JP2014116687A - Imaging apparatus, imaging method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus which enables a user to easily grasp a method to operate a zooming function.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus comprises: an imaging unit with the zooming function; a subject detecting unit which detects a predetermined subject from an image captured by the imaging unit and calculates the size of the detected subject in the image; a determination unit which uses the detected size to determine whether to notify a user of a method for zooming operation; and a notification unit which, when the determination unit determines to perform the notification, notifies the user of the method for zooming operation.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program.

  Zoom operations on devices specializing in photography, such as compact digital cameras and digital single-lens reflex cameras, are generally performed using the zoom ring operation mounted on the lens, or the zoom operation lever such as the Wide / Tele key or arrow keys. Most do. However, in devices equipped with touch panels, such as portable music terminals and mobile phones, pinch on the touch panel (pinch or open with two fingers), flick (slide in one direction with one finger), or touch panel Many zoom operations are performed using the zoom button (zoom bar) displayed above.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an imaging apparatus that recognizes a subject in a photographed image and displays a photographing guide for assisting determination of a composition at the time of photographing according to the recognition result of the subject. As this photographing guide, Patent Document 1 discloses a horizontal auxiliary line to be superimposed on a camera image, a warning to the user that the composition is unfavorable by judging whether the composition is right or wrong.

JP 2009-290635 A

  However, as in Non-Patent Document 1, in an imaging apparatus that displays a shooting guide that assists in determining the composition, how to operate the zoom function on the touch panel like the above-described device equipped with the touch panel. There is a problem that it is difficult for the user to know whether the zoom function can be operated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program that allow a user to easily grasp an operation method of a zoom function.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one aspect of the present invention is to detect a predetermined subject from an imaging unit with a zoom function and an image captured by the imaging unit, and detect the subject. A subject detection unit that calculates the size of the image in the image, a determination unit that determines whether or not to notify the user of the zoom operation method using the detected size, and when the determination unit determines to notify Is an imaging device including a notification unit that notifies a user of a zoom operation method.

  According to the present invention, the user can easily grasp the operation method of the zoom function.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the imaging | photography process of the imaging device 10 by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows example V1 of the camera view which the display part 15 by the same embodiment displays. It is a figure which shows example V2 of the camera view which the display part 15 by the same embodiment displays. It is a figure which shows example V3 of the camera view which the display part 15 in 2nd Embodiment of this invention displays.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an imaging apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The imaging device 10 in the present embodiment is, for example, a smartphone with a camera. The imaging device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a camera unit 11, a camera image sorting unit 12, an object detection unit 13, a control unit 14, a display unit 15, an operation unit 16, and a captured image storage unit 17.

  The camera unit 11 (imaging unit) includes an imaging device that converts incident light into an image signal, and a lens system that forms an image of the subject on the surface of the imaging device, and captures the subject to generate an image signal. To do. Although the camera unit 11 has a zoom function, the zoom function may be realized by changing the focal length of the lens system, or may be realized by enlarging or reducing an image captured by the image sensor. Good.

  The camera image distribution unit 12 distributes the image signal generated by the camera unit 11 to the object detection unit 13, the display unit 15, and the captured image storage unit 17 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 14. When the shutter button is pressed and imaging is instructed from the control unit 14, the camera image sorting unit 12 inputs an image signal to the captured image storage unit 17 and stores it as a captured image. The camera image sorting unit 12 inputs an image signal to the display unit 15 and the object detection unit 13 when the control unit 14 is not instructed to capture an image.

  The object detection unit 13 (subject detection unit) detects a predetermined object from the image represented by the image signal input from the camera image sorting unit 12, and calculates the size of the object in the image. A known method such as pattern recognition can be used to detect a predetermined object. The object detection unit 13 inputs information indicating the calculated size to the control unit 14. In the present embodiment, a human face is detected as the predetermined object, and the number of pixels of the area detected as the face is calculated as the size.

  The predetermined object to be detected may be any object as long as it is a main subject such as a flower or a car. As the size, the length or width of the detected region may be calculated, or the length between specific parts such as the distance between both eyes may be calculated. Further, when a plurality of predetermined objects are detected, the object detection unit 13 calculates the size of each of the detected plurality of objects, and inputs information indicating the size of the largest one of them to the control unit 14. Alternatively, information indicating the total of these may be input to the control unit 14 as information indicating the size.

  The control unit 14 (determination unit) uses the information indicating the size to determine whether to notify the user of the zoom operation method, and uses the operation instruction information input from the operation unit 16, and the imaging apparatus 10. Perform overall control. Specifically, the control unit 14 determines to notify the user of the zoom operation method when the face size indicated by the information input from the object detection unit 13 is smaller than a preset threshold value, and zooms in. The display of the guide is set on the display unit 15.

