JP2015220592A - Imaging apparatus, imaging method, and imaging program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To photograph a still image of good picture quality corresponding a user's photographing operation even when a photograph is taken before or after timing of photography that a photographer intends.SOLUTION: There is provided an imaging method of using an imaging element which photodetects and converts a subject image formed through an optical system into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. Images generated in order based upon the electric signal that the imaging element outputs are displayed successively on a screen. In response to a user's photographing operation, the electric signal that the imaging element having photodetected the subject image outputs is used as a signal of a photographed still image of the subject image and photographed still image information on the subject image is generated based upon the electric signal. For a determined photodetection time subsequent to the output of the electric signal of the photographed still image by the imaging element, the electric signal that the imaging element having photodetected the subject image outputs is used as a signal of an after-photography still image of the subject image, and after-photography still image information on the subject image is generated based upon the electric signal.

Description

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

  In recent years, there are techniques such as a pre-capture technique as a technique for preventing a photographer from missing a photo opportunity in taking a still image with a digital camera. In such a technique, a still image is continuously acquired before and after a shutter operation by a photographer, and desired from a plurality of still images including a still image photographed based on the photographer's intention after photographing is completed. The photographer can select a still image (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Incidentally, in a digital camera, an image sensor called an image sensor is used to obtain a subject image. The imaging element is composed of a plurality of pixels, and the electric charge accumulated in each pixel is sequentially read out at a predetermined timing and output as an electric signal. A subject image is obtained by subjecting the electrical signal to predetermined signal processing and image processing. In the image sensor, if the readout process of the charge from each pixel and the light reception at each pixel are performed in parallel, there will be a time difference in the information of the image obtained from each pixel. Deterioration occurs such as distortion in the image. Therefore, the image sensor is received by a physical or electronic shutter only for a short period of time when the photographer wants to photograph, and an electric signal is obtained during that time to obtain a still image that does not deteriorate as desired by the photographer. A mechanism is used.

JP 2013-179520 A

  For a digital camera that does not use an optical finder, or a smartphone or tablet camera, a subject image formed on an image sensor is displayed on a liquid crystal screen, and the liquid crystal screen is used as a finder. Therefore, in these cameras, since the photographer confirms the composition and focus, it is necessary to continue the display on the liquid crystal finder until the photographer who performs photographing performs a shutter operation.

  However, since the image information to be displayed on the liquid crystal finder is also acquired from the image sensor used for photographing, if light reception of the image sensor is limited by performing a shutter operation, continuous light reception interruption occurs. As a result, the display of the liquid crystal finder becomes unstable. Therefore, conventionally, there has been a problem that a continuous still image must be acquired by a method that does not block received light, and only a low-quality still image can be obtained.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and its purpose is to obtain a still image with good image quality according to the user's shooting operation even when shooting is performed before and after the shooting timing intended by the photographer. An object is to provide an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and an imaging program that enable imaging.

  In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention is based on an imaging element that receives a subject image formed by an optical system, converts the object image into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal, and an electrical signal output from the imaging element. A display unit that continuously displays sequentially generated images, a shutter control unit that determines a light reception time for receiving the image sensor, and a light reception time that is determined by the shutter control unit in response to a user's photographing operation, A shutter operation unit that receives an image sensor and a shutter operation unit that receives a photographing operation of the user, and an electric signal output by the image sensor that is received during the light reception time is a signal of a captured still image of the subject image Based on the electrical signal, the captured still image information of the subject image is generated, and the output of the electrical signal of the captured still image of the image sensor is received by the shutter control unit. An imaging processing unit that generates an electrical signal output by the imaging device that has received light for a period of time as a signal of a still image after shooting of the subject image, and generates post-shooting still image information of the subject image based on the electrical signal; It is an imaging device characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, even when shooting is performed before and after the shooting timing intended by the photographer, it is possible to capture a still image with good image quality according to the user's shooting operation.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the imaging process in the embodiment. It is a figure explaining the outline of the imaging process in the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The imaging device 1 is, for example, a camera configured with an image sensor or an application program built in a smartphone, and includes an optical system unit 10, a shutter control unit 11, an imaging element 12, a shutter operation unit 13, an input unit 14, and a display unit. 15, a storage unit 16, and an imaging processing unit 20. The optical system unit 10 receives incident light indicated by a broken line and forms, for example, a subject image of the subject H on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12. Further, the optical system unit 10 receives a drive signal from the control unit 24, moves the position of the lens, and thereby performs an autofocus process for automatically focusing the subject image. Note that focusing by the optical system unit 10 is not limited to autofocusing, and may be performed manually. In addition, the optical system unit 10 may not be an integral configuration in the imaging apparatus 1 but may be detachable.

