JP2011176456A - Camera and image reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To record information showing motion of a subject, in association with an image. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 104 detects a moving subject during long-second photography with long exposure, creates a motion map representing motion of the detected moving subject, and records the created motion map in association with an image file obtained by the slow shutter speed shooting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera and an image reproduction device.

  The following imaging devices are known. This imaging apparatus performs camera shake correction using information on motion vectors (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 11-252445 A

  However, in the conventional imaging apparatus, the motion vector information is only used for camera shake correction and cannot be recorded in association with the image.

The camera according to the present invention includes a subject detection unit that detects a moving subject and a motion of the subject that is detected by the subject detection unit during long-time shooting using long-time exposure or during moving image shooting. And information recording means for creating information relating to the movement of the subject created by the information creating means in association with an image obtained by long-time shooting or moving image shooting.
In the present invention, the information creating means calculates a motion vector based on an image during long-time shooting or moving image shooting, and creates a motion map obtained by mapping the motion vector as information representing the motion of the subject. May be.
The information creating means calculates a motion vector based on an image during long-time shooting or moving image shooting, and creates a movement trajectory of a subject having a motion identified based on the motion vector as information representing the motion of the subject. You may do it.
An image reproduction apparatus according to the present invention includes a reading unit that reads an image associated with information representing the movement of a subject, and a locus detection unit that detects a movement locus of the subject in the image based on the information representing the movement of the subject. And an adding means for adding a visual effect representing the movement locus detected by the locus detection means to the image.
In the present invention, the adding means may detect the distance to the subject based on distance measurement information at the time of shooting, and add a visual effect in consideration of the distance to the subject.
Setting means for setting whether to add the visual effect to the image is further provided, and the adding means adds the visual effect when the setting means is set to add the visual effect. It may be.
The adding means may continue adding the visual effect during image reproduction.
The type of visual effect added to the image is preferably selectable by the user.

  According to the present invention, information representing the movement of a subject can be recorded in association with an image.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of a camera. It is a figure which shows the image of the river obtained by long time imaging | photography. It is the flowchart figure which showed the flow of long time photographing processing. It is a figure which shows the example of calculation of a motion vector. It is the flowchart figure which showed the flow of the reproduction | regeneration processing. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the moving path | route of a to-be-photographed object.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a camera according to the present embodiment. The camera 100 includes an operation member 101, a lens 102, an image sensor 103, a control device 104, a memory card slot 105, and a monitor 106. The operation member 101 includes various input members operated by the user, such as a power button, a release button, a zoom button, a cross key, an enter button, a play button, and a delete button.

  The lens 102 is composed of a plurality of optical lenses, but is representatively represented by one lens in FIG. The image sensor 103 is an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS, for example, and captures a subject image formed by the lens 102. Then, an image signal obtained by imaging is output to the control device 104.

  The control device 104 generates image data in a predetermined image format, for example, JPEG format (hereinafter referred to as “main image data”) based on the image signal input from the image sensor 103. Further, the control device 104 generates display image data, for example, thumbnail image data, based on the generated image data. The control device 104 generates an image file that includes the generated main image data and thumbnail image data, and further includes header information, and outputs the image file to the memory card slot 105. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that both the main image data and the thumbnail image data are image data expressed in the RGB color system.

  The memory card slot 105 is a slot for inserting a memory card as a storage medium, and the image file output from the control device 104 is written and recorded on the memory card. The memory card slot 105 reads an image file stored in the memory card based on an instruction from the control device 104.

  The monitor 106 is a liquid crystal monitor (rear monitor) mounted on the back surface of the camera 100, and the monitor 106 displays an image stored in a memory card, a setting menu for setting the camera 100, and the like. . Further, when the user sets the mode of the camera 100 to the shooting mode, the control device 104 outputs image data for display of images acquired from the image sensor 103 in time series to the monitor 106. As a result, a through image is displayed on the monitor 106.

  The control device 104 includes a CPU, a memory, and other peripheral circuits, and controls the camera 100. Note that the memory constituting the control device 104 includes SDRAM and flash memory. The SDRAM is a volatile memory, and is used as a work memory for the CPU to develop a program when the program is executed or as a buffer memory for temporarily recording data. The flash memory is a non-volatile memory in which data of a program executed by the control device 104, various parameters read during program execution, and the like are recorded.

  In the camera 100 according to the present embodiment, the locus of a moving subject can be photographed by performing photographing by long-time exposure (long-time photographing) with a slow shutter speed. In this case, in order to suppress the occurrence of image blur due to camera shake during long-time shooting, the camera 100 is fixed to a tripod for shooting. For example, when a river is photographed by long-time photographing, an image representing the trajectory of the river flow can be obtained as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the control device 104 adds a visual effect representing the trajectory of the flow of the subject to the image when reproducing the image acquired by shooting for a long time. For example, when the river image shown in FIG. 2 is reproduced, a visual effect is added to make the river appear to flow while shining by moving the bright spots along the river flow. .

