JP5199156B2 - Camera and wearable image display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera that operates in conjunction with a wearable image display device that can be worn by a user's eyes, and a wearable image display device that operates in conjunction with such a camera.

  In recent years, the trend toward miniaturization and high functionality of devices has been accelerated, and it has become a situation where such high performance devices can be carried outdoors. Under these trends, wearable image display devices that allow viewing of images with a large-screen sensation outdoors have been proposed under names such as FMD (face-mounted display) and HMD (head-mounted display). Further, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes to use such a wearable image display device as a camera finder device.

Shooting using such a wearable image display device has the following advantages.
(1) The image can be confirmed with the feeling of a large screen.
(2) A vivid color image can be confirmed without being affected by external light.
(3) The degree of freedom of camera orientation and movement during shooting increases.

JP 2001-209037 A

  Here, when a wearable image display device such as an FMD is used as a finder device, an image displayed on the image display device is an image obtained by a camera. As described above, the wearable image display device has a high degree of freedom in the direction and movement of the camera during shooting, and the image displayed on the wearable image display device does not necessarily correspond to the direction in which the user is looking. Not necessarily. For this reason, the user may be confused.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, taking into account the ease of framing when the wearable image display device is used as a viewfinder device while drawing out the merits of the wearable image display device as a viewfinder device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera capable of causing a wearable image display apparatus to display an image and a wearable image display apparatus that operates in cooperation with such a camera.

In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to a first aspect of the present invention is a camera that operates in cooperation with a wearable image display device configured to be freely wearable on a user's eyes. An imaging unit that captures images and acquires a plurality of images by the continuous imaging, a moving direction detection unit that detects a moving direction of the camera at the time of capturing each of the plurality of images, and the imaging unit If there is a movement of the camera, the direction of movement is further combined, and the size of the image with the latest shooting order is the other image. An image composition unit that generates a composite image so as to be larger than the image composition unit, and a communication unit that transmits the composite image obtained by the image composition unit to the wearable image display device.

In order to achieve the above object, a wearable image display device according to the second aspect of the present invention is configured to be freely wearable on a user's eye and operates in cooperation with a camera. A receiving unit that receives a plurality of images from the camera according to the first aspect, and a moving direction detecting unit that detects a moving direction of the camera, and the receiving unit. An image compositing unit that generates a composite image by combining the plurality of images received in the above and the moving direction of the camera;
And a display unit for displaying the synthesized image obtained by the image synthesizing unit.

  According to the present invention, the wearable image display device displays an image in consideration of easiness of framing when the wearable image display device is used as a viewfinder device while extracting the merit of the wearable image display device as a viewfinder device. It is possible to provide a camera that can be made to operate and a wearable image display device that operates in cooperation with such a camera.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the camera system which has a camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure shown about the detection method of a moving direction. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the optical system of FMD, and an auxiliary imaging part. It is an external view of FMD. It is a figure which shows the mode at the time of using the camera system in one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example in which the direction in which the user is facing and the direction of the camera match, and FIG. 6B is a diagram in which the direction in which the user is facing and the direction of the camera are different. It is a figure which shows the example of a case. It is a flowchart which shows the main operation | movement of a camera. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the reproduction | regeneration mode of a camera. It is a flowchart which shows the main operation | movement of FMD. It is a figure which shows the example of a composite display. It is a figure which shows the 1st modification of a composite display. It is a figure which shows the 2nd modification of a composite display.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera system having a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera system in the present embodiment includes a camera 100 and a face mount display (hereinafter referred to as FMD) 200. The camera 100 and the FMD 200 are communicably connected to each other. By transmitting an image acquired by the camera 100 to the FMD 200, the image acquired by the camera 100 can be viewed by the FMD 200.

  The camera 100 includes a control unit 101, an operation unit 102, a photographing lens 103, an imaging unit 104, a display unit 105, a clock unit 106, a recording unit 107, a communication unit 108, and a movement direction detection unit 109. have.

  The control unit 101 is configured by an LSI or the like configured for a camera, and controls each block inside the camera 100 of FIG. 1 in response to an operation of the operation unit 102 by the user. The control unit 101 also performs image processing such as white balance correction and compression / decompression processing on the image acquired by the imaging unit 104. Furthermore, the control unit 101 also has a function as an image synthesis unit, and generates a synthesized image by synthesizing images obtained via the imaging unit 104 as necessary when displaying an image in the FMD 200.

