JP6136159B2 - EXPOSURE CONTROL DEVICE, EXPOSURE CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure control apparatus, an exposure control method, and a program for performing exposure control on an acquired image.

  As a conventional technique, a technique for performing exposure control around a detected face area is known (Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-39646 A

  However, as in the technique of Patent Document 1, performing exposure control according to the position information of the face area may not be sufficient as exposure control.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to perform suitable exposure control according to the imaging direction of a subject.

In order to achieve the above object, an exposure control apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
An acquisition means for acquiring an image;
Direction specifying means for specifying the imaging direction of the subject in the image acquired by the acquiring means based on a predetermined operation by the user;
Subject specifying means for specifying the position of a predetermined subject different from the subject that is the target for specifying the imaging direction;
Exposure control means for performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means;
Equipped with a,
The exposure control means performs exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means and the position of the predetermined subject specified by the subject specification means. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, suitable exposure control according to the imaging direction of the subject can be performed.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the imaging device which concerns on one Embodiment of the exposure control apparatus in this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure for performing an exposure tracking display process among the functional structures of the imaging device of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a program diagram. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function in the weighting process part of the image process part of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating a weighting table. It is the schematic diagram which made the weighting range of the weighting table respond | correspond to an actual live view image. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of exposure follow-up display processing executed by the imaging apparatus of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a weight value calculation process among exposure follow-up display processes. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a reference | standard weighting table.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the exposure control apparatus of the present invention.

  The imaging device 1 is configured as a digital camera, for example.

  The imaging device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an image processing unit 14, a bus 15, an input / output interface 16, and an imaging unit. 17, an input unit 18, an output unit 19, a storage unit 20, a communication unit 21, and a drive 22.

  The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 20 to the RAM 13.

  The RAM 13 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, and image processing unit 14 are connected to each other via a bus 15. An input / output interface 16 is also connected to the bus 15. An imaging unit 17, an input unit 18, an output unit 19, a storage unit 20, a communication unit 21, and a drive 22 are connected to the input / output interface 16.

  The imaging unit 17 includes an optical lens unit (not shown) and an image sensor (not shown).

  The optical lens unit is configured with a lens that collects light, such as a focus lens and a zoom lens, in order to capture an image of the subject.

  The focus lens is a lens that forms a subject image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor. The zoom lens is a lens that freely changes the focal length within a certain range.

  The optical lens unit is also provided with a peripheral circuit for adjusting setting parameters such as focus, exposure, and white balance as necessary.

  The image sensor includes a photoelectric conversion element, AFE (Analog Front End), and the like.

  The image sensor 41 is configured by, for example, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type photoelectric conversion element or the like. A subject image is incident on the image sensor 41 from the optical lens unit via the diaphragm mechanism 42. Therefore, the image sensor 41 photoelectrically converts (photographs) the subject image at regular intervals according to the set clock pulse, accumulates image signals for each pixel, and sequentially supplies the accumulated image signals to the AFE as analog signals. . A certain time during which this image signal is accumulated corresponds to the shutter speed. Accordingly, the exposure is adjusted by controlling the certain time (shutter speed) together with the above-described aperture value.

  The AFE performs various signal processing such as A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion processing on the analog image signal. A digital signal is generated by various signal processing and output as an output signal of the imaging unit 17.

  The diaphragm mechanism 42 is composed of, for example, a plurality of diaphragm blades, and adjusts the amount of light incident on the image sensor 41 by changing the degree of opening / closing of the diaphragm blades (aperture value). That is, the exposure is adjusted by adjusting the aperture value and the shutter speed described later. The diaphragm mechanism 42 opens and closes the diaphragm blades according to the control of the CPU 11 by an actuator or the like.

Such an output signal of the imaging unit 17 is hereinafter referred to as “captured image data”. The captured image data is appropriately supplied to the CPU 11, the image processing unit 14, and the like.
The “captured image data” is referred to as “live view image data” when used for live view display to be described later, and “recorded image data” when stored in the storage unit 20 for recording. This is referred to as “captured image data”.

  The input unit 18 is configured with various buttons and the like, and inputs various types of information according to user instruction operations. Further, the input unit 18 performs an operation for starting an exposure follow-up display process described later, an operation for starting / ending live view display, an instruction operation for setting a shooting position described later, and a ball position described later. Various information such as an instruction operation for setting is input.

