JP2011010072A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To record a moving image, as well, in imaging of a still image, in order to solve such a problem that a demand that the moving image is desired to be recorded as well, when the imaging of the still image is performed can not be satisfied since only voice is recorded in conventional imaging apparatuses.SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus is provided with a moving image imaging control part which images the moving image, on the basis of an imaging instruction to be input by a fact that all push of a release button is performed by a user, etc.; and a still image imaging control part which images the still image, after the imaging of the moving image is started on the basis of input of the imaging instruction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device that captures still images and moving images.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an imaging apparatus that records a situation at the time of shooting has been proposed. For example, an imaging apparatus that automatically records and records ambient sounds at the timing of shooting has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). Specifically, this imaging device stores audio data until a predetermined time elapses when a half-press operation signal is input from the release switch, and performs imaging when the full-press operation signal is input from the release switch. Record the data in the memory card in association with the data.

JP 2007-124713 A

  However, since only the sound is recorded in the above-described imaging device, there is a problem in that the desire to record a moving image cannot be satisfied when a still image is captured. In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of recording a moving image when capturing a still image.

  One aspect of the present invention is an imaging device, which is based on an input of an imaging instruction, and a moving image imaging control unit that captures a moving image from a predetermined start timing to an end timing based on the input of the imaging instruction, And a still image capturing control unit that captures a still image after capturing the moving image.

  One aspect of the present invention is the above-described imaging device, wherein the moving image imaging control unit determines and determines a moving image imaging parameter based on a free space of an image recording unit in which moving image data is recorded. The moving image is captured based on an imaging parameter.

  One aspect of the present invention is the above-described imaging device, wherein the moving image imaging control unit has a capacity of moving image data generated when an image is captured based on a predetermined imaging time of the moving image. If the free space of the image recording unit does not exceed the free space of the image recording unit, the moving image is captured during the predetermined imaging time. If the free space of the moving image data exceeds the free space of the image recording unit, A moving image capturing time is determined based on a free space of an image recording unit in which image data is recorded, and the moving image is captured with the determined capturing time.

  One aspect of the present invention is the above-described imaging device, wherein the moving image imaging control unit determines a time from the input of the imaging instruction to the start of imaging of the moving image based on the imaging time. The moving image starts to be picked up when a given time elapses from the input of the image pick-up instruction.

  One aspect of the present invention is the above-described imaging device, wherein the moving image imaging control unit captures the moving image before the still image imaging control unit captures the still image, and the still image In this case, a moving image is further captured for a predetermined time after the above imaging is performed.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the moving image imaging control unit captures a moving image and the still image capturing control unit captures a still image based on an input of an imaging instruction. For this reason, it is possible to record a moving image when capturing a still image.

It is a figure showing the appearance of the imaging device in a first embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram showing the functional composition of the imaging device in a first embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of the imaging device in 1st embodiment in case imaging mode is set to self-timer mode with a moving image. It is a time chart showing the outline of operation of the imaging device of a first embodiment. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement when an imaging device is deform | transformed and comprised in this way. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of the imaging device in 2nd embodiment. It is a time chart showing the outline of operation of the imaging device of a second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration when the imaging apparatus 1 is configured as a compact digital still camera. The imaging apparatus 1 is used as various imaging apparatuses such as a single-lens reflex digital still camera, a video camera, and a mobile phone with an imaging function. It may be configured, and it may be asked whether the lens is interchangeable. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the front surface of the imaging device 1, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the back surface of the imaging device 1. The imaging apparatus 1 includes a power switch 101, a release button 102, a strobe 103, a lens barrel 104, a display 105, and a mode selection button 106 on the surface of the housing.

  The power switch 101 is an operation unit for a user to input an instruction for switching the power on / off state of the imaging apparatus 1. When the power switch 101 is pressed by the user, an instruction to switch the power on / off state is input to the imaging apparatus 1. The release button 102 is an operation unit for a user to input an imaging instruction to the imaging apparatus 1. When the release button 102 is pressed (fully pressed) by the user when the imaging apparatus 1 is in the power-on state, an imaging instruction is input to the imaging apparatus 1. The strobe 103 is a light emitting device that emits light during imaging according to the settings of the imaging device 1. The lens barrel 104 includes an imaging optical system therein. The display 105 is configured by an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and displays captured images and various types of information. The mode selection button 106 is an operation unit for a user to input an instruction for switching the imaging mode of the imaging apparatus 1. The imaging mode indicates a control state of the imaging apparatus 1 and includes, for example, a still image mode, a moving image mode, a self-timer mode with a moving image, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the imaging apparatus 1 in the first embodiment. The imaging device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus. By executing a control program of the imaging device 1, the imaging optical system 201, the imaging unit 202, and the operation unit 203. The image recording unit 204, the counter 205, the still image capturing control unit 206, and the moving image capturing control unit 207 function as an apparatus.

