JP6260213B2 - Imaging apparatus and imaging method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging method that perform image processing using information obtained by a photometric sensor.

  Conventionally, a camera in which a photometric sensor is provided in a finder is known. Since the photometric sensor is provided at a position deviated from the optical axis of the eyepiece optical system of the finder, the light imaged on the photometric sensor has an inclination angle with respect to the optical axis of the photographing lens. There is parallax between them.

  As a camera capable of correcting this parallax, a camera disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this camera, a mechanism for moving the image sensor according to the subject distance is provided in order to correct the parallax between the subject image and the captured image viewed from the viewfinder.

JP 2004-354439 A

  Thus, in order to eliminate the parallax between the subject image and the captured image viewed from the viewfinder, the structure is complicated or predetermined control is required. On the other hand, photometric sensors having a large number of pixels have been recently developed. That is, the image obtained by the photometric sensor is not as high-definition as the image obtained by the image sensor, but the subject can be identified at a predetermined level. The inventor has conceived of improving the accuracy of image processing on a captured image by using an image detected by a photometric sensor before photographing.

  The present invention is a camera provided with a photometric sensor, and uses an unphotographed image obtained by the photometric sensor to improve the accuracy of image processing on a captured image without complicating the structure of the camera. An object is to provide an apparatus and an imaging method.

  The image capturing apparatus according to the present invention acquires a first image sensor that acquires captured image data of a subject, and first image data that is an image shifted in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the image of the subject. 2, an image data temporary storage unit that temporarily stores captured image data and preparation image data, an image processing unit that performs image processing on the captured image data, and a specific area from the captured image data and the preparation image data. A region extracting unit that extracts a specific region from the preparatory image data and stores it as a first extracted image in the image data temporary storage unit when performing a shooting operation; A first corresponding area corresponding to one extracted image is detected, and the image processing means executes image processing based on captured image data of the first corresponding area.

  Preferably, the image processing is white balance (WB) processing. Preferably, the image processing unit executes image processing based on captured image data of the first corresponding region for the first corresponding region, and based on captured image data of the other region for the other region. To execute image processing. Preferably, the image data temporary storage means also stores reduced image data generated from the RAW data together with the RAW data of the captured image data, and the area extraction means compares the first extracted image with the reduced image. Thus, the first corresponding area is detected.

  Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes an exposure control unit that obtains an exposure value at the time of acquiring a captured image based on the prepared image data, and acquires the captured image data based on the exposure value determined by the exposure control unit at the time of performing the photographing operation. To do. Preferably, the apparatus further includes a pre-light emitting unit that emits light to the subject before photographing the subject, and the region extracting unit extracts the first extracted image from the preparation image data acquired by executing the pre-light emitting unit. To do. Preferably, the area extracting unit extracts a face area of a person or an animal as the first extracted image when extracting the first extracted image from the preparation image data.

  Preferably, a distance measuring sensor that acquires auxiliary preparation image data that is an image shifted in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the preparation image data, and a composite preparation that combines the preparation image data and the auxiliary preparation image data Image synthesizing means for generating image data, and the area extracting means extracts an area where the partial exposure amount, which is the exposure amount for each partial area, is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value from the auxiliary preparation image data before executing the photographing operation The second extracted image is stored in the image data temporary storage means, the second corresponding area corresponding to the second extracted image is detected from the prepared image data, and the image synthesizing means detects the second corresponding area as the second extracted area. The area preparation means generates a first extraction image by extracting a specific area from the synthesis preparation image data when the photographing operation is executed.

  Preferably, the image sensor further includes a distance measuring sensor that performs focus control at the time of acquiring a captured image based on the auxiliary preparation image data, and the focus control determined by the distance sensor at the time of performing the photographing operation; Captured image data is acquired based on the exposure value acquired by the above. Preferably, when the movable mirror is disposed in the optical path from the imaging optical system to the image sensor and the movable mirror is disposed in the optical path, the subject image is formed on the finder screen, and the movable mirror is retracted from the optical path. Then, the image pickup device further includes a single-lens reflex configuration capable of forming the subject image on the image pickup device and acquiring the picked-up image data, and the second image pickup device acquires the preparation image data from the subject image formed on the viewfinder screen.

