JP2013192088A - Imaging apparatus, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus and a control method of the same which are capable of reducing wasteful power consumption due to an AE function.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus 10 comprises: an acceleration detection unit 100 which detects acceleration occurring in the imaging apparatus 10; an exposure control unit 101 which performs exposure control to obtain a taken image corresponding to the brightness of a subject; and a posture determination unit 102 which detects the posture of the imaging apparatus 10 from the detected acceleration, determines whether the posture is a previously designated posture, and if determining that the posture is the previously designated posture, instructs the exposure control unit 101 to start the exposure control.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device including an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, a control method executed by the imaging device, and a control program readable by the imaging device for realizing the method.

  In recent years, an imaging device such as a digital camera has been provided with an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, and the relative positional relationship between the subject image and the imaging surface is kept constant based on the detection value detected by the acceleration sensor. The number of devices having a camera shake correction function to be controlled is increasing. For this reason, even when the image pickup apparatus is held and photographed, it is possible to capture a clear image without blurring.

  The acceleration sensor is used not only to realize this camera shake correction function but also to realize other processes and functions. For example, in Patent Document 1, acceleration (gravity) detected by an acceleration sensor is used for processing so as not to miss a photo opportunity before holding the camera with a digital camera.

  In Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not there is a sudden increase in the gravity in the Y-axis direction from the detected gravity. If it is determined that there is a sudden increase, power is supplied to the imaging system before holding. The image is recorded together with the tilt and vibration at the time of shooting, and the data of the tilt and vibration are used when correcting and selecting the image. As a result, shooting can be started in the operation of gripping and lifting the imaging device, and even when a photo opportunity is encountered before holding, shooting can be performed without missing.

  In Patent Document 2, the acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor is used to determine whether or not to start a lens focusing operation for moving the lens to the in-focus position. In Patent Document 2, control is performed so as to start the lens focusing operation when the acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor changes from a value larger than a preset acceleration determination value to a smaller value. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce wasteful power consumption associated with the execution of the lens focusing operation, as compared with the case where the lens focusing operation is performed from the time when the shooting mode is reached.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, the posture or vibration of the imaging device detected by the acceleration sensor is used to determine whether or not the image is captured in a stationary state using a tripod, a stand, or the like. In this Patent Document 3, it is determined whether or not the apparatus is in a stationary state based on whether or not the inclination of the apparatus detected by the acceleration sensor has not changed for a predetermined time. The power supply to a part has been stopped. This makes it possible to effectively reduce power consumption when shooting in a stationary state using a tripod or a stand.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the gravity detected by the acceleration sensor is only used for image correction and selection, and is not used for the purpose of reducing power.

  On the other hand, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor and the attitude or vibration of the device are used for the purpose of reducing wasteful power consumption. However, power is wasted not only when the lens focusing operation is started from the time when the photographing mode is entered, but also when the camera shake correction means is operated even when the camera is stationary using a tripod or a stand.

  For example, many products having an AE (Automatic Exposure) function for automatically performing exposure are sold for digital cameras. However, since these products always perform exposure automatically by normal monitoring, power is wasted until the time of imaging that actually requires exposure.

  By using the acceleration sensor, the detected acceleration value changes from a value greater than a preset acceleration judgment value to a smaller value, or whether or not the inclination of the device has not changed for a predetermined time. It is possible to reduce power consumption by determining whether or not the image is still and determining that the camera is in a stationary state as the time of imaging and starting exposure control therefrom.

  However, in the method of taking an image when changing from a value larger than the judgment value to a smaller value, the camera is not actually held yet, but it happens to change as it happens when the power is turned on and held by hand. There is a case. Then, it is determined that the image is being picked up, and power is consumed wastefully until the image is actually taken while holding the camera.