  The operation unit 102 is an operation unit for the user to operate the camera 100. The operation unit 102 includes, for example, a power button for switching on / off the power of the camera 100, a release button for instructing preparation or execution of shooting, a playback button for instructing a user to reproduce an image, and a user Includes a selection button for performing various selection operations related to the camera 100. When the release button is half-pressed, an instruction to prepare for shooting such as AF is given. When the release button is fully pressed, execution of the picture is instructed.

  The photographing lens 103 is a lens for causing a light beam from a subject (not shown) to enter the imaging unit 104. The imaging unit 104 acquires an image by converting an image of a subject based on the light flux from the photographing lens 103 into an electrical signal, and further outputs the image to the control unit 101 as digital data.

  The display unit 105 is provided on the back surface of the camera 100, for example, and displays various images such as an image acquired via the imaging unit 104 and an image recorded in the recording unit 107. The display unit 105 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 105 allows the user to check the composition of the subject and the photo opportunity.

  The clock unit 106 measures the date and time when the image was taken. The recording unit 107 records an image acquired through the imaging unit 104 and compressed by the control unit 101. The recording unit 107 records an image as an image file to which shooting conditions such as a shooting date and time counted by the clock unit 106 are added.

  The communication unit 108 is a communication circuit for performing communication with the FMD 200, and transmits an image to the FMD 200 under the control of the control unit 101. A communication method between the camera 100 and the FMD 200 is not particularly limited. For example, wired communication in which communication is performed by connecting the camera 100 and the FMD 200 via a USB cable or the like may be used, or wireless communication such as a wireless LAN may be used.

  The movement direction detection unit 109 detects the movement direction when the user performs an operation of moving the camera 100. The movement direction detection unit 109 detects the movement direction of the camera 100 based on a motion vector calculated from an image obtained via the imaging unit 104, for example. Note that the motion vector can be obtained by calculating, for example, a block matching method, a displacement (a displacement direction and a displacement amount) of the subject image between images obtained by continuous operation obtained via the imaging unit 104. . As shown in FIG. 2, if the motion vectors are substantially the same for the entire image, it can be determined that the entire image is moving, that is, the camera 100 is moving, not the subject is moving. The moving direction of the camera 100 may be detected using a dedicated sensor.

  The FMD 200 in the present embodiment has a function as a wearable image display device, and is freely wearable on the user's eyes. The FMD 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a recording unit 203, a display drive unit 204, a shutter drive unit 205, an optical system 206, an auxiliary imaging unit 207, and an operation unit 208. Yes.

  The control unit 201 controls each block of the FMD 200 such as operation control of the communication unit 202, expansion processing of an image recorded in the recording unit 203, and operation control of the display driving unit 204 and the shutter driving unit 205.

  The communication unit 202 is a communication circuit for performing communication with the camera 100, and receives an image from the camera 100 under the control of the control unit 101. The recording unit 203 records the image received by the communication unit 202.

  The display driving unit 204 drives the display unit included in the optical system 206 under the control of the control unit 201. A shutter drive unit 205 drives a shutter included in the optical system 206 under the control of the control unit 201. The optical system 206 is an optical system including a display unit for displaying an image received by the communication unit 202 or an image recorded in the recording unit 203. The optical system 206 will be described later.

  The auxiliary imaging unit 207 captures an image of a subject outside the FMD 200 and outputs an image obtained by the imaging to the display driving unit 204 as digital data.

  The operation unit 208 is a variety of operation units for switching on / off the power of the FMD 200 and switching the operation mode of the FMD 200.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the optical system 206 and the auxiliary imaging unit 207.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the optical system 206 includes a display unit 301, an optical unit 302, and a light shielding mask 303.

  The display unit 301 is a display unit for displaying an image received by the communication unit 202 or an image recorded in the recording unit 203. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the display unit 301 is a liquid crystal display (LCD). The display unit 301 in this case includes an LCD panel 301a and a backlight 301b. The LCD panel 301 a is configured by two-dimensionally arranging pixels including liquid crystal, and changes the light transmittance of each pixel according to the control of the display driving unit 204. The backlight 301b uses, for example, a white light emitting diode (LED) as a light source, and performs light irradiation from the back surface of the LCD panel 301a according to the control of the display driving unit 204. In addition, although LCD is used for the display part 301 in the example of FIG. 3, the display part 301 is not limited to LCD. For example, an organic EL display device (OELD) may be used for the display unit 301.