  Hereinafter, processing for adding a visual effect to an image obtained by long-time shooting will be described. First, the long-time shooting process executed at the time of long-time shooting will be described with reference to FIG. 3, and then a visual effect will be given when the image obtained by the long-time shooting is played back with reference to FIG. A reproduction process for this will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of long-second shooting processing in the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 3 is executed as a program that is activated when long-time shooting is started based on an instruction from the user. In the present embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 3 is performed in parallel with a long-time shooting process, that is, a series of shooting processes such as shooting, image processing, and image file recording. Further, for example, after setting the shooting mode to the long-time shooting mode on the menu screen, the user can instruct the start of the long-time shooting by pressing the release button included in the operation member 101. it can.

  In step S <b> 10, the control device 104 performs subject recognition processing on image data input from the image sensor 103 through long-time shooting and recognizes a subject present in the image. Accordingly, various subjects such as a person, a car, a river, a mountain, and a sky existing in the image are individually recognized. Note that the subject recognition process performed here is a known process, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. Then, it progresses to step S20.

  In step S20, the control device 104 extracts only a subject having movement from the subjects recognized in step S10, and extracts a subject having the movement from the image. For example, the control device 104 sets one or a plurality of target pixels on the subject recognized in step S10, and detects a change in the position of the target pixel at time t-1 and time t during long-time shooting. Then, the control device 104 determines that the subject whose position of the target pixel has changed is a subject having movement and extracts the subject. Then, it progresses to step S30.

  In step S30, the control device 104 divides the image into a plurality of areas, and a motion map indicating the state of movement of the subject for a region including the subject having the motion extracted in step S20 from the plurality of regions. Is generated. This motion map is used as information for specifying the locus of the subject at the time of image reproduction.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control device 104 divides the image into 48 areas of 8 × 6 in the horizontal direction, and calculates a motion vector for an area including a moving subject among these areas. . Then, the control device 104 creates a motion map by mapping the calculated motion vector. Specifically, the control device 104 converts information related to the moving direction of the subject and information related to the moving speed indicated by the motion vector for each area into data, and maps the information in association with information for specifying each area. Thus, a motion map is generated. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S40.

  In step S40, the control device 104 records the motion map generated in step S30 in association with the image file obtained by the long time shooting, and ends the process. For example, the control device 104 records the image file in association with the motion map by recording the motion map data in the header portion of the image file. Alternatively, the control device 104 records the motion map data on a memory card as a separate file from the image file, and uses both of the files by using the same character string as part of the file names of the image file and the motion map file. You may make it relate.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reproduction process in the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 5 is executed as a program that is activated when reproduction of an image that has been shot for a long time is started based on an instruction from the user. Note that the user can instruct the start of image reproduction by, for example, selecting a reproduction target image on the monitor 106 and then pressing a reproduction button included in the operation member 101. In the present embodiment, the case where the above-described motion map is recorded in the header portion of the image file will be described.

  In step S110, the control device 104 reads an image file to be reproduced from the memory card, reads a motion map from the header portion of the image file, and proceeds to step S120. In step S120, the control device 104 detects the movement trajectory of the subject with movement based on the motion map. Specifically, the control device 104 specifies a motion vector based on information related to the moving direction of the subject and information related to the moving speed recorded for each area described above in the image. Then, the control device 104 detects the start point and the end point of the movement of the subject in the image based on the direction of the motion vector between the regions. For example, as shown in FIG. Is detected.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S130, and the control device 104 adds a visual effect to the reproduced image so as to represent the locus 6c of the subject detected in step S130. For example, when the moving subject is a river, by moving the bright spot along the flow of the river, that is, the trajectory 6c, a visual effect for making the river appear to flow shiningly is obtained. Append. Alternatively, a visual effect is added to make the peach appear to flow from upstream to downstream by moving the peach image along the locus 6c. At this time, the user may be able to select what visual effect is added to the moving subject. In addition, the control device 104 moves the bright spot or peach image quickly at a portion where the subject moving speed is fast, and the subject moving speed is slow based on the moving speed of the subject for each area that can be identified from the motion map. The bright spot or peach image may be moved slowly in the portion.

  In addition, the control device 104 may add a visual effect suitable for expressing a river flow other than a bright spot or a peach image. In addition, when the moving subject is other than the river, similarly, a visual effect suitable for expressing the movement of the subject is added. When the control device 104 adds a visual effect by moving the bright spot or peach image from the start point 6a to the end point 6b, the bright spot or peach image is the end point 6b during image reproduction. A visual effect may be repeatedly added by moving the bright spot or peach image from the start point 6a toward the end point 6b again after reaching. Thus, the visual effect is continuously added while the image is being reproduced.

According to the present embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The control device 104 detects a moving subject at the time of long-time shooting by the long-time exposure, creates a motion map that represents the detected motion of the subject, and uses the created motion map for the long-time exposure. Recorded in association with image files obtained by shooting. As a result, the movement of the subject can be specified and recorded at the time of long-time shooting.

(2) The control device 104 calculates a motion vector based on the image being photographed for a long time, and creates a motion map by mapping the motion vector. This makes it possible to accurately grasp the moving state of the subject and generate a motion map.