  In addition, in the method in which the time when it is determined that the camera is in a stationary state is set to the time of imaging, there is a high possibility that the camera will not be determined to be in a stationary state after a long time. With this, exposure control cannot be started.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide an imaging device and a control method thereof that can reduce wasteful power consumption by appropriately determining the time of imaging using an acceleration sensor and starting exposure control from the time of the appropriate imaging. It is desired.

  Many people hold the camera in a horizontal position when holding the camera for shooting. Then start shooting. For this reason, the camera is in a certain posture immediately before entering the shooting operation. Therefore, exposure control is started when the posture is detected by the acceleration sensor.

  The present invention provides, as an imaging device for realizing this, an acceleration detection unit that detects acceleration generated in the imaging device, an exposure control unit that performs exposure control to obtain a captured image according to the brightness of the subject, and detection The posture of the imaging apparatus is detected from the acceleration thus determined, and it is determined whether or not the posture is a pre-designated posture. When it is determined that the posture is the designated posture, the exposure control unit is instructed to perform exposure. And a posture determination unit that starts control.

The figure which illustrated the hardware constitutions of the imaging device of this embodiment. The figure which illustrated the structure of ISP1-A and ISP1-B shown in FIG. The figure which illustrated the structure of ISP2-A and ISP2-B shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the imaging device shown in FIG. 1. The figure which illustrated the attitude | position of the imaging device. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. Examples of the imaging device include a digital camera, but the imaging device is not limited to this as long as it can capture still images and moving images.

  An imaging apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a lens barrel unit 11 provided in the apparatus main body. The lens barrel unit 11 includes two optical systems each composed of a lens 12 directed toward a subject, and two imaging elements 13 such as a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor. An imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a digital camera that can capture images in all directions, so-called 360 degrees, using two lenses and two imaging elements. In this case, the two lenses are wide-angle lenses having an angle of view of 180 degrees or more.

  The image sensor 13 is controlled by a control command from a CPU block 31 in a processor 20 (described later) provided in the apparatus main body. The CMOS image sensor and the CCD image sensor are solid-state imaging devices for photoelectrically converting an optical image. The optical image input to the image sensor 13 via the lens 12 is photoelectrically converted into an image signal by the image sensor 13 and sent to the processor 20.

  Within the processor 20, each of the two image signal processors (ISP) 21 receives an image signal as image data from each imaging device 13 and performs white balance (WB) processing and gamma correction. In the WB process, correction is performed so that white is accurately projected white. In the gamma correction, the input signal is processed in advance so that the output maintains linearity in consideration of the characteristics of the imaging device 10.

  The ISP 21 performs a filtering process to convert the image data into luminance data and color difference data. The converted luminance data and color difference data are sent to an ARB (Arbiter) memory controller 23 by a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller) 22.

  The DMAC 22 transmits data directly to the ARB memory controller 23 without going through the CPU block 31. The ARB controller memory 23 mediates data conflict and appropriately sends the data to the distortion correction synthesis unit 24, SDRAM 25, CPU block 31, and the like. When sending data to these, they are sent using the DMAC 22 and the memory controller.

  The SDRAM 25 temporarily stores data before performing processing by the ISP 21 or the distortion correction synthesis unit 24. The data saved at this time are RAW-RGB image data after WB processing and gamma correction, YUV image data after being converted into luminance data and color difference data, and JPEG compression in the JPEGCODE block 35. JPEG image data after performing the above.

  The distortion correcting / combining unit 24 corrects the distortion so that the distortion is reduced by the image correction processing because distortion aberration is generated due to the specification of the lens 12. Here, the distortion aberration refers to an aberration that cannot accurately reproduce the geometric shape of the subject and is distorted. The distortion correction combining unit 24 also performs a process of combining the two data processed by the two ISPs 21 and subjected to the above distortion correction.

  The distortion correction combining unit 24 returns the combined data to the ARB memory controller 23 using the DMAC 22, and the ARB memory controller 23 sends the data to the image processing block 26 using the DMAC 22. The image processing block 26 sends the data to the image data transfer unit 27. The image data transfer unit 27 transfers the data to the SDRAM 29 by the SDRAM controller 28, and the SDRAM 29 temporarily stores the data.