  The output unit 19 includes a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs images and sounds. The output unit 19 outputs a live view display described later on the display.

  The storage unit 20 is configured by a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores various image data, imaging condition setting data described later, exposure value calculation data described later, and the like.

  The communication unit 21 controls communication with other devices (not shown) via a network including the Internet.

  A removable medium 31 composed of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately attached to the drive 22. The program read from the removable medium 31 by the drive 22 is installed in the storage unit 20 as necessary. The removable medium 31 can also store various data such as image data stored in the storage unit 20 in the same manner as the storage unit 20.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration for executing the exposure follow-up display process among the functional configurations of the imaging apparatus 1 in FIG. 1.

Exposure follow-up display processing means that in a live view display, a subject area (in this embodiment, a region in the vicinity of a ball including a swing target person performing a golf swing) that is within an angle of view as a subject to be photographed is a suitable exposure. As described above, a series of processes from selecting a weighting table with different exposure weights according to the shooting position, resetting the exposure using the selected weighting table, and changing the exposure in a tracking manner. . In the imaging apparatus 1, a live view image in which the subject is exposed appropriately can be obtained by the exposure tracking display process.
Here, “live view display” refers to, for example, temporarily storing captured image data sequentially output from the imaging unit 17 in a memory (the storage unit 20 in the present embodiment) and temporarily recording the data. This is a display in which the data of each captured image is sequentially read and the captured image is sequentially displayed on the output unit 19. Further, the captured image displayed on the output unit 19 by the live view display is a “live view image” here.

In this embodiment, a person who performs a golf swing (hereinafter referred to as a “swing target person”) is imaged as a subject. In a golf swing, a golf club is shaken in a state where the swing target person stands with the ball at the center. Therefore, during the swing operation, there is no significant change in the positional relationship between the swing target person and the position where the ball is placed.
According to the golf swing characteristics, by adjusting the exposure to the area where the swing target person is present, a live view image in which exposure near the ball position including the swing target person is suitable is obtained, that is, live view display is performed. be able to.

When the exposure follow-up display process is executed, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the imaging control unit 51 and the output control unit 52 function in the CPU 11, and the image acquisition unit 71 in the image processing unit 14. The photographing condition setting unit 72, the weighting processing unit 73, the exposure value calculation unit 74, and the exposure value setting unit 75 function.
However, FIG. 2 is an exemplification, and at least a part of the function of the CPU 11 may be delegated to the image processing unit 14. Conversely, at least a part of the function of the image processing unit 14 may be delegated to the CPU 11. .

  In this case, an acquired image storage unit 91 provided as one area of the storage unit 20, an imaging condition setting storage unit 92, and an exposure calculation data storage unit 93 are used.

  The acquired image storage unit 91 stores, for example, data of a live view image (captured image) output from the imaging unit 17 and acquired by the image acquisition unit 71.

  The shooting condition setting storage unit 92 relates to various shooting conditions such as exposure settings such as a default exposure value and an exposure value calculated from a live view image, a ball position in the live view image, and a shooting position on the front or side. Setting data is stored.

  In the exposure calculation data storage unit 93, for example, in order to determine that the exposure is suitable, a value serving as a reference for the average luminance value of each pixel of the image indicating the degree of exposure (hereinafter referred to as “reference average”) Brightness value ”), a weighting table (to be described later) used to calculate an average brightness value corresponding to each shooting position, and a diagram in which a correspondence relationship between the brightness of an object, an aperture, and a shutter speed is described. A plurality of data for use in calculating various exposure values such as a program diagram to be described later is stored.

The imaging control unit 51 controls the imaging operation in the imaging unit 17 in accordance with various set imaging conditions. The imaging control unit 51 performs control for starting an imaging operation in the imaging unit 17 in response to an operation for starting imaging from the input unit 18.
In the present embodiment, in order to perform live view display, the imaging control unit 51 causes the imaging unit 17 to capture a live view image.
At the time of imaging, the imaging control unit 51 adjusts the exposure by controlling the aperture mechanism 42 and the imaging element 41 based on the exposure value stored in the imaging condition setting storage unit 92. Thereby, in the imaging device 1, a live view image with a desired exposure is obtained.

  The output control unit 52 controls the output unit 19 so as to display and output live view images sequentially output from the imaging unit 17. As a result, the output unit 19 performs live view display.