  The optical unit 302 includes a free-form surface prism 302a formed with a curved surface so as to reflect the light from the display unit 301 to the user's eyes 400. A reflection mirror 302b is coated on the free curved surface portion of the free curved prism 302a.

  The light shielding mask 303 is disposed on the front surface of the free curved surface prism 302a so as to prevent light from entering the free curved surface prism 302a from the outside of the FMD 200.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary imaging unit 207 includes a photographing lens 207a, an imaging unit 207b, and an imaging processing unit 207c.

  The photographing lens 207a has a function similar to that of the photographing lens 103, and is a lens for causing a light beam from a subject outside the FMD 200 to enter the imaging unit 207b. The imaging unit 207b has a function similar to that of the imaging unit 104, acquires an image by converting an image of a subject based on the light flux from the photographing lens 207a into an electrical signal, and further uses the image as digital data. To 207c. The imaging processing unit 207 c performs image processing on the image obtained via the imaging unit 207 b and outputs the processed image to the display driving unit 204.

  In such a configuration, when an image is displayed on the display unit 301 (when the backlight 301b is in a lighting state), light based on the image displayed on the display unit 301 is as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The light enters the user's eye 400 through a simple optical path. As a result, the user can see the image displayed on the display unit 301. At this time, when an image to be displayed on the display unit 301 is an image from the auxiliary imaging unit 207, the user can check an image outside the FMD 200 that exists in a direction in which his / her line of sight is facing. It becomes. On the other hand, when an image to be displayed on the display unit 301 is an image transmitted from the camera 100, the user can check an image that exists in the direction in which the camera 100 faces at that time. .

  FIG. 4 is an external view of the FMD 200. The appearance of the FMD 200 in the present embodiment has a substantially glasses-like shape with only one eye as shown in FIG. 4A, and the user puts the string part 200a formed on the FMD 200 on the ear in the same manner as the glasses, and nose The FMD 200 is mounted by applying the contact part 200b to the nose.

  Here, Fig.4 (a) has shown the case where the communication form of FMD200 is a wireless communication. In this case, the FMD 200 is provided with the antenna 202a of the communication unit 202. On the other hand, when the communication form of the FMD 200 is wired communication, the cable 202b is connected to the FMD 200 as shown in FIG. 4 (a) and 4 (b) show the FMD 200 that can be attached to only one eye, it may be configured to be attachable to both eyes. In this case, it is necessary to provide a pair of the optical systems 206 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a situation when the camera system according to the present embodiment is used. When the FMD 200 is used as a finder in the camera system in the present embodiment, the user wears the FMD 200 on the eyes as shown in FIG. Thereby, the user can confirm the image transmitted from the camera 100 with a feeling like a large screen. Even if the display screen of the display unit 301 of the FMD 200 is small, the display is performed near the user's eyes, so that the user can feel that an image of several tens of inches can be seen 2 m away.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6A, in the state where the user holds the camera 100, the direction that the user is trying to see matches the shooting range of the camera 100. Therefore, in this case, an image of a subject existing in the direction in which the user is viewing is displayed on the display unit 301 of the FMD 200. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the user moves only the camera 100, an image viewed from a direction different from the direction the user is viewing is displayed. If such an image is displayed, the user may be confused. In particular, when the FMD 200 is a type that is worn on both eyes, the user can recognize the situation of the outside world only from the image on the display unit 301, so that the possibility of confusion increases.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, when the FMD 200 is used as a finder and the camera 100 is moved, an image showing the movement of the camera is displayed on the display unit 301 of the FMD 200. This allows the user to recognize the direction in which the camera 100 is facing.

Next, the detailed operation of the camera system of this embodiment will be described.
First, the operation of the camera 100 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the main operation of the camera 100. Here, the camera 100 in the present embodiment has a shooting mode and a playback mode as operation modes. The shooting mode is an operation mode for the user to shoot an image for recording, and the playback mode is a mode for playing back the recorded image. Switching between these operation modes can be performed by operating a selection button of the operation unit 102, for example.

