JP5354255B2 - Imaging apparatus, photographing angle of view correction method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing field angle correction technique in an imaging apparatus such as a still camera, a video camera, or a television camera.

  Since the shooting angle of view of the imaging device is determined by the focal length of the shooting lens used, a fixed focus lens may protrude from the angle of view or be too small depending on the shooting target. There is the hassle of having to move. Optical zoom using a zoom lens and digital zoom (and their combination zoom) electronically performed by image processing have solved this drawback, and can be applied to imaging devices such as still cameras, video cameras, and television cameras. It is used a lot.

  If the optical zoom is described as a representative, there are two methods of operating the zoom lens: mechanical and electronic. The mechanical operation system mechanically connects an operation ring and a zoom lens provided around the lens barrel, and moves the zoom lens according to the movement of the ring (moves back and forth along the optical axis). That's it. The disadvantage of this method is that the structure is complicated and the weight is increased. On the other hand, the electronic operation method is to electronically detect the movement of the operation means such as the operation ring and generate a zoom lens drive control signal based on the detection signal. There is a high degree of freedom in design of the operating means (it can be designed freely such as the dial type and seesaw type as well as the above operating ring), and since no mechanical coupling mechanism is required, the structure can be simplified and the weight can be reduced. Therefore, this system is used in many imaging apparatuses today.

  As a prior art of an electronic operation method of such a zoom lens, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this prior art, light is emitted toward the reflecting portion formed at equal intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the operation ring, the reflected light from the reflecting portion is received by the light receiving portion, and the number of the reflected light per unit time And a zoom lens drive control signal is generated based on the counting result.

  According to this prior art, if the operation ring is moved greatly, the number of reflected light per unit time increases and the zoom lens can be driven greatly. Conversely, if the operation ring is moved small, the unit of reflected light is increased. The number per time is reduced and the zoom lens can be finely driven.

  By the way, when changing the angle of view of the zoom lens from the wide-angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, it is necessary to move the operation ring greatly. In particular, in the case of a zoom lens with a high magnification, the operation ring must be moved considerably. However, there is a limit to the movement of the human wrist, which may require troublesome operations such as holding the operation ring while moving the operation ring. . In order to eliminate this inconvenience, the “light counting result”, which is the motion detection value of the operation ring, may be increased, and the “light counting result” may be multiplied by a required coefficient. For example, if the coefficient 2 is multiplied, the “light counting result” can be doubled, and the required amount of movement of the operation ring can be halved (1/2) to improve the responsiveness of the zoom operation.

  However, if this is done, then inconvenience will occur when finely adjusting the desired angle of view (a fine movement cannot be obtained). It seems that the coefficient of change is increased or decreased. In other words, when changing the zoom lens angle of view from the wide-angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, move the operating ring quickly, while to fine-tune the angle of view near the desired angle of view. Paying attention to the general operation tendency of moving the ring slowly, adopt a “large coefficient” when moving the operation ring quickly, and adopt a “small coefficient” when moving the operation ring slowly. It is inferred that

JP-A-8-9226

  However, the above-described prior art does not always follow the photographer's operation tendency in the following points, and in particular, there is a problem that inconvenience occurs when finely adjusting the angle of view near the desired angle of view. is there.

  This will be described in detail. First, there is no objection to the first premise in the prior art (when the angle of view of the zoom lens is changed from the wide angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, the operation ring is moved quickly). However, the second premise (when the angle of view is finely adjusted near the desired angle of view, the operating ring is moved slowly) is not necessarily the case.

  This is because, depending on the photographer, the operation ring may be moved quickly and in small increments, and this tendency is especially seen by photographers who are familiar with zoom operations.

