JP2011244336A - Photographing apparatus and interval photographing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the quality of a motion picture captured by interval photography.SOLUTION: A system controller 9 compares an image which is photographed in timing to start a present interval phase with an adopted image of a last interval phase to determine whether or not the image has a possibility where a quickly moving object is captured. If it is an image having the possibility where a quickly moving object is photographed, that image is not adopted but a photographing section 2 is caused to photograph a next image soon and it is determined whether this image is an image having the possibility where a quickly moving object is photographed. This processing is repeated and when an image is captured which is not the image having the possibility where a quickly moving object is photographed, it is determined as an adopted image of the present interval phase. Before a predetermined time to the end of the present interval phase without capturing the image which is not determined as an image having the possibility where a quickly moving object is photographed, the image photographed in predetermined timing during the present interval phase is used as an adopted image.

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus having an interval photographing function and an interval photographing method thereof.

  Conventionally, what is called interval shooting (also referred to as time-lapse shooting) is known as one of special shooting functions of a video camera (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Interval shooting is shooting at a slow rate at a predetermined time interval, and by playing back the shot image as a movie with a shortened time axis, a movie that expresses changes in a slow-moving subject at high speed can be created. can get.

  Note that some of the interval shooting methods, such as surveillance cameras, perform shooting when there is a change in the subject, but in this specification, not such applications, but as described above, It is assumed that the images taken at predetermined time intervals are reproduced as moving images.

JP-A-3-265282

  If you take pictures of slowly changing landscapes such as flowing clouds and sunset scenes, you can get beautiful videos. For this reason, such a landscape including the sky is often an object of interval shooting. In addition, flowering and insect emergence may also be subject to interval photography.

  In such interval shooting, a fast-moving object that happens to pass through the screen during shooting may be shot.

  For example, when an interval shooting is performed on a landscape including the sky, a bird passing through the screen may be shot. In the case of a landscape including the sky, shooting is often performed over several hours to about 8 hours with a shooting interval of one frame from 5 seconds to 20 seconds. If a bird passes through the screen during the shooting, it is often a few frames at most.

  In such a case, when the captured image is reproduced as a moving image, a reproduced image is obtained in which a bird is captured only in one frame and a bird is captured only in one frame after a few seconds. Birds that appear only in one frame appear like noise in the replayed image of the moving image, causing the quality of the moving image to deteriorate.

  Even in the case of interval shooting of flower blooming and insect emergence, insects etc. that passed through the screen were shot, and the playback image of the movie sometimes looked like noise.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a photographing apparatus and an interval photographing method capable of improving the quality of a moving image obtained by interval photographing.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an imaging unit that captures an image by capturing a subject, and an image that determines an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image for each set interval period among images obtained by the imaging unit. The determination unit compares the previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, with the image taken after the current interval period, and the difference in pixel value between the two images to be compared is a predetermined difference value. An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels that exceed, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold, and the image determination unit compares the image with the previously adopted image From the timing of the start of the current interval period until the image evaluation value at that time is obtained below the threshold value, the subject is photographed by the photographing unit, and the obtained image is compared with the previously adopted image. Control is performed to repeat the process of performing the determination by the determination unit as a target, and when an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is obtained, the image is determined as an adopted image in the current interval period, and the current interval period If the image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by the timing before the predetermined time before ending, the image taken at the predetermined timing of the current interval period is determined as the currently adopted image. A featured imaging device is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a photographing unit that captures an image by photographing a subject, and an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image for each set interval period are determined from the images obtained by the photographing unit. The image determination unit compares the previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, with the image taken after the current interval period, and the difference in pixel value between the two images to be compared is a predetermined difference value An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels exceeding the threshold value, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold, the image determination unit is compared with the previously adopted image Until the image evaluation value at that time is less than or equal to the threshold value, the subject is photographed from the timing of the start of this interval period, and the obtained image and the previously adopted image are Control is performed to repeat the determination by the determination unit as the comparison target, and when the image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value, the image is determined as the adopted image in the current interval period, and the current interval If an image whose image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value is not obtained by the timing before the predetermined period ends, the determination of the adopted image is suspended and images captured at the predetermined timing of the current interval period In the interval period next to the interval period in which the selection of the adopted image is suspended as a candidate image of the currently adopted image and used as the previous adopted image in the processing of the determination unit in the immediately preceding interval period A predetermined number of interval periods during which the determination unit performs processing using the existing images and the determination of the adopted images is suspended. The predetermined number of candidate images stored in the candidate image storage unit are determined as adopted images in the interval period during which each was photographed, and the predetermined number of interval periods for which the determination of the adopted images is suspended If there is an interval period during which the determination of the adopted image is not suspended before continuing, the imaging device is provided that discards the candidate image stored in the candidate image storage unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a photographing unit that captures an image by photographing a subject, and an image to be adopted as a captured image for each set determination period among images obtained by the photographing unit, An image determination unit that determines one officially adopted image to be adopted as a photographed image in an interval period longer than the judgment period from the photographed images adopted in a plurality of judgment periods, and was adopted as a photographed image in the previous judgment period An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels in which a difference between pixel values of two images to be compared exceeds a predetermined difference value by comparing a previously adopted image that is an image with an image taken after the current determination period. And a determination unit that determines whether or not the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value, and the image determination unit is configured such that the image evaluation value when compared with the previously adopted image is equal to or less than the threshold value. Painting Until the determination period is obtained, the subject is photographed by the photographing unit from the timing of the start of the current determination period, and the process of performing the determination by the determination unit using the obtained image and the previously adopted image as a comparison target is repeated. And when the image having the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is obtained, the image is determined to be an adopted image in the current determination period, and the image evaluation value is determined by a predetermined time before the end of the current determination period. Is not obtained, the image taken at the predetermined timing of the current judgment period is determined as the current adopted image, and the adopted image is taken every one or more judgment periods as the interval period. A photographing apparatus is provided that is determined as an officially adopted image.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interval shooting method in an imaging apparatus for determining an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image for each set interval period from an image obtained by capturing a subject during interval shooting. A subject is photographed at the timing of the start of the period, and the previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, is compared with the image photographed at the start timing of the current interval period, and the pixels between the two images to be compared An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels whose value difference exceeds a predetermined difference value is obtained, it is determined whether or not the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value, and at the start timing of the current interval period When the captured image is an image whose image evaluation value is equal to or less than the threshold value compared to the previously adopted image, the current image is displayed. The image taken at the start timing of the tarval period is determined as the current adopted image, and the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is compared with the previous adopted image, and the image evaluation value is When the image exceeds the threshold, the subject is photographed until the image with the image evaluation value compared to the previous adopted image is equal to or less than the threshold, and the obtained image is compared with the previous adopted image. If the image evaluation value when the image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is obtained is equal to or less than the threshold value, the image is determined as the adopted image in the current interval period, and the current interval is determined. If an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by the timing before the predetermined time before the period ends, the predetermined time of the current interval period Interval shooting method characterized by determining the image captured by the ring to the current adoption image is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interval shooting method in an imaging apparatus for determining an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image for each set interval period from an image obtained by capturing a subject during interval shooting. A subject is photographed at the timing of the start of the period, and the previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, is compared with the image photographed at the start timing of the current interval period, and the pixels between the two images to be compared An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels whose value difference exceeds a predetermined difference value is obtained, it is determined whether or not the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value, and at the start timing of the current interval period When the captured image is an image whose image evaluation value is equal to or less than the threshold value compared to the previously adopted image, the current image is displayed. The image taken at the start timing of the tarval period is determined as the current adopted image, and the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is compared with the previous adopted image, and the image evaluation value is When the image exceeds the threshold, the subject is photographed until the image with the image evaluation value compared to the previous adopted image is equal to or less than the threshold, and the obtained image is compared with the previous adopted image. If the image evaluation value when the image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is obtained is equal to or less than the threshold value, the image is determined as the adopted image in the current interval period, and the current interval is determined. If an image whose image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value cannot be obtained by the timing before the predetermined period ends, the decision on the adopted image is suspended and the current An image taken at a predetermined timing of the global period is stored in the candidate image storage unit as a candidate image of the currently adopted image, and in the interval period next to the interval period in which the decision of the adopted image is suspended, the interval period immediately before When the determination is performed, the image used as the previous adopted image is continuously used for the determination, and when a predetermined number of interval periods for which the determination of the adopted image is suspended are stored in the candidate image storage unit The predetermined number of candidate images are determined as adopted images in the interval period in which each was photographed, and an interval period in which the determination of adopted images is not suspended before the predetermined number of interval periods for which the determination of employed images is suspended continues. If there is, the candidate image stored in the candidate image storage unit is discarded. A global photography method is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, during interval shooting, an interval shooting method in a shooting device that determines a formally adopted image to be adopted as a shot image for each set interval period from an image of a subject shot, The subject is photographed at the start timing of the judgment period, which is shorter than the interval period, and is taken at the previous adoption image, which is the adopted image adopted as the photographed image in the previous judgment period, and at the start timing of the current judgment period. Image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels whose pixel value difference between the two images to be compared exceeds a predetermined difference value, and whether the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value. The image taken at the start timing of the current determination period is compared with the previously adopted image, and the image evaluation value is the threshold value. In the case of the lower image, the image taken at the start timing of the current judgment period is determined as the current adopted image, and the image taken at the start timing of the current judgment period is compared with the previous adopted image. If the image evaluation value is an image that exceeds the threshold value, the subject is photographed until an image having the image evaluation value that is equal to or less than the threshold value when compared with the previously adopted image is obtained. And the previous adopted image are compared, and the procedure for performing the determination is repeated, and when the image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is obtained with the image equal to or less than the threshold value, the image is determined in the current determination period. If an image with an image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by the timing determined for the adopted image and a predetermined time before the end of the current determination period, the image is captured at the predetermined timing of the current determination period. It has been an image determined in the current adoption image, interval shooting method characterized by determining the adoption image to one or more determination period every as formally adopted image interval period is provided.