  The NAND flash memory 30 functioning as a ROM stores a control program written in code readable by the CPU block 31 and various parameters required for control. When the user turns on the power switch (SW) 32, the control program stored in the flash memory 30 is loaded into a main memory (not shown). The CPU block 31 controls the operation of each unit of the imaging device 10 according to a control program loaded in the main memory, and temporarily stores data necessary for control in the SDRAM 29 and a local SRAM (not shown).

  In FIG. 1, a rewritable flash memory 30 is used, but an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) or the like may be used. In addition, by using the rewritable flash memory 30, it is possible to change the control program and parameters for control, and the function can be easily upgraded.

  In addition, the processor 20 includes a USB block 33 that performs USB communication with an external device such as a PC, a serial block SPI 34 that performs serial communication with an external device such as a PC, a JPEGCODE block 35 that performs JPEG compression / decompression, H.264 video compression / decompression A H.264 codec block 36, a RESIZE block 37 for enlarging / reducing the size of image data by interpolation processing, and a memory card controller block 38 for controlling a memory card for recording image data obtained by imaging. .

  A memory card throttle 39 connected to the memory card controller block 38 is a throttle for detachably attaching a memory card to the imaging apparatus 10. The processor 20 is connected to a built-in memory, so that the image data can be recorded even when no memory card is attached to the memory card throttle 39.

  The USB connector 40 is a connector for performing USB connection with an external device such as a PC. A wireless communication unit 41 that performs wireless communication using Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or the like transfers image data to a display terminal such as a smartphone that is an external device by performing wireless communication, and causes the display terminal to display the image data. be able to. For this reason, the imaging device 10 may not include a display unit for displaying the image of the subject. In addition, the imaging device 10 may include a display unit, or image data may be transferred to an external device.

  The audio unit 42 includes an audio recording unit and an audio reproduction unit. The audio recording unit includes a microphone 43 to which a user inputs an audio signal, a microphone AMP that amplifies the input audio signal, and an audio recording circuit that records the amplified audio signal. The audio reproduction unit also converts an audio reproduction circuit that converts a recorded audio signal into a signal that can be output from the speaker 44, an audio AMP that amplifies the converted audio signal and drives the speaker 44, and an audio signal. And an output speaker 44. The audio unit 42 operates under the control of the CPU block 31.

  The imaging device 10 further includes an acceleration sensor 45 as an acceleration detection unit for detecting the acceleration of the imaging device 10. The acceleration sensor 45 may employ any of three types: mechanical, optical, and semiconductor. The mechanical type uses a coil spring or a leaf spring, and the optical type uses an optical sensor. The semiconductor type includes a capacitance type, a piezoresistive type, and a gas temperature distribution type. The acceleration sensor 45 may be a two-axis acceleration sensor with two horizontal axes (x-axis and y-axis), or a three-axis acceleration sensor with two axes and one vertical axis (z-axis). The triaxial acceleration sensor can detect the tilt, vibration, movement, impact, drop, and the like of the imaging apparatus 10 by detecting the acceleration in each axial direction.

  Processing performed by the ISP 21 included in the imaging apparatus 10 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The imaging device 10 includes two imaging elements 13. In FIG. 2, two image pickup devices 13 are referred to as sensors A and B. Sensors A and B output Bayer RAW data. This RAW data is input to ISP 1 -A and ISP 1 -B, respectively, and an optical black (OB) correction unit 50 performs OB correction processing. The OB correction process is a process in which the output signal of the effective pixel area is clamp-corrected using the output signal of the optical black area as the black reference level. More specifically, the black level is acquired, and the image is corrected by subtracting the black level from the original image.