  Therefore, in the prior art, when performing fine adjustment of the angle of view near the desired angle of view, a “large coefficient” may be set even when the operation ring is moved quickly in small increments. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to finely adjust the corners.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus, a shooting angle of view correction method, and a program that improve the responsiveness of a zoom operation.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging means capable of changing a shooting angle of view, an operation means for changing a shooting angle of view of the imaging means, and a composition involving a change of the shooting angle of view by the operating means for a subject. Collecting means for collecting event information relating to a subject detected during the period from adjustment to an imaging instruction to the imaging means, and the imaging means by the operating means based on event information relating to the subject collected by the collecting means Angle-of-view control means for controlling the change speed of the shooting angle of view, and the event information relating to the subject includes AF focus information, camera shake information, half-shutter information, and face detection information as to whether or not the face of the subject has been detected. or Ri der any number of information of detected face of the subject, for each of the plurality of event information to grant merit, the view angle control means An imaging apparatus characterized by controlling the change rate of the imaging angle of the imaging means by using a combination of the evaluation scores.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an imaging step capable of changing a shooting field angle of the imaging unit, an operation step for changing the shooting field angle of the imaging unit, and a change of the shooting field angle by the operation step for a subject. A collection step for collecting event information relating to a subject detected during a period from composition adjustment involving imaging to an imaging instruction to the imaging means, and the operation step based on the event information relating to the subject collected in the collection step And an angle-of-view control step for controlling a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging means according to the above, and the event information regarding the subject includes AF focus information, camera shake information, half-shutter information, and whether or not the face of the subject is detected. face detection information or Ri der either detected number information of the face of the subject, criticism in correspondence with each of the plurality of event information, Grant points, the field angle control step, a photographing field angle correction method characterized by controlling the change rate of the imaging angle of the imaging means by using a combination of the evaluation scores.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer having an imaging device including an imaging unit capable of changing a shooting angle of view and an operation unit for changing the shooting angle of view. Collecting means for collecting event information relating to a subject detected during composition adjustment accompanied by a change in angle and imaging instructions to the imaging means, and based on the event information relating to the subject collected by the collecting means, the operation Function as an angle of view control means for controlling the change speed of the imaging angle of view of the imaging means by the means, and the event information relating to the subject includes AF focus information, camera shake information, half shutter information, whether the subject's face has been detected. whether the face detection information or Ri der any number of information of the detected face of the subject, pairs with each of the plurality of event information The evaluation score assigned by the angle control means is a program characterized by controlling the change rate of the imaging angle of the imaging means by using a combination of the evaluation scores.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the imaging device which improved the responsiveness of zoom operation, the imaging | photography angle-of-view correction method, and a program can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking application to a digital camera as an example. It should be noted that the specific details or examples in the following description and the illustrations of numerical values, character strings, and other symbols are only for reference in order to clarify the idea of the present invention, and the present invention may be used in whole or in part. Obviously, the idea of the invention is not limited. In addition, a well-known technique, a well-known procedure, a well-known architecture, a well-known circuit configuration, and the like (hereinafter, “well-known matter”) are not described in detail, but this is also to simplify the description. Not all or part of the matter is intentionally excluded. Such well-known matters are known to those skilled in the art at the time of filing of the present invention, and are naturally included in the following description.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a digital camera. In this figure, a digital camera 1 captures an image of an optical system 2 including a photographing lens 2a, a zoom lens 2b, a focus lens 2c, a camera shake correction lens 2d, and the like, and a subject 3 captured via the optical system 2. An image pickup unit 4 including a two-dimensional image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS, and a distance measuring unit for continuous AF (AF method for tracking the focus even if the composition is changed once the focus is achieved) for measuring the distance to the subject 3 5, an image processing unit 6 that performs required image processing (gamma correction or the like) on the image signal captured by the imaging unit 4, a focus driving unit 7 that drives the focus lens 2 c, and a zoom drive that drives the zoom lens 2 b. Unit 8, a camera shake detection unit 9 that detects the movement (ie, camera shake) of the digital camera 1 using an acceleration sensor, and the detection result of the camera shake detection unit 9. A camera shake correction unit 10 that drives the camera shake correction lens 2d in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the photographic lens 2a so as to eliminate it, and an operation ring 11 for zoom operation that is rotatably mounted around the lens barrel of the optical system 2. And an operation unit 12 including various buttons (such as a mode switching button 12a between a shooting operation and a reproduction operation, a menu button 12b, a cursor key 12c, a shutter button 12d, and an audio recording button 12e), a strobe light emitting unit 13a, and a strobe drive. Unit 13b, a display unit 14 including a liquid crystal display, a touch panel 15 provided on the display surface of the display unit 14, a storage unit 16 composed of a fixed or removable mass storage device, and a personal An external input / output unit 18 that mediates data input / output to / from an external device 17 such as a computer as necessary; Such a power unit 19 including, a control unit 20.