  According to the present invention, the quality of a moving image obtained by interval shooting can be improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when performing interval shooting in a mode in which shooting of a fast-moving object is avoided in the shooting apparatus of the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for determining an adopted image in an interval period in the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the image which image | photographed the scenery. It is a figure which shows an example of the image which image | photographed the scenery which a bird passes. It is a figure which shows what made the brightness | luminance difference of the image shown in FIG. 4, and the image shown in FIG. 5 into a monochrome image. It is a figure which shows what made the color difference difference of the image shown in FIG. 4, and the image shown in FIG. 5 into a monochrome image. It is a one part enlarged view of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the imaging device which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the imaging device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when performing interval shooting in a mode in which shooting of a fast-moving object is avoided in the shooting apparatus of the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which determines the employ | adopted image of an interval period in the imaging device of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the judgment period and interval period in 3rd Embodiment. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when performing interval shooting in a mode in which shooting of a fast-moving object is avoided in the shooting apparatus of the third embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same or equivalent parts and components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes an imaging unit 2, image memories 3 </ b> A, 3 </ b> B, 3 </ b> C, an encoding image memory 4, a moving image encoder 5, and a silence data generation unit 6. A multiplexer 7, a recording unit 8, a system controller 9, and an operation input unit 10.

  The photographing unit 2 photographs a subject, and includes a lens 21, an image sensor 22, a signal processing unit 23, and a timing generator (TG) 24.

  The lens 21 forms an image of light from the subject on the image sensor 22.

  The imaging element 22 is composed of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), etc., and photoelectrically converts light incident through the lens 21 and outputs an electrical signal.

  The signal processing unit 23 processes the electric signal input from the image sensor 22 and generates an image that represents each pixel with luminance Y and color differences Cb and Cr.

  The timing generator 24 generates a timing control signal for driving the image sensor 22 in accordance with control from the system controller 9 and supplies the timing control signal to the image sensor 22.

  The image memories 3A, 3B, and 3C are used for determining an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image in each interval period in interval shooting.

  In interval shooting in the present embodiment, as will be described later, it is determined whether or not an image shot at a shooting timing of a set time interval is an image that may have a fast-moving object. If it is determined that the object may have a fast-moving object, the image is not adopted as a captured image, and the next image is taken immediately. It is determined whether or not the image is likely to be captured. By repeating this, an image that is not an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured is detected, and the image is determined as an adopted image for interval shooting. The image memories 3A, 3B, and 3C are used for the process of determining such adopted images. In the present embodiment, the interval between the photographing timings of the set time interval is referred to as an interval period. One adopted image is determined in each interval period.

