JP2020010244A - Imaging apparatus and control method for imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus capable of estimating the number or time of high-resolution RAW image data recordable to a recording medium on the basis of low-resolution RAW image data.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus includes imaging means, compression means for compressing first-resolution RAW image data obtained by photographing by the imaging means or second-resolution RAW image data whose resolution is lower than first resolution obtained by photographing by the imaging means, and first remaining amount estimation means for estimating a data size after the compression of the first-resolution RAW image data by the compression means on the basis of a compression result of the second-resolution RAW image data by the compression means and estimating the number or recording time of the first-resolution RAW image data which can be recorded to the recording medium and are compressed on the basis of an available capacity of the recording medium and an estimated data size.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device and a control method of the imaging device.

  2. Description of the Related Art In an imaging apparatus, the number of pixels of an imaging element has increased, and the data amount per image has greatly increased. Therefore, a method of estimating the free space of a storage medium using a fixed size according to an image size in advance is known. In addition, the number of images that can be continuously shot in one second tends to increase due to an increase in the speed of a reading operation or the like. As a result, the amount of individual processing constituting the development processing for a RAW image, such as demosaic processing, noise removal, and optical distortion correction, increases in a synergistic manner. High power processors are needed. Then, as the ratio of the development processing to the processing capacity and power consumption increases, other processing including photographing may be restricted.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a RAW image is recorded without being developed. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the processing amount related to the development at the time of photographing. However, since the image is recorded in an undeveloped state, it is difficult to quickly reproduce and display the image. Further, since the data format of the RAW image differs depending on the manufacturer and the model, it is not always possible to perform development and reproduction on a device different from the device that has taken the image, which may impair the user's convenience.

  As a method of alleviating such a problem, a RAW image is recorded without performing real-time development processing at the time of shooting, and after recording, the development processing is performed when there is a margin for the processing load, and the developed luminance signal is processed. And a method of compressing and encoding the color difference signal. However, when the remaining amount of the recording medium is small, there is a concern that compression-encoded data cannot be written to the recording medium.

  Patent Document 2 discloses that even if the size of data obtained by developing and compressing and encoding a RAW image is not known, a circuit for performing high-speed development processing is not required, and when necessary, it can be easily obtained. An imaging device capable of recording a RAW image in a reproducible manner is disclosed.

JP 2011-244423 A JP-A-2006-005103

  Recent improvements in signal processing technology allow continuous shooting of RAW images at high speed. Such high-speed continuous shooting does not continue indefinitely, but the amount stored in the buffer is the upper limit, so that the continuous shooting time at one time is 2 to 5 seconds. In such a situation, in Patent Literature 2, since the remaining capacity is estimated after acquiring the RAW image, there is a concern that the RAW image accumulated in the buffer cannot be written to the recording medium.

  On the other hand, an imaging device typified by a mirrorless single-lens camera has a configuration in which a live view (LV) image is continuously obtained and displayed on an electronic viewfinder (EVF) screen. An imaging device having a function of continuously displaying an LV image on an EVF screen is also common in a single-lens reflex camera. LV images obtained by these imaging devices have lower resolution than RAW images, and have different ISO values from RAW images. In Patent Literature 2, since the free space is calculated based on the RAW image acquired by shooting, it is impossible to accurately estimate the free space of the storage medium without actually performing the shooting operation.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus and a control method of the imaging apparatus, which can estimate the number or time of high-resolution RAW image data that can be recorded on a recording medium based on low-resolution RAW image data. It is.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes: an imaging unit; RAW image data of a first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit; or a lower resolution than the first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit. Compression means for compressing the RAW image data of the second resolution, and compression of the RAW image data of the first resolution by the compression means based on a compression result of the RAW image data of the second resolution by the compression means. Estimating the data size after compression, and based on the free space of the recording medium and the estimated data size, the number or recording time of the compressed first-resolution RAW image data recordable on the recording medium. And a first remaining amount estimating means for estimating the remaining amount.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to estimate the number or the number of times that high-resolution RAW image data can be recorded on a recording medium, based on low-resolution RAW image data.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an imaging device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a pixel array in an imaging sensor unit. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a still image shooting mode. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a still image file and a RAW file. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in an idle state. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a standby state. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between image data sizes. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between ISO sensitivity and offset. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a standby state. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between an image size and a data size.

(1st Embodiment)
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an imaging device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. These functional blocks may be realized by dedicated hardware such as an ASIC, or may be realized by software by a general-purpose processor such as an MPU executing a program.

  The image capturing apparatus 100 not only records image data obtained by capturing an image of a subject on a recording medium, but also reproduces the image data from the recording medium, develops the image data, and displays the image data. It has a function of transmitting and receiving to and from a server (cloud). Therefore, the imaging device 100 according to the present embodiment can also be expressed as an image processing device, a recording device, a reproducing device, a recording and reproducing device, a communication device, and the like. The imaging device 100 is applicable to a smartphone, a tablet, an industrial camera, a medical camera, and the like, in addition to a digital camera and a video camera.

  The control unit 161 includes a programmable processor such as a CPU and an MPU, and a non-volatile memory that stores a control program executed by the programmable processor, and controls overall processing of the imaging device 100. In FIG. 1, only a part is described to avoid complexity, but a signal line for performing control and communication is connected from the control unit 161 to each functional block. The operation unit 162 includes input devices such as keys, buttons, and a touch panel that are used by a user to give an instruction to the imaging apparatus 100. The operation unit 162 outputs an operation signal. The control unit 161 detects an operation signal of the operation unit 162, and controls other function blocks and the like so that an operation according to the detected operation signal is executed. The display unit 123 displays an image photographed or reproduced by the imaging device 100, a menu screen, various information, and the like provided through the display processing unit 122. The display unit 123 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD).

  A subject image to be imaged is formed on an imaging sensor unit 102 via an imaging optical unit 101. The control unit 161 starts shooting and recording operations in response to an instruction to start shooting from the operation unit 162. Note that the control unit 161 may perform control so as to perform moving image shooting for realizing live view display during shooting standby. The camera control unit 104 operates the imaging optical unit 101 and the imaging sensor unit 102 based on the evaluation value calculation results such as the aperture, focus, and camera shake acquired by the evaluation value calculation unit 105 and the subject information from the recognition unit 131. Control.

  The imaging sensor unit 102 is, for example, a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and converts light transmitted through red, green, and blue (RGB) color filters arranged for each pixel into an electric signal. FIG. 2 is an example of a color filter arranged in the imaging sensor unit 102, and illustrates a pixel array of an image handled by the imaging device 100. As shown in FIG. 2, a red (R) 203, a green (G) 201, and a blue (B) 202 are arranged in a mosaic pattern for each pixel. , Two green pixels as one set. Such an array of color filters is generally called a primary color Bayer array. The imaging sensor unit 102 has an ability to output image data of 8000 pixels horizontally × 4000 pixels vertically at 60 frames per second. The colors and the arrangement of the color filters are not limited to the primary color Bayer arrangement, and any other arrangement can be adopted.