  The control unit 20 includes a computer (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 20a, a nonvolatile memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 20b, a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 20c, and a rewritable nonvolatile memory (hereinafter referred to as PROM) 20d. A control program stored in the ROM 20b or data written in advance or arbitrarily in the PROM 20d is loaded into the RAM 20c and executed by the CPU 20a, that is, a shooting function or a playback function of the digital camera 1 by the program control method. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that all or part of the functions may be realized by hard logic.

  The illustrated digital camera 1 operates in the shooting mode (still image or moving image shooting mode) when the mode switching button 12a of the operation unit 12 is in the “shooting” position, and operates in the playback mode when in the “playback” position. To do.

  When the still image or moving image shooting mode is selected, an image signal output periodically (several tens of frames per second) from the imaging unit 4 is output to the display unit 14 via the image processing unit 6 and the control unit 20 to confirm the composition. Continuously displayed as a live view image. The photographer adjusts the shooting direction and the angle of view (zoom magnification) of the image pickup unit 4 so as to obtain a desired composition while looking at the through image. When the desired angle of view and composition are obtained, a half shutter operation ( Half-pressing of the shutter button 12d).

  In response to the half shutter operation, pre-processing such as AF (auto focus), AE (auto exposure) and camera shake correction is executed, and in response to the subsequent shutter release operation (full pressing operation of the shutter button 12d). Then, a high-quality image signal is extracted from the imaging unit 4. This image signal is sent to the storage unit 16 through the image processing unit 6 and the control unit 20, and is recorded and saved in the storage unit 16 as a captured image. The captured image may be a raw image corresponding to a high-quality image signal extracted from the imaging unit 4, but the raw image is large in size and presses the storage capacity of the storage unit 16. It is desirable to record an image compressed using a general-purpose compression technique such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) as a captured image.

  When the reproduction mode is selected, the most recently captured image is read from the storage unit 16 and enlarged and displayed on the display unit 14. Alternatively, the reduced images of the captured images are read from the storage unit 16 and displayed on the display unit 14 as a list, an image desired to be reproduced is selected from the list, and the original image is read from the storage unit 16 and displayed. 14 is enlarged and displayed.

  The above-described operations in the shooting mode and the playback mode are conventionally known, but in the present embodiment, the following characteristic items are included in addition thereto.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation ring 11 of the present embodiment. In this figure, an operation ring 11 is an annular member that is rotatably attached around a lens barrel 22 that protrudes from the front surface of the body 21 of the digital camera 1 and is rotated clockwise toward the subject. When the zoom lens is rotated counterclockwise and counterclockwise, the zoom operation is performed to the wide angle side. In the figure, T stands for telephoto and W stands for wide angle.

  The outer surface of the operation ring 11 is subjected to anti-slip processing, for example, by forming fine irregularities, and the inner surface has a number of elements arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. A reflecting member (mirror or mirror finished) 23 is attached.

  A light emitting element portion 24 and a light receiving element 25 are attached in close proximity to the outer surface of the lens barrel 22 facing the operation ring 11, and the light emitting element portion 24 emits light in response to a drive signal from the light emission driving portion 26. Then, the inner peripheral surface of the operation ring 11 is spot-illuminated with the light. Since a large number of reflecting members 23 are arranged at equal intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the operation ring 11, when spot light is irradiated to any reflecting member 23, the spot light is reflected by the reflecting member 23. The reflected light is received by the light receiving element 25, signal-shaped by the light receiving signal generating unit 27, and then taken into the signal counting unit 28. Then, after the number of received light per unit time is counted by the signal counting unit 28, the counting result is output to the zoom control unit 29 as a zoom operation detection signal indicating the amount of rotation of the operation ring 11. In addition, the light receiving element portion 24 includes a plurality of light receiving elements, and the operation ring 11 is rotated in the W direction or the T direction from the transition of the amount of light received by each light receiving element as time passes. It is determined whether it is.