  The OB correction processing unit 50 sends the data subjected to the OB correction processing to the defective pixel correction unit 51 to execute the defective pixel correction processing. A large number of pixels are arranged in the imaging element 13, and the imaging pixel is manufactured by forming a large number of photosensitive elements such as photodiodes on a semiconductor substrate. When manufacturing the image pickup device 13, there may be a case where a defective pixel is locally incapable of taking in a pixel value due to impurities mixed into the semiconductor substrate. In order to relieve an image sensor having such a defective pixel, in this defective pixel correction process, the pixel value of the defective pixel is corrected based on a composite signal from a plurality of pixels adjacent to the defective pixel.

Next, linear correction processing is performed by the linear correction unit 52, shading correction processing is performed by the shading correction unit 53, and region division averaging processing is then performed by the region division averaging unit 54.
The linear correction unit 52 performs linear correction for each color. The signals output from the sensors A and B have complicated curved characteristics. In linear correction, this is converted into a linear characteristic proportional to the input. The shading correction unit 53 corrects the distortion of the shading (shadow) in the effective pixel region by multiplying the output signal of the effective pixel region by a correction coefficient prepared in advance. The area division average unit 54 divides the area and calculates the average luminance. This average luminance is used for AE processing. In the AE process, an AE value set in the AE registers of the sensors A and B is calculated, and the calculated value is set in the AE register. This average luminance is also used to calculate the WB value in the WB process.

  After such processing is executed by the ISP 1 -A and ISP 1 -B, the image data is temporarily stored in the SDRAM 25. The ISP2-A and ISP2-B shown in FIG. 3 extract data stored in the SDRAM 25, and a WB processing unit 55, a gamma correction unit 56, a Bayer interpolation unit 57, a YUV conversion unit 58, a YCFLT processing unit 59, and a color correction unit. 60 is sent in order and processed.

  A color filter of any one of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is attached to each pixel on a CMOS photodiode that accumulates the amount of light from the subject. Since the amount of transmitted light varies depending on the color of the color filter, the amount of charge accumulated in the photodiode differs. Of these three colors, green is the most sensitive, and red and blue are about half of green. Since the sensitivity varies depending on the color as described above, the WB processing unit 55 performs a process of multiplying red and blue in order to compensate for these sensitivity differences and make white in the captured image appear white. In addition, the WB processing unit 55 changes the gain of red and blue so that the white color looks white even if the light source changes because the color of the object changes depending on the light source color (for example, sunlight, fluorescent lamp, etc.). And control.

  If the input signal is directly passed to an output device such as a monitor, the image becomes dark and the RGB brightness ratio changes, so that the color cannot be displayed correctly. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to increase the RGB values in advance and maintain the linearity of the output signal. Therefore, the gamma correction unit 56 takes into account the characteristics of the output device and performs correction such as increasing the RGB value in advance with respect to the input signal in order to maintain the linearity of the output signal.

  The CMOS image sensor is an array called a Bayer array, and a color filter of any one of red, green, and blue is attached to each pixel. The RAW data output from the CMOS image sensor has only one color information per pixel. However, in order to view an image from RAW data, information of three colors of red, green, and blue is required for one pixel. Therefore, the Bayer interpolation unit 57 performs interpolation processing using information on neighboring pixels in order to compensate for the missing two colors of information.

  RAW data is an RGB data format with three colors of red, green and blue. A file format generally used in the imaging apparatus 10 is a JPEG format, and an image in the JPEG format is created from YUV data. Therefore, the YUV conversion unit 58 converts the RAW data in the RGB data format into the YUV data format of the luminance signal Y and the color difference signal UV.

  The YCFLT processing unit 59 performs edge enhancement processing. The YCFLT processing unit 59 includes an edge extraction filter, a gain multiplication unit, a low-pass filter (LPF), and a data addition unit in order to perform this edge enhancement processing. The edge extraction filter extracts an edge portion from the luminance signal Y of the image. The gain multiplier applies a gain to the edge portion extracted by the edge extraction filter. The LPF removes image noise in parallel with edge extraction by the edge extraction filter. The data addition unit adds the edge extraction data after gain multiplication by the gain multiplication unit and the image data after LPF processing by the LPF.