  The image memory 3 </ b> A captures and stores one frame image captured by the imaging unit 2. The image captured in the image memory 3A is compared with the adopted image of the previous interval period stored in the image memory 3B, and it is determined whether or not to adopt the adopted image of the current interval period.

  The image memory 3B stores an image of one frame determined as an adopted image among the images taken into the image memory 3A. The adopted image stored in the image memory 3B is taken into the encoding image memory 4. The adopted image stored in the image memory 3B is used as a comparison target image for determining the adopted image in the next interval period.

  The image memory 3C captures and stores one frame image captured at the start timing of the interval period from the image memory 3A. As will be described later, when an image determined not to be an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured is obtained by a predetermined time before the end of the interval period, an image stored in the image memory 3C is stored. The adopted image is determined for the interval period.

  The encoding image memory 4 holds an image for performing moving image encoding by the moving image encoder 5, and takes in an adopted image, which is an image used for moving image encoding, from the image memory 3B. The encoding image memory 4 is the same as the H.264 video encoder 5. It is possible to hold an image that can refer to the frames necessary to encode a moving image in the H.264 system at the same time.

  The moving image encoder 5 acquires the adopted images for each interval period from the encoding image memory 4, and Video encoding is performed using the H.264 system, and video encoded data is output.

  The silence data generation unit 6 includes a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and generates silence data of AC-3 (Audio Code number 3) standard. In the interval shooting, the sound from the microphone is not recorded. However, in the present embodiment, the stream is recorded in the recording unit 8 in the AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) format as described later. Generate data.

  The multiplexer 7 multiplexes the video encoded data input from the moving image encoder 5 and the silence data input from the silence data generation unit 6 and records the multiplexed data in the recording unit 8 as a stream of the AVCHD standard.

  The recording unit 8 includes a non-volatile recording medium such as a hard disk, and records the stream input from the multiplexer 7.

  The system controller 9 includes a CPU, a ROM for storing a control program for the operation of the CPU, a RAM (none of which is shown) used as a work area of the CPU, and the like. To control.

  As a control content related to interval shooting, the system controller 9 compares the previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, stored in the image memory 3B with the image captured in the image memory 3A in the current interval period. In addition, it is determined whether or not the image in the image memory 3A is an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured, and has a function as a determination unit.

  Further, the system controller 9 has a function as an image determination unit that determines an adopted image from a result of comparing the images in the image memories 3A and 3B and performing the above determination.

  The operation input unit 10 is a part where the user performs input for operating the photographing apparatus 1 and includes various operation buttons (not shown) and outputs operation signals corresponding to user operations.

  Next, the operation at the time of interval photographing of the photographing apparatus 1 will be described.

  When performing interval shooting with the shooting apparatus 1, the user can select a mode that avoids shooting a fast-moving object by operating the operation input unit 10. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when performing interval shooting in a mode in which shooting of a fast-moving object is avoided in the shooting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.

  When interval shooting is started, in step S10, the system controller 9 performs a process of determining an adopted image that is an image to be adopted as a captured image in the current interval period. Details of the process of determining the adopted image in step S10 will be described later.

  In step S <b> 20, the system controller 9 determines whether or not a shooting stop operation for stopping interval shooting has been performed based on the operation signal from the operation input unit 10. When the shooting stop operation is performed (step S20: YES), the system controller 9 controls to end the interval shooting.

  If the photographing stop operation has not been performed (step S20: NO), it is determined in step S30 whether or not the timing for starting the next interval period has come. When it is time to start the next interval period (step S30: YES), the process returns to step S10, an image to be used in the next interval period is determined, and the subsequent processing is repeated. If it is not time to start the next interval period (step S30: NO), the process returns to step S20.

  Next, the process of determining the adopted image for the interval period performed in step S10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S110 of FIG. 3, the system controller 9 causes the photographing unit 2 to take a picture, and captures and stores the obtained image in the image memory 3A. When this shooting is the first shooting in the interval period, shooting is performed at the start timing of the interval period.

  Next, in step S120, the system controller 9 determines whether or not the current interval period is the first interval period after the start of interval shooting. If it is the first interval period (step S120: YES), in step S130, the system controller 9 determines the image in the image memory 3A as the adopted image for the current interval period, and copies this adopted image to the image memory 3B. To remember. The adopted image stored in the image memory 3B is taken into the encoding image memory 4.

  If it is not the first interval period (step S120: NO), in step S140, the system controller 9 determines whether or not the image captured in the image memory 3A in step S110 is the first image taken in the current interval period. That is, it is determined whether or not the image is captured at the start timing of the current interval period. When it is the first image in the current interval period (step S140: YES), the process proceeds to step S150, and when it is not the first image (step S140: NO), the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S150, the system controller 9 copies and stores the image captured in the image memory 3A in step S110 into the image memory 3C.

  Next, in step S160, the system controller 9 compares the image in the image memory 3A and the image in the image memory 3B, and the luminance difference between the two images (absolute value of the luminance difference) is a predetermined luminance difference value. A luminance evaluation value Gy indicating the number of pixels exceeding the threshold Yt and a color difference evaluation value Gc indicating the number of pixels where the difference in color difference exceeds the threshold Ct that is a predetermined color difference difference value are obtained. The color difference includes a Cb value and a Cr value. In this embodiment, a sum of absolute values of differences between two pixels of each value is calculated as a difference in color difference.

  The luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc are obtained in order to determine whether or not a fast-moving object that is not preferable for interval shooting appears in the image of the image memory 3A.

  For example, it is assumed that a bird has passed through the screen when the landscape is photographed at intervals. In such a case, when an image as shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the image memory 3B as an adopted image, an image showing a bird (a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. 5) as shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. The image memory 3A may be loaded. FIG. 6 shows a black and white image of the luminance difference between the image in the image memory 3A and the image in the image memory 3B in this case, and FIG. 7 shows a black and white image of the color difference difference. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion where a difference in luminance appears in FIG.

  6 to 8 are shown for convenience of explanation, and the system controller 9 obtains the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc without creating the image states as shown in FIGS. be able to.

  Birds appearing in the image of the image memory 3A appear as luminance differences as shown in FIGS. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the difference in color difference does not appear, but depending on the photographing target, a fast moving object may appear as the difference in color difference. For this reason, when the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc are large, there is a possibility that a fast moving object appears in the image of the image memory 3A.

  Therefore, in step S170, the system controller 9 determines whether or not both the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc obtained in step S160 are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value S.