  The shutter control unit 11 is a physical or electronic shutter, and drives the shutter according to a shutter speed predetermined by the control unit 24, that is, a light reception time for the image sensor 12 to receive light. By driving the shutter, first, the incident light to the image sensor 12 is blocked, and then the image sensor 12 is received by releasing the blocking of the incident light. A series of shutter operations for blocking incident light to the image sensor 12 is performed. In addition, the shutter control unit 11 performs the above-described shutter operation in response to a shooting start signal input from the shutter operation unit 13 or the control unit 24. In the case of an electronic shutter, since shutter processing is performed by applying a voltage to the image sensor 12, the shutter control unit 11 and the image sensor 12 may be configured integrally. Further, in the case of an electronic shutter, the series of shutter operations described above are performed at the ON and OFF timings of applying the drive voltage to the image sensor 12, and as an example, in the case of the image sensor 12 receiving light in the ON state, It is performed by changing from the OFF state to the ON state, and turning OFF after the light receiving time has elapsed from the ON state.

  The image sensor 12 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary MOS) image sensor, and receives incident light including a subject image formed by the optical system unit 10 by a plurality of pixels. The image sensor 12 photoelectrically converts the light received by each pixel, accumulates it as a charge for each pixel, converts the received light into an electrical signal by reading the charge from each pixel, and outputs it. Since the image pickup device 12 sequentially reads out charges from each pixel, if the image pickup device 12 continues to receive light, a time difference occurs in the image information indicated by the charge accumulated for each pixel. For this reason, when acquiring a still image with little deterioration such as distortion, charges corresponding to a short period of incident light are accumulated in each pixel by the above shutter operation. Upon receiving a user operation, the shutter operation unit 13 outputs a shooting start signal to the shutter control unit 11 and the control unit 24. The input unit 14 responds to user operations other than those performed by the shutter operation unit 13, such as activation of camera application software, enlargement / reduction of images displayed on the liquid crystal screen, selection of white balance, and the like. To the control unit 24. A touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 15 may be applied as the shutter operation unit 13 and the input unit 14.

  The imaging processing unit 20 includes a signal processing unit 21, an image processing unit 22, a memory 23, and a control unit 24. The signal processing unit 21 performs quantization, for example, AD (Analog Digital) conversion, on the electrical signal output from the image sensor 12. The image processing unit 22 generates an RGB image from the signal quantized by the signal processing unit 21, performs image processing for adjusting brightness, contrast, and the like, and outputs an image signal. The memory 23 is a temporary storage area such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), for example, and temporarily stores an image signal output from the image processing unit 22. The display unit 15 is a liquid crystal screen of a smartphone, for example, and sequentially reads and displays image signals stored in the memory 23.

  The control unit 24 outputs signals to the optical system unit 10, the shutter control unit 11, the image sensor 12, and the like, settings related to shooting conditions such as autofocus, exposure, and shutter speed, shooting before shooting operation, and after shooting operation. Instruct the start of shooting. In addition, the control unit 24 receives settings related to image processing such as selection of white balance set by the user's operation of the input unit 14, and the signal processing unit 21 and the image processing unit 22 of the imaging processing unit 20 It also inputs parameters corresponding to user settings. In addition, when a still image is shot, the control unit 24 generates still image information from an image signal corresponding to the shot still image stored in the memory 23, and writes and stores the still image information in the storage unit 16. The storage unit 16 is, for example, a recording medium such as a removable memory card.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a photographing process by the imaging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the imaging process. Hereinafter, the imaging process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. First, when a user who performs shooting operates the input unit 14, the input unit 14 outputs an activation instruction signal to the control unit 24. Upon receiving the activation instruction signal, the control unit 24 activates the imaging device 12, the signal processing unit 21 of the imaging processing unit 20, the image processing unit 22, the memory 23, and the display unit 15. The image of the shutter button corresponding to 13 is displayed. Thereby, the imaging apparatus 1 is activated (step S1).