  The sensor signal processing unit 103 performs a pixel restoration process on the electric signal converted by the imaging sensor unit 102. The repair process includes a process of interpolating a pixel to be repaired using a peripheral pixel value or subtracting a predetermined offset value from a value of a missing pixel or a pixel having low reliability in the image sensor unit 102. It is. In the present embodiment, the image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103 is referred to as RAW image data meaning an undeveloped image.

  The developing unit 110 performs a developing process on the RAW image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103. The developing unit 110 has a plurality (two in the present embodiment) of different developing units 111 and 112. The developing units 111 and 112 have different processing accuracy and processing load priority. The developing unit 110 includes a simple developing unit 111 for performing a first developing process, a high-quality developing unit 112 for performing a second developing process, and a switch unit 121 for selecting an output of the developing unit. Both the simple developing unit 111 and the high-quality developing unit 112 perform debayer processing (also called demosaic processing or color interpolation processing), white balance adjustment, RGB → YUV conversion, noise reduction, optical distortion correction, and the like on RAW image data. Is performed. Note that these are examples of the processing included in the development processing, and do not mean that all of them are essential for the development processing. Other processing may be included, or a part may not be included.

  The high image quality developing unit 112 performs each process with higher precision than the simple developing unit 111. The high image quality developing unit 112 has high accuracy, and thus can obtain a developed image with higher image quality than the simple developing unit 111, but on the other hand, increases the processing load. Therefore, the high image quality developing unit 112 of the present embodiment is not specialized for real-time development in parallel with photographing, but has a configuration capable of performing distributed processing over time after photographing. As described above, by performing the high-quality development of the high-quality development unit 112 not after photographing but after taking a long time, it is possible to suppress an increase (peak) in the circuit scale and power consumption to a low level.

  The simple developing unit 111 has a lower processing accuracy than the high image quality developing unit 112, and thus can perform the developing process at high speed during shooting, although the obtained image quality is lower than that of the high image quality developing unit 112. For example, the simple developing unit 111 has a smaller number of taps of a filter used for debayer processing and other correction processing than the high-quality developing unit 112. As described above, the simple developing unit 111 is configured to process image data having a smaller number of pixels than the RAW image data, and to further simplify the processing itself, thereby reducing the processing amount. Since the processing load of the simple developing unit 111 is small, the simple developing unit 111 is used for real-time development in parallel with the photographing operation. The switch unit 121 is switched by the control unit 161 in accordance with the control according to the operation content instructed by the user via the operation unit 162 or the operation mode being executed.

  In this embodiment, the simple developing unit 111 and the high-quality developing unit 112 are independently provided in the developing unit 110. However, one developing unit switches the operation mode to perform the simple developing and the high developing. The image quality development processing may be exclusively performed. Further, the plurality of developing units may have different processing loads, and it is not essential to reduce both the size of the image to be processed and the processing accuracy. For example, a developing unit having the same number of pixels to be processed but different processing accuracy, or a developing unit having the same processing accuracy but different number of pixels to be processed may be included. However, at least one developing unit that can complete the development processing of the captured image before the start of capturing the next image is included.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates that the RAW image data from the sensor signal processing unit 103 is input to the simple developing unit 111 and the high-quality developing unit 112 in the developing unit 110, this is the same as the RAW image data. It does not mean that the development processing is performed on the image data in both the development units. Basically, only one developing unit executes the developing process from the viewpoint of the processing load. Therefore, the switch unit 121 may be provided so as to switch the developing unit to which the RAW image data is input.

  The display processing unit 122 is a display control unit that performs predetermined processing on the image data that has been developed by the developing unit 110 and then displays the image data on the display unit 123. The video output terminal 124 may output the image data developed by the developing unit 110 to a display device connected to the outside. The video output terminal 124 includes a general-purpose interface such as HDMI (registered trademark) or SDI.

  The image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the evaluation value calculating unit 105. The evaluation value calculation unit 105 calculates an evaluation value such as a focus state and an exposure state from the image data. These evaluation values are used for automatic focus detection and automatic exposure control by the camera control unit 104, for example.

  The image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the recognition unit 131. The recognition unit 131 has a function of detecting and recognizing subject information in image data. The recognition unit 131 detects, for example, the face of a person included in the image represented by the image data, and outputs information indicating the position and size of the face when the face is detected. The recognition unit 131 may further perform authentication of a specific person based on feature information such as a face.

  The image data developed by the developing unit 110 is also supplied to the still image compression unit 141 and the moving image compression unit 142. When compressing image data as a still image, the still image compression unit 141 is used. The still image compression unit 141 as an encoding unit encodes still image data according to a known encoding method such as JPEG. When compressing image data as a moving image, the moving image compression unit 142 is used. The moving image compression unit 142 is a 264, H .; The moving image data is encoded according to a known encoding method such as H.265. Each of the still image compression unit 141 and the moving image compression unit 142 performs high-efficiency encoding (compression encoding) on target image data, and generates image data with a reduced amount of information. Further, the still image compression unit 141 and the moving image compression unit 142 notify the recording medium management unit 172 of the data size of the encoded still image data or moving image data.

  The RAW compression unit 113 generates a compressed RAW image data with a reduced data amount by applying a wavelet transform, a difference encoding, or the like to the RAW image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103. The RAW compression unit 113 stores the compressed RAW image data in the buffer unit 115. The buffer unit 115 may be any storage device such as a memory and an HDD. Further, the RAW compression unit 113 notifies the recording medium management unit 172 of the data size of the compressed RAW image data. The compressed RAW image data may be stored in the buffer unit 115, or may be moved to another recording medium after storage and deleted from the buffer unit 115.

  Further, the RAW compression unit 113 generates the compressed live view image data by compressing the low resolution live view image data, and notifies the size estimation unit 171 of the compressed live view image data size. The size estimating unit 171 estimates the data size of the high-resolution compressed RAW image data. The size estimation unit 171 notifies the recording medium management unit 172 of the estimated data size. Further, the size estimating unit 171 can cause the buffer unit 115 to hold the estimated data size, for example. Details of the operation of the size estimating unit 171 will be described later.