  Preferably, the first image sensor is capable of acquiring captured image data by forming a subject image via the photographing optical system, and the second image sensor is a photometric optical device different from the photographing optical system. It is arranged at a position where the preparation image data is acquired from the subject image via the system.

  The imaging method according to the present invention includes a captured image data acquisition method for acquiring captured image data of a subject, and a preparation for acquiring preparation image data that is an image shifted in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the captured image data. An image data acquisition method, an image data temporary storage method for temporarily storing captured image data and preparation image data, an image processing method for performing image processing on captured image data, and a specific region from the captured image data and the preparation image data And extracting a specific area from the preparatory image data and storing it as a first extracted image in the image data temporary storage means, and from the captured image data to the first extracted image. A corresponding first corresponding area is detected, and image processing is executed based on captured image data of the first corresponding area.

  According to the present invention, a camera provided with a photometric sensor improves the accuracy of image processing on a captured image by using a pre-photographed image obtained by the photometric sensor without complicating the structure of the camera. It becomes possible to make it.

It is sectional drawing of the digital camera to which the 1st or 2nd embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the position shift of the to-be-photographed image formed in the image pick-up element and the photometry sensor, respectively. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a digital camera. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the white balance process in CPU of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of flash imaging | photography control. It is a figure which shows a white balance process. It is a figure which shows the white balance process when not performing pattern matching. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the image composition process in CPU which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of image composition. It is a figure which shows image composition. It is a figure which shows the image composition when not performing pattern matching.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a single-lens reflex digital camera 10, that is, an imaging apparatus. The camera body of the digital camera 10 is provided with a photographing optical system 11. An image sensor (first image sensor) 13 is provided on the optical axis of the photographing optical system 11 in the camera body. The image sensor 13 is, for example, a CMOS. The light that has passed through the photographing optical system 11 forms an image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 13, whereby captured image data of the subject (subject image) is obtained. The captured image data is, for example, data of 24 million pixels.

  On the optical axis of the photographic optical system 11, a main mirror (movable mirror) 15 that is a half mirror is provided between the photographic optical system 11 and the image sensor 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the main mirror 15 is inclined with respect to the optical axis of the photographing optical system 11 in the photographing standby state, and is set in a horizontal state during photographing. The light that has passed through the photographing optical system 11 is reflected by the main mirror 15, thereby forming a subject image on the finder screen 19. On the back surface of the main mirror 15 with respect to the reflecting surface, the sub mirror 17 is set in an inclined state with respect to the optical axis of the photographing optical system 11. The light transmitted through the main mirror 15 is reflected by the sub mirror 17 and forms an image on the distance measuring sensor 21 provided below the sub mirror 17. The distance measuring sensor 21 is, for example, a CCD.

  The light reflected by the main mirror 15 is guided to the eyepiece optical system 25 by the pentaprism 23. The photometric sensor (second image sensor) 27 is provided above the eyepiece optical system 25. The light reflected by the main mirror 15 is guided to the photometric sensor 27 and forms an image on the photometric sensor 27. The photometric sensor 27 is, for example, a CCD, but has a smaller number of pixels than the image sensor 13, for example, 86,000 pixels. In this specification, the image sensor 13, the distance measuring sensor 21, and the photometric sensor 27 are all photoelectric conversion elements for detecting an image, but for convenience of explanation, they are represented by names indicating conventional functions of the elements. .

  The prepared image obtained by the photometric sensor 27 is misaligned with respect to the captured image obtained by the imaging element 13 because the photometric sensor is displaced from the optical axis of the eyepiece optical system. That is, the photometric sensor 27 detects preparation image data that is an image shifted in the direction of a plane perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the captured image data. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the captured image A1 and the prepared image A2 are focused on a person, but the prepared image A2 is displaced with respect to the captured image A1, so that the tip of the person's foot is displaced from the image. The empty image area above the tree becomes larger.