  In the activated state, the shutter is not in a state of blocking incident light, but an object image is formed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12 by the optical system unit 10 and the image sensor 12 receives light. The image sensor 12 converts incident light including the received subject image into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the signal processing unit 21. The signal processing unit 21 performs processing such as quantization on the electric signal and outputs the result to the image processing unit 22. The image processing unit 22 generates an RGB image from the signal output from the signal processing unit 21 and writes it in the memory 23. The display unit 15 reads the image signal written in the memory 23 and displays it on the liquid crystal screen. By these processes, the image formed through the optical system unit 10 is repeatedly displayed on the display unit 15 at intervals at which the image sensor 12 outputs an electrical signal. The control unit 24 performs autofocus based on the image signal written in the memory 23 and outputs a signal for driving the optical system unit 10 to the optical system unit 10 until focusing is achieved. If the control unit 24 determines that the focus is achieved based on the image signal stored in the memory 23, the control unit 24 starts shooting before the shooting operation (step S2).

  The photographing before the photographing operation is performed without controlling the light reception by the shutter, that is, without blocking the incident light. The image sensor 12 receives light and outputs an electric signal, and the electric signal is processed by the signal processing unit 21 and the image processing unit 22 and written in the memory 23 as an image signal (step S3). The control unit 24 reads an image signal corresponding to one still image from the memory 23, generates still image information, and writes the still image information as pre-photographing still image information in the storage unit 16 (step S4). The control unit 24 determines whether or not the interruption by the shutter operation, that is, whether or not the shutter operation unit 13 has been operated by the user. When the control unit 24 determines that the shutter operation unit 13 has not been operated, the processing of steps S3 and S4, that is, generation of still image information before shooting, and writing of the generated still image information before shooting to the storage unit 16 are performed. Is repeated (step S5: No). As a result, pre-photographing still image information in which light reception control is not performed in the pre-shutter storage period from the start of photographing shown in FIG. 3 to the shutter operation by the photographer is obtained. On the other hand, since the light receiving is not blocked in the image sensor 12, a continuous image signal is written in the memory 23, a continuous image is stably displayed on the display unit 15, and the user is stable. A finder operation can be performed based on the image.

  When the shutter operation unit 13 is operated by the user, the shutter operation unit 13 outputs a shooting start signal to the shutter control unit 11 and the control unit 24. When receiving the shooting start signal from the shutter operation unit 13, the control unit 24 determines that the shutter operation unit 13 has been operated by the user (step S <b> 5: Yes). When the shutter control unit 11 receives a photographing start signal from the shutter operation unit 13, the shutter operation described above, that is, the blocking of incident light to the image sensor 12, the opening of the blocking, and the blocking again after the light receiving time has elapsed from the time of opening. A series of shutter operations are performed. During this light reception time, the image sensor 12 that has received the light outputs an electrical signal, which is processed by the signal processing unit 21 and the image processing unit 22 and written in the memory 23 as an image signal (step S6). The control unit 24 generates still image information from the image signal written in the memory 23, and writes it into the storage unit 16 as photographed still image information (step S7). This captured still image information corresponds to a still image that is operated by the photographer immediately after the shutter operation by the photographer shown in FIG. During steps S6 and S7, an image that becomes slightly unstable is displayed on the display unit 15 by the light reception control. However, since the display of the image is continued, the user refers to the liquid crystal finder. The operation can be performed.