  The recording / reproducing unit 151 records the compressed still image data from the still image compressing unit 141 or the compressed moving image data from the moving image compressing unit 142 on the recording medium 152 as a still image file or a moving image file. Further, the recording / reproducing unit 151 records the still image and the moving image in the state of the compressed RAW image data read from the buffer unit 115 on the recording medium 152 as a RAW file. The recording / reproducing unit 151 manages data recorded on the recording medium 152 as a file according to a known file system such as FAT. The recording medium 152 is, for example, a built-in large-capacity memory, a hard disk, or a removable memory card. The recording / reproducing unit 151 can also read out a still image file, a moving image file, and a RAW file (still image, moving image) from the recording medium 152. Further, the recording / reproducing unit 151 can write and read various data files to and from an external storage or server via the communication unit 153. The communication unit 153 provides the imaging device 100 with access to a computer network or an external device through wireless communication or wired communication through the communication terminal 154.

  The recording medium management unit 172 generates management information for managing a recording area of a file recorded on the recording medium 152 by the recording / reproducing unit 151. The recording medium management unit 172 determines the data size of the compressed RAW image data from the RAW compression unit 113, the data size of the encoded still image data from the still image compression unit 141, or the encoded data from the moving image compression unit 142. Enter the data size of the video data. Further, the recording medium management unit 172 inputs the estimated data size from the size estimation unit 171, updates the management information using the data, and manages the recording area of the recording medium 152. Then, the recording medium management unit 172 notifies the recording / reproducing unit 151 of the recording address of each file on the recording medium 152.

  The remaining amount calculating unit 181 is a remaining amount estimating unit. When the management information is updated by the recording medium managing unit 172, the remaining amount calculating unit 181 reads the management information of the recording medium 152 through the recording / reproducing unit 151 and uses the free space of the recording medium 152. To estimate the recordable number or recordable time. Then, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 notifies the display processing unit 122 of the estimated recordable number or recordable time. The details of the processing of the remaining amount calculation unit will be described later. The display processing unit 122 superimposes the image indicating the recordable number or recordable time notified from the remaining amount calculation unit 181 on a live view image or the like and causes the display unit 123 to display the image.

  The recording / reproducing unit 151 acquires and reproduces a desired file from the recording medium 152 or via the communication unit 153. If the file to be played is a RAW file, the recording / playback unit 151 stores the acquired RAW file in the buffer unit 115. If the file to be played is a still image file, the recording / playback unit 151 supplies the obtained still image file to the still image decompression unit 143. If the file to be reproduced is a moving image file, the recording / reproducing unit 151 supplies the obtained moving image file to the moving image expanding unit 144.

  The RAW decompression unit 114 reads a RAW file stored in the buffer unit 115, and decodes and decompresses compressed RAW image data. The RAW image data expanded by the RAW expansion unit 114 is supplied to the simple developing unit 111 and the high image quality developing unit 112 of the developing unit 110.

  The still image decompression unit 143 decodes and decompresses the input still image file, and supplies the decoded still image file to the display processing unit 122 as a reproduced still image. The moving image decompressing unit 144 decodes and decompresses the input moving image file, and supplies it to the display processing unit 122 as a reproduced image of the moving image. The display processing unit 122 processes a still image or a moving image and displays it on the display unit 123.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the imaging device 100 in the still image shooting mode. The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows a procedure of processing realized by the control unit 161 controlling the functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified. Specifically, the processing is realized by expanding a program stored in a nonvolatile memory included in the control unit 161 into a memory (RAM) and executing the program by a CPU.

  In step S301, the control unit 161 determines whether the processing load of the imaging device 100 is lower than a threshold as an idle condition. When the processing load of the imaging device 100 is lower than the threshold, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S320 and transitions to the idle state. If the processing load on the imaging device 100 is not lower than the threshold, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S302. The processing load can be determined according to the operation rate of the CPU included in the control unit 161 or whether a predetermined high-load operation such as a high-speed continuous shooting operation is being performed, but is not limited thereto. . If the processing load is not low enough to make a transition to the idle state, control unit 161 advances the process to step S302. The process of determining whether to transition to the idle state will be described later.

  In step S302, the camera control unit 104 controls operations of the imaging optical unit 101 and the imaging sensor unit 102. For example, the camera control unit 104 moves a zoom lens or a focus lens included in the imaging optical unit 101 in accordance with a user's zoom instruction or a shooting preparation instruction through the operation unit 162, or the imaging sensor unit 102 in accordance with an instruction of the number of imaging pixels. Or setting a read area. Further, the camera control unit 104 implements control such as focusing and tracking for a specific subject based on information on the evaluation value from the evaluation value calculation unit 105 and subject information from the recognition unit 131. In step S302, shooting is performed under shooting conditions corresponding to a predetermined frame cycle.

  In step S303, the sensor signal processing unit 103 performs signal processing for pixel restoration on the electric signal converted by the imaging sensor unit 102. For example, the sensor signal processing unit 103 interpolates the electric signal corresponding to the missing pixel of the image sensor of the image sensor unit 102 or the electric signal of the unreliable pixel using the peripheral pixel value, or performs a predetermined offset. Or subtract a value. In the present embodiment, the image data output from the sensor signal processing unit 103 after the processing of step S303 is referred to as RAW image data.

  In step S304, the camera control unit 104 performs thinning-out reading for live view from the imaging sensor unit 102, and the imaging sensor unit 102 outputs the live view image data to the simple developing unit 111 via the sensor signal processing unit 103. I do. The live view image data is low-resolution RAW image data. The simple developing unit 111 develops live view image data. The control unit 161 controls the state of the switch unit 121 so that the image data developed by the simple development unit 111 is output from the development unit 110 at the latest until the start of step S304.

  The simple development unit 111 performs debayer processing (demosaic processing) on the live view image data to generate a color signal that is insufficient for each pixel, and then converts the color signal into a signal including luminance and color difference (RGB → YUV conversion). ). Further, the simple developing unit 111 removes noise included in each signal, corrects optical distortion (aberration) of the photographing optical unit 101, and adjusts white balance. As described above, the simple development unit 111 performs the development processing after reducing the number of pixels, and performs or eliminates noise removal and optical distortion correction in processing that prioritizes the processing speed, thereby reducing the load (processing) of the development processing. The restriction imposed by the speed and power consumption on the imaging performance of the imaging device 100 is reduced or eliminated. By using the simple developing unit 111, for example, a high-speed continuous shooting speed, a continuous shooting number, and the like, which are impossible when the high-quality developing unit 112 is used, can be realized.

  In step S305, the evaluation value calculation unit 105 inputs the image data developed by the simple development unit 111 via the switch unit 121. The evaluation value calculation unit 105 calculates an evaluation value such as a focus state of the imaging optical unit 101 and an image exposure state from a luminance value, a contrast value, and the like included in the image data by a predetermined method. Note that the evaluation value calculation unit 105 may calculate these evaluation values for the RAW image data before the development processing.