  The zoom control unit 29 is a block unit that is functionally realized by the program control method in the control unit 21 of FIG. 1, and is a component unique to the present embodiment. In short, the zoom control unit 29 adds a necessary correction to the zoom operation detection signal output from the signal counting unit 28 (proportional to the rotation amount of the operation ring 11), thereby improving the responsiveness of the zoom operation. This provides signal characteristics for achieving both improvement of the performance of fine adjustment of the angle of view near the desired angle of view. The details of the “signal characteristics” will be clarified in the following description, but the outline thereof will be described as follows.

  In other words, when changing the angle of view of the zoom lens from the wide-angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, it is necessary to move the operation ring greatly, especially in the case of a zoom lens with a large magnification, the operation ring must be moved considerably. However, since there is a limit to the movement of the human wrist, there are cases where troubles such as re-handling the operation ring while moving it. In order to eliminate this drawback, the “light counting result” (corresponding to the zoom operation detection signal output from the signal counting unit 28 of the present embodiment), which is the motion detection value of the operation ring, is multiplied by a required coefficient. Good. For example, if the coefficient 2 is multiplied, the “light counting result” can be doubled, and the amount of movement of the operation ring can be halved (1/2) to improve the responsiveness of the zoom operation. Since this causes inconvenience when finely adjusting a desired angle of view, in the prior art described at the beginning, the coefficient is increased or decreased according to the operation speed of the operation ring. In other words, when changing the zoom lens angle of view from the wide-angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, move the operating ring quickly, while to fine-tune the angle of view near the desired angle of view. Paying attention to the general operation tendency of moving the ring slowly, adopt a “large coefficient” when moving the operation ring quickly, and adopt a “small coefficient” when moving the operation ring slowly. Yes.

  However, with this method, under the premise that “if the angle of view is finely adjusted near the desired angle of view, the operating ring is moved slowly”, when the operating ring is moved slowly, a “small coefficient” is set. In the first place, this premise may not be established. This is because, depending on the photographer, the operation ring may be moved quickly and in small increments, and this tendency is especially seen by photographers who are familiar with zoom operations. Therefore, in the prior art, when performing fine adjustment of the angle of view near the desired angle of view, a “large coefficient” may be set even when the operation ring is moved quickly in small increments. There was a problem that it was difficult to finely adjust the corners.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, unlike the conventional technique, the driving characteristics of the zoom lens are not controlled in accordance with the operation speed of the operation ring, and the subject is gradually increased as the subject is specified as the zoom operation is performed. The drive characteristics of the zoom lens are controlled based on various types of “event information”. This improves the responsiveness of the zoom operation and also makes fine adjustments to the angle of view near the desired angle of view. It is intended to provide a zoom control device, a zoom control method, and a program that achieve improvement.

  Here, the above event information refers to various processing event information that occurs inside the digital camera 1 from the angle of view adjustment to the shutter release operation, and specifically, AF focusing information and camera shake. Information, face detection information, or half shutter information. The AF focusing information is information indicating the degree of focus on the subject, and the camera shake information is information indicating the magnitude and direction of camera shake applied to the digital camera 1. The face detection information is information indicating whether or not there is a human face within the shooting angle of view and, if there is, the number of faces, and the half shutter information is “half-pressed” of the shutter button 12d by the photographer. Operation ", that is, information on AF confirmation and AE confirmation operations immediately before the shutter release operation. From these pieces of information, it is possible to determine whether the zoom operation is for adjusting the angle of view or the zoom operation for finely adjusting the composition immediately before the shutter release. For example, if the AF focus information indicates an out-of-focus state (out-of-focus state), or if the camera shake information indicates that there is a camera shake, it can be determined that the zoom operation is for adjusting the angle of view, If the AF focus information indicates the in-focus state or the camera shake information indicates no camera shake, it can be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release.