  When both the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc are equal to or smaller than the threshold value S (step S170: YES), in step S130, the system controller 9 may cause a fast-moving object to appear in the image of the image memory 3A. It is determined that the image is not a certain image, and the adopted image in the current interval period is determined, and this adopted image is copied and stored in the image memory 3B. The adopted image stored in the image memory 3B is taken into the encoding image memory 4.

  The threshold value Yt, the threshold value Ct, and the threshold value S are set in advance. By appropriately setting these, it is possible to ignore slow changes such as clouds and sunlight in the scene to be photographed, and changes in the image due to noise from the image sensor 22, and the image of the fast-moving object such as a bird is ignored. Change can be captured.

  When at least one of the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc exceeds the threshold value S (step S170: NO), in step S180, the system controller 9 makes a predetermined time before the end of the current interval period (for example, It is determined whether or not 1 second ago. When the present interval period is a predetermined time before the end (step S180: YES), the process proceeds to step S190. If the current interval period is not the predetermined time before the end (step S180: NO), the process returns to step S110, and the system controller 9 captures the next image and loads it into the image memory 3A. repeat.

  When the process returns from step S180 to step S110, the image can be taken into the image memory 3A from the photographing unit 2 only at the timing of V synchronization, but the image is taken into the image memory 3A as soon as it can be taken in.

  In step S190, the system controller 9 determines the image captured at the start timing of the current interval period and stored in the image memory 3C as the adopted image for the current interval period, and this adopted image is stored in the image memory 3B. Remember. The adopted image stored in the image memory 3B is taken into the encoding image memory 4.

  By the series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 as described above, first, in the first interval period, an image taken at the start timing becomes an adopted image as it is. In the second and subsequent interval periods, first, the image captured at the start timing of the interval period and captured in the image memory 3A is compared with the image in the image memory 3B that is the adopted image in the previous interval period, and the movement It is determined whether or not the image may have a fast object. When it is determined that the image is not likely to include a fast-moving object, the image in the image memory 3A is determined as the adopted image, and the adopted image is stored in the image memory 3B and stored in the encoding image memory 4. It is captured.

  If it is determined that the image may have a fast-moving object, the image in the image memory 3A is not adopted as a captured image, and the next image is immediately captured and taken into the image memory 3A. Then, it is compared with the image in the image memory 3B, and it is determined whether or not the image has a possibility that a fast-moving object is captured. Such re-taking and determination of an image are repeated until an image is determined that is determined not to be an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured.

  For example, when a landscape as shown in FIG. 4 is shot with an interval period of 10 seconds set, the start timing is displayed as shown in FIG. 5 in the current interval period, which is the second and subsequent interval periods. Suppose a bird is inside, and then it takes about 2 seconds to fly off the screen.

  In this case, the image as shown in FIG. 5 captured at the start timing of the current interval period and taken into the image memory 3A is determined to be an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured. Then, the capturing of the image from the photographing unit 2 to the image memory 3A is performed at the timing when the next image can be captured immediately. Then, the second image is compared with the image in the image memory 3B, and it is determined whether or not there is a possibility that a fast-moving object is captured.

  For example, a time of 100 ms is required for the comparison and determination processing of two images by the system controller 9. Further, as described above, the image can be taken into the image memory 3A from the photographing unit 2 only at the timing of V synchronization. For this reason, the second image captured in the current interval period is separated from the first image captured at the start timing on the time axis by (100 ms + V synchronization waiting time). However, in this example, since it takes about 2 seconds for the bird to fly off the screen, the bird is also captured in the second image taken during this interval, and a fast-moving object can be captured. It is determined that the image has a characteristic. Then, the next image is retaken and compared with the image in the image memory 3B, and it is determined whether or not there is a possibility that a fast-moving object is captured.

  If this time repeats and the time elapses, the bird will fly off the screen and an image will be determined that is not likely to show a fast-moving object, and this image will be used for this interval period Decide on an image. In this way, the adopted image in the current interval period is taken about 12 seconds after the adopted image in the previous interval period, and is different from the set time interval. However, it is possible to avoid shooting birds that appear like noise when played back as a moving image.

  Note that even when a fast-moving object such as a bird enters the screen, for example, when the state of sunlight that changes from between clouds changes greatly during the interval period, the image memory 3A captures it. In some cases, an image may have at least one of a luminance evaluation value Gy and a color difference evaluation value Gc exceeding a threshold value S as compared with an image in the image memory 3B. Such an image is also handled in the same manner as an image that may show a fast-moving object as an image that may be avoided.

  Now, even if the re-taking and determination processes as described above are repeated, the end of the current interval period ends without obtaining an image that is determined not to be an image that may have a fast-moving object. In some cases, the situation is imminent. For example, when the state where the bird is in the screen continues so as to exceed the interval period, the above situation occurs. The same applies to a case where a new state in which the state of sunlight inserted from between the clouds has greatly changed or a state in which the state further changes continues beyond the interval period.

  Therefore, a predetermined time before the end of the current interval period without obtaining an image that is determined not to be an image that may have a fast-moving object even if the re-taking and determination processes are repeated ( For example, if it is 1 second ago, it is unavoidable to use an image that may show a fast-moving object, and an image that is captured at the start of this interval period and stored in the image memory 3C Is determined as the adopted image in the current interval period. This is the reason why the processes in steps S180 and S190 in FIG. 3 are performed.

  At this time, it is preferable to use the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period and stored in the image memory 3C as the adopted image because the shooting timing of the interval shooting is not lost. The image memory 3C is provided for this role.

  Through the processing as described above, the system controller 9 determines the adopted image in each interval period, and puts the adopted image from the image memory 3B into the encoding image memory 4 while the H.V. Control is performed so that video encoding is performed in the H.264 format. At this time, unnecessary images are discarded.

  Then, the system controller 9 multiplexes the encoded video data generated by the moving image encoder 5 and the silence data generated by the silence data generation unit 6 by the multiplexer 7 and records them in the recording unit 8 as a stream of the AVCHD standard. Control to do. Further, the system controller 9 acquires information related to the moving image from the moving image encoder 5, acquires information related to the sound from the silent data generation unit 6, generates stream management information from these information, and uses this information to manage AVCHD Information is recorded in the recording unit 8.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not an image captured at the start timing of the set interval period is an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured. However, if it is determined that the image may have a fast-moving object, the image is not adopted as a captured image, and the next image is immediately captured. It is determined whether or not the image may have an object. This process is repeated, and when an image that is not an image that may show a fast-moving object is obtained, that image is determined as the adopted image in the current interval period. This makes it possible to reduce the occurrence of a situation in which a fast moving object such as a bird that has passed the screen during interval shooting is captured and appears as noise in a playback image of a moving image.