  In step S <b> 306, the recognition unit 131 inputs the image data developed by the simple development unit 111 through the switch unit 121. The recognizing unit 131 generates subject information by applying a process of detecting a subject (for example, a human face) having a predetermined specific characteristic to the image data. For example, the recognition unit 131 outputs the presence or absence of a face in the image data, the position and size of the face, information of an individual recognized based on the face, and the like as subject information.

  In step S307, the display processing unit 122 inputs the live view image data developed by the simple developing unit 111 via the switch unit 121. The display processing unit 122 forms a display image from the acquired live view image data, outputs the display image to an external display device through the display unit 123 or the video output terminal 124, and displays the display image. The display processing unit 122 is a live view display control unit. The display image displayed by the display unit 123 is, for example, a live view image used for a live view display (capturing through image display) for a user to appropriately frame a subject in a shooting standby state. Further, the display processing unit 122 utilizes the evaluation values and the subject information supplied from the evaluation value calculation unit 105 and the recognition unit 131 to form, for example, a frame shape indicating the in-focus area and the position of the recognized face on the display image. May be superimposed.

  In step S308, the control unit 161 determines whether a shooting instruction has been input from the user via the operation unit 162. If a shooting instruction has been input, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S312. If a shooting instruction has not been input, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S330 to transition to a standby state.

  In step S312, the camera control unit 104 controls the imaging optical unit 101 and the imaging sensor unit 102 in response to the shooting instruction to start shooting under predetermined shooting conditions. Here, the operation at the time of shooting a still image will be described. The camera control unit 104 performs normal reading from the imaging sensor unit 102, and the imaging sensor unit 102 converts the high-resolution RAW image data 702 (FIG. 7A) into the RAW compression unit 113 via the sensor signal processing unit 103. Output to The RAW compression unit 113 inputs one screen of RAW image data obtained by photographing by the imaging sensor unit 102 through the sensor signal processing unit 103. The RAW compression unit 113 converts the RAW image data into compressed RAW image data by applying an encoding (RAW compression) process for reducing the data amount. The compressed RAW image data is stored in the buffer unit 115. The encoding of the RAW image data may be any of lossless and irreversible encoding. In the present embodiment, a RAW file that can be restored as a high-quality file is generated without significantly impairing the image information supplied from the sensor signal processing unit 103.

  In step S313, the recording / reproducing unit 151 reads out the compressed RAW image data from the buffer unit 115, and records the RAW file storing the compressed RAW image data on the recording medium 152. Thereafter, the imaging device 100 repeats the processing from step S301.

  In step S313, the recording / reproducing unit 151 may send the RAW file from the communication terminal 154 to the external storage via the communication unit 153, and record the RAW file using the external storage. The control unit 161 controls the processes of steps S312 and S312 as a photographing control unit.

  Here, the case where an instruction to shoot a still image has been given in step S308 has been described, but the same processing can be performed basically when an instruction to take a moving image has been given. First, the processes of steps S301 to S307 are common. Then, in steps S312 to S313, the imaging device 100 performs compression and recording of the RAW moving image data. As for the RAW moving image data, the recording / reproducing unit 151 records data obtained by compressing each RAW image frame in step S312 via the buffer unit 115 in step S313.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a still image file 400. The still image file 400 is a file of still image data compressed by the still image compression unit 141. The still image file 400 has a header section 401, a metadata section 402, and a compressed data section 403. The header section 401 includes an identification code indicating that the file is a still image file. The compressed data section 403 contains compressed data of a still image which has been highly efficient coded.

  The metadata unit 402 includes information (for example, a file in which RAW data that is a source of still image data stored in the compressed data unit 403 is stored) corresponding to the still image file 400. Name) 404 is included. The metadata section 402 includes a development status 405 and shooting metadata 406. The development status 405 is information for determining whether the compressed data stored in the still image file 400 has been simply developed. The shooting metadata 406 includes the evaluation values and subject information obtained by the evaluation value calculation unit 105 and the recognition unit 131, and shooting information (for example, the aperture value, shutter speed, and sensitivity) of the imaging optical unit 101 and the imaging sensor unit 102. , Lens type identification information, sensor type identification information, etc.). Although not shown, the metadata section 402 may further include an identification code of a recording medium on which a RAW file corresponding to the still image file 400 is recorded, path information of a recording destination, and the like. The metadata section 402 is sent from the recording medium management section 172 to the recording / reproduction section 151 and recorded.

  As described above, the imaging device 100 according to the present embodiment uses the simple development unit 111 to perform live view display and development processing for a still image file generated in response to a shooting start instruction. Further, the imaging device 100 according to the present embodiment records a RAW file in response to a shooting start instruction. No development processing is required to record a RAW file.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the RAW file 410. The RAW file 410 is recorded by the recording / reproducing unit 151, for example, in a predetermined recording area of the recording medium 152. The RAW file 410 has a header section 411, a metadata section 412, and a compressed data section 413. The header section 411 includes an identification code indicating that the file is in a RAW file format. The compressed data section 413 contains compressed RAW image data of a still image that has been encoded with high efficiency.

  The metadata section 412 includes information (for example, a file name) 414 that specifies a still image file corresponding to the RAW file 410. The metadata section 412 also includes a development status 415 for determining whether the compressed data stored in the still image file corresponding to the RAW file 410 has been simply developed. The metadata section 412 includes shooting metadata 416 similar to the shooting metadata 406.

  Although not shown, the metadata unit 412 may further include an identification code of a recording medium on which a still image file corresponding to the RAW file 410 is recorded, path information of a recorded folder, and the like. . Alternatively, the still image file itself corresponding to the RAW file 410 may be converted into metadata and stored in the metadata unit 412. The metadata section 412 is sent from the recording medium management section 172 to the recording / reproduction section 151 and recorded.

  It should be noted that the file structure shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and described here is merely an example, and may have a configuration conforming to another standard such as EXIF. Further, the file recording on the recording medium 152 can be performed by a file system according to DCF, for example.

  Next, the post-development process in the present embodiment will be described. The post-development process is a process of generating high-quality still image / moving image data from the RAW image data after completing the recording operation of the RAW image data and the simple still image / moving image data at the time of shooting. Specifically, first, the high image quality developing unit 112 reads the RAW image data recorded in the buffer unit 115 or the recording medium 152 or the like through the recording / reproducing unit 151 or the like, and develops the RAW image data. Then, the still image compression unit 141 or the moving image compression unit 142 performs high-quality encoding on the image data that has been developed by the high-quality developing unit 112, and performs high-quality encoded image data (second encoding). Image data). In the present embodiment, post-development processing can be performed on still image and moving image RAW image data, but a still image will be described below as an example.