  This determination is the same for the half shutter information. If the half-shutter information indicates a non-half-shutter state (a state where the shutter button 12d is not pressed), the AF confirmation or AE confirmation operation just before the shutter release operation has not been performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the zoom operation for adjusting the angle of view is highly likely, and the half shutter state (the shutter button 12d is half-pressed) is indicated, AF confirmation immediately before the shutter release operation is confirmed. This is because it can be determined that this is a zoom operation for composition fine adjustment just before the shutter release.

  For face detection information, the above determination cannot be made with this information alone. This is because the subject may not be a human being, such as in landscape photography. The face detection information is information that should be used in combination with the above AF focusing information, camera shake information, half shutter information, and the like. When it is determined by these pieces of information (AF focusing information, camera shake information, and half shutter information) that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release, the determination is further performed in consideration of the face detection information. It is desirable. This is because when the presence of face detection is detected, the above determination can be reinforced (the determination result is made more reliable).

Next, an example of a specific control operation of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part flow of a control program executed by the CPU 20a of the control unit 20. As shown in FIG. This flow schematically shows a part related to zoom control extracted from the control program, and this main part flow is executed when the operation ring 11 is moved. In this main part flow, first, camera information is collected and stored in a required table (see the camera information table 30 in FIG. 4) (step S1). The camera information is the above-described “event information”, that is, information on various processing events that occur inside the digital camera 1 from the angle of view adjustment to the shutter release operation. Focus information, camera shake information, face detection information, half shutter information, and the like.

  When the collection of camera information is completed, a zoom correction coefficient is then calculated based on the collected camera information (step S2). The zoom correction coefficient is a coefficient applied to the zoom operation detection signal (proportional to the rotation amount of the operation ring 11) output from the signal counting unit 28 in FIG. When this zoom correction coefficient is set to 1, the zoom operation detection signal is uncorrected, but when the value exceeds 1 (> 1), the zoom operation detection signal increases, and when it is less than 1 (<1), the zoom operation detection signal is detected. The signal is corrected to decrease. “Increase” or “decrease” refers to an increase or decrease in the number of signals per unit time. Specifically, when the number of received light pulses of the light receiving element 25 when the operation ring 11 is rotated by X is Y, if the zoom correction coefficient = 1, this Y does not change (no correction), When the zoom correction coefficient> 1, Y is substantially increased, and when the zoom correction coefficient <1, Y is substantially decreased.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a camera information table referred to when calculating the zoom correction coefficient. In this figure, the camera information table 30 includes a camera information field 30a storing AF focusing information, camera shake information, face detection information, half shutter information, and the like, and an evaluation score field 30b storing evaluation scores corresponding to the information. And is composed of. Here, the evaluation scores A, B, C, and D in the figure are for convenience of explanation. The zoom correction coefficient can be obtained by using these evaluation scores A, B, C, D alone or in combination. The zoom correction coefficient is not limited as long as it can determine whether the zoom operation is for adjusting the angle of view or the zoom operation for adjusting the composition immediately before the shutter release. It may be.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an actual example of the evaluation score. In this figure, the camera information table 31 includes a status field 31a, an item field 31b, and an evaluation score field 31c. The state field 31a stores camera information (here, the photographed image and information related to the camera), and the item field 31b has a detailed item for each camera information, for example, one face detection and one face detection for the photographed image. Two, face detection or more, face size “large”, face size “small”, image similarity setting ON: large detection, image similarity setting ON: small detection, image similarity setting OFF, AF focus, etc. However, for the camera, continuous AF: ON, camera shake: large, camera shake: medium, camera shake: small, and the like are stored, and the evaluation score field 31c stores an evaluation score for each item. .

  Here, the evaluation score for one face detection is “50”, the evaluation score for two face detections is “20”, the evaluation score for face detection is “10”, and the evaluation score for the face size “large” is “50”. The evaluation score for the face size “small” is “10”. A larger evaluation score indicates a zoom operation for composition fine adjustment just before the shutter release. In the example shown in the figure, the evaluation score for one face detection and the face size “Large” is “50” which is the maximum, and the two evaluation scores “20” are next, followed by more than two face detection (two As described above, the evaluation score for the face size “small” is the smallest “10”. This is because when there is one face detection or when the face size is “large”, it may be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release. On the other hand, when there are two face detections, there is a possibility that the face is erroneously detected due to the subject shake, so that it cannot be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release. Further, when the face is detected more than two (two or more) and the face size is “small”, it cannot be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release. Based on this concept, the evaluation score for the face detection information may be set appropriately.