  The amount of positional deviation between the preparation image A2 and the captured image A1 varies depending on the conditions of the photographing optical system and the subject distance. For example, the amount of positional deviation between the prepared image A2 and the captured image A1 differs between a person who is a subject located near the camera and a tree which is a subject located far away. As described above, the prepared image A2 and the captured image A1 are entirely misaligned, but the size of the misalignment varies from part to part. Therefore, the overall positional deviation between the prepared image A2 and the captured image A1 cannot be corrected by a simple calculation, and the normal prepared image A2 cannot be used for the captured image A1. In the present embodiment, since the prepared image is high definition, a part of the prepared image is used for image processing of the captured image.

  Conventionally, a photometric sensor is used to measure the brightness of a subject, and the subject region is measured by dividing the subject region into, for example, 77 divided regions. On the other hand, the photometric sensor 27 according to the present embodiment is used not only for measuring the brightness of the subject but also for detecting the image area of the subject that is exposed to the strobe light. That is, the preparatory image detected by the photometric sensor 27 is 86,000 pixels as described above, which is coarser than the captured image, but is larger than the conventional one, so that the subject image can be detected.

  FIG. 3 shows a system configuration diagram of the digital camera. The image sensor 13, the distance measuring sensor 21, and the photometric sensor 27 are connected to a memory controller 51 provided in the signal processing unit 57. The signal processor 57 is provided with a CPU 55, and the memory controller 51 is connected to the CPU 55. The memory controller 51 is connected to the SDRAM 53 and the CPU 55 is connected to a flash (pre-light emitting means) 59. An LCD display 61, an operation unit 63, and a motor driver 65 are connected to the signal processing unit 57, and a memory card 67 is detachably attached.

  Captured image data obtained by the image sensor 13 and preparation image data obtained by the photometric sensor 27 are sent to the memory controller 51 and temporarily stored in the SDRAM 53 in the RAW format. The LCD display 61 displays a captured image based on the captured image data output from the signal processing unit 57. The memory card 67 stores image data output from the signal processing unit 57.

  The motor driver 65 inputs a drive signal from the CPU 55 and drives the photographing optical system 11 (FIG. 1), a mechanical shutter (not shown), and the like. The operation unit 63 includes a release button provided on the camera body, a shooting mode switching dial, and the like. An operation instruction signal generated by operating the operation unit 63 is input to the CPU 55. The signal processing unit 57 can compress the captured image data in the RAW format temporarily stored in the SDRAM 53 into image data in the JPEG format or the like. The signal processing unit 57 writes or reads captured image data with the memory card 67. The CPU 55 controls the flash 59.

  The signal processing unit 57 obtains an exposure value at the time of imaging based on the preparation image data obtained by the photometric sensor 27 before photographing. When the photographing operation is executed, the motor driver 65, the photographing optical system 11, and the shutter (not shown) are controlled based on the determined exposure value.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing white balance processing in the CPU 55. In this example, photographing is performed by causing the flash 59 (see FIG. 3) to emit light. A photometric sensor image processing unit (region extracting means) 101 extracts a region having a relatively large amount of light received by pre-emission from the preparatory image data obtained by pre-emission during photographing. Further, the photometric sensor image processing unit 101 generates a first extracted image that is an image of the extracted region. The first extracted image is input to the pattern matching unit 103. The reduced image generation unit 105 generates reduced image data in which the amount of captured image data obtained by the main light emission is reduced. The reduced image data is input to the pattern matching unit 103. The pattern matching unit 103 performs pattern matching between the reduced image and the first extracted image, and detects a first corresponding region corresponding to the first extracted image from the reduced image. Information on the first corresponding area is input to the image processing unit 107. Note that the information on the first corresponding area includes whether or not the first corresponding area has been effectively identified. The image processing unit 107 performs white balance processing on the captured image based on the captured image data, the reduced image data, and the information on the first corresponding area.

  The flash photographing control will be described with reference to FIG. In step S1, pre-flash is performed on the subject. In step S <b> 2, the photometric sensor acquires a preparation image in the case of only external light and a preparation image at the time of pre-emission, and compares partial exposure amounts of respective areas of the two acquired preparation images. The partial exposure amount is an exposure amount (luminance value) in each region. In step S <b> 3, the photometric sensor image processing unit 101 (see FIG. 4) extracts a region where the pre-emission is relatively strong from the comparison result in step S <b> 2. In step S4, the photometric sensor image processing unit 101 stores the extracted image of the region as the first extracted image.