  As described above, since the simple still image data is developed after being processed by the simple developing unit 111, the number of pixels is small or the image quality is lower than when the high-quality developing unit 112 performs the developing process. Inferior. Even if the simple still image data is of sufficient quality to roughly confirm the shooting content immediately after shooting or to display it on a display device with a small number of pixels such as the display unit 123 of the imaging device 100, The quality may not be sufficient to confirm details or print out.

  Of course, the user may instruct the high-quality development processing of the RAW image data as necessary, but it takes time and effort. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the post-development process is automatically executed when the imaging device 100 is in the idle state. The idle state is a state in which the processing load of the image capturing apparatus 100 is determined to be lower than the threshold, such as a standby state for shooting, a standby state for reproducing a still image, and a sleep state, as in step S301. The post-development process may be started not only automatically but also in accordance with an instruction from the user.

  There is no particular limitation on the method of determining whether the imaging apparatus 100 is in the idle state, and any method such as a general processing load measurement method can be used. For example, depending on whether the operation rate of the CPU included in the control unit 161 is less than a predetermined threshold, or whether a predetermined high-load operation such as a high-speed continuous shooting operation or a recording / reproducing process is performed. Can be determined. Alternatively, if an operation mode that basically generates only a low-load process is selected, the operation mode may be unconditionally regarded as an idle state.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the imaging apparatus 100 in an idle state, and shows an idle process performed in step S320 of FIG. Note that the idle process is executed not only in the still image shooting mode but also in the case where it is determined to be in the idle state in another operation mode.

  In step S501, the control unit 161 determines whether or not to perform the post-development processing based on the setting of the user. When the post-developing process is not to be performed, the control unit 161 ends the idle process and returns to the original process, and when performing the post-developing process, the process proceeds to step S520.

  In step S520, the control unit 161 determines whether a high-quality still image file has been recorded by post-development processing (whether or not post-development processing has been performed) for each RAW file recorded on the recording medium 152. . For example, the control unit 161 refers to the development status 415 in the RAW file 410, and if the control unit 161 includes information indicating that the still image file corresponding to the RAW file 410 has been processed by the simple development unit 111, the RAW file It is determined that the post-development process has not been performed. Alternatively, the control unit 161 searches the recording medium 152 for a still image file having the still image file name 414 included in the metadata unit 412 of the RAW file 410. This is based on the fact that, when the image is shot in the still image shooting mode, the still image file and the RAW file are recorded one by one in the recording medium 152 in association with one shooting start instruction. . Then, the control unit 161 refers to the development status 405 stored in the metadata unit 402 of the found still image file 400 and, if the information indicating that the processing has been performed by the simple development unit 111 is included, the RAW file 410, it is determined that the post-development process has not been performed. Alternatively, the control unit 161 may separately prepare a table indicating whether or not post-development processing is to be performed for a series of still images, and make a determination with reference to this table.

  If all of the RAW files 410 recorded on the recording medium 152 have been post-developed, the control unit 161 ends the idle processing and returns to the original processing. On the other hand, when the RAW file 410 recorded on the recording medium 152 has not been subjected to post-development processing, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S521.

  In step S521, the control unit 161 determines whether or not the compressed RAW image data corresponding to the RAW file that has not been subjected to post-development processing and that is recorded on the recording medium 152 is also stored in the buffer unit 115. I do. When the RAW file is not stored in the buffer unit 115, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S522. When the RAW file is stored in the buffer unit 115, the control unit 161 proceeds to step S523.

  The buffer unit 115 holds a predetermined number of RAW files from the most recently shot. Therefore, if the RAW file to be subjected to the post-development process is included in a predetermined number of the RAW files recorded on the recording medium 152 from the most recently photographed, the buffer unit It can be seen that it is stored in 115. The control unit 161 acquires the information of the RAW file at the time of recording from the recording / reproducing unit 151, and determines the correspondence between the RAW file stored in the buffer unit 115 and the RAW file recorded on the recording medium 152. You may save it.

  When the post-developing process is not performed and there are a plurality of RAW files not in the buffer unit 115, the control unit 161 may read out the RAW files one by one and perform the post-developing process. Alternatively, the control unit 161 may collectively read an arbitrary number of RAW files within a range that can be stored in the buffer unit 115.

  When reading the RAW file from the recording medium 152, the control unit 161 reads the RAW file from the oldest one and stores it in the buffer unit 115. Then, when the storage area of the buffer unit 115 is full, the control unit 161 deletes the oldest compressed RAW image data from the buffer unit 115 and newly shoots the compressed RAW image data or reads the compressed RAW image data read from the recording medium 152. The image data is stored in the buffer unit 115. By doing so, the compressed RAW image data shot immediately before is always stored in the buffer unit 115, so that step S522 can be skipped and high-speed processing can be performed. Furthermore, if the post-development processing is executed with the time taken backward from the image shot immediately before, the processing can be preferentially completed from the image held in the buffer unit 115, so that the processing efficiency can be improved. .

  In step S522, the control unit 161 reads the RAW file from the recording medium 152, stores the RAW file in the buffer unit 115, and proceeds to step S523. In step S523, the control unit 161 supplies the compressed RAW image data to be subjected to the post-development processing stored in the buffer unit 115 to the RAW decompression unit 114. When the compressed RAW image data is stored in the buffer unit 115, the RAW decompression unit 114 decompresses the compressed RAW image data to restore and output the RAW image data. On the other hand, when the RAW image data is stored in the buffer unit 115, the RAW decompression unit 114 outputs the RAW image data as it is. When the RAW compression unit 113 records identifiable information, for example, at the beginning of the compressed RAW image data at the time of compression, the RAW decompression unit 114 determines whether the data is compressed RAW image data or RAW image data. can do.

  In step S524, the developing unit 110 inputs the RAW image data output from the RAW decompression unit 114. The control unit 161 controls the developing unit 110 so that the high-quality developing unit 112 performs the developing process and the simple developing unit 111 does not perform the developing process during the post-developing process. The high-quality developing unit 112 applies a developing process to the RAW image data to obtain a higher-quality image than the simple developing unit 111. In the present embodiment, the high image quality developing unit 112 does not reduce the number of pixels of the RAW image data, and also increases the quality (accuracy, number of processes, and the like) of the developing process to be applied, as compared with the simple developing unit 111. It should be noted that the high-quality developing unit 112 is not limited to specific contents of the developing process as long as it performs image processing capable of obtaining a higher-quality image than the simple developing unit 111. For example, the high image quality developing unit 112 may make the content of the developing process equal to the simple developing unit 111 and increase the number of pixels of the image, or similarly reduce the number of pixels of the image. Quality may be increased.