(3) When reproducing the image, the control device 104 reads a motion map from the image file, detects the movement trajectory of the subject in the image based on the read motion map, and creates an image along the detected movement trajectory. A visual effect indicating the moving state of the subject was added. As a result, the user can visually grasp the movement locus of the moving subject.

(4) The control device 104 continues to add visual effects during image reproduction. Thus, the user can keep track of the movement trajectory of the subject while the image is being reproduced.

-Modification-
The camera according to the above-described embodiment can be modified as follows.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the control device 104 executes the processing shown in FIG. 3 at the time of long-time shooting, creates a motion map based on the motion vector, records it in association with the image file, The example in which the processing shown in FIG. 5 is executed at the time of image reproduction to detect the locus of the subject based on the motion map and to add a visual effect has been described. However, the control device 104 may detect the trajectory of the subject based on the motion vector when shooting for a long time. In this case, the control device 104 may record data representing the trajectory of the subject in association with the image file, and add a visual effect based on the trajectory of the subject when reproducing the image.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a still image is shot by long-time shooting and a visual effect corresponding to the movement of the subject is added when the still image is played back. However, the present invention can also be applied when capturing and reproducing moving image data. That is, the control device 104 performs the processing shown in FIG. 3 when shooting moving image data to create a motion map of the moving image, and performs the processing shown in FIG. 5 during playback of the moving image to visually display the moving image according to the movement of the subject. An effect may be added.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the control device 104 adds a visual effect based on the moving direction and moving speed of the subject in each area that can be specified based on the motion map during image reproduction. explained. However, the control device 104 may add a visual effect in consideration of shooting distance information recorded in the header portion of the image file. For example, when the peach image is moved along the locus 6c detected based on the start point 6a and the end point 6b, it can be determined that the locus 6c is moving from far to near based on distance measurement information. Alternatively, the image of the peach may be moved while being enlarged step by step so that the peach is gradually approaching. Alternatively, when it can be determined that the locus 6c is moving from near to far based on the distance measurement information, the peach is gradually moved away by moving the image of the peach while reducing it stepwise. You may make it show to. Thus, the user can visually grasp whether the subject is approaching or moving away.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the case where there is one subject with movement in the image (for example, when it is a river) has been described, but the present invention can also be applied when there are a plurality of subjects with movement. It is. In this case, the control device 104 may generate a motion map for each of a plurality of subjects that move during long-time shooting, and add a visual effect to the subject that moves during playback. For example, when there is a river and a running car in the image, a visual effect representing the river flow and a visual effect representing the running state of the car are added. Alternatively, when there are a plurality of moving subjects, the user can select a subject to which a visual effect is to be added, and the control device 104 adds a visual effect only to the subject selected by the user. May be. Thus, the user can arbitrarily set a subject to which a visual effect is to be added.

(5) Further, the user can select whether or not to add a visual effect at the time of reproduction, and the control device 104 reproduces an image only when it is set to add a visual effect at the time of reproduction. Sometimes a visual effect corresponding to the movement of the subject may be added. Thus, the user can arbitrarily set whether or not to add a visual effect.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the camera 100 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to other devices having a shooting function and a playback function, such as a mobile phone with a camera and a video camera. Further, the processing shown in FIG. 3 may be executed by a device having a photographing function, such as a camera, and the processing shown in FIG. 5 may be executed by a device having a reproducing function, such as a personal computer.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the configurations in the above-described embodiments as long as the characteristic functions of the present invention are not impaired. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which combined the above-mentioned embodiment and a some modification.

100 Camera, 101 Operation member, 102 Lens, 103 Image sensor, 104 Control device, 105 Memory card slot, 106 Monitor

Claims (8)

A subject detection means for detecting a moving subject at the time of long-time shooting by long-time exposure or at the time of moving image shooting;
Information creating means for creating information representing the movement of the moving subject detected by the subject detecting means;
A camera comprising: recording means for recording information representing the movement of the subject created by the information creating means in association with an image obtained by the long time shooting or the moving image shooting. The camera of claim 1,
The information creating means calculates a motion vector based on an image during long-time shooting or moving image shooting, and creates a motion map obtained by mapping the motion vector as information representing the motion of the subject. Camera. The camera of claim 1,
The information creating unit calculates a motion vector based on an image during long-time shooting or during moving image shooting, and represents a movement trajectory of the moving subject specified based on the motion vector representing the movement of the subject. A camera that is created as information. Reading means for reading an image associated with information representing the movement of the subject;
A trajectory detection means for detecting a movement trajectory of the subject in the image based on information representing the movement of the subject;
An image reproduction apparatus comprising: an adding unit that adds a visual effect representing the movement locus detected by the locus detection unit to an image. The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The image reproduction apparatus characterized in that the adding means detects a distance to a subject based on distance measurement information at the time of shooting and adds the visual effect in consideration of the distance to the subject. The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
Further comprising setting means for setting whether to add the visual effect to the image;
The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adding unit adds the visual effect when the setting unit is set to add the visual effect. In the image reproducing device according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The image reproducing apparatus, wherein the adding means continues to add the visual effect during image reproduction. In the image reproducing device according to any one of claims 4 to 7,
The type of visual effect added to the image is selectable by the user.

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