  In step S5, the CPU determines the light amount of the main light emission based on the preparation image obtained at the time of the pre-light emission. Based on the determined light quantity, the main light emission is performed in step S6, and a photographing operation is performed. The captured image obtained by the imaging operation is stored in the SDRAM 53 (see FIG. 3) in step S7. In step S8, the reduced image generation unit 105 (see FIG. 4) reads the stored captured image and generates a reduced image with a small data amount. The reduced image is generated because the processing load is reduced for image data with a small data amount when performing pattern matching. In step S9, the pattern matching unit 103 (see FIG. 4) performs pattern matching between the reduced image and the first extracted image. Pattern matching is performed by moving the first extracted image on the reduced image and enlarging or reducing the first extracted image as necessary. As a result, a first corresponding region corresponding to the first extracted image is detected from the reduced image.

  In step S <b> 10, the image processing unit 107 (see FIG. 4) determines whether the first corresponding region has been detected effectively based on the information on the first corresponding region acquired from the pattern matching unit 103. If the detection is valid, in step S11, the image processing unit 107 determines that the main emission is relatively strong for the first corresponding area based on the captured image data of the first corresponding area. In addition, normal white balance calculation is performed for other areas. On the other hand, if the detection is not valid, in step S12, the image processing unit 107 performs normal white balance calculation for all regions. In step S13, the image processing unit executes white balance processing based on the result of the white balance calculation.

  The above-described flash photographing control will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. The first extracted image A11 is obtained from the preparation image data acquired by the photometric sensor before and after the pre-emission. In the preparatory image A12 at the time of pre-emission, there is a first extracted image A11 at the position of the broken line frame A13. When the main light emission is performed, a captured image is acquired by the image sensor and temporarily stored in the SDRAM. The captured image is read to generate a reduced image A14 with a small amount of data, and pattern matching is performed between the reduced image A14 and the first extracted image A11. Accordingly, the position indicated by the broken line frame A15, that is, the position of the person in the reduced image A14 is detected as the first corresponding area. Further, assuming that the main emission is relatively strongly applied to the first corresponding area, white balance calculation is performed for the first corresponding area, and normal white balance calculation is performed for the other areas. Thereby, the white balance coefficient is determined for each region. Based on this white balance coefficient, a white balance process is performed on the captured image A16.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a region in the captured image corresponding to the first extracted image extracted from the preparation image is detected by pattern matching, and this region is set as the first corresponding region. That is, information regarding a specific area acquired from the preparation image can be used for white balance processing of the captured image. For example, a normal white balance process can be applied to an area where the flash pre-flash does not reach, and a white balance process can be applied to a specific area where the flash pre-flash reaches the main flash. .

  On the other hand, the case where pattern matching is not performed will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Since there is a positional shift between the reduced image A21 in which the data amount of the captured image is reduced and the preparation image A12, if the information that the person exists at the position of the broken line frame A13 is applied to the reduced image A21 as it is, the person at the position of the broken line frame A22 is displayed. Will exist. The broken line frame A22 is shifted downward from the position of the person. When white balance processing is performed based on this erroneous information, the accuracy of white balance processing decreases in the vicinity of the face region and the tip of the limb, as indicated by the shaded area A24 in the captured image A23.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing image composition processing in the CPU 201 according to the second embodiment. The auxiliary preparation image data acquired by the distance sensor 21 (see FIG. 3) is input to the distance sensor image processing unit (area extracting means) 203. The distance measuring sensor 21 is, for example, a CCD, and the number of pixels is, for example, 86,000 pixels, similarly to the photometric sensor 27 (see FIG. 3). The auxiliary preparation image is an image shifted from the preparation image in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. Further, when there is whiteout in the preparation image acquired by the photometric sensor 27, the area of the image is replaced with an auxiliary preparation image without whiteout. This utilizes the fact that the normal distance measuring sensor 21 has a wider dynamic range than the photometric sensor 27.