  In addition, when the information indicating the size input from the object detection unit 13 is larger than a preset threshold, the control unit 14 determines that the zoom operation method is not notified and hides the zoom guide. Is set on the display unit 15. In addition, when operation instruction information indicating that the shutter button has been pressed is input from the operation unit 16, the control unit 14 instructs the camera image distribution unit 12 to perform imaging. That is, it instructs the camera image sorting unit 12 to input an image signal to the captured image storage unit 17. The control unit 14 also controls the zoom function of the camera unit 11, but detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The display unit 15 (notification unit) includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and generates an image in which the zoom guide instructed by the control unit 14 is superimposed on the image represented by the image signal input from the camera image sorting unit 12. And display as a camera view. The display unit 15 overlaps the zoom guide only when the display of the zoom guide is set by the control unit 14.

  The operation unit 16 includes a touch panel that is disposed so as to cover the display unit 15 and transmits an image displayed on the display unit 15. That is, the operation unit 16 includes a touch panel portion of a display with a touch panel, and the display unit 15 includes a display portion of the display with a touch panel. The operation unit 16 generates operation instruction information based on the contact position detected by the touch panel and the object displayed on the display unit 15 at a position corresponding to the contact position, and inputs the operation instruction information to the control unit 14. For example, if the object displayed on the display unit 15 is a shutter button at a position corresponding to the contact position detected by the touch panel, the operation unit 16 controls operation instruction information indicating that the shutter button has been pressed. Input to section 14.

  The captured image storage unit 17 is a writable memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory, and stores the image signal input from the camera image distribution unit 12. The captured image storage unit 17 may convert the input image signal into an electronic file such as a JPEG (Joint Picture Experts Group) file and store it.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for describing a photographing process of the imaging apparatus 10. When the imaging process is started, for example, when an imaging application is started in the imaging apparatus 10, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the shutter button is pressed (S1). This determination is performed based on whether or not operation instruction information indicating that the shutter button has been pressed is input from the operation unit 16. That is, when the operation instruction information indicating that the shutter button is pressed is input, it is determined that the shutter button is pressed. When the operation instruction information is not input, the shutter button is not pressed. judge.

  When it is determined in step S1 that the shutter button has been pressed (S1-Yes), the control unit 14 instructs the camera image sorting unit 12 to perform imaging. When the camera image distribution unit 12 is instructed to capture an image, the image signal input from the camera unit 11 is input and stored in the captured image storage unit 17 (S2), and the capturing process ends.

  If it is determined in step S1 that the shutter button has not been pressed (S1-No), the control unit 14 does not instruct the camera image distribution unit 12 to perform imaging, so the camera b distribution unit 12 The image signal input from the unit 11 is input to the object detection unit 13 and the display unit 15. The display unit 15 displays the image represented by the input image signal as a camera view (S3). At this time, if the zoom guide display is set by the control unit 14, the display unit 15 displays a camera view in which the zoom guide is superimposed.

  Next, the object detection unit 13 performs face detection processing on the image signal input from the camera image sorting unit 12. If no face is detected by the detection process (S4-No), the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, when a face is detected by the detection process (S4-Yes), the process proceeds to step S5, and the object detection unit 13 inputs information indicating the size of the detected face to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 determines whether or not the magnitude indicated by the input information is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (S5). When the control unit 14 determines that the size indicated by the information is equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold (S5-Yes), the control unit 14 sets the display of the zoom guide on the display unit 15 and returns to step S1.

  In Step S5, when it is determined that the size indicated by the information is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold (S5-No), the control unit 14 determines whether or not the current setting is zoom guide display. (S7). When it is determined that the zoom guide is not displayed (S7-No), the process returns to step S1. Note that it is determined that the zoom guide is not displayed when the setting is not performed or when the zoom guide is not displayed. When it is determined in step S7 that the setting is zoom guide display (S7-Yes), the control unit 14 sets non-display of the zoom guide on the display unit 15 (S8), and then returns to step S1. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example V1 of the camera view displayed on the display unit 15. The camera view V1 illustrated in FIG. 3 is a camera view in which the size of the detected face does not exceed the threshold value and the zoom guide G1 is overlaid. The button SB is a shutter button. The zoom guide G1 is a character string describing the operation method of the zoom function, such as “Pinch the screen with two fingers to zoom in!”. In other words, the zoom guide in this embodiment notifies the user of the zoom operation method by displaying a character string describing the operation method of the zoom function.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example V2 of the camera view displayed by the display unit 15. The camera view V2 illustrated in FIG. 4 is a camera view in which the size of the detected face exceeds the threshold value and the zoom guide is not overlaid. The button SB is a shutter button.

As described above, the imaging apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment detects the size of the main subject (face) in the captured image, and displays the zoom guide if the threshold is not exceeded. When necessary, it is possible to easily grasp the operation method of the zoom function.
Since the zoom guide is displayed only when the size of the main subject does not exceed the threshold, that is, when zoom operation is required, it is always displayed and it is difficult for the user to grasp the camera view. Can be prevented.