  In addition, if an image that is not an image that may show a fast-moving object is not obtained by a predetermined time before the end of the current interval period, the image is taken at the start timing of the current interval period. By determining the selected image as the current adopted image, it is possible to prevent the shooting timing of the interval shooting from being lost when it is unavoidable to use an image that may show a fast-moving object.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the quality of a moving image obtained by interval shooting can be improved.

  In addition, when the image taken later than the start timing of the interval period, which is the original shooting timing, is used as the adopted image by performing re-shooting, the start timing of the next interval period may not be changed. However, in order to keep the original shooting interval, the start timing of the next interval period may be delayed.

  For example, as in the above example, when the interval period is set to 10 seconds, in order to avoid shooting the bird, the adopted image of the current interval period is taken about 12 seconds after the adopted image of the previous interval period. In such a case, the timing of the start of the next interval period may be about 8 seconds without change from the time of shooting the adopted image in the current interval period, or 10 seconds after the delay. Also good.

  In addition, as described above, when shooting a landscape including the sky that is often taken in interval shooting, a bird flying in the sky often becomes an unnecessary object, but the bird often appears black in the image. Therefore, when obtaining the luminance evaluation value Gy, by weighting pixels with low luminance, it is possible to easily determine an image in which a bird is captured as an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured. . For example, when obtaining the luminance evaluation value Gy, the luminance value in the image of the image memory 3A is a pixel whose luminance difference exceeds the threshold value Yt between the image in the image memory 3A and the image in the image memory 3B. For pixels with a value less than the predetermined threshold Yd, it is only necessary to count not n pixels but n pixels (n is a number of 2 or more).

  Therefore, a mode for avoiding shooting of birds in the landscape is provided, and when this mode is selected by the user, the luminance evaluation value Gy is obtained as described above to determine the image used for interval shooting. You may make it perform determination.

  Further, using only one of the luminance value (pixel value corresponding thereto) and the color difference value (pixel value corresponding thereto), the luminance evaluation value Gy or the color difference evaluation value Gc is obtained as an image evaluation value, and this is used as a threshold value Compared to S, it may be determined whether or not the image in the image memory 3 </ b> A is an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured.

(Modification)
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The image capturing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 directly records a moving image in interval shooting, but the image capturing apparatus 1A of the present modification shown in FIG. To record. The still image recorded in the photographing apparatus 1A is converted into a moving image using an external device such as a personal computer.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the imaging apparatus 1A according to the present modification omits the encoding image memory 4, the moving image encoder 5, the silent data generation unit 6, and the multiplexer 7 from the imaging apparatus 1 of FIG. This is a configuration in which a still image encoder 11 is provided for compressing an adopted image input from the memory 3B by a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method.

  When the photographing apparatus 1A performs interval photographing in a mode that avoids photographing a fast-moving object, an adopted image is determined by the same operation as the photographing apparatus 1 described in the first embodiment.

  When the adopted image is determined for each interval period, the system controller 9 sends the adopted image from the image memory 3B to the still image encoder 11, and controls the still image encoder 11 to JPEG compress the adopted image.

  Then, the system controller 9 extracts a JPEG image from the still image encoder 11 to generate an EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) standard thumbnail, makes it a JPEG image with a thumbnail, and records this in the recording unit 8.

  In the imaging apparatus 1A of this modification as well, the quality of a moving image obtained by interval imaging can be improved in the same manner as the imaging apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, even if the re-shooting and determination processes are repeated, an image that is determined not to be an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured is not obtained, and the current interval period is When it is a predetermined time before the end, it is unavoidable to adopt an image that may show a fast-moving object, and an image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is determined as the adopted image.

  For this reason, for example, when a landscape is shot with an interval period set to 10 seconds, a bird that was not shown in the adopted image in the previous interval period is shown in the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period. If the bird stays on the screen during this interval, the image in which the bird is shown must be adopted. The shorter the interval period, the higher the possibility that an image showing a bird will have to be adopted.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, for an interval period in which an image that may show a fast-moving object must be determined as an adopted image, the determination of the adopted image is temporarily suspended and adopted. If the number of consecutive interval periods for which determination of images has been suspended is less than a predetermined number, there is a possibility that a fast-moving object is shown by not adopting images for interval periods for which determination of adopted images has been suspended Reduces an image from becoming an adopted image.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the imaging apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment has a configuration in which the image memory 3C is replaced with a candidate image storage unit 12 compared to the imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. It is.

  The candidate image storage unit 12 includes image memories 121A, 121B, and 121C that can each store an image of one frame. The image memories 121 </ b> A to 121 </ b> C capture and store images captured at the start timing of the interval period from the image memory 3 </ b> A as candidate images of adopted images.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the candidate image storage unit 12 includes three image memories 121A to 121C will be described. However, the number of image memories included in the candidate image storage unit 12 is not limited thereto.

  Next, the operation at the time of interval photographing of the photographing apparatus 1B will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when interval shooting is performed in a mode that avoids shooting of a fast-moving object in the shooting apparatus 1B of the second embodiment.

  When interval shooting is started, in step S210, the system controller 9 performs a process of determining an adopted image that is an image to be adopted as a captured image in the current interval period. Details of the process of determining the adopted image in step S210 will be described later.

  In step S220, the system controller 9 determines whether or not the determination of the adopted image for the current interval period has been suspended in step S210. As will be described later, the determination of the adopted image is not suspended in the first interval period, but the determination of the adopted image may be suspended in the second and subsequent interval periods. Therefore, when the process returns from the subsequent step S270 and the process of step S210 is performed, the adopted image for the current interval period may be suspended.

  When the determination of the adopted image is suspended (step S220: YES), the process proceeds to step S240. When the determination of the adopted image is not suspended (step S220: NO), in step S230, the system controller 9 discards all candidate images stored in the image memories 121A to 121C of the candidate image storage unit 12. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S260.

  In step S240, the system controller 9 determines whether or not three candidate images are accumulated, that is, whether or not candidate images are stored one by one in all of the image memories 121A to 121C of the candidate image storage unit 12. .