  The image acquisition unit 71 acquires live view image data output from the imaging unit 17. Thereafter, the image acquisition unit 71 stores the acquired live view image data in the acquired image storage unit 91.

  The shooting condition setting unit 72 sets an exposure condition (shooting position and ball position) used for calculating an exposure value based on a setting operation performed on the input unit 18 by the user. That is, the shooting condition setting unit 72 stores the exposure condition setting in the shooting condition setting storage unit 92.

The weighting processing unit 73 executes weighting value calculation processing using various data stored in the acquired image storage unit 91, the photographing condition setting storage unit 92, and the exposure calculation data storage unit 93. As a result of executing the weighting value calculation process, the weighting processing unit 73 calculates the weighted average luminance value.
“Weight value calculation processing” corresponds to the setting of shooting conditions based on the current exposure level, and in order to consider the exposure of the area of the subject, the average value of image luminance (hereinafter referred to as “average luminance value”). ) Is a series of processes until weighting is performed so that the value of the predetermined area is increased. The value calculated in this process is the weighted average luminance value.

  The weighting processing unit 73 includes a measurement value acquisition unit 101, a table selection unit 102, a table value change unit 103, and a weighting value calculation unit 104. Details of the measurement value acquisition unit 101, the table selection unit 102, the table value change unit 103, and the weight value calculation unit 104 will be described later.

  The exposure value calculation unit 74 determines whether the weighted average value satisfies the reference in light of the reference average luminance value Yt, that is, within the exposure reference range (reference average luminance value Yt−α <= weighted average luminance value Yc <= It is determined whether or not the reference average luminance value Yt + α). If the reference average luminance value Yt is not satisfied, the exposure value calculation unit 74 needs to newly set an exposure based on the live view image of the current frame. The determination is performed based on the reference average luminance value Yt.

  Further, when the reference average luminance value Yt is satisfied, the exposure value calculation unit 74 takes over the current exposure value as it is and sets it as the exposure value of the next frame.

Further, the exposure value calculation unit 74 compares the reference average luminance value Yt with the calculated weighted average luminance value Yc, and calculates an exposure change amount R that becomes a value of the reference average luminance value Yt. Specifically, the exposure change amount R is calculated by the following equation (1).
Exposure change amount R = reference average luminance value Yt / weighted average luminance value Yc (1)

In addition, the exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates a target exposure value Evt from the current exposure value Evc and the exposure change amount R. Specifically, the target exposure value Evt is calculated by the following equation (2).
Target exposure value Evt = current exposure value Evc / exposure change amount R (2)

The exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates the exposure value for the next frame based on the calculated target exposure value Evt and the program diagram stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93.
Here, the program diagram will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a program diagram.

As shown in FIG. 3, the program diagram GD is used to calculate a desired exposure value (target exposure value Evt). The shutter speed (sec), the aperture value (F value), etc., and the exposure value are used. It is the graph which showed the relationship with (Ev). That is, the program diagram GD is a graph that can determine a predetermined exposure value (Ev) under the control of a predetermined shutter speed (sec) and a predetermined aperture value (F value).
Specifically, for example, when the shutter speed (sec) is controlled to 1/1000 in the image sensor 41 and the aperture value (F) is controlled to 2.8 in the aperture mechanism 42, the exposure value (Ev) is 13 .0.

Therefore, the exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates the exposure value of the next frame based on the calculated target exposure value Evt and the program diagram GD stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93.
As a result, in the imaging apparatus 1, based on the calculated exposure value, the imaging control unit 51 controls the diaphragm mechanism 42 and the imaging element 41 to adjust the exposure and perform imaging. Thereby, in the imaging device 1, for example, it is possible to obtain a live view image in which a region around the ball including the swing target person has a desired exposure such as an appropriate exposure.

  The exposure value setting unit 75 sets the exposure value calculated by the exposure value calculation unit 74. That is, the exposure value setting unit 75 stores the calculated exposure value in the imaging condition setting storage unit 92. The imaging control unit 51 controls the exposure at the imaging unit 17 based on the stored exposure value.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing functions in the weighting processing unit 73 of the image processing unit 14 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the weighting processing unit 73 includes a measurement value acquisition unit 101, a table selection unit 102, a table value change unit 103, and a weighting value calculation unit 104.

