (F1.0 / F22) can be set, the user can switch to F1.0 or F22 by operating the aperture mechanism 12. Further, when the user sets the aperture value of F2.8 or F8.0 other than F1.0 or F22, the switching operation of the aperture mechanism 12 is executed by F1.0 → F22. At this time, the shutter controller 7b operates the shutter 2 at the moment when the aperture value becomes F2.8 and F8.0 during the switching operation of the aperture mechanism 12 in accordance with the instruction of the CPU core 7a. In any case, the aperture mechanism 12 can be operated within the range of the specified maximum aperture value and the specified minimum aperture value, and can capture images with an arbitrary aperture value set by the user.

  Next, the operation when the recording mode is set in the digital camera having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the CPU core 7a when the recording mode is set.

  The CPU core 7a stores the aperture value to be photographed set by the user in the memory in the CPU core 7a (step SA1). The memory stores in advance a plurality of aperture values of F1.0, F1.4, F2.0,..., F22 as aperture value ranges that can be varied by the aperture mechanism 12, and the user can select these aperture values. When one or more aperture values to be imaged are selected from the values, the selected aperture values are read and set.

  Next, when operating the aperture mechanism 12 from F1.0 to F22 in step SA1, the CPU core 7a reads and acquires the time until the set aperture value is reached from the database stored in the memory ( Step SA2). As shown in FIG. 4, the database stores a relationship diagram between the aperture and gain when the shutter speed is fixed (for example, 60 fps). Further, the operation time of the aperture mechanism 12 is stored in the database, and FIG. 5 shows each aperture from the relationship between the brightness and the operation time when continuous imaging is performed with the gain fixed to 56 dB based on FIG. It is the figure which showed the time required until it became a value. When the gain is fixed to 56 dB, the time required from F1.0 to F2.8 is the time required to reach the brightness of Lv5, so it is stored in the database as a [ms]. The time required to reach 0.0 becomes the time b [ms] until the brightness of Lv8 is reached as in the case of F2.8. That is, the operation time shown in FIG. 5 is the time from the start of driving to an arbitrary aperture value when the aperture mechanism 12 is driven from the open position to the maximum aperture.

  When the aperture value of F2.8 is stored in step SA1, when the aperture mechanism 12 is operated from the minimum aperture value F1.0 in the open state to the maximum aperture value F22, the aperture value F2.8 is obtained. Since the time is a, the time a is acquired in step SA2. When the aperture value of F8.0 is stored in step SA1, the time from when the aperture value is changed from F1.0 to F22 until the aperture value becomes F8.0 is b. Get time b.

  Next, an imaging process for imaging a subject image is executed (step SA3). This imaging process will be described later.

  Next, the captured subject image is recorded (step SA4). When multiple time-lapse subject images are captured by high-speed continuous shooting, all subject images may be recorded, only subject images corresponding to a desired aperture value are recorded, and the remaining subject images are It can also be discarded.

  Next, the imaging process shown in step SA3 in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the imaging process.

  First, driving of the aperture mechanism 12 by the aperture controller 13 is started, and the aperture mechanism 12 is driven from the minimum aperture value F1.0 in the open state to the maximum aperture value F22. Is started (step SB1).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the time acquired in step SA2 in FIG. 3 has passed (step SB2). The processing in step SB2 is repeated until the acquired time elapses, and when the acquired time is reached, imaging and storage are performed (step SB3). At this time, the gain is varied each time according to the aperture value according to the relationship diagram between the aperture and the gain in FIG.

  Thereby, since the subject image is captured and stored at the aperture value selected by the user, the subject image at the desired aperture value can be obtained.

(Modification)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the imaging process shown in step SA3 of FIG. 3 in the modified example.

  First, driving of the aperture mechanism 12 by the aperture controller 13 is started, and the aperture mechanism 12 is driven from the minimum aperture value F1.0 in the open state to the maximum aperture value F22. Then, high-speed continuous shooting imaging is started so as to include imaging at the time acquired in step SA2 of FIG. 3 (step SC1).

  Next, the images obtained by the high-speed continuous shooting started in step SC1 are sequentially stored in the DRAM 5 in association with the time measured when they were taken (step SC2). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the driving of the aperture mechanism 12 by the aperture controller 13 has been completed (step SC3). When it is determined that the aperture has been completed (YES in step SC3), the high-speed continuous shooting is terminated (step SC4). ).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the subject to be imaged is focused in the state of the aperture value F1.0, and the aperture mechanism 12 is driven from the open aperture F1.0 to the maximum aperture value F22 by pressing the shutter button. During this time, the digital camera acquires RAW data of a plurality of temporally continuous images by the CMOS image sensor 3 and stores it in the DRAM 5. The shutter speed is fixed at 60 fps, for example, and the gain can be changed each time according to the aperture value according to the relationship diagram shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8B or FIG. 8C, when recording an image picked up with an intermediate aperture value from F1.0 to F22, after the image pickup processing of FIG. In SA3, when the aperture value set in SA1 is F2.8, an image captured when time a has elapsed from the start of timing is recorded. When the aperture value set in SA1 is F8.0, an image captured after the elapse of time b is recorded. In addition, it is possible to determine which aperture value an image is to be captured by selecting a diaphragm value by the user, selecting the number of times of shooting, or selecting a shooting interval.