  When three candidate images are accumulated (step S220: YES), in step S250, the system controller 9 determines the three candidate images stored as adopted images in the interval period during which each was captured, These are sent to the encoding image memory 4. The newest image of the three candidate images taken during the current interval period is also sent to and stored in the image memory 3B and used as a comparison target image for determining the adopted image in the next interval period. It is done. When three candidate images are not accumulated (step S220: NO), the process proceeds to step S260.

  In step S260, the system controller 9 determines based on the operation signal from the operation input unit 10 whether or not a shooting stop operation for stopping interval shooting has been performed. When the shooting stop operation is performed (step S260: YES), the system controller 9 controls to end the interval shooting.

  If the photographing stop operation has not been performed (step S260: NO), in step S270, it is determined whether or not the timing for starting the next interval period has come. When it is time to start the next interval period (step S270: YES), the process returns to step S210 to determine an image to be used in the next interval period, and the subsequent processing is repeated. If it is not time to start the next interval period (step S270: NO), the process returns to step S260.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing for determining an adopted image in the interval period performed in step S210.

  In FIG. 12, steps S310 to S340 and S360 to S380 are the same as steps S110 to S340 and S160 to S180 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. Steps S350 and S390 that are different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  In step S350, the system controller 9 uses the image captured at the start timing of the current interval period, which has been captured in the image memory 3A in step S210, in the image memories 121A to 121C of the candidate image storage unit 12. Copy it to one of them and store it.

  In step S390, the system controller 9 puts on hold without determining the adopted image in the current interval period. In this case, the image captured at the start timing of the current interval period, which is stored in the candidate image storage unit 12 in step S350, is stored as a candidate image of the current adopted image.

  At this time, the image in the image memory 3B is not updated, and the image continues to be used as an image to be compared with the image captured in the image memory 3A when the adopted image is determined in the next interval period. .

  The series of processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12 as described above does not provide an image that is determined not to be an image that may show a fast-moving object, and the current interval period is When it is a predetermined time before the end, the image captured at the start timing of the current interval period is not immediately determined as the adopted image as in the first embodiment, but the determination is suspended. When the decision is put on hold, an image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is left in the candidate image storage unit 12 as a candidate image for the adopted image. Further, the image in the image memory 3B is not updated.

  Here, it is assumed that determination of the adopted image is suspended during the k-th interval period, and one candidate image is stored in the candidate image storage unit 12. It is assumed that this one candidate image is stored in the image memory 121A.

  An image captured at the start timing of the next k + 1-th interval period and captured in the image memory 3A is copied to the image memory 121B. If the determination of the adopted image is suspended even during this interval period, a total of two candidate images are stored in the image memories 121A and 121B, and the image is taken at the start timing of the next k + 2 interval period. The image is copied to the image memory 121C.

  If the adopted image decision is suspended even in the k + 2th interval period, that is, if the decision of the adopted image is suspended with three candidate images accumulated in the candidate image storage unit 12, it is saved. The three candidate images are determined as adopted images in the interval period in which each of the candidate images is photographed, and sent to the encoding image memory 4. The newest image of the three candidate images taken in the (k + 2) th interval period is also sent to and stored in the image memory 3B, and a comparison target image for determining the adopted image in the (k + 3) th interval period. Used as

  On the other hand, if an image that is determined not to be an image in which a fast-moving object is likely to be captured in an interval period is obtained, and that image becomes the adopted image and the decision of the adopted image is not suspended, Sometimes the candidate images stored in the candidate image storage unit 12 are all discarded. In this case, a maximum of three images (3 frames) captured at the start timing of the interval period, which is the original capturing timing, are discarded without being used for moving image creation.

  For example, it is assumed that the interval period is 10 seconds, and a bird that was in the screen at the start timing of a certain interval period flew off the screen in about 25 seconds. In such a case, in the first embodiment, a moving image including a frame including a bird is created, but in the second embodiment, a bird stored in the candidate image storage unit 12 is captured. Since the two frames are discarded, the moving image does not include the frame in which the bird appears.

  When a movie is created by discarding frames as described above, the change in the shooting target excluding birds is not linear on the time axis in the part corresponding to the discarded frame, and as a result, the motion of the movie is smooth for a moment. There is a possibility of disappearing. However, if the number of discarded frames is small, for example, up to 3 frames as in the present embodiment, even if the frame is discarded, if it is like a landscape where the shooting target changes slowly, there is no adverse effect on the quality of the video. Better than a bird appears to look like noise.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, for an interval period in which an image in which a fast-moving object may be captured is inevitably determined as an adopted image, determination of the adopted image is suspended and candidate images are held. If the number of consecutive interval periods for which the decision of the adopted image is suspended is less than the predetermined number, the adoption of the adopted image is suspended without adopting the image for the interval period for which the decision of the adopted image is suspended. When the number of consecutive interval periods reaches a predetermined number, the candidate image is determined as the adopted image. This reduces the appearance of fast-moving objects like noise in the playback image of the movie obtained by interval shooting, while minimizing the adverse effect on the quality of the movie caused by the interval period in which the shot image is not used. Can do.

  In the second embodiment, the configuration in which a moving image is directly recorded on the photographing apparatus is shown. However, a still image may be recorded as in the modification of the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, an image captured in the current interval period is compared with an adopted image in the previous interval period to obtain a luminance evaluation value Gy and a color difference evaluation value Gc, and from these values, the current interval It is determined whether or not an image captured during the period is an image that may include a fast-moving object.

  In the interval shooting, a slowly changing object such as a landscape is taken as an object to be imaged. For example, the landscape may change greatly due to the flow of clouds in the landscape. In such a case, since the luminance evaluation value Gy and the color difference evaluation value Gc increase due to a change in the landscape, there is a possibility that a fast-moving object is captured even if a fast-moving object such as a bird is not actually captured. It may be determined as an image. The likelihood of this happening increases as the interval period increases.

  For this reason, in the first embodiment, the longer the interval period, the harder it is to avoid determining the adopted image as an image that actually shows an object that moves quickly, such as a bird.

  Therefore, in the third embodiment, the process of determining the adopted image for each interval period in the first embodiment is performed for each determination period that is shorter than the set interval period, and one or more determinations are made. Every other period, the adopted image in the determination period is determined as the officially adopted image for each interval period, and is set as a moving image encoding target.