  The imaging optical system 201 is composed of one or more lenses and a diaphragm, and forms an image of the subject light on the imaging surface of the imaging unit 202. The imaging unit 202 is configured by arranging light receiving elements such as a CMOS sensor (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and receives light from a subject that has passed through the photographing optical system 201 and converts it into an electrical signal. To do.

  The operation unit 203 includes various switches and buttons for the user to operate the imaging apparatus 1. The operation unit 203 includes, for example, a power switch 101, a release button 102, a mode selection button 106, and other various buttons. The image recording unit 204 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device, and electronic data (hereinafter referred to as “still image data”) of a still image captured by the still image capturing control unit 206. The electronic data of the moving image captured by the moving image capturing control unit 207 (hereinafter referred to as “moving image data”) is recorded.

  When the image capturing mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image, the counter 205 starts measuring time when an image capturing instruction is input by the operation unit 203, and the time measurement result at each time point is displayed as the still image capturing control unit 206 and the moving image. The image is output to the imaging control unit 207.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the imaging apparatus 1 in the first embodiment when the imaging mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image. First, in step S101, the counter 205, the still image capturing control unit 206, and the moving image capturing control unit 207 determine whether or not the current capturing mode is the self-timer mode with moving image. When the current imaging mode is not the moving image self-timer mode, the counter 205, the still image capturing control unit 206, and the moving image capturing control unit 207 are not the operations shown in the flowchart of FIG. Each operates according to the imaging mode.

  When the current imaging mode is the self-timer mode with a moving image, the imaging apparatus 1 stands by until the user operates the operation unit 203 to input an imaging instruction. In step S102, when an imaging instruction is input by the user, in step S103, the counter 205 starts timing, and the moving image imaging control unit 207 sets the imaging unit 202 to the moving image imaging mode and starts capturing moving images. The moving image capturing mode is one of the control states of the image capturing unit 202. The image capturing unit 202 set to the moving image capturing mode does not output an electrical signal from all the light receiving elements, but from a predetermined part of the light receiving elements. Outputs electrical signals. In the moving image capturing mode, since the electrical signal is output from only a predetermined part of the light receiving elements in this way, the moving image capturing control unit 207 is subject to processing compared to the case where the electrical signals are output from all the light receiving elements. The amount of electrical signal is reduced. Therefore, the moving image capturing control unit 207 can perform processing at high speed, and can perform moving image capturing processing, which has a processing load higher than that of still image capturing, at a speed close to real-time processing.

  The moving image imaging control unit 207 monitors the output of the counter 205 until the first imaging time elapses. When the first imaging time elapses in step S104, the moving image imaging control unit 207 ends the moving image imaging in step S105. The first imaging time is a value set in the imaging device 1 in advance, and represents the time for the moving image imaging control unit 207 to capture a moving image before a still image is captured. In the imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the first imaging time and the time set as the self-timer (the time from when the imaging instruction is input until the first still image is captured. "Self-timer time").

  When moving image capturing by the moving image capturing control unit 207 ends in step S105, the still image capturing control unit 206 sets the image capturing unit 202 in the still image capturing mode and captures a still image in step S106. The still image capturing mode is one of the control states of the image capturing unit 202, and the image capturing unit 202 set to the still image capturing mode has more light receiving elements (for example, all light receiving elements) than when the moving image capturing mode is set. An electrical signal is output from the element. When set to still image capture mode, more light signals are output from the light receiving elements than when set to motion image capture mode, so the resolution is higher and the image quality is higher than when set to motion image capture mode. An image can be taken.

  When the still image capturing control unit 206 captures a still image, in step S107, the moving image capturing control unit 207 sets the image capturing unit 202 to the moving image capturing mode and starts capturing a moving image. The moving image capturing control unit 207 monitors the output of the counter 205 until the second imaging time elapses. When the second imaging time elapses in step S108, the moving image capturing control ends in step S109. The second imaging time is a value set in the imaging device 1 in advance, and represents the time for the moving image imaging control unit 207 to capture a moving image after a still image is captured.