  In the modification, an arbitrary aperture value may be selected after the imaging process is performed first. That is, the aperture value to be recorded is selected in step SA4 without performing the aperture value recording process in step SA1, and the time corresponding to the selected aperture value is selected from a plurality of captured images temporarily stored in the DRAM 5. You may make it select and record the imaged image.

  As a result, subject images with different aperture values can be obtained in a short time by a single press of the shutter button by high-speed continuous shooting, and the desired subject image is picked up from the obtained subject images. Selected images can be recorded.

  The digital camera capable of capturing a subject image having an arbitrary aperture value desired by the user has been described above. However, when the gain of the captured image is insufficient due to insufficient aperture due to the aperture value, pixel addition is performed. A bright and bright subject image may be obtained by supplementing the subject image in the dark part. In pixel addition, the CPU core 7a divides the subject image into a plurality of blocks in units of 16 vertical pixels × 16 horizontal pixels, and acquires the luminance for each block. The luminance is calculated by the frequency characteristic calculation unit 7e, and a higher value is obtained as the spatial frequency in the block is higher, that is, as the image in that portion is less out of focus or subject blur (the image is clearer). The block matching unit 7g compares the brightness of each corresponding block of a plurality of subject images stored in the DRAM 5 with a predetermined threshold using the SRAM 7f as a work area. As a result of the comparison, the block image lower than the predetermined threshold can be added with the corresponding block image higher than the predetermined threshold, thereby generating a clearer image.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a subject image is captured while driving a diaphragm mechanism formed by a plurality of diaphragm blades, the diaphragm mechanism is a digital camera in which only two stages (F1.0 / F22) can be set. However, since an image is captured at a timing when an arbitrary aperture value is reached during the aperture operation, a subject image at the aperture value desired by the user can be obtained.

  Further, when the subject image is captured while the aperture mechanism is operated, the imaging in the process of changing the aperture value is performed even during the aperture operation time from the maximum aperture value F1.0 to the maximum aperture value F22 by high-speed continuous shooting. For example, even in a digital camera capable of setting a two-stage aperture (F1.0 / F22), an aperture value in the middle (F1.4 / 2.0 / 2.8 / 3.6 /...) A plurality of subject images can be obtained.

  In addition, when the subject image is captured while the aperture mechanism is operated, the number of imaging and the imaging interval can be set by the user, so that a subject image having an arbitrary aperture value can be obtained according to the setting.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera and the diaphragm mechanism is controlled has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a computer included in an imaging apparatus including a CPU and a memory Can be operated by a program that functions as each means described above. The program can be distributed via a communication line, or can be distributed by writing on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various combinations of the above-described embodiments and various modifications are added to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be.

1 Lens 2 Shutter 3 CMOS
4 A / D converter 5 DRAM
6 Liquid crystal display controller 7a CPU core 7b Shutter control unit 7c Light reception control unit 7d Demosaic unit 7e Frequency characteristic calculation unit 7f SRAM
7g Block matching unit 7h Image deformation synthesis addition unit 8 Liquid crystal display screen 9 Shutter button 10 Mode button 11 External storage medium 12 Aperture mechanism 12a-12h Aperture blade 13 Aperture control unit

Claims (7)

Imaging means;
Diaphragm means for adjusting light incident on the imaging means by a plurality of diaphragm blades;
First storage means for storing a plurality of aperture values set in the aperture means;
Setting means for setting an arbitrary aperture value from a plurality of aperture values stored in the first storage means;
Control the aperture means to operate within a range of a plurality of aperture values including the aperture value set by the setting means, and control to store an image captured by the imaging means when the aperture value reaches the set aperture value Storage control means for
An imaging apparatus comprising: A second storage unit that stores a relationship between each aperture value and a time required to reach the aperture value when the aperture control unit is operated by the storage control unit;
The storage control unit reads the time corresponding to the set aperture value from the second storage unit, and controls to store an image captured when the time is reached. The imaging apparatus according to 1. Clocking means for timing the time from the start of the operation to the throttle means by the storage control means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the time measured by the time measuring means is a time corresponding to the set aperture value;
Further comprising
The storage control means controls to store an image picked up by the image pickup means when it is determined by the determination means that the time corresponds to the set aperture value. The imaging device described. Further comprising imaging control means for operating the aperture means from the maximum aperture value to the minimum aperture value and controlling the imaging means to perform continuous imaging by the imaging means,
The storage control unit selects and stores an image captured with the set aperture value from a plurality of images captured by the imaging control unit. The imaging device described.   The storage control means controls and stores a gain when the image pickup means further picks up the picked-up image according to an aperture value at the time of image pickup by the image pickup means. 5. The imaging device according to any one of 4. An image storage method of a camera comprising an imaging unit and a diaphragm unit that adjusts light incident on the imaging unit by a plurality of diaphragm blades,
A setting step for setting an arbitrary aperture value from a memory for storing a plurality of aperture values set in advance in the aperture section;
The aperture unit is operated within a plurality of aperture value ranges including the aperture value set in the setting step, and an image captured by the imaging unit is stored when the set aperture value is reached. A storage control step for controlling
An image storage method comprising: A computer having a camera having an imaging unit and a diaphragm unit for adjusting light incident on the imaging unit by a plurality of diaphragm blades;
Setting means for setting an arbitrary aperture value from a memory that stores a plurality of aperture values set in advance in the aperture section;
The aperture unit is operated within a range of a plurality of aperture values including the aperture value set by the setting means, and the image captured by the imaging unit is stored when the set aperture value is reached. Storage control means for controlling,
A program characterized by functioning as

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