  In FIG. 7, the control unit 101 of the camera 100 first determines whether or not the power of the camera 100 is turned on (step S101). If it is determined in step S101 that the power is off, the control unit 101 ends the process of FIG. Note that the communication unit 108 operates even when the power is turned off, and the control unit 101 turns on the power of the camera 100 when a power-on instruction is issued from the FMD 200 via the communication unit 108.

  On the other hand, when the power is turned on in the determination in step S101, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the operation mode of the camera 100 is the shooting mode (step S102). If it is determined in step S102 that the operation mode of the camera 100 is the shooting mode, the control unit 101 performs exposure correction (step S103). In this exposure correction, the control unit 101 measures the brightness of the subject based on the image obtained via the imaging unit 104 and the output of a dedicated photometric sensor. Then, based on the measured brightness of the subject, the control unit 101 corrects the brightness of the image so that the brightness of the image obtained via the imaging unit 104 is an appropriate brightness.

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether communication with the FMD 200 is possible from the communication state of the communication unit 108 (step S104). If it is determined in step S104 that communication with the FMD 200 is possible, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the release button of the operation unit 102 has been half-pressed by the photographer (step S105). If it is determined in step S105 that the release button is half-pressed, the control unit 101 operates the imaging unit 104 and causes the recording unit 107 to record an image obtained via the imaging unit 104 (step S106). Thereafter, the control unit 101 determines from the output of the movement direction detection unit 109 whether or not the camera 100 has moved (step S107). Note that when the movement direction is detected from the motion vector, at least two images are required, and therefore it is determined that the camera 100 has not moved in the determination of step S107 for the first time.

  When the movement of the camera 100 is detected in the determination in step S107, the control unit 101 detects the movement direction of the camera 100 from the output of the movement direction detection unit 109 (step S108). Next, the control unit 101 combines the images recorded in the recording unit 107 in step S105 to generate a combined image, and transmits the combined image to the FMD 200 via the communication unit 108 (step S109). This image composition will be described later.

  In addition, when the release button is half-pressed in the determination of step S105, or when the camera 100 is not moved in the determination of step S107, the control unit 101 performs normal through image display on the display unit 301 of the FMD 200. In order to do so, the image acquired by the imaging unit 104 is transmitted to the FMD 200 via the communication unit 108 (step S110).

  If communication with the FMD 200 is not possible in the determination in step S104, the control unit 101 displays a through image on the display unit 105 (step S111). In the live view display on the camera 100 side, the control unit 101 causes the imaging unit 104 to continuously operate, and causes the display unit 105 to display images sequentially obtained via the imaging unit 104 by this continuous operation in real time.

  After the through image display or the composite image display, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the release button of the operation unit 102 has been fully pressed by the photographer (step S112). If it is determined in step S112 that the release button has not been fully pressed, the process returns to step S101. In this case, the control unit 101 determines again whether the camera 100 is powered on. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S112 that the release button has been pressed, the control unit 101 performs exposure control (capture of a recording image) (step S113). After capturing the image, the control unit 101 performs image processing such as compression processing on the captured image, and then adds a shooting condition such as a shooting date and time counted by the clock unit 106 to the processed image. Is generated. Then, the control unit 101 causes the recording unit 107 to record the generated image file (step S114). Thereafter, the process returns to step S101.

  In step S102, when the operation mode of the camera 100 is not the shooting mode, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the operation mode of the camera 100 is the playback mode (step S115). If it is determined in step S115 that the operation mode of the camera 100 is not the playback mode, the process returns to step S101. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S115 that the operation mode of the camera 100 is the playback mode, the control unit 101 performs a playback mode process (step S116). After the playback mode process, the process returns to step S101.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing in the reproduction mode. In FIG. 8, the control unit 101 sets the last recorded image file among the image files recorded in the recording unit 107 as a reproduction candidate image (step S201). Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not to end the process of the playback mode, that is, whether or not the user has performed an end operation of the playback mode (step S202). The reproduction mode end operation is, for example, an operation for switching the operation mode of the camera 100. If it is determined in step S202 that the reproduction mode is terminated, the control unit 101 terminates the process in FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S202 that the end operation of the playback mode has not been performed, the control unit 101 determines whether communication with the FMD 200 is possible from the communication state of the communication unit 108 (step S203). .