  FIG. 4 is a time chart showing an outline of the operation of the imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 4A is a time chart when the imaging apparatus 1 operates as shown in the flowchart of FIG. When an imaging instruction is input in a state where the imaging mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image, the counter 205 starts measuring time, and the moving image imaging control unit 207 performs moving image imaging only during the first imaging time. When the first imaging time elapses, the moving image capturing control unit 207 ends moving image capturing, and the still image capturing control unit 206 captures a still image. Then, the moving image capturing control unit 207 starts moving image capturing again, and ends moving image capturing when the second imaging time has elapsed. In this case, two moving image data and one still image data are recorded in the image recording unit 204.

  FIG. 4B is a time chart showing an operation when the imaging apparatus 1 is set to automatically capture a plurality of still images in a state where the imaging apparatus 1 is set to the self-timer mode with moving image. Such setting is performed by the user operating the mode selection button 106 or the like of the operation unit 203.

  In this case, when an imaging instruction is input in a state where the imaging mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image, the counter 205 starts measuring time and the moving image capturing control unit 207 performs moving image capturing only during the first imaging time. . When the first imaging time elapses, the moving image capturing control unit 207 ends moving image capturing, and the still image capturing control unit 206 captures a still image. Next, the moving image capturing control unit 207 starts moving image capturing again. When the second imaging time has elapsed, the moving image capturing control ends, and the still image capturing control unit 206 captures a still image. Thereafter, the moving image capturing by the moving image capturing control unit 207 for the second image capturing time and the still image capturing by the still image capturing control unit 206 are repeated a predetermined number of times, and the process ends. In this case, the image recording unit 204 records (predetermined number + 1) of moving image data and (predetermined number + 1) of still image data.

  In the imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment configured as described above, the imaging mode is set to the self-timer mode with a moving image so that a moving image and a still image can be captured in response to a single imaging instruction input. Since this is executed, a moving image can be recorded when a still image is captured. Specifically, since it becomes possible to record the state until the still image is captured and the state after the still image is captured as a moving image, the user can view such a moving image. It is possible to enjoy a different pleasure from the case of viewing a still image.

  Further, in the imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the timing at which the moving image capturing control unit 207 starts and ends the moving image capturing is the time when the imaging instruction is input and the predetermined time (first imaging time and second imaging time) has elapsed. Since the time is determined in advance, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated buffer for buffering moving image data, and the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost can be reduced. In other words, if the timing at which moving image capturing is started or ended is not determined in advance, it is necessary to generate moving image data retrospectively according to each timing determined after the fact. Although it becomes necessary to provide a dedicated buffer for buffering the moving image data, such an exclusive buffer becomes unnecessary in the imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.

<Modification>
The moving image capturing control unit 207 may be configured to capture a moving image for a time obtained by adding the first imaging time and the second imaging time as a single moving image data. When configured in this manner, the still image capturing control unit 206 generates still image data by cutting out still images from moving image data after the moving image capturing control unit 207 finishes capturing moving images.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation when the imaging apparatus 1 is configured as described above. In FIG. 5, the same processes as those in FIG. After step S103, the moving image imaging control unit 207 monitors the output of the counter 205 until a predetermined time (a time obtained by adding the second imaging time to the first imaging time) elapses. When the predetermined time elapses in step S201, In step S202, the moving image capturing ends. In step S203, the still image capturing control unit 206 extracts still image data from the moving image data recorded in the image recording unit 204 by cutting out an image at the time when the first imaging time has elapsed after the start of imaging as a still image. And the still image data is recorded in the image recording unit 204. With this configuration, it is possible to record a moving image at the first imaging time and a moving image at the second imaging time as one piece of seamless moving image data.

[Second Embodiment]
The imaging device 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment in that the moving image imaging control unit 207 changes the imaging parameter of a moving image based on the free space of the image recording unit 204. The configuration is the same as that of the imaging device 1 in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the difference between the imaging device 1 of the second embodiment and the imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the imaging apparatus 1 in the second embodiment. When the image capturing mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image in step S101, the moving image capturing control unit 207 acquires the free space in the storage area where the moving image data can be recorded in the image recording unit 204, the first image capturing time and the first image capturing time. It is determined whether or not the storage capacity for moving image data for two imaging times is sufficient. If the free space is insufficient, in step S302, the moving image capturing control unit 207 changes the imaging parameters for moving image capturing.