  Subsequently, the control unit 24 outputs a shooting start signal to the shutter control unit 11, and a shutter operation is performed by the shutter control unit 11. During the light reception time by the shutter operation, the image sensor 12 that receives light receives an electrical signal. The electric signal is output, processed by the signal processing unit 21 and the image processing unit 22, and written in the memory 23 as an image signal (step S8). The control unit 24 generates still image information from the image signal written in the memory 23, and writes the still image information as post-shooting still image information in the storage unit 16 (step S9). During steps S8 and S9, an image that becomes slightly unstable is displayed on the display unit 15 by the light reception control. However, since the display of the image is continued, the user refers to the liquid crystal finder. The operation can be performed. The control unit 24 measures whether or not a certain time has passed by a timekeeping means such as an internal clock, and when it is determined that the certain time has not elapsed, the processing of steps S8 and S9 is repeated, and the certain time has elapsed. If it is determined, the process is terminated (step S10). As a result, post-photographing still image information is obtained for each shutter operation by the imaging apparatus of FIG.

  With the configuration of the above-described embodiment, before the shutter operation by the user, the image sensor 12 acquires a continuous subject image and the shutter operation is not performed. Therefore, the display unit 15 displays the continuous subject image. Images are displayed stably. Accordingly, since the viewfinder display is not affected, a still image can be obtained without missing the photo opportunity existing before the photographing operation while adjusting the focus and determining the magnification and composition. On the other hand, after the shutter operation by the user, in order not to miss the shutter chance that exists after the shooting operation, continuous shooting is performed, and further, continuous shooting is performed with light reception control by the shutter operation, so that stillness with good image quality is achieved. Image information can be obtained. In this case, the display of the liquid crystal finder is affected by the light reception control and the image display becomes unstable. For example, when shooting a moving subject, the focus and shutter speed are already set by the user. Since it is determined by shooting by operation, even a somewhat unstable display is sufficient to track the movement. Therefore, even when shooting is performed before and after the shooting timing intended by the photographer, it is possible to capture a still image with good image quality according to the user's shooting operation.

  In the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the shutter speed, that is, the light receiving time of the image sensor 12 is a value set in advance in a storage area in the control unit 24 or a shutter speed value obtained by automatic exposure. You may make it set to the control part 11, and you may make it a user operate the input part 14 and set manually. In addition, the light reception time in the case of shooting by the user's operation in step S6 and the light reception time in the case of shooting after the shooting operation performed by the control unit 24 in step S8 may be the same, or the control unit for each shooting. 24 may be set. Further, the auto focus may be repeatedly performed every time the process of step S8 is performed, or the focus state of step S6 is fixed, and the shooting of step 8 is repeatedly performed. Also good.

  In the configuration of the above embodiment, the shooting after the shooting operation with the light receiving control by the control unit 24 in steps S8 and S9 is performed until a predetermined time elapses, but is repeatedly performed a predetermined number of times. You may do it. Moreover, although the fixed time in step S10 assumes about 1 second, it is not restricted to this value. In the case of autofocus, the processes in steps S8 and S9 may be stopped when the focus is lost, or the processes in steps S8 and S9 may be performed as they are when the focus is lost. . Moreover, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, although it complete | finishes after progressing for a fixed time by step S10, you may be the process which returns to step S2.

  In the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the start of shooting before shooting in step S2 is set to a focused timing. However, the timing is not limited to this, and may be started immediately after the start of step S1. In the case of a compact digital camera, it may be started when the shutter is half-pressed, or when the camera is focused in the half-pressed state. Further, the pre-shooting still image information obtained in steps S3 and S4 may have a storage time. For example, when a storage period of 1 second is determined in advance, the control unit 24 sets the storage period to 1. The pre-photographing still image information exceeding the second is sequentially deleted from the storage unit 16.

FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the imaging apparatus 1 of the present invention. The device 100 is a device corresponding to the imaging device 1. The apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101, a drive unit 102, a storage medium 103, an input unit 104, an output unit 105, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 106, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 107, and an auxiliary storage unit 108. And a communication unit 109. The CPU 101, the drive unit 102, the input unit 104, the output unit 105, the ROM 106, the RAM 107, the auxiliary storage unit 108, and the communication unit 109 are connected to each other via a bus B (bus line). The CPU 101 reads out and executes a program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 108 and various data stored in the ROM 106 and the RAM 107 to control the apparatus 100. Further, the CPU 101 reads out and executes various data stored in the storage medium 103 via the drive unit 102 and controls the apparatus 100. The storage medium 102 is a portable storage medium such as a magneto-optical disk, a flexible disk, or a flash memory, and stores various data. The drive unit 102 is a reading device for a storage medium 103 such as an optical disk drive or a flexible disk drive. The input unit 104 is an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel. The output unit 105 is an output device such as a display unit or a speaker. ROM 106 and RAM 107 temporarily store various data. The auxiliary storage unit 108 is a hard disk drive, a flash memory, or the like, and stores programs and various data for operating the functional units of the device 100 described above. The communication unit 109 has a communication interface and is connected to a communication network by wire or wireless.

You may make it implement | achieve the imaging device 1 in embodiment mentioned above with a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. 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 inside a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case may be included and a program held for a certain period of time. Further, the program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-described functions, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system. You may implement | achieve using programmable logic devices, such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device, 10 ... Optical system part, 11 ... Shutter control part, 12 ... Imaging device, 13 ... Shutter operation part, 14 ... Input part, 15 ... Display 16, storage unit 20, imaging processing unit 21, signal processing unit 22, image processing unit 23, memory 24, control unit

Claims (5)

An image sensor that receives a subject image formed by an optical system, converts the image into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal;
A display unit that continuously displays images sequentially generated based on electrical signals output by the imaging device;
A shutter control unit for determining a light receiving time for receiving the image sensor;
In response to a user's shooting operation, the shutter operation unit is configured to receive the light reception time determined by the shutter control unit, and to cause the image sensor to receive light.
The shutter operation unit receives a photographing operation of the user, and an electric signal output by the imaging element that is received during the light receiving time is used as a signal of a photographic still image of the subject image, and the subject based on the electric signal The image capturing still image information of the image is generated, and after the output of the electrical signal of the captured still image of the image sensor, the electrical signal output by the image sensor that is received during the light receiving time determined by the shutter control unit is generated. An imaging processing unit that generates a still image signal after capturing the subject image based on the electrical signal, and a still image signal after capturing the subject image;
An imaging apparatus comprising: The imaging processing unit
Before the shutter operation unit receives the user's photographing operation, an electric signal received and output by the imaging device is used as a still image signal before photographing the subject image, and the subject image is photographed based on the electric signal. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein front still image information is generated. A storage unit,
The imaging processing unit
While the pre-shooting still image signal is output, the pre-shooting still image information of the subject image is repeatedly generated based on the electrical signal, and the pre-shooting still image is written to the storage unit,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pre-photographing still image that exceeds a predetermined storage period is deleted from the storage unit. An imaging method using an imaging device that receives a subject image formed by an optical system, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal.
Continuously displaying images sequentially generated based on the electrical signal output by the image sensor on the screen,
In response to a user's shooting operation, an electric signal output from the image sensor that has received light for a predetermined light receiving time is used as a signal of a photographic still image of the subject image, and the photographic still image of the subject image is based on the electric signal. Generate information,
Following the output of the electrical signal of the captured still image of the image sensor, the electrical signal output by the image sensor that has received light for a predetermined light reception time is used as a still image signal after capturing the subject image, and the electrical signal A still image information after shooting of the subject image is generated based on the method. To a computer having an image sensor that receives an object image formed by an optical system, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it.
A procedure for continuously displaying images sequentially generated on the screen based on electrical signals output by the image sensor;
In response to a user's shooting operation, an electric signal output from the image sensor that has received light for a predetermined light receiving time is used as a signal of a photographic still image of the subject image, and the photographic still image of the subject image is based on the electric signal. Procedures for generating information,
Following the output of the electrical signal of the captured still image of the image sensor, the electrical signal output by the image sensor that has received light for a predetermined light reception time is used as a still image signal after capturing the subject image, and the electrical signal Generating still image information after photographing the subject image based on
An imaging program for executing

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