[Second Embodiment]
Although the zoom guide in the first embodiment is a character string for notifying the operation method of the zoom function, a case where the zoom guide is an object for zoom operation will be described as a second embodiment. The configuration of the imaging apparatus 10 in the second embodiment is the same as that of the imaging apparatus 10 in FIG. 1, but the zoom guide to be displayed is different.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example V3 of the camera view displayed by the display unit 15 according to the present embodiment. The camera view V3 illustrated in FIG. 5 is a camera view in which the size of the detected face does not exceed the threshold value and the zoom guide G3 is overlaid. The button SB is a shutter button. The zoom guide G3 is a slide object for operating a zoom function that zooms in when sliding to the left and zooms out when sliding to the right.

  As described above, the imaging device 10 according to the present embodiment detects the size of the main subject (face) in the captured image, and displays an object for operating the zoom function unless the threshold is exceeded. The user can easily grasp the operation method of the zoom function when the zoom operation is necessary. Also, as in the first embodiment, the display of the object for operating the zoom function is made when the zoom operation is necessary, so that it is always displayed to prevent the user from having difficulty grasping the camera view. Can do.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the control unit 14 may change the threshold value to be compared with the face size according to the situation. For example, the threshold may be decreased as the number of detected faces increases. Alternatively, the threshold value may be changed according to the composition. For example, when the detected face is in the center of the image, the threshold value is larger than when the detected face is at the edge of the image. For example, the threshold value may be made larger than when the value is set to “0”.

  In the above-described embodiments, the display unit 15 displays the zoom guide so as to overlap the camera view. However, the zoom guide may be displayed in a region different from the display region of the camera view. In that case, when the display unit 15 displays only the camera view, the entire display area of the display unit 15 is set as the display area of the camera view, and when the zoom guide is also displayed, the display area of the display unit 15 is divided. The camera view may be displayed on one of the divided parts and the zoom guide may be displayed on the other.

  1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. Thus, the imaging device 10 may be realized. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

  The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design changes and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

(1) According to one aspect of the present invention, an imaging unit with a zoom function, a subject detection unit that detects a predetermined subject from an image captured by the imaging unit, and calculates a size of the detected subject in the image, A determination unit that determines whether to notify the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size, and a notification unit that notifies the user of the zoom operation method when it is determined that the determination unit notifies It is an imaging device characterized by comprising.

  Thereby, the user can easily grasp the operation method of the zoom function when the zoom operation is necessary.

(2) Another aspect of the present invention is the imaging apparatus according to (1), in which the notification unit includes a display unit with a touch panel and displays an object for zoom operation on the display unit. Thus, the zoom operation method is notified to the user.

(3) Another aspect of the present invention is the imaging apparatus according to (1), in which the notification unit notifies the user of a character string describing an operation method of the zoom function, so that the user can perform a zoom operation. The method is notified.

(4) Another aspect of the present invention is an imaging method in an imaging device with a zoom function, wherein the imaging device detects a predetermined subject from the captured image, and the size of the detected subject in the image A first step of calculating the image, a second step of determining whether or not the imaging device notifies the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size, and the imaging device When it is determined in step 2 that notification is to be made, a third step of notifying the user of the zoom operation method is provided.

(5) According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer of an imaging apparatus with a zoom function detects a predetermined subject from an image captured by the imaging unit, and calculates a size of the detected subject in the image A detection unit, a determination unit that determines whether or not to notify the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size, and a notification unit that notifies the user of the zoom operation method when the determination unit determines to notify It is a program to make it function as.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Imaging device 11 ... Camera part 12 ... Camera image distribution part 13 ... Object detection part 14 ... Control part 15 ... Display part 16 ... Operation part 17 ... Captured image memory | storage part

Claims (5)

An imaging unit with a zoom function;
A subject detection unit that detects a predetermined subject from an image captured by the imaging unit and calculates a size of the detected subject in the image;
A determination unit that determines whether to notify the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size;
An imaging apparatus comprising: a notification unit that notifies a user of a zoom operation method when the determination unit determines to notify.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit includes a display unit with a touch panel, and notifies the user of a zoom operation method by displaying an object for zoom operation on the display unit. .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user of a zoom operation method by notifying the user of a character string describing the operation method of the zoom function. An imaging method in an imaging apparatus with a zoom function,
A first process in which the imaging device detects a predetermined subject from the captured image and calculates a size of the detected subject in the image;
A second step of determining whether or not the imaging device notifies the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size;
An imaging method comprising: a third step of notifying a user of a zoom operation method when the imaging device determines to notify in the second step. The computer of the imaging device with the zoom function,
A subject detection unit that detects a predetermined subject from an image captured by the imaging unit and calculates a size of the detected subject in the image;
A determination unit that determines whether to notify the user of a zoom operation method using the detected size,
A program for functioning as a notification unit for notifying a user of a zoom operation method when the determination unit determines to notify.

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