  If it is determined in step S203 that communication with the FMD 200 is not possible, the control unit 101 reads an image file corresponding to the candidate image from the recording unit 107, performs an expansion process on the image in the image file, and then displays the display unit. 105 is displayed (step S204). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S204 that communication with the FMD 200 is possible, the control unit 101 reads an image file corresponding to the candidate image from the recording unit 107 in order to reproduce an image on the FMD 200. Then, the control unit 101 transmits the read image file to the FMD 200 via the communication unit 108 (step S205). At this time, the display unit 105 may be hidden. This is because it is considered that the user wears the FMD 200 and holds the camera 100 and does not pay attention to the display unit 105 of the camera 100.

  After the reproduction of the image, the control unit 101 determines whether or not to switch the reproduction image, that is, whether or not the reproduction image switching operation has been performed by the operation of the operation unit 102 of the user (step S206). If it is determined in step S206 that the playback image is not switched, the process returns to step S201. In this case, the control unit 101 determines again whether or not to end the playback mode process. On the other hand, when the playback image is switched in the determination in step S206, the control unit 101 sets the next image file of the next shooting date among the image files recorded in the recording unit 107 as the next candidate image. (Step S207). Thereafter, the process returns to step S201.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the main operation of the FMD 200. Here, the FMD 200 in the present embodiment has a finder mode, a playback mode, and an external display mode as operation modes. The viewfinder mode is an operation mode for using the FMD 200 for the viewfinder of the camera 100. The reproduction mode is an operation mode for reproducing an image recorded in the recording unit 203 of the FMD 200. Furthermore, the external display mode is an operation mode for enabling the external state of the FMD 200 to be confirmed by displaying an image from the auxiliary imaging unit 207 on the display unit 301. Note that switching between the finder mode and the playback mode can be performed by the operation unit 208 of the FMD 200.

  In FIG. 9, the control unit 201 first determines whether or not the power of the FMD 200 is on (step S301). If it is determined in step S301 that the power is off, the control unit 201 ends the process in FIG. In this case, the image display by the FMD 200 is not performed. On the other hand, when the power is turned on in the determination in step S301, the control unit 201 controls the auxiliary imaging unit 207 to display the image obtained in the auxiliary imaging unit 207 on the display unit 301 (step S302). . Thereby, the user can observe the external situation of FMD200.

  Next, the control unit 201 determines whether an image is received from the camera 100 via the communication unit 202 (step S303). If it is determined in step S303 that an image is received from the camera 100, the control unit 201 stops displaying the image from the auxiliary imaging unit 207 (step S304). Thereafter, the control unit 201 controls the display driving unit 204 to display an image received via the communication unit 202 on the display unit 301 (step S305).

  Next, the control unit 201 determines whether or not the operation mode of the FMD 200 is a finder mode (step S306). If it is determined in step S306 that the operation mode of the FMD 200 is the finder mode, the process returns to step S303. Then, the control unit 201 waits for reception of the next image from the camera 100. Since images are sequentially transmitted from the camera 100 in the finder mode, by displaying these images on the display unit 301, it is possible to display a through image similar to the camera 100 in the FMD 200.

  If the operation mode of the FMD 200 is not the finder mode, that is, the playback mode is determined in step S306, the control unit 201 causes the recording unit 203 to record the image file received via the communication unit 202 (step S307). ). Thereafter, the process returns to step S301.

  If it is determined in step S303 that no image is received from the camera 100, the control unit 201 sends a power-on instruction to the camera 100 via the communication unit 202 (step S308). The camera 100 is also turned on when receiving this instruction. Next, the control unit 201 determines whether or not the operation mode of the FMD 200 is a playback mode (step S309). If it is determined in step S309 that the operation mode of the FMD 200 is not the playback mode, the process returns to step S301. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S309 that the operation mode of the FMD 200 is the playback mode, the control unit 201 stops displaying images from the auxiliary imaging unit 207 (step S310). Thereafter, the control unit 201 expands the image in the image file recorded last among the image files recorded in the recording unit 203 and displays the image on the display unit 301 (step S311). After the reproduction of the image, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to switch the reproduction image, that is, whether or not the reproduction image switching operation has been performed by the operation of the operation unit 208 of the user (step S312). If it is determined in step S312 that the playback image is not switched, the process proceeds to step S314. On the other hand, when the playback image is switched in the determination in step S312, the control unit 201 sets the next image file with the next recording date among the image files recorded in the recording unit 203 as the next candidate image. Is displayed on the display unit 301 (step S313).