  The measurement value acquisition unit 101 measures a value obtained by measuring the luminance of each pixel used for calculating the exposure value from the live view image data stored in the acquired image storage unit 91 (hereinafter referred to as “exposure calculation measurement value”). get.

The table selection unit 102 selects a weighting table stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93 based on the setting of the shooting position among the imaging conditions stored in the shooting condition setting storage unit 92. Specifically, the table selection unit 102 selects, for example, a weighting table for the front when the shooting position is set to the front.
The “shooting position” is information on the direction in which the subject is shot (hereinafter also referred to as “shooting direction”). In the present embodiment, the swing target person is determined from the position facing the swing target person. It can be divided into a “front direction” for photographing and a “side direction” for photographing the person to be swung from behind the swing direction.

  The table value changing unit 103 sets the weighting table so that the weighting center of the weighting table becomes the coordinates of the set ball position based on the setting of the ball position among the imaging conditions stored in the shooting condition setting storage unit 92. The value of is shifted overall.

Here, the weighting table described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the weighting table. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram in which the weighting range of the weighting table is associated with an actual image.

  In the present embodiment, the reference weighting table (hereinafter also referred to as “reference weighting table”) wt1 is changed in consideration of the ball position.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the reference weight table wt1 is divided into predetermined blocks (16 × 16 blocks in the present embodiment), and a weight value is assigned to each block.

  For example, the weighting value is set from “0” to “4” in the present embodiment, and is multiplied by the corresponding luminance value. When the weighting value is “0”, for example, the luminance value in the mesh is “0”, that is, invalid. On the other hand, when the weighting value is “4”, for example, the luminance value is quadrupled.

  The weighting value is set such that the weighting value is assigned radially around the mesh of the weighting center wc, and the weighting value decreases as the distance from the center increases. Thus, by setting the weighting center as the ball position, it is possible to consider the exposure of the object close to the ball, that is, the swing target person.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the reference weighting table wt1 configured as described above is shifted as a whole by the ball position bl set by the user so that the ball position bl becomes the weighting center wc. The weighting value is changed. In the present embodiment, this changed weighting table (hereinafter also referred to as “change weighting table”) wt3 is used for calculating the weighted average value. In the present embodiment, the change weighting table wt3 is configured so that the ball position is the weighting center as shown in FIG. 5B, but is not limited thereto. In golf swing, there is a swing target person on the upper side of the ball. Therefore, in consideration of such golf swing characteristics, for example, a position closer to the swing target person as shown in FIG. The position shifted upward from the ball position bl may be shifted as the weighting center wc so that becomes the weighting center wc.

  When the change weighting table wt2 changed corresponding to the ball position is made to correspond to the actual live view image, as shown in FIG. 6A, the region R1 including the swing subject t is weighted around the ball bl. It can be seen that this is the target area. By setting the weighting in this way, live view display based on the exposure of the position of the ball bl or the swing target person t can be performed. For example, when the shooting position is determined while checking the live view display Therefore, the user can easily determine the shooting position without problems such as difficulty in seeing the ball bl and the swing target person t to be aligned. The weighting table described above is for the shooting position from the front. However, when the shooting position is changed to the side, for example, the weighting table shown in FIG. The region R2 including the ball bl and the swing target person t can be covered. When the shooting position is the side, the positional relationship between the ball bl and the swing target person t is different from the front case. For example, the focus is on the golf club, or the swing target person t is focused on the ball position bl. The weighting pattern can be set by hitting.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the weighting value calculation unit 104 calculates the weighted average luminance value in the image of the current frame based on the weighting table in which the weighting table value is changed by the table value changing unit 103 with reference to the ball position. . Specifically, the weight value calculation unit 104 calculates the value of each block by multiplying the measurement value of each pixel acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 101 by the corresponding weighting table value. Then, the weight value calculation unit 104 calculates an average luminance value (weighted average luminance value) that is an average value of luminances weighted in the image from the total sum of the calculated values.

  By configuring the imaging device 1 in this way, in shooting a golf swing (particularly, shooting from the side), the sky and the like are often included near the center of the screen, and in this case, a backlight situation tends to occur. As a result, in normal exposure control, since the brightness is suppressed, the person to be swung becomes dark. Although it is conceivable to control the exposure corresponding to the face detected in the situation using a face detection technique, in the swing operation of the golf, the swing target person turns his face toward the imaging device 1. Since there is no operation, it is difficult to detect a face. However, in the imaging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, since the swing can be determined in consideration of the characteristics of the golf swing as described above, the exposure control can be performed so that the swing target person has a bright and suitable exposure. .