  The color correction unit 60 performs saturation setting, hue setting, partial hue change setting, color suppression setting, and the like. The saturation setting is a parameter setting that determines the color intensity, and indicates the UV color space. In the UV color space, for example, the longer the vector length from the origin to the red dot with respect to red in the second quadrant, the darker the color.

  As described above, the Bayer RAW data output from the sensor A is subjected to an optical correction process, a defective pixel correction process, a linear correction process, a shading correction process, and a region division average process in the ISP 1-A and the ISP 1-B. It is stored in the SDRAM 25 shown in FIG. Thereafter, WB processing, gamma correction processing, Bayer interpolation processing, YUV conversion processing, YCFLT processing, and color correction processing are performed in ISP2-A and ISP2-B, and are stored in SDRAM 25 shown in FIG.

  The data stored in the SDRAM 25 shown in FIG. 1 is subjected to crop processing for cutting out a regular image for each of the sensors A and B, and thereafter, distortion correction and synthesis processing is performed by the distortion correction synthesis unit 24. Thereafter, the data is compressed by the JPEGCODE block 35 with a compression coefficient of about 0.16.

  The data compressed in this way is stored in the SDRAM 29, and file storage (tagging) is performed. The compressed data is stored in a medium such as an SD card mounted on the memory card throttle 39 via the memory card controller block 38. When transferring to a smartphone or the like, wireless communication is performed using the wireless communication unit 41. Wireless communication can be performed using a wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The imaging device 10 has an AE function and performs AE control. In the AE control, the aperture and shutter speed are automatically controlled so that exposure according to the brightness of the subject can be obtained. Specifically, the AE control is performed by calculating the AE value from the average luminance as described above and setting the calculated AE value in the AE register.

  In a conventional imaging apparatus, this AE control is always executed during monitoring. For this reason, it is executed until the time of imaging where AE control is actually required, and power is consumed wastefully. The image pickup apparatus of the present invention is configured to start control at the time of image pickup that actually requires AE control. Thereby, the AE control is not executed until the time of imaging, and wasteful power consumption can be reduced.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram exemplifying a device configuration for realizing it. The imaging apparatus 10 includes an acceleration detection unit 100 that detects acceleration generated in the imaging apparatus 10, an exposure control unit 101 that performs exposure control to obtain a captured image corresponding to the brightness of the subject, and the imaging apparatus 10 based on the detected acceleration. A posture that detects the posture of the camera, determines whether or not the posture is a pre-specified posture, and instructs the exposure control unit 101 to start exposure control when the posture is determined to be the predetermined posture And a determination unit 102.

  The acceleration detection unit 100 is the acceleration sensor 45 shown in FIG. The exposure control unit 101 performs the above AE control. The posture determination unit 102 is realized by the CPU block 31 reading and executing a control program stored in the flash memory 30.

  The posture designated in advance by the posture determination unit 102 may be any posture, but when the imaging device 10 is in a horizontal state when the lens 12 included in the imaging device 10 is arranged in the horizontal direction. It can be the posture of. This is because when holding a camera to take a picture, many people hold the camera in a horizontal state and then enter a shooting operation.

  This horizontal state can be detected from the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit 100. When a three-axis acceleration sensor is used as the acceleration detection unit 100, it is possible to detect two-axis (x-axis, y-axis) acceleration in the horizontal direction and one-axis (z-axis) acceleration in the vertical direction. When the acceleration sensor 45 is mounted in the imaging apparatus 10 and the posture is tilted in the x-axis direction as shown in FIG. 5A, not only in the z-axis direction but also in the x-axis direction as indicated by the arrow line. Even gravitational acceleration is applied. At this time, gravitational acceleration is not applied in the y-axis direction.