  Also, the image similarity setting ON: the evaluation score of large detection is “100”, the image similarity setting ON: the evaluation score of small detection is “30”, and the evaluation score of the image similarity setting OFF is “0”. Is a zoom operation for fine composition adjustment immediately before the shutter release when the image similarity setting, that is, when face detection is performed based on a specific person image (when ON) and the degree of similarity is large. On the other hand, when the image similarity setting is ON: the detection is small, it may be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release, although there is some doubt. Because there is no. On the other hand, when the image similarity setting is OFF, the evaluation score is set to “0” in order to ignore the similarity determination result.

  Also, the AF in-focus evaluation score is “100”, the continuous AF: ON evaluation score is “50”, hand shake: large evaluation score is “10”, hand shake: middle evaluation score is “30”, hand shake: The small evaluation score is “50”. This is because, in the case of AF in-focus, it may be determined that the zoom operation is for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release. Even in the case of continuous AF: ON, once in-focus, the in-focus operation continues even if the composition is shifted (continuous AF). Therefore, the zoom operation for fine composition adjustment just before the shutter release is also performed. This is because it can be judged that there is. Moreover, it is because it may be judged that it is a zoom operation for composition fine adjustment just before a shutter release, so that the magnitude | size of camera shake becomes small.

  The number of evaluation points in FIG. 5 is from a minimum value of 0 to a maximum value of 100, but this is merely a convenient value for explanation. If they correspond to the exemplified coefficients (1,> 1, <1), each may be expressed as a percentage (%). That is, the minimum value 0 may be read as 0%, and the maximum value 100 may be read as 100%. In that case, 0% corresponds to the above-described coefficient 1 and 100% corresponds to the above-described coefficient 2. By taking these evaluation scores into total consideration, 1 to 2 can be obtained. A zoom correction coefficient can be calculated.

  Once the zoom correction coefficient is calculated as described above, the zoom control amount is then calculated (step S3). This zoom control amount can be obtained, for example, as a result of multiplying the zoom ring operation amount by the zoom correction coefficient calculated in step S2. That is, “zoom control amount = zoom ring operation amount × zoom correction coefficient”. The zoom ring operation amount is a value indicating the rotation amount and rotation direction (W or T) of the operation ring 11 and is given from a zoom operation detection signal (proportional to the rotation amount of the operation ring 11).

  The zoom control amount is a control amount given to the zoom drive unit 8, and the zoom drive unit 8 generates and outputs a drive signal for driving the zoom lens 2b according to the zoom control amount. When the zoom lens 2b is driven and controlled using the zoom control amount in this way (step S4), the completion of the zoom operation (completion of the rotation operation of the operation ring 11) is next determined (step S5). If not determined, step S1 and the subsequent steps are repeated again, and when the determination is complete, the program is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the subject is gradually identified as the zoom operation is performed, instead of controlling the driving characteristics of the zoom lens in accordance with the operation speed of the operation ring as in the conventional technique. Since the driving characteristics of the zoom lens are controlled based on various “event information” (AF focusing information, camera shake information, face detection information, half shutter information, etc.) that rises as the operation ring 11 rotates. It is possible to reliably determine whether the moving operation is “for adjusting the angle of view” or “for adjusting the composition just before the shutter release”.

  Based on the determination result, when the zoom operation is “for angle of view adjustment”, the zoom control speed characteristic is set to “fast”, while when “for fine composition adjustment immediately before the shutter release” is set. By making the zoom control speed characteristic “slow”, for example, when the angle of view of the zoom lens is changed from the wide angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, the zoom is quickly zoomed in to improve responsiveness. On the other hand, when finely adjusting a desired angle of view, it is possible to zoom slowly to improve the performance of fine adjustment of the angle of view.