  The imaging parameters for moving image imaging are standby time, first imaging time, and second imaging time. The standby time is the time from when an imaging instruction is input until the first moving image starts to be captured, and is set to 0 seconds in the first embodiment. The sum of the standby time and the first imaging time coincides with the self-timer time. That is, when the free space is insufficient, the moving image capturing control unit 207 decreases the capacity of moving image data generated by moving image capturing by increasing the standby time and shortening the first capturing time. Eliminate capacity shortage. The moving image capturing control unit 207 can also solve the shortage of free space by shortening the second imaging time. Whether the moving image imaging control unit 207 shortens only the first imaging time, only the second imaging time, or the first imaging time and the second imaging time is appropriately set by the user or the designer. The

  After the imaging parameter is changed in step S302 or when the free space is not insufficient in step S301, the imaging apparatus 1 stands by until the user operates the operation unit 203 to input an imaging instruction. When an imaging instruction is input by the user in step S303, the counter 205 starts measuring time in step S304. The moving image capturing control unit 207 monitors the output of the counter 205 until the standby time elapses. When the standby time elapses in step S305, the moving image capturing control unit 207 sets the image capturing unit 202 to the moving image capturing mode in step S306 and the moving image. Starts imaging. Thereafter, similarly to the operation of the image pickup apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the processes after step S104 are executed.

  FIG. 7 is a time chart illustrating an outline of the operation of the imaging apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a time chart when the imaging apparatus 1 operates as in the flowchart of FIG. 6 and the standby time is set longer than 0 seconds. In this case, when an imaging instruction is input in a state where the imaging mode is set to the self-timer mode with moving image, the counter 205 starts measuring time, and the moving image capturing control unit 207 does not perform moving image capturing until the standby time elapses. To wait. When the standby time elapses, the moving image capturing control unit 207 performs moving image capturing only during the first imaging time (value after change). When the first imaging time elapses, the moving image capturing control unit 207 ends moving image capturing, and the still image capturing control unit 206 captures a still image. Then, the moving image capturing control unit 207 starts moving image capturing again, and ends moving image capturing when the second imaging time (value after change) elapses.

  In the imaging apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment configured as described above, the parameters of the moving image are changed based on the free space of the image recording unit 204. Specifically, the standby time, the first imaging time, and the second imaging time are changed, and moving image data having a capacity that can be recorded in the image recording unit 204 is generated. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which moving image data captured due to insufficient capacity of the image recording unit 204 cannot be recorded.

<Modification>
The moving image capturing control unit 207 changes other parameters such as the number of pixels of moving image data, the frame rate of moving image data, the compression method of moving image data, and the sound quality of moving image data as imaging parameters for moving image capturing. Further, it may be configured to solve the shortage of free space. Specifically, when the free space is insufficient, the moving image capturing control unit 207 reduces the number of pixels of moving image data, lowers the frame rate, or changes the compression method to a high compression method. It may be possible to reduce the capacity of moving image data to be generated and to solve the shortage of free space by reducing the sound quality.
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device, 101 ... Power switch, 102 ... Release button, 103 ... Strobe, 104 ... Lens barrel, 105 ... Display, 106 ... Mode selection button, 201 ... Imaging optical system, 202 ... Imaging unit, 203 ... Operation unit, 204: Image recording unit, 205: Counter, 206: Stopped image capturing control unit, 207: Moving image capturing control unit

Claims (5)

A moving image capturing control unit that captures a moving image from a predetermined start timing to an end timing based on an input of an imaging instruction;
A still image capturing control unit configured to capture a still image after capturing the moving image based on the input of the imaging instruction;
An imaging apparatus comprising: The imaging device according to claim 1,
The moving image imaging control unit determines a moving image imaging parameter based on a free space of an image recording unit in which moving image data is recorded, and performs imaging of the moving image based on the determined imaging parameter. An imaging device. The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2,
The moving image capturing control unit, when the capacity of moving image data generated when capturing based on a predetermined capturing time of the moving image does not exceed the free capacity of the image recording unit where the moving image data is recorded, When the moving image is captured in the predetermined imaging time and the capacity of the moving image data exceeds the free space of the image recording unit, the moving image data is recorded based on the free space of the image recording unit in which the moving image data is recorded. An imaging apparatus characterized by determining an imaging time of a moving image and imaging the moving image at the determined imaging time. The imaging device according to claim 3.
The moving image imaging control unit determines a time from the input of the imaging instruction to the start of imaging of the moving image based on the imaging time, and when the determined time has elapsed from the input of the imaging instruction An imaging apparatus characterized by starting imaging of a moving image. In the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The moving image capturing control unit captures the moving image before the still image capturing control unit captures the still image, and further performs a moving image for a predetermined time after the still image capturing is performed. An image pickup apparatus that picks up an image.

Images