  An example of the relationship between the determination period and the interval period in the third embodiment is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 13, the interval period is 20 seconds and the determination period is 5 seconds, and the adopted image is determined as the officially adopted image of the interval period every three judgment periods. In other words, if an adopted image in a certain judgment period is a video encoding target as an officially adopted image in the interval period, then the adopted images in the following three judgment periods are not subject to the video encoding target, and are adopted in the fourth judgment period. Is an officially adopted image during the interval period. Repeat this.

  Since the imaging device according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as the imaging device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the third embodiment will also be described with reference to FIG. .

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when performing interval shooting in a mode in which shooting of a fast-moving object is avoided in the shooting apparatus 1 in the third embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, an interval period and a determination period as shown in FIG. 13 are set in interval shooting.

  When interval shooting is started, in step S410, the system controller 9 performs a process of determining an adopted image to be adopted as a captured image in the current determination period.

  The processing in step S410 is substantially the same as the processing in the flowchart of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted. However, the “interval period” in FIG. In the case of, the term “judgment period” is applied. However, at this stage, the adopted image for the determination period is not sent from the image memory 3B to the encoding image memory 4.

  In step S420, the system controller 9 determines whether or not an adopted image for the determination period in which an image for moving image encoding is employed has been determined. Here, the adopted image in the first determination period after the start of interval shooting is set as a video encoding target as an officially adopted image. Thereafter, for example, in the example of FIG. 13, a determination period for adopting an image for video encoding arrives every three determination periods.

  When the adopted image for the determination period for adopting the video encoding image is determined (step S420: YES), the process proceeds to step S430, and the adopted image for the determination period for adopting the video encoding image is not determined (step). (S420: NO), the process proceeds to step S440.

  In step S430, the system controller 9 sends the determined adopted image from the image memory 3B to the encoding image memory 4. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S440.

In step S440, the system controller 9 determines whether or not a shooting stop operation for stopping interval shooting has been performed based on the operation signal from the operation input unit 10. When the photographing stop operation is performed (step S440: YES), the system controller 9 controls to end the interval photographing.

  If the photographing stop operation has not been performed (step S440: NO), it is determined in step S450 whether or not the timing for starting the next determination period has come. When it is time to start the next determination period (step S450: YES), the process returns to step S410, an image to be used in the next determination period is determined, and the subsequent processing is repeated. If it is not time to start the next determination period (step S450: NO), the process returns to step S440.

  Through the processing as described above, the system controller 9 determines an officially adopted image for interval shooting, puts the image into the encoding image memory 4 from the image memory 3B, and moves the H. Control is performed so that video encoding is performed in the H.264 format. Then, the system controller 9 multiplexes the encoded video data generated by the moving image encoder 5 and the silence data generated by the silence data generation unit 6 by the multiplexer 7 and records them in the recording unit 8 as a stream of the AVCHD standard. Control to do.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, processing for determining an adopted image is performed for each determination period obtained by dividing the set interval period into a plurality of images, and images that are subject to video encoding as officially adopted images are determined for each interval period. By deciding, images (frames) that may show fast-moving objects are included in the video obtained by interval shooting, reducing the appearance of fast-moving objects like noise in the playback image Can do. The third embodiment is effective when the interval period is set to be long.

  For example, in the processing according to the first embodiment, as described above, a fast-moving object is captured when the interval period is set to be short, such as 20 seconds, than when the interval period is set to be long, such as 20 seconds. There is a high possibility that it is possible to avoid the determination of the selected image as an image used for interval shooting. In the third embodiment, an image that is a video encoding target as an officially adopted image is selected for each 20-second interval period from an image that has been adopted for a determination period of 5 seconds by the same processing as in the first embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that an image in which a fast-moving object is captured is included in the moving image of the interval shooting, as compared with the case where the processing of the first embodiment is performed with the interval period being 20 seconds. .

  Although it is preferable to set the interval period to be an integral multiple of the determination period, the method of the third embodiment is applicable even if it is not. For example, when the set interval period I is 20 seconds, the determination period H is 3 seconds, and one officially adopted image is determined for each of the periods 6E, 6E, and 7E, and this cycle may be repeated. . In this case, the time interval of interval shooting is not constant, but if the shooting target changes slowly, the error on the time axis is negligible when it is a moving image.

  Note that the third embodiment is not limited to the configuration in which a moving image is directly recorded on the photographing apparatus, and a still image may be recorded as in the modification of the first embodiment.

  You may make it make a computer implement | achieve the function which the imaging device which concerns on each said embodiment and its modification has with a program. This program may be read from a recording medium and loaded into a computer, or may be transmitted via a communication network or the like and loaded into a computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A, 1B Image pick-up device 2 Image pick-up part 3A, 3B, 3C, 121A, 121B, 121C Image memory 4 Encoding image memory 5 Movie encoder 6 Silent data generation part 7 Multiplexer 8 Recording part 9 System controller 10 Operation input part 11 Stationary Image encoder 12 Candidate image storage unit 21 Lens 22 Image sensor 23 Signal processing unit 24 Timing generator (TG)

Claims (6)