  After step S312 or step S313, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to end the processing of the playback mode, that is, whether or not the user has performed an end operation of the playback mode (step S314). If it is determined in step S314 that the reproduction mode has been ended, the process returns to step S301. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S314 that the playback mode end operation has not been performed, the process returns to step S312. In this case, the control unit 201 continues to reproduce the candidate image.

  Next, image composition in step S109 will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 7, when the camera 100 does not move, an image obtained via the imaging unit 104 of the camera 100 is transmitted to the FMD 200, and the display unit 301 of the FMD 200 as illustrated in FIG. Displays an image transmitted from the camera 100.

  Further, in the present embodiment, if the camera moves while the release button is half-pressed, all the images recorded in step S106 during the period when the release button is pressed are combined. Are displayed on the display unit 301 of the FMD 200. It should be noted that the image to be synthesized is an image obtained while the release button is half-pressed because it is considered that the user intends to perform framing while the release button is half-pressed. It is. It is not always necessary to synthesize an image only for an image captured during a period when the release button is half-pressed.

  Here, the composition is performed by arranging a plurality of images in the order of photographing, for example. Further, an index that is an image indicating the moving direction of the camera 100 is synthesized in the vicinity of the synthesized image. FIG. 10B and FIG. 10C show examples of composite display.

  FIG. 10B shows an example of a composite display when the camera 100 is moving rightward at the next imaging time point in FIG. 10A, which is the initial time point. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10B, the images are combined so that the next image 502 is arranged next to the image 501 obtained at the initial time (on the left side in FIG. 10B). At the time of this composition, it is more desirable that the size of the image 502, which is the latest image, is made larger than the size of the image 501 for composition. In this way, the user can immediately recognize the latest image (that is, the image captured by the camera 100 at the present time). Further, in the composite display, in the vicinity of the image 502 (in the example of FIG. 10B, the upper portion of the image 502) so that the moving direction of the camera 100 from the time of capturing the image 501 to the time of capturing the image 502 can be seen. The index 502a is synthesized. Thereby, the user can also recognize the moving direction of the camera 100.

  FIG. 10C shows an example of a composite display when the camera 100 has moved further to the right at the next imaging time point in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10C, the images 502 are combined so that the next image 503 is arranged on the left side of the image 502. At this time, the size of the latest image 503 is made larger than the sizes of the images 501 and 502 to be combined. Further, the index 503a is synthesized in the vicinity of the image 503 (in the example of FIG. 10C, the upper portion of the image 503) so that the moving direction of the camera 100 from the time of capturing the image 502 to the time of capturing the image 503 can be understood.

  The same applies to the composition after the fourth sheet. That is, if the latest image is synthesized so that it is larger in size than the other images on the left side of the previous image, and an index indicating the moving direction is synthesized in the vicinity of the latest image. good.

  By displaying the images shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C described above on the display unit 301 of the FMD 200, the user recognizes the moving direction of the camera 100 and the transition of the image accompanying this movement. It is possible. This improves the ease of framing.

  Here, in the example of FIG. 10, an example in which the latest image is sequentially synthesized in the left direction is shown, but the composition direction is not particularly limited as long as the images are arranged in time series. Further, the index combining position is not particularly limited as long as the position corresponding to each image is known.

  Further, in the example of FIG. 10, all images obtained during the period when the release button is pressed halfway are combined, but for example, the first image obtained after the release button is pressed halfway Only the latest image may be synthesized. A display example of the composite image in such a case is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11A shows an example of composite display when the camera 100 is moving leftward at the next imaging time point in FIG. 10A, which is the initial time point. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11A, the images are combined so that the next image 602 is arranged next to the image 601 obtained at the initial time (right next in FIG. 11A). Also at the time of this composition, it is more desirable that the size of the image 502 which is the latest image is made larger than the size of the image 601 as in the example of FIG. Further, in the composite display, the vicinity of the image 602 (in the example of FIG. 11A, in the upper part of the image 602) so that the moving direction of the camera 100 from the time of capturing the image 601 to the time of capturing the image 602 can be understood. The index 602a is synthesized.