Next, an exposure follow-up display process executed by the imaging apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of exposure follow-up display processing executed by the imaging apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG.

  In the exposure follow-up display process, when the start of the exposure follow-up display process is instructed by a predetermined operation on the input unit 18 by the user, the process is started and the following process is executed.

In step S11, the output unit 19 starts live view display. Specifically, when the exposure follow-up display process is started, the imaging control unit 51 starts the imaging process in the imaging unit 17. Then, the output control unit 53 controls the output unit 19 to sequentially display and output the image data obtained by the imaging process as live view image data. The user determines the shooting position while confirming the live view display on the output unit 19. In the imaging process at this time, imaging is performed under default exposure conditions. Therefore, the shooting conditions are not taken into consideration, and the live view display is performed in which the subject is not easily seen due to the influence of surrounding brightness.
Further, the data of the live view image is output to the output unit 19 and stored in the acquired image storage unit 91 by the image acquisition unit 71 for calculating the exposure value. The exposure value is calculated for each data of the live view image stored in the acquired image storage unit 91, that is, for each frame.

In step S <b> 12, the shooting condition setting unit 72 determines, for example, whether the user is shooting from the front side or the side side via the input unit 18, and the ball on the live view display screen of the output unit 19. Set the position. In the exposure follow-up display process, exposure weighting is determined by the shooting position and the ball position. That is, the exposure weighting pattern is determined according to the shooting position, and the weighting pattern position is determined based on the shooting position based on the ball position.
In addition, although the configuration is such that the user designates the ball position via the input unit 18, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reference position for placing the ball may be displayed on the screen display, and the center thereof may be set as the center position for photometry.
Further, when the user sets the shooting position via the input unit 18, when the face is detected by the face detection process, the shooting position is determined to be the front direction, and when the face is not detected, the shooting position is set to the side direction. By determining, the photographing position may be automatically set.

  In step S13, the weighting processing unit 73 performs a weighting value calculation process to calculate the weighted average luminance value Yc of the current frame. Details of the weight value calculation processing will be described later.

  In step S14, the exposure value calculation unit 74 determines whether or not the weighted average luminance value Yc is within the exposure reference range (reference average luminance value Yt−α <= weighted average luminance value Yc <= reference average luminance value Yt + α). . If the reference average luminance value Yt is not satisfied, the exposure value calculation unit 74 needs to newly set an exposure based on the live view image of the current frame. The determination is performed based on the reference average luminance value Yt.

  If the weighted average luminance value Yc is within the exposure reference range, YES is determined in step S14, and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, the exposure value calculation unit 74 assumes that the exposure is properly performed because the weighted average luminance value Yc is within the exposure reference range, and copies the current exposure value Evc as the next frame exposure setting value. To do. That is, the current exposure setting is maintained, and the same value as the current setting is set as the next frame exposure setting value. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S19. The processing after step S19 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the weighted average luminance value Yc is outside the exposure reference range, NO is determined in step S14, and the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the exposure value calculation unit 74 compares the exposure change amount R with respect to the reference average luminance value Yt, that is, the reference average luminance value Yt, with the calculated weighted average luminance value Yc to obtain the reference average luminance value Yt. An exposure value change amount R for obtaining a value is calculated. Specifically, the exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates the exposure value change amount R by the above-described equation (1).

  In step S17, the exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates the target exposure value Evt from the current exposure value Evc and the exposure change amount R. Specifically, the exposure value calculation unit 74 calculates the target exposure value Evt by the above-described equation (2).

  In step S18, the exposure value calculation unit 74 determines the exposure value of the next frame based on the calculated target exposure value Evt and the program diagram as shown in FIG. 3 stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93. Is calculated.

  In step S19, the exposure value setting unit 75 stores the exposure value setting, that is, the exposure value calculated in step S18 in the photographing condition setting storage unit 92. Thereby, in imaging of the next frame, the imaging control unit 51 controls the imaging unit 17 to the set exposure. As a result, the imaging apparatus 1 can obtain a live view image that emphasizes the area of the subject.

  In step S20, the CPU 11 determines whether the live view display has ended. Specifically, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an operation for ending the live view display on the input unit 18 from the user has been performed.

  If the live view display has ended, YES is determined in step S20, and the exposure follow-up display process ends.