  On the other hand, in the case of a horizontal state as shown in FIG. 5 (b), theoretically, gravitational acceleration is not applied in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction, and the z-axis direction as shown by the arrow line. Only gravitational acceleration is applied. By utilizing this, it is possible to detect the horizontal state when the gravitational acceleration is detected only in the z-axis direction. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show the lens barrel unit 11 and a shutter 46 that is pressed during photographing. In FIG. 5 (b), a lens (not shown) in the lens barrel unit 11 is shown. Are arranged in the horizontal direction.

  If it is in a horizontal state, the gravitational acceleration in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction is theoretically 0, so that it can be detected even by using a biaxial acceleration sensor. That is, the state where the gravitational acceleration in any direction of the two axes is zero is a horizontal state.

  However, it is actually difficult to arrange and fix the imaging device 10 in the horizontal direction accurately. Therefore, the gravitational acceleration in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction is rarely zero. Therefore, a threshold value close to 0 is provided for the gravitational acceleration in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. Since this method is an example, other methods may be employed.

  Further, since the present invention is not limited to the horizontal state, the posture when the lens 12 is directed at an arbitrary angle with respect to the horizontal direction and the posture when the lens 12 is directed in the zenith direction are used. It is possible to specify two or more postures. This is because if a three-axis acceleration sensor is used, tilt can also be detected. As described above, since the attitude of the imaging apparatus 10 can be detected by the acceleration sensor 45, it is not necessary to check whether the display unit is in a horizontal state.

  The imaging apparatus 10 can display an image on the display unit of the external device using the wireless communication unit 41 and does not need to check the horizontal state with the display unit, and thus does not include a display unit such as an LCD panel. It's okay. For this reason, the imaging device 10 is easy to operate, can be a simpler device, and can be provided at a low cost.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed in the imaging apparatus 10. In step 600, the imaging apparatus 10 is activated in response to the SW 32 being turned on. In step 605, the processor 20 is activated along with the activation. When the CPU block 31 in the processor 20 is activated, the control program is read from the flash memory 30 and executed.

  In step 610, it is accepted whether the normal shooting mode or the timer shooting mode is selected by the user's selection. Next, in step 615, acceleration generated in the imaging device 10 is detected by the acceleration sensor 45, and the posture of the imaging device 10, for example, whether the imaging device 10 is in a horizontal state is determined from the acceleration.

  If it is determined that the state is not the horizontal state, this determination is repeated in step 615 until it is determined that the state is horizontal. If it is determined that the state is horizontal, the process proceeds to step 620 to start AE control. In other words, the aperture and shutter speed are automatically controlled so that exposure according to the brightness of the subject is obtained.

  The diaphragm is a mechanism that adjusts the amount of light passing through the optical system such as the lens 12. The shutter speed is the speed at which the shutter can be released. These are used as an index for adjusting the amount of light hitting the image sensor and determining the brightness of the photograph.

  In step 625, it is determined whether the mode accepted in step 610 is the timer shooting mode. If so, proceed to step 630 to start the timer. Otherwise, go directly to step 635. In step 635, in the case of timer shooting, the shutter is pressed after a lapse of a certain time, and in response to the pressing, the imaging operation is started. In normal shooting, the imaging operation is started in response to the shutter button being pressed. To do.

  When shooting is completed, AE control is stopped in step 640, and it is determined in step 645 whether SW32 is ON. When the photographing is finished and the SW 32 is turned off, the process proceeds to step 650, and this process executed by the imaging device 10 is finished. On the other hand, if the SW 32 remains ON, there are other objects to be photographed, so that the process returns to step 615 to determine again whether or not the camera is in the horizontal state.