  FIG. 6 is a comparison diagram of event information and zoom control speed characteristics. In this figure, in the case of (i) no AF focus, camera shake, face detection, no half shutter, the zoom control speed characteristic is set to the “highest speed”, which is the fastest in the system. In the case of these event information, it is definitely determined that the zoom operation is “for angle of view adjustment”. For example, the angle of view of the zoom lens is changed from the wide angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa. This is because the zoom lens 2b should be moved at the highest speed in order to improve the response at the time.

  Next, in the case of (b) AF in focus, camera shake, no face detection, and no half shutter, it is “AF in focus” compared to (A), but still has camera shake and face This is because there is no detection and no half-shutter, so it can be determined that the zoom operation is “for angle of view adjustment”. Similarly, for example, the angle of view of the zoom lens is changed from the wide angle side to the telephoto side. This is because the zoom lens 2b should be moved at high speed in order to improve the responsiveness when changing to the reverse. However, in this (b), it can be said that the subject is specified a little by the amount of “AF in focus” compared to (b), so “fast” is slightly slower than “highest speed” in (b) "Is desirable.

  The following (C) is also the same as (B) in the case of no AF focusing, camera shake, face detection, and no half shutter. Compared to (a), “Face detection is present”, but since there is still no AF focus, no camera shake, and no half shutter, it can be determined that the zoom operation is “for angle of view adjustment”. Similarly, for example, the zoom lens 2b should be moved at high speed in order to improve responsiveness when changing the angle of view of the zoom lens from the wide angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa. It is. However, this (c) is also slightly more "fast" than (i) "highest speed" because it can be said that the subject has been specified a little by the amount of "with face detection" compared to (b). It is desirable to make it.

  Next, in the case of (d) with AF in-focus, camera shake, face detection, and no half shutter, compared to (c) and (b), “with AF in focus” and “with face detection”. Since it can be said that the subject is further specified as much as it is, it is desirable to set the “medium speed” slower than the “high speed” in (c) and (b).

  Next, in the case of (e) AF in-focus, no camera shake, face detection, and no half-shutter, “with AF focus”, “no camera shake” and “with face detection” compared to (D). Since it can be said that the subject is further specified by the amount of, it is desirable to set the “low speed” slower than the “medium high speed” in (d), the last (f) AF in focus, and no camera shake In the case of face detection and half shutter, all the information clearly indicates that “the zoom operation is just for the composition fine adjustment just before the shutter release”. It is desirable to set the speed to “very low speed”.

  By doing so, it is possible to achieve zoom control speed characteristics suitable for each of a case where a zoom operation for adjusting the angle of view is performed and a case where a zoom operation is performed for composition fine adjustment immediately before the shutter release. As a result, it is possible to achieve the object of the present invention, which is to provide a zoom control device, a zoom control method, and a program that improve the responsiveness of the zoom operation and improve the performance of fine adjustment of the view angle near the desired view angle. It is.

  In addition, the above embodiment is only an example which actualized the technical idea of this invention. The idea naturally includes various aspects such as modifications and developments of the above-described embodiment. For example, it may be as follows.

  First, the zoom operation means of the embodiment is the operation ring 11 that is rotatably attached around the lens barrel of the optical system 2, but is not limited thereto. Any device operated by the photographer and capable of generating and outputting a zoom operation signal in response to the operation may be used, for example, a dial type, a seesaw button type, or a two button type. May be. Here, the dial-type zoom operation means is a disk-shaped freely rotating button provided at an arbitrary position of the body 21 of the digital camera 1, and the zoom operation to W or T is performed by rotating the button forward and backward. It means something that can be done. The seesaw-type zoom operation means is a seesaw-type button provided at an arbitrary position on the body 21 of the digital camera 1, where one end is T, the other end is W, and one end is A thing which can perform zoom operation to W or T by pushing. The two-button zoom operation means is a T button and a W button provided at an arbitrary position on the body 21 of the digital camera 1 and can be zoomed to W or T by pressing one of the buttons. A thing that can be operated. Any of these types of zoom operation means may be used.