  If the live view display has not ended, NO is determined in step S20 to determine the next frame, and the process returns to step S13. And the process after step S13 is performed.

The flow of the exposure follow-up display process executed by the imaging apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 having the functional configuration in FIG. 2 has been described above.
Hereinafter, the detailed flow of the weight value calculation process in the exposure tracking display process will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the weight value calculation process in the exposure follow-up display process.

  In step S31, the measurement value acquisition unit 101 acquires the exposure calculation measurement value of the current frame from the live view image data stored in the acquired image storage unit 91.

  In step S <b> 32, the table selection unit 102 selects a reference weighting table stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93 based on the setting of the shooting position among the imaging conditions stored in the shooting condition setting storage unit 92. . Specifically, for example, when the photographing position is set to the front, the table selection unit 102 selects the reference weighting table wt1 as shown in FIG. 5A as the front weighting table.

  In step S33, the table value changing unit 103 becomes the coordinates of the ball position where the weighting center of the reference weighting table is set based on the setting of the ball position among the imaging conditions stored in the imaging condition setting storage unit 92. Thus, the value of the reference weighting table is shifted as a whole. Specifically, the table value changing unit 103 sets the table value of the reference weighting table wt1 as shown in FIG. 5A so that the ball position bl becomes the weighting center wc as shown in FIG. The table value is entirely shifted to the position to obtain a change weighting table wt2.

In step S <b> 34, the weight value calculation unit 104 calculates a weighted average luminance value based on the change weight table. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, the weight value calculation unit 104 determines the current frame based on the change weight table wt2 in which the table value change unit 103 has changed the weight table value with reference to the ball position bl. The weighted average luminance value in the image is calculated. Thereafter, the weight value calculation process ends, and the process proceeds to step S14.
With the technique of the present embodiment, for example, even when the subject is the same, exposure control can be performed in accordance with the case where the appropriate exposure control method differs depending on the shooting direction.

The imaging device 1 that performs the exposure follow-up display process as described above includes an image acquisition unit 71, a shooting condition setting unit 72, and an imaging control unit 51.
The image acquisition unit 71 acquires live view image data.
The shooting condition setting unit 72 specifies the shooting position of the swing target person in the live view image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71.
The imaging control unit 51 performs exposure control on the live view image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71 based on the imaging position set by the imaging condition setting unit 72.
Accordingly, the imaging control unit 51 performs exposure control on the live view image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71 based on the imaging position set by the imaging condition setting unit 72. For example, the imaging direction of the same subject is captured. Suitable exposure control is possible.

Further, the imaging apparatus 1 includes an exposure calculation data storage unit 93 and a table selection unit 102.
The exposure calculation data storage unit 93 stores a plurality of tables for exposure control by the imaging control unit 51.
The table selection unit 102 selects a specific table from the plurality of tables stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93 based on the imaging direction specified by the setting by the imaging condition setting unit 72.
The imaging control unit 51 performs exposure control on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71 based on the specific table selected by the table selection unit 102.
Thereby, the imaging control unit 51 performs exposure control on the live view image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71 based on the specific table selected by the table selection unit 102. For example, the imaging direction of the same subject is captured. Suitable exposure control is possible.