  FIG. 11B shows an example of a composite display when the camera 100 has moved further to the right at the next imaging time point in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11B, the images 601 are combined so that the next image 603 of the image 602 is arranged on the right side of the image 601. At this time, the size of the latest image 603 is made larger than the size of the image 601 to be combined. Further, an index 603a is synthesized in the vicinity of the image 603 so that the moving direction of the camera 100 from the time of capturing the image 602 to the time of capturing the image 603 can be understood. Note that this moving direction may be displayed with respect to the first image 601.

  Further, in the case of the example of FIG. 11, the latest image combining position may be determined according to the moving direction of the camera 100. For example, when the camera 100 moves rightward from the time of capturing the first image, the latest image is synthesized on the right side of the image 601 as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. To do. For example, when the camera 100 moves upward from the time of capturing the first image, the latest image 702 is synthesized on the first image 701 as shown in FIG. If such composite display is performed, the user can recognize the moving direction of the camera 100 from only the image displayed on the display unit 301. In this case, the index 702a is not combined with the upper part of the image 702, but is combined with the left part of the image 702, for example.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the through image display and the combined image display are separate processes. However, the combined image may be further superimposed on the through image display while performing the through image display.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image is synthesized on the camera 100 side. However, only the image recorded while the release button is pressed from the camera 100 and the moving direction of the camera 100 are displayed in the FMD 200. The image may be combined by the FMD 200. Further, the moving direction of the camera 100 may be detected by the FMD 200. As a method of detecting the moving direction of the camera 100 in this case, for example, a method of detecting a change in the motion vector of the camera 100 in an image obtained via the auxiliary imaging unit 207 can be considered.

  Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are naturally possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

  Further, the above-described embodiments include various stages of the invention, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some configuration requirements are deleted from all the configuration requirements shown in the embodiment, the above-described problem can be solved, and this configuration requirement is deleted when the above-described effects can be obtained. The configuration can also be extracted as an invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Camera 101 ... Control part 102 ... Operation part 103 ... Shooting lens 104 ... Imaging part 105 ... Display part 106 ... Clock part 107 ... Recording part 108 ... Communication part 109 ... Moving direction detection part , 200 ... face mount display (FMD), 201 ... control unit, 202 ... communication unit, 203 ... recording unit, 204 ... display drive unit, 205 ... shutter drive unit, 206 ... optical system, 207 ... auxiliary imaging unit, 208 ... Operation part

Claims (6)

In a camera that operates in conjunction with a wearable image display device configured to be freely wearable on the user's eyes,
An imaging unit that continuously images a subject and obtains a plurality of images by the continuous imaging;
A moving direction detector that detects the moving direction of the camera at the time of capturing each of the plurality of images;
A plurality of images taken by the imaging unit are arranged and combined in the order of shooting, and when the camera moves, the moving direction is further combined, and the size of the image in which the shooting order is the latest An image compositing unit that generates a composite image so that the image is larger than other images ,
A communication unit that transmits the combined image obtained by the image combining unit to the wearable image display device;
A camera comprising: A release button for instructing preparation for shooting is further provided.
The moving direction detection unit detects the moving direction of the camera while the preparation for shooting is instructed by the release button,
The image synthesizing unit generates a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit and an image indicating a moving direction of the camera while the preparation for shooting is instructed by the release button. The camera of claim 1, characterized in that:   The image composition unit arranges a plurality of images captured by the image capturing unit in the order of imaging while the release button is instructed to prepare for shooting, and an index indicating the moving direction of the camera in the vicinity of each image The camera according to claim 2, wherein the synthesized image is generated by synthesizing. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the image composition unit generates the composite image so that a moving direction of the camera corresponds to a composition position of an image having the latest photographing order. The movement direction detection unit calculates a motion vector from a shift of a subject image between images continuously acquired by the imaging unit, and determines that the calculated motion is the same when the motion vector is the same for the entire image. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the moving direction of the camera is detected based on a vector. In a wearable image display device configured to be freely wearable on the user's eyes and operating in conjunction with a camera,
A plurality of images received from the camera according to claim 1 and a reception unit that receives the above-described images at the time of capturing each of the plurality of images;
A moving direction detector for detecting the moving direction of the camera;
An image composition unit that generates a composite image by combining the plurality of images received by the reception unit and the moving direction of the camera;
A display unit for displaying a composite image obtained by the image composition unit;
A wearable image display device comprising:

Images