A shooting unit that takes a picture of a subject and obtains an image;
Among the images obtained by the photographing unit, an image determining unit that determines an adopted image to be adopted as a photographed image for each set interval period;
A pixel in which a difference between pixel values of two images to be compared is compared with a previously adopted image, which is an adopted image in the previous interval period, and an image photographed after the current interval period is exceeded. A determination unit that obtains an image evaluation value indicating a number and determines whether the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value;
The image determination unit shoots the subject with the shooting unit from the start timing of the current interval period until an image whose image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is less than or equal to the threshold is obtained. If the image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value is controlled to repeat the process of performing the determination by the determination unit for comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image as a comparison target, the image is determined to be the current interval period. If an image whose image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value is not obtained by a predetermined time before the end of the current interval period, the image was taken at the predetermined timing of the current interval period. An imaging apparatus characterized in that an image is determined as a currently adopted image. An imaging unit that captures an image of the subject and
Among the images obtained by the photographing unit, an image determining unit that determines an adopted image to be adopted as a photographed image for each set interval period;
A pixel in which a difference between pixel values of two images to be compared is compared with a previously adopted image, which is an adopted image in the previous interval period, and an image photographed after the current interval period is exceeded. A determination unit that obtains an image evaluation value indicating a number and determines whether the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value;
The image determination unit shoots the subject with the shooting unit from the start timing of the current interval period until an image whose image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is less than or equal to the threshold is obtained. If the image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value is controlled to repeat the process of performing the determination by the determination unit for comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image as a comparison target, the image is determined to be the current interval period. If an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by a predetermined time before the end of the current interval period, the determination of the adopted image is suspended and the current interval period is determined. An interval at which an image taken at a predetermined timing is stored in the candidate image storage unit as a candidate image of the currently adopted image and the decision on the adopted image is deferred In the next interval period, an interval period in which the determination unit processing is continued using the image used as the previous adopted image in the processing of the determination unit in the immediately preceding interval period, and the determination of the adopted image is suspended. When the predetermined number of images are consecutive, the predetermined number of candidate images stored in the candidate image storage unit are determined as adopted images in the interval period in which each is photographed, and an interval period during which the determination of the adopted images is suspended An imaging apparatus, wherein a candidate image stored in the candidate image storage unit is discarded when there is an interval period during which determination of an adopted image is not suspended before a predetermined number of consecutive images. A shooting unit that takes a picture of a subject and obtains an image;
Of the images obtained by the photographing unit, an image to be adopted as a photographed image for each set judgment period is determined, and a photographed image of an interval period longer than the judgment period is selected from the photographed images adopted in a plurality of judgment periods. An image determination unit for determining one officially adopted image to be adopted as
The previous adopted image, which is an image adopted as the photographed image in the previous judgment period, is compared with the image photographed after the current judgment period, and the difference in pixel value between the two images to be compared is a predetermined difference value. An image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels exceeding the threshold, and a determination unit that determines whether the image evaluation value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value,
The image determination unit captures an image of the subject with the imaging unit from the start timing of the current determination period until an image having an image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value when compared with the previously adopted image is obtained. If the image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value is controlled to repeat the process of performing the determination by the determination unit for comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image as a comparison target, the image is determined as the current determination period. If an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by a predetermined time before the end of the current determination period, the image was taken at the predetermined timing of the current determination period. An imaging apparatus, wherein an image is determined as a currently adopted image, and further, an adopted image is determined as an officially adopted image in an interval period every one or more determination periods. During interval shooting, an interval shooting method in a shooting device that determines an adopted image to be adopted as a shot image for each set interval period from an image shot of a subject,
Shoot the subject at the start of the interval period,
The previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, is compared with the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period, and the pixel value difference between the two images to be compared exceeds the predetermined difference value. Obtain an image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels, determine whether the image evaluation value is less than or equal to a preset threshold,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is an image whose image evaluation value is equal to or lower than the threshold value compared to the previously adopted image, the image was taken at the start timing of the current interval period. The image is decided to be the adopted image this time,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is an image whose image evaluation value exceeds the threshold compared to the previous adopted image, the image evaluation when compared with the previous adopted image Shooting the subject until an image having a value equal to or less than the threshold value is obtained, comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image, and repeating the determination process,
When an image whose image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is less than or equal to the threshold is obtained, the image is determined to be the adopted image in the current interval period, and a timing before a predetermined time when the current interval period ends. If an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by the time, an image captured at a predetermined timing in the current interval period is determined as the currently adopted image. During interval shooting, an interval shooting method in a shooting device that determines an adopted image to be adopted as a shot image for each set interval period from an image shot of a subject,
Shoot the subject at the start of the interval period,
The previous adopted image, which is the adopted image in the previous interval period, is compared with the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period, and the pixel value difference between the two images to be compared exceeds the predetermined difference value. Obtain an image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels, determine whether the image evaluation value is less than or equal to a preset threshold,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is an image whose image evaluation value is equal to or lower than the threshold value compared to the previously adopted image, the image was taken at the start timing of the current interval period. The image is decided to be the adopted image this time,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current interval period is an image whose image evaluation value exceeds the threshold compared to the previous adopted image, the image evaluation when compared with the previous adopted image Shooting the subject until an image having a value equal to or less than the threshold value is obtained, comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image, and repeating the determination process,
When an image whose image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is less than or equal to the threshold is obtained, the image is determined to be the adopted image in the current interval period, and a timing before a predetermined time when the current interval period ends. If an image with the image evaluation value equal to or less than the threshold value is not obtained by the time, the determination of the adopted image is suspended and an image captured at a predetermined timing in the current interval period is selected as a candidate image for the current adopted image. In the interval period next to the interval period that is stored in the image storage unit and the determination of the adopted image is suspended, the determination is performed using the image used as the previous adopted image when performing the determination in the immediately preceding interval period. Done
When the predetermined number of interval periods for suspending the determination of the adopted images are consecutive, the predetermined number of candidate images stored in the candidate image storage unit are determined as adopted images in the interval period in which each is captured,
The candidate image stored in the candidate image storage unit is discarded when there is an interval period during which the determination of the adopted image is not suspended before the predetermined number of interval periods for which the determination of the adopted image is suspended. Interval shooting method. At the time of interval shooting, an interval shooting method in a shooting device that determines an officially adopted image to be adopted as a shot image for each set interval period from an image shot of a subject,
Shoot the subject at the start of the judgment period, which is shorter than the interval period,
The previous adopted image, which is the adopted image adopted as the captured image in the previous determination period, is compared with the image captured at the start timing of the current determination period, and the difference in pixel value between the two images to be compared is predetermined. Obtain an image evaluation value indicating the number of pixels exceeding the difference value, determine whether the image evaluation value is less than or equal to a preset threshold,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current determination period is an image whose image evaluation value is equal to or lower than the threshold value compared to the previously adopted image, the image was taken at the start timing of the current determination period. The image is decided to be the adopted image this time,
When the image taken at the start timing of the current determination period is an image whose image evaluation value exceeds the threshold compared to the previous adopted image, the image evaluation when compared with the previous adopted image Shooting the subject until an image having a value equal to or less than the threshold value is obtained, comparing the obtained image and the previously adopted image, and repeating the determination process,
When an image whose image evaluation value when compared with the previous adopted image is less than or equal to the threshold value is obtained, the image is determined as the adopted image in the current determination period, and a timing before a predetermined time when the current determination period ends. If the image evaluation value is less than or equal to the threshold value by the time, the image taken at a predetermined timing of the current determination period is determined as the currently adopted image,
An interval photographing method characterized in that an adopted image is determined as an officially adopted image of an interval period every one or more judgment periods.