The imaging apparatus 1 further includes an exposure calculation data storage unit 93 and a table value change unit 103.
The exposure calculation data storage unit 93 stores a plurality of weighting tables for exposure control by the imaging control unit 51.
The table selection unit 102 selects a specific weighting table from a plurality of weighting tables stored in the exposure calculation data storage unit 93 based on the imaging direction selected by the imaging condition setting unit 72.
The imaging condition setting unit 72 selects a pole position that serves as a reference position for exposure control of an image acquired by the image acquisition unit 71.
The table value changing unit 103 changes the weighting table selected by the table selecting unit 102 based on the imaging position and ball position selected by the shooting condition setting unit 72.
The imaging control unit 51 performs exposure control on the image based on the weighting table changed by the table value changing unit 103.
Thereby, in the imaging device 1, in order to change the weight of the photometric area according to the shooting position and the ball position, it is possible to capture the background other than the swing target person and the swing target person with appropriate exposure. In addition, according to this method, when shooting a golf swing, it is possible to shoot a swing target person who is a subject with a bright and appropriate exposure under various shooting conditions (particularly in a backlight environment of shooting from the side).
In addition, by applying a classifier for face detection generally used in face detection technology, and using a classifier that learns a predetermined posture of a golf swing subject, in a live view display state By detecting the subject area, the value of the weighting table changed by the table value changing unit 103 so as to increase the weight of the subject area may be updated.
By doing in this way, exposure control adapted to the imaging situation of the golf swing becomes possible.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The deformation | transformation in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, improvement, etc. are included in this invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the exposure is set to be applied to the live view image acquired during the live view display, but the exposure is set to be applied to the captured image for the recorded image. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the reference weighting table is configured such that the weighting values are set radially from the ball position as shown in FIG. 5A, but the invention is not limited thereto. The reference weighting table can be configured in various patterns depending on the area where the exposure is optimized. For example, the reference weighting table wt1 is a pattern having a weighting center wc as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). It is also possible to configure.
Here, the weighting table in FIG. 9A is used for front-side imaging, and the background portion is exposed to reduce the influence by placing weights on the ball periphery and subject portion with the center wc as the ball position. This is a weighting table that emphasizes.
In addition, the weighting table in FIG. 9B emphasizes that exposure is performed with little consideration of the background by placing weights on the ball periphery and the foot portion of the subject with the center wc as the ball position for side imaging. It becomes the weighting table.
In the present embodiment, the weighting table pattern is determined based on at least the ball position because of the characteristics of the golf swing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the weighting table pattern may be determined based on various factors. FIG. 9 is another example of the reference weighting table.

  In the above-described embodiment, the process for setting the exposure is performed for each acquired live view image, that is, for each frame, but is not limited thereto. For example, you may perform the process which sets exposure for a predetermined space | interval and every predetermined frame.

  In the above-described embodiment, the user has designated the shooting position and the ball position. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the acquired image may be analyzed, and the shooting position may be automatically determined from the posture of the subject, or the ball position may be automatically determined from the shape of the ball.

  In the above-described embodiment, the weighting center of the weighting table is changed based on the ball position. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the position of the person to be swung is accurately known, the swing is performed. You may set so that a weighting center may be changed on the basis of a subject.

  In the above-described embodiment, the weighting table or the like has been described on the assumption of a right-handed swing, but a weighting table or the like with a pattern that takes into account the individuality of a swing such as a dominant arm such as a left-handed swing can be set.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case of shooting a golf swing has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a fixed position in the composition of a conditional subject or the position of the subject is specified on the assumption of the shooting direction of the subject. The exposure may be adjusted again by setting a weight in consideration of the position to be attached.

In the above-described embodiment, the imaging apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied has been described using a digital camera as an example, but is not particularly limited thereto.
For example, the present invention can be applied to general electronic devices having a composite image generation function. Specifically, for example, the present invention can be applied to a notebook personal computer, a printer, a television receiver, a video camera, a portable navigation device, a mobile phone, a portable game machine, and the like.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software.
In other words, the functional configuration of FIG. 2 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the imaging apparatus 1 has a function capable of executing the above-described series of processing as a whole, and what functional blocks are used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG.
In addition, one functional block may be constituted by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof.

When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. The computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

  The recording medium including such a program is not only constituted by the removable medium 31 of FIG. 1 distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance. It is comprised with the recording medium etc. which are provided in this. The removable medium 31 is composed of, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. The optical disk is composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The magneto-optical disk is configured by an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. In addition, the recording medium provided to the user in a state of being preliminarily incorporated in the apparatus main body includes, for example, the ROM 12 in FIG. 1 in which a program is recorded, the hard disk included in the storage unit 20 in FIG.

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in time series along the order, but is not necessarily performed in time series, either in parallel or individually. The process to be executed is also included.

  As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is only an illustration and does not limit the technical scope of this invention. The present invention can take other various embodiments, and various modifications such as omission and replacement can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention described in this specification and the like, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