  The high image quality developing unit 112 performs a debayer process (demosaicing process) on the RAW image data, converts the RAW image data into a signal including luminance and color difference, removes noise included in each signal, corrects optical distortion, and processes the image. A so-called development process such as optimization is performed. The number of pixels of the developed image generated by the high image quality developing unit 112 remains the number of pixels read from the imaging sensor unit 102 or the number of pixels set by the user. Therefore, the number of pixels of the image data output from the high-quality developing unit 112 is larger than the number of pixels of the image data output from the simple developing unit 111.

  The high-quality developing unit 112 can obtain a higher-quality developed image because each process has higher precision than the simple developing unit 111, but on the other hand, the processing load increases. The high image quality developing unit 112 of the present embodiment does not perform a real-time developing process in parallel with shooting, thereby avoiding the use of a circuit with high power consumption and cost.

  In step S525, the still image compression unit 141 inputs the image data developed by the high image quality development unit 112. The still image compression unit 141 performs high-efficiency encoding processing (still image compression) on the input image data to generate high-quality still image data.

  In step S527, control unit 161 determines whether or not it is no longer in the idle state. Note that, for example, when an event that exits a predetermined idle state occurs, the control unit 161 may determine that the state is no longer the idle state. The event may be, for example, an input of a shooting preparation instruction or a shooting start instruction, an input of a playback processing execution instruction, or an operation rate of a CPU exceeding a threshold. The occurrence of these events is not actually performed at the timing shown in step S527, but is monitored by the control unit 161 in the background during the idle process. Whether the operation being performed is interrupted or stopped when the occurrence of the event is detected, or whether the operation is continued until the recording of the still image is completed can be determined in advance. For example, whether the processing is continued, interrupted or stopped may be different depending on which processing of steps S522 to S525 is being executed. Further, the correspondence may be different depending on the event that has occurred. For example, if an event that causes a time lag such as a shooting start instruction occurs, the process immediately shifts to shooting processing, and if the event is not so urgent, such as a playback start instruction, the still image recording ends. May be shifted to the reproduction process.

  In step S527, the control unit 161 returns to step S520 if the idle state continues, and repeats the above-described processing if unprocessed RAW image data remains. I do. When the control unit 161 is not in the idle state, the process proceeds to step S528.

  In step S528, the control unit 161 performs a suspending process for storing the necessary information so that the process can be resumed when the device enters the idle state next to the suspended process. The interruption process includes, for example, saving data that has been partially processed, saving information indicating how far the process has been completed, and the like. On the other hand, when the processing is to be stopped, the processing of the unprocessed RAW file may be performed in the next processing, so that the interruption processing need not be performed.

  When it is no longer in the idle state, the control unit 161 shifts to a process according to the operation mode and the event that has been performed before executing the idle process. For example, when a shooting instruction is input when the mode has transitioned from the still image shooting mode to the idle process, the control unit 161 returns the process in the still image shooting mode from the shooting process in step S312.

  As described above, the image capturing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs the post-development processing when the processing load of the image capturing apparatus 100 is relatively low while waiting for a user operation such as a shooting mode or a sleep mode. Execute This eliminates the need to execute development processing every time a high-quality image is required, such as confirmation display of image details or printout, and can be used in a general environment. Becomes

  Since each frame of the RAW moving image data is composed of RAW image data, each frame can be developed in the same manner as the still image data. Then, the moving image compression unit 142 sequentially generates high-quality moving image files by encoding the developed frame images in accordance with the encoding method of the moving image. In order to improve the efficiency of the encoding process, when reading an unprocessed RAW file from the recording medium 152, the number of frames (for example, the number of frames forming a GOP) according to the encoding scheme of the moving image is used as a unit. Can be.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the imaging apparatus 100 in the standby state, and shows a standby display process performed in the standby state in step S330 of FIG. The standby display process is executed not only in the still image shooting mode, but also when it is determined that the standby state is established in another operation mode. The flowchart in FIG. 6 illustrates a processing procedure executed by controlling each processing block by the control unit 161. The program stored in the memory (ROM) of the control unit 161 is expanded in the memory (RAM). It is realized by execution by the CPU.

  In step S601, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 acquires the free space of the recording medium 152. There is no limitation on the method of acquiring the free space. For example, the free space may be acquired from the recording medium management unit 172 or may be read from the recording medium 152 through the recording / reproducing unit 151.

  In step S602, the camera control unit 104 performs thinning-out reading for live view from the imaging sensor unit 102, and the imaging sensor unit 102 transmits the low-resolution live view image data 701 (see FIG. a)) is output to the RAW compression unit 113. The RAW compression unit 113 compresses the low-resolution live view image data 701 obtained by the imaging sensor unit 102 via the sensor signal processing unit 103. At this time, the RAW compression unit 113 transmits the data size (compression result) of the compressed live view image data to the size estimation unit 171. In step S602, the RAW compression unit 113 performs compression using the same compression method as in step S312 in FIG. For example, the RAW compression unit 113 performs compression using a compression method other than the inter-frame compression method such as wavelet transform.

  In step S603, the size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size based on the data size of the compressed live view image data. The compressed RAW image data size is the data size of the compressed RAW image data generated in step S312 of FIG. The estimation of the compressed RAW image data size will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b).

In step S604, using the free space in step S601 and the compressed RAW image data size estimated in step S603, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 estimates the number of recordable images on the recording medium 152 by the following equation, and To the display processing unit 122. Here, floor (x) is a floor function and represents the largest integer not exceeding x. The number of recordable images on the recording medium 152 is the number of compressed RAW image data that can be recorded on the recording medium 152.
Recordable number = floor (free space / estimated compressed RAW image data size)

  Here, the recordable number is for a still image. In the case of the shooting mode of the moving image RAW image data, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 calculates the recordable time on the recording medium 152 by using the free space in step S601 and the compressed RAW image data size estimated in step S603. presume. The recordable time on the recording medium 152 is the recording time of the compressed RAW image data of the moving image recordable on the recording medium 152.

  In step S605, the display processing unit 122 superimposes the image indicating the recordable number or recordable time notified from the remaining amount calculation unit 181 on a live view image or the like and displays the image on the display unit 123.

  FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining the method of estimating the compressed RAW image data size in step S603 in FIG. The size estimation unit 171 estimates the data size of the compressed RAW image data generated by the RAW compression unit 113 in step S312 of FIG.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a magnitude relationship between the number of pixels of the live view image data 701 output from the sensor signal processing unit 103 and the number of pixels of the RAW image data 702 output from the sensor signal processing unit 103. . The live view image data 701 is low-resolution RAW image data input from the sensor signal processing unit 103 by the RAW compression unit 113 in step S602 in FIG. The RAW image data 702 is high-resolution RAW image data input from the sensor signal processing unit 103 by the RAW compression unit 113 in step S312 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7A, the live view image data 701 is reduced by a factor of 1 / N in the horizontal direction and 1 / M in the vertical direction with respect to the RAW image data 702. The number of pixels of the live view image data 701 is 1 / (N × M) of the number of pixels of the RAW image data 702. The live view image data 701 is RAW image data having a lower resolution than the RAW image data 702.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a data size 711 of the compressed live view image data and a data size 714 of the estimated compressed RAW image data. The data size 711 is the data size of the live view image data after compression generated by the RAW compression unit 113 in step S602 in FIG. The data size 714 is an estimated value of the data size of the compressed RAW image data generated by the RAW compression unit 113 in step S312 of FIG. The data size 712 is a data size obtained by multiplying the data size 711 of the compressed live view image data by N × M. The data size 713 is an offset.

The size estimating unit 171 estimates the data size EST of the compressed RAW image data by, for example, the following equation.
EST = SIZE2 + OFS
= (SIZE1 / RED_RATIO) + OFS
= (SIZE1 × N × M) + OFS

  Here, the data size EST is the data size 714 of the compressed RAW image data. The data size SIZE2 is a data size 712 obtained by multiplying the data size 711 of the compressed live view image data by N × M. The offset OFS is the offset 713. The reduction ratio RED_RATIO is a reduction ratio of the live view image data 701 with respect to the RAW image data 702, as shown in FIG. The reduction ratio RED_RATIO is represented by 1 / (N × M). The data size SIZE1 is the data size 711 of the compressed live view image data.

  As described above, the estimated data size 714 is a value obtained by multiplying the data size 711 of the compressed live view image data by (N × M) and adding the offset 713. The size of the offset 713 is variable. A specific method for determining the offset 713 will be described later.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining a method of determining the offset 713 in FIG. 7B. FIG. 8A is a graph showing a correlation between the ISO sensitivity 803 and the offset 802. FIG. 8B is a table showing a correspondence between the ISO sensitivity 803 and the offset 804.

  As for the compression efficiency of the RAW compression unit 113, the amount of noise, which is a high frequency component, greatly affects the data size. Therefore, the size estimation unit 171 refers to the table in FIG. 8B and determines the offset 804 according to the ISO sensitivity 803 set by the user using the operation unit 162. The offset 801 is an offset 804 when the ISO sensitivity 803 is at the lower limit. The offset 802 is the offset 804 when the ISO sensitivity 804 is at the upper limit.

  As described above, in the standby state shown in FIG. 6, the size estimating unit 171 can accurately estimate the number of recordable images on the recording medium 152 by accurately estimating the data size 714 of the compressed RAW image data.

  Next, a case where the imaging apparatus 100 has a RAW continuous shooting mode in which the imaging sensor unit 102 continuously shoots RAW image data and a RAW imaging mode in which the imaging sensor unit 102 shoots one RAW image data will be described. I do. In the case of the RAW continuous shooting mode, the display processing unit 122 controls the display unit 123 to display the recordable number or recordable time estimated by the remaining amount calculation unit 181 as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, in the case of the RAW shooting mode, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 does not estimate the number of recordable images or the recordable time, or the display processing unit 122 determines that the remaining record amount estimated by the remaining amount The number of sheets or the recordable time is controlled so as not to be displayed on the display unit 123.

  Next, the RAW continuous shooting mode in which the imaging device 100 continuously shoots RAW image data by the imaging sensor unit 102, and RAW high-speed continuous shooting in which RAW image data is continuously shot at a higher speed than in the RAW continuous shooting mode The mode will be described. In the case of the RAW high-speed continuous shooting mode, the display processing unit 122 controls the display unit 123 to display the recordable number or recordable time estimated by the remaining amount calculation unit 181. On the other hand, in the case of the RAW continuous shooting mode, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 does not estimate the recordable number or the recordable time, or the display processing unit 122 performs the recording estimated by the remaining amount calculation unit 181. Control is performed so that the possible number or the recordable time is not displayed on the display unit 123.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in the processing of the size estimating unit 171. The size estimating unit 171 estimates the data size of the compressed RAW image data according to the shooting parameters in order to simplify the estimation of the data size. Further, when the free space of the recording medium 152 becomes smaller than the threshold, the size estimating unit 171 estimates the data size of the compressed RAW image data by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the imaging apparatus 100 in the standby state, and shows the standby display processing performed in the standby state in step S330 of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 9 is performed instead of the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 9 is obtained by adding steps S901 to S903 to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, the points of this embodiment different from the first embodiment will be described.

  In step S601, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 acquires the free space of the recording medium 152. In step S901, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 determines whether the free space of the recording medium 152 is less than a threshold. The threshold is a predetermined capacity, for example, 5% of the capacity of the recording medium 152. The remaining amount calculation unit 181 proceeds to step S602 when the free space of the recording medium 152 is less than the threshold, and proceeds to step S902 when the free space of the recording medium 152 is not less than the threshold.

  In step S602, the camera control unit 104 performs thinning-out reading for live view from the imaging sensor unit 102, and the imaging sensor unit 102 transmits the low-resolution live view image data 701 (see FIG. a)) is output to the RAW compression unit 113. The RAW compression unit 113 compresses the low-resolution live view image data 701 obtained from the sensor signal processing unit 103. At this time, the RAW compression unit 113 transmits the data size of the live view image data after compression to the size estimation unit 171.

  In step S603, the size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size by the method shown in FIG. 7B based on the data size of the live view image data after compression, as in the first embodiment. Then, the process proceeds to step S604.

  In step S902, the size estimating unit 171 acquires the shooting parameters set by the user using the operation unit 162. The shooting parameter is, for example, the image size of the RAW image data. In step S903, the size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size based on the shooting parameters, and proceeds to step S604. A method for estimating the compressed RAW image data size will be described later.

In step S604, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 estimates the number of recordable images on the recording medium 152 by the following equation using the free space in step S601 and the compressed RAW image data size estimated in step S603 or S903. Then, the remaining amount calculating unit 181 outputs the recordable number to the display processing unit 122 as the remaining amount of the recording medium 152.
Recordable number = floor (free space / estimated compressed RAW image data size)

  Here, the recordable number is for a still image. In the case of the shooting mode of moving image RAW image data, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 can record on the recording medium 152 using the free space in step S601 and the compressed raw image data size estimated in step S603 or S903. Estimate time. Then, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 outputs the recordable time to the display processing unit 122 as the remaining amount of the recording medium 152.

  In step S605, the display processing unit 122 superimposes the image indicating the recordable number or recordable time notified from the remaining amount calculation unit 181 on a live view image or the like and displays the image on the display unit 123.