  Thus, in the present invention, since the AE control is not started unless the imaging device 10 is in a fixed posture, it is possible to reduce wasteful power consumption as compared with the conventional imaging device that always performs the AE control. . Further, since the AE control is started when the camera is held for taking a picture, waste of power can be more effectively reduced. Furthermore, since the posture of the imaging device 10 can be detected only by the acceleration sensor and the AE control can be started, a display unit is not necessary, and a simple and inexpensive device can be provided.

  The present invention has been described with the above-described embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art will conceive other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like. It can be changed within the range that can be performed, and any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the operation and effect of the present invention are exhibited. Therefore, the present invention can provide a recording medium on which the program is recorded, in addition to the above-described imaging device, a control method and a control program executed by the imaging device. The control program is stored in a server device connected to a network, and can be provided through a wireless or wired network in response to a request from the imaging device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Imaging device, 11 ... Lens barrel unit, 12 ... Lens, 13 ... Imaging element, 20 ... Processor, 21 ... ISP, 22 ... DMAC, 23 ... ARB memory controller, 24 ... Distortion correction composition part, 25 ... SDRAM, 26 ... Image processing block, 27 ... Image data transfer unit, 28 ... SDRAM controller, 29 ... SDRAM, 30 ... Flash memory, 31 ... CPU block, 32 ... SW, 33 ... USB block, 34 ... Serial block SPI, 35 ... JPEGCODE block 36 ... H. H.264 codec block, 37 ... RESIZE block, 38 ... memory card controller block, 39 ... memory card throttle, 40 ... USB connector, 41 ... wireless communication unit, 42 ... audio unit, 43 ... microphone, 44 ... speaker, 45 ... acceleration sensor, 46 ... Shutter, 50 ... OB correction unit, 51 ... Defective pixel correction unit, 52 ... Linear correction unit, 53 ... Shading correction unit, 54 ... Area division averaging unit, 55 ... WB processing unit, 56 ... Gamma correction unit, 57 ... Bayer interpolation unit, 58 ... YUV conversion unit, 59 ... YCFLT processing unit, 60 ... color correction unit, 100 ... acceleration detection unit, 101 ... exposure control unit, 102 ... attitude determination unit

JP 2010-268112 A JP 2006-337689 A JP 2009-015184 A

Claims (8)

An imaging device for imaging a subject,
An acceleration detector that detects acceleration generated in the imaging device;
An exposure control unit that performs exposure control to obtain a captured image according to the brightness of the subject;
When the posture of the imaging device is detected from the detected acceleration, it is determined whether or not the posture is a predetermined posture, and when it is determined that the posture is the designated posture, the exposure control unit An imaging apparatus including an attitude determination unit that instructs and starts the exposure control.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designated attitude is an attitude when the imaging apparatus is in a horizontal state when a lens included in the imaging apparatus is arranged in a horizontal direction.   When the acceleration detection unit detects acceleration in three axis directions and detects only gravitational acceleration in the vertical direction of the three axis directions, the posture determination unit determines the posture of the imaging device, The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the imaging device detects the posture in the horizontal state.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device does not include a display unit for displaying an image of the subject. A control method executed by an imaging device for imaging a subject, wherein the imaging device obtains an acceleration detection unit that detects acceleration generated in the imaging device and a captured image corresponding to the brightness of the subject And an exposure control unit that performs exposure control.
Detecting the posture of the imaging device from the acceleration detected by the acceleration detector;
Determining whether the detected posture is a pre-designated posture;
And a step of instructing the exposure control unit to start the exposure control when it is determined that the posture is designated.   The control method according to claim 5, wherein the designated posture is a posture when the imaging device is in a horizontal state when a lens included in the imaging device is disposed in a horizontal direction.   The acceleration detection unit detects acceleration in three axis directions, and when only the gravitational acceleration in the vertical direction of the three axis directions is detected, in the detecting step, the posture of the imaging device is The control method according to claim 6, wherein the control method is detected as an attitude in a horizontal state.   The control program which can be read by the imaging device for performing the control method of any one of Claims 5-7.