  Next, in the embodiment, it is determined whether the zoom operation is “for adjusting the angle of view” or “for adjusting the composition just before the shutter release”. Although it is performed based on event information such as information, face detection information, and half shutter information, the present invention is not limited to this. If there is other desirable information, it may be added to it, or may be replaced with any of the above event information.

In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the zoom control speed is divided into four stages of “highest speed”, “medium speed”, “low speed”, and “very low speed”, but is not limited thereto. There may be fewer than four stages, or four or more stages. Alternatively, the zoom control speed may be changed linearly instead of stepwise.
Further, each event information is determined by binary values of “Yes” and “No”. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and management control may be performed in a plurality of stages using a score table as shown in FIG.

  In the above embodiment, application to the digital camera 1 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The image pickup apparatus generally includes a zoom, and may be, for example, a still camera including a silver salt camera, a video camera, or a television camera.

  In the above embodiment, an optical zoom (using a zoom lens) is taken as an example. However, a digital zoom or a mixed type of optical zoom and digital zoom may be used. Also in the case of digital zoom and mixed zoom, the larger the magnification, the greater the amount of operation when changing the zoom lens angle of view from the wide angle side to the telephoto side or vice versa, while the desired angle of view becomes smaller. This is because a delicate operation is required for adjustment.

It is a conceptual block diagram of a digital camera. It is a figure which shows the structure of the operation ring 11 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the principal part flow of the control program run by CPU20a of the control part 20. FIG. It is a figure which shows the camera information table referred when calculating a zoom correction coefficient. It is a figure which shows the actual example of an evaluation score. It is a contrast diagram of event information and zoom control speed characteristics.

Explanation of symbols

2b Zoom lens 4 Imaging unit 8 Zoom drive unit 11 Operation ring 20 Control unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 Reflective member 24 Light emitting element 25 Light receiving element 26 Light emission drive part 27 Light reception signal production | generation part 28 Signal counting part 29 Zoom control part

Claims (3)

Imaging means capable of changing the shooting angle of view;
Operating means for changing the shooting angle of view of the imaging means;
A collection unit that collects event information about a subject that is detected during a period from a composition adjustment involving a change in a field of view by the operation unit to the subject to an imaging instruction to the imaging unit;
An angle-of-view control means for controlling a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging means by the operation means based on event information on the subject collected by the collecting means,
Event information on the subject, AF focusing information, camera shake information, half shutter information state, and are any number of information whether or not the face detection information face of a subject is detected or the detected face of the subject, ,
An evaluation score is assigned to each of a plurality of pieces of event information, and the angle-of-view control means controls a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging means using a combination of the evaluation scores. apparatus. An imaging step capable of changing the field of view of the imaging means ;
An operation step for changing the photographing field angle of the imaging means,
A collection step of collecting event information relating to a subject detected during a period from composition adjustment accompanied by a change in a shooting angle of view by the operation step on the subject to an imaging instruction to the imaging unit;
An angle-of-view control step for controlling a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging means based on the operation step based on event information about the subject collected in the collecting step;
Event information on the subject, AF focusing information, camera shake information, half shutter information state, and are any number of information whether or not the face detection information face of a subject is detected or the detected face of the subject, ,
An evaluation score is assigned to each of a plurality of pieces of event information, and the angle-of-view control step uses the combination of the evaluation scores to control a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging unit. Angle of view correction method. A computer provided in an imaging apparatus having an imaging means capable of changing a shooting angle of view and an operation means for changing the shooting angle of view;
A collecting unit that collects event information related to a subject that is detected during a period from a composition adjustment involving a change in a field of view by the operation unit to the subject to an imaging instruction to the imaging unit;
Based on the event information about the subject collected by the collecting means, and functioning as an angle-of-view control means for controlling the changing speed of the photographing angle of the imaging means by the operating means,
Event information on the subject, AF focusing information, camera shake information, half shutter information state, and are any number of information whether or not the face detection information face of a subject is detected or the detected face of the subject, ,
An evaluation score is assigned corresponding to each of a plurality of event information, and the angle-of-view control means controls a change speed of a shooting angle of view of the imaging means using a combination of the evaluation scores. .

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