  Note that the size estimation unit 171 is not limited to the above processing, and may estimate both the compressed RAW image data size in step S603 and the compressed RAW image data size in step S903. In this case, in step S604, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 estimates the first recordable number or the first recordable time using the free space in step S601 and the compressed RAW image data size estimated in step S603. I do. Further, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 estimates the second recordable number or the second recordable time using the free space in step S601 and the compressed RAW image data size estimated in step S903. When the first recordable number or the first recordable time is larger than the second recordable number or the second recordable time, the remaining amount calculation unit 181 performs the following processing. In this case, even when the free space of the recording medium 152 is less than the threshold, the remaining amount calculating unit 181 sets the second recordable number or the second recordable time as the remaining amount of the recording medium 152 as the remaining amount of the recording medium 152. 122. The display processing unit 122 displays the second recordable number or the second recordable time on the display unit 123.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the method of estimating the compressed RAW image data size in step S903 in FIG. The size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size based on the shooting parameters. An example in which the shooting parameter is the image size will be described. The image size 1001 is an image size that can be set by the user. The compressed raw image data size 1002 is determined in advance by the image size 1001. The size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size 1002 according to the image size 1001 with reference to the table in FIG.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in the standby state, when the free space of the recording medium 152 is large, the size estimating unit 171 estimates the compressed RAW image data size based on the shooting parameters, thereby reducing the power consumption. Can be suppressed. Further, when the free space of the recording medium 152 is reduced, the size estimating unit 171 can accurately estimate the compressed RAW image data size based on the compression result of the live view image data.

  It should be noted that each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of a concrete example for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted in a limited manner. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea or the main features.

Reference Signs List 100 imaging device, 101 imaging optical unit, 102 imaging sensor unit, 103 sensor signal processing unit, 104 camera control unit, 105 evaluation value calculation unit, 110 development unit, 111 simple development unit, 112 High image quality developing unit, 113 RAW compression unit, 114 RAW decompression unit, 115 buffer unit, 122 display processing unit, 123 display unit, 141 still image compression unit, 142 moving image compression unit, 143 still image Decompression unit, 144: moving image decompression unit, 151: recording / reproducing unit, 152: recording medium, 153: communication unit, 161: control unit, 162: operation unit, 171: size estimation unit, 172: recording medium management unit, 181 Remaining amount calculator

Claims (15)

Imaging means;
RAW image data of a first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit or RAW image data of a second resolution lower than the first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit is compressed. Compression means,
Based on the result of compression of the RAW image data of the second resolution by the compression unit, the data size of the RAW image data of the first resolution after compression by the compression unit is estimated. First remaining amount estimating means for estimating the number or recording time of the compressed first resolution RAW image data recordable on the recording medium based on the estimated data size,
An imaging device comprising:   Display means for displaying the number or recording time of the compressed RAW image data of the first resolution recordable on the recording medium estimated by the first remaining amount estimating means on a display means. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recording unit that records the first resolution RAW image data compressed by the compression unit on the recording medium.   4. A live view display control unit that controls a display unit to display a live view image based on the RAW image data of the second resolution. Imaging device. A live view display control unit that controls a display unit to display a live view image based on the RAW image data of the second resolution;
In response to a shooting instruction, the first resolution raw image data obtained by shooting by the imaging means is compressed by the compression means, and the compressed raw image data of the first resolution is stored in the recording means. Imaging control means for controlling to record on the recording medium by,
The first remaining amount estimating unit compresses the RAW image data of the second resolution generated for displaying a live view image on the display unit by the compression unit before accepting the shooting instruction. 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a number or a recording time of the compressed RAW image data of the first resolution that can be recorded on the recording medium is estimated based on the compression result.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the compression unit compresses the RAW image data of the first resolution or the RAW image data of the second resolution by the same compression method. An imaging device according to any one of the preceding claims.   The said compression means compresses the RAW image data of the first resolution or the RAW image data of the second resolution using a compression method other than the inter-frame compression method. 7. The imaging device according to any one of 6. A RAW continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting RAW image data by the imaging unit; and a RAW shooting mode for shooting one RAW image data by the imaging unit.
In the case of the RAW continuous shooting mode, control is performed so that the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the first remaining amount estimating means is displayed on the display means. 2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising control means for not performing estimation by the quantity estimating means, or controlling not to display the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the first remaining amount estimating means on the display means. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A RAW continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting RAW image data by the imaging unit; and a RAW high-speed continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting RAW image data at a higher speed than the RAW continuous shooting mode.
In the case of the RAW high-speed continuous shooting mode, control is performed so that the number of images or the recording time estimated by the first remaining amount estimating means is displayed on the display means. It is characterized by having control means for controlling not to perform the estimation by the remaining amount estimating means, or not to display the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the first remaining amount estimating means on the display means. The imaging device according to claim 1. A second remaining amount for estimating the number or recording time of the compressed first-resolution RAW image data recordable on the recording medium based on the free space of the recording medium and a predetermined data size; Estimating means;
The compressed first resolution recordable on the recording medium estimated by one of the first remaining amount estimating unit and the second remaining amount estimating unit according to the free space of the recording medium. 10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: control means for switching whether to output the number or recording time of the RAW image data as the remaining amount of the recording medium. Second remaining amount estimating means for estimating the number or recording time of the compressed first resolution RAW image data recordable on the recording medium, based on the free space of the recording medium and the shooting parameters;
The compressed first resolution recordable on the recording medium estimated by one of the first remaining amount estimating unit and the second remaining amount estimating unit according to the free space of the recording medium. 10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: control means for switching whether to output the number or recording time of the RAW image data as the remaining amount of the recording medium.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the shooting parameter is an image size.   When the free space of the recording medium is larger than a predetermined capacity, the control unit outputs the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the second estimating unit as the remaining amount of the recording medium. 11. If the free space of the recording medium is smaller than the predetermined capacity, control is performed so as to output the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the first estimating means as the remaining amount of the recording medium. The imaging device according to any one of claims 12 to 12.   When the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the first estimating means is larger than the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the second estimating means, the free space of the recording medium is reduced. 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein even if the capacity is smaller than the predetermined capacity, the number of sheets or the recording time estimated by the second estimating means is controlled to be output as the remaining amount of the recording medium. Imaging device. RAW image data of the first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit or RAW image data of the second resolution lower than the first resolution obtained by imaging by the imaging unit is compressed. A compression step;
Estimating the compressed data size of the first resolution RAW image data by the compression step based on the compression result of the second resolution RAW image data by the compression step, A first remaining amount estimating step of estimating the number or recording time of the compressed first-resolution RAW image data recordable on the recording medium based on the estimated data size. A method for controlling an imaging device, which is a feature of the present invention.

Images