The invention described in the scope of claims at the beginning of the filing of the present application will be appended.
[Appendix 1]
An acquisition means for acquiring an image;
Direction specifying means for specifying the imaging direction of the subject in the image acquired by the acquiring means;
Exposure control means for performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means;
An exposure control device comprising:
[Appendix 2]
Storage means for storing a plurality of tables for exposure control by the exposure control means;
Table selecting means for selecting a specific table from a plurality of tables stored by the storage means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying means;
The exposure control apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the exposure control unit performs exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition unit based on a specific table selected by the table selection unit.
[Appendix 3]
The storage means stores a plurality of weighting tables for exposure control by the exposure control means as the plurality of tables,
The table selecting means selects a specific weighting table from a plurality of weighting tables stored by the storage means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying means,
Position selection means for selecting a reference position for exposure control of an image acquired by the acquisition means;
Conversion means for converting the weighting table selected by the table selection means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means and the reference position selected by the position selection means;
Further comprising
The exposure control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the exposure control unit performs exposure control on the image based on the weighting table converted by the conversion unit.
[Appendix 4]
An exposure control method for controlling an exposure control device,
An acquisition step of acquiring an image;
A direction specifying step for specifying an imaging direction of a subject in the image acquired by the acquiring step;
An exposure control step of performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition step based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying step;
An exposure control method comprising:
[Appendix 5]
Computer
Acquisition means for acquiring images,
Direction specifying means for specifying the imaging direction of the subject in the image acquired by the acquiring means;
Exposure control means for performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means;
A program characterized by functioning as

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Image processing part, 15 ... Bus, 16 ... Input / output interface, 17 ... Image pickup unit, 18 ... input unit, 19 ... output unit, 20 ... storage unit, 21 ... communication unit, 22 ... drive, 31 ... removable media, 41 ... image pickup Element, 42... Aperture mechanism, 51... Imaging control unit, 52... Output control unit, 71... Image acquisition unit, 72. 74... Exposure value calculation unit, 75... Exposure value setting unit, 91... Acquired image storage unit, 92... Shooting condition setting storage unit, 93. ..Measured value acquisition unit, 102 ... Table selection unit, 103 ... Table value change unit, 04 ... weighting value calculation unit

Claims (7)

An acquisition means for acquiring an image;
Direction specifying means for specifying the imaging direction of the subject in the image acquired by the acquiring means based on a predetermined operation by the user;
Subject specifying means for specifying the position of a predetermined subject different from the subject that is the target for specifying the imaging direction;
Exposure control means for performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means;
Equipped with a,
The exposure control means performs exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means and the position of the predetermined subject specified by the subject specification means. An exposure control apparatus characterized by that.   The direction specifying unit includes a selection unit that selects an imaging direction based on a predetermined operation by a user, and specifies a selection result by the selection unit as an imaging direction of the acquisition unit with respect to the subject. 2. The exposure control device according to 1. Storage means for storing a plurality of tables for exposure control by the exposure control means;
Table selecting means for selecting a specific table from a plurality of tables stored by the storage means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying means;
The exposure control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure control unit performs exposure control on an image acquired by the acquisition unit based on a specific table selected by the table selection unit. The storage means stores a plurality of weighting tables for exposure control by the exposure control means as the plurality of tables,
The table selecting means selects a specific weighting table from a plurality of weighting tables stored by the storage means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying means,
Position selection means for selecting a reference position for exposure control of an image acquired by the acquisition means;
Conversion means for converting the weighting table selected by the table selection means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means and the reference position selected by the position selection means;
Further comprising
The exposure control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the exposure control unit performs exposure control on the image based on the weighting table converted by the conversion unit. The direction specifying means, the exposure control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that to identify the imaging direction of the acquisition unit with respect to the subject in an image obtained by the obtaining means. An exposure control method for controlling an exposure control device,
An acquisition step of acquiring an image;
A direction specifying step for specifying an imaging direction of a subject in the image acquired by the acquiring step based on a predetermined operation by a user;
Based on the subject specifying step for specifying the position of a predetermined subject different from the subject that is the target for specifying the imaging direction and the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying step, exposure control is performed on the image acquired by the acquiring step. Exposure control steps to be performed;
Only including,
The exposure control step performs exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition step based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specifying step and the position of the predetermined subject specified by the subject specifying step. An exposure control method characterized by the above. Computer
Acquisition means for acquiring images,
Direction specifying means for specifying the imaging direction of the subject in the image acquired by the acquiring means based on a predetermined operation by the user;
Subject specifying means for specifying a position of a predetermined subject different from the subject that is the target for specifying the imaging direction;
Exposure control means for performing exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means;
To function as,
The exposure control means performs exposure control on the image acquired by the acquisition means based on the imaging direction specified by the direction specification means and the position of the predetermined subject specified by the subject specification means. program, characterized in that.