  If there is an image area having a partial exposure amount equal to or greater than the threshold Yth in the auxiliary preparation image data, the distance sensor image processing unit 203 extracts the image area as a second extracted image. Information of the extracted second extracted image is input to the pattern matching unit 205. The pattern matching unit 205 reads the preparatory image data temporarily stored in the SDRAM, performs pattern matching between the preparatory image and the second extracted image, and performs second matching corresponding to the second extracted image from the preparatory image. Detect the corresponding area. Information on the second corresponding area is input to the image composition unit (image composition unit) 207. The image composition unit 207 performs image composition processing of the preparation image and the auxiliary preparation image by replacing the second corresponding region in the preparation image with the second extracted image.

  The composite preparation image generation process will be described with reference to FIG. In step S101, the distance measuring sensor acquires an auxiliary preparation image. In step S102, the ranging sensor image processing unit 203 (see FIG. 8) extracts an image region having a partial exposure amount equal to or greater than a threshold Yth (for example, Yth = 12Ev) from the auxiliary preparation image. In step S103, the distance measurement sensor image processing unit 203 stores the extracted image of the region as a second extracted image.

  In step S104, the pattern matching unit 205 (see FIG. 8) performs pattern matching between the prepared image and the second extracted image. Pattern matching is performed by moving the second extracted image on the preparation image and enlarging or reducing the second extracted image as necessary. As a result, a second corresponding region corresponding to the second extracted image is detected from the prepared image.

  In step S <b> 105, the image composition unit 207 (see FIG. 8) determines whether the second corresponding area has been detected effectively based on the information on the second corresponding area acquired from the pattern matching unit 205. If the detection is valid, in step S106, the image composition unit 207 performs image composition processing so as to replace the second corresponding region in the preparation image with the second extracted image. On the other hand, if the detection is not valid, in step S107, the image composition unit 207 performs normal image composition processing to be described later.

  The above-described image composition processing will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. The auxiliary preparation image A31 acquired by the distance measuring sensor includes an area A32 in which the partial exposure amount is relatively low (area of person and tree) A32 and an area in which the partial exposure amount is relatively high (area of sky, clouds, and ground) ) A33. When the partial exposure amount of the area A33 is equal to or greater than the threshold Yth, the area A33 is extracted as the second extracted image and stored in the distance measurement sensor image processing unit 203 (see FIG. 8). On the other hand, the preparation image A34 acquired by the photometric sensor at the same time as the auxiliary preparation image A31 also has a relatively low area (person and tree area) A35 and a relatively high area (sky and area). There is a ground area A36. However, in the area A36, a cloud should be originally reflected as in the area A33 in the auxiliary preparation image A31, but the cloud is not reflected because it is whiteout. In order to detect a whiteout region, pattern matching is performed between the preparation image A34 and the second extracted image. Thereby, the area A36 in the preparation image A34 is detected as the second corresponding area. Next, on the assumption that the second corresponding region is over-exposed, the preparation image and the auxiliary preparation image are synthesized so that the second corresponding region is replaced with the second extracted image. As a result, a composite preparation image A37 is generated.

  On the other hand, there is a technique for acquiring a plurality of captured images by changing an exposure value, and combining the plurality of captured images to acquire a combined captured image having a wide dynamic range. In this embodiment, in order to determine the exposure value at the time of these multiple times of photographing, the exposure value calculated based on the preparation image data and the exposure value calculated based on the auxiliary preparation image data are used. For example, the exposure value is calculated as Ev = 10 based on the preparation image A34 of FIG. 10, and the exposure value is calculated as Ev = 5 based on the auxiliary preparation image A31. In this case, shooting is performed twice when the exposure value is Ev = 5 and when Ev = 10, and two captured images obtained by the shooting are combined.

  As described above, in this embodiment, an area in the preparation image corresponding to the second extracted image extracted from the auxiliary preparation image is detected by pattern matching, and this area is set as the second corresponding area. As a result, the composite preparation image generation process can be performed so that the second corresponding area in which an abnormality such as whiteout has occurred is replaced with the second extracted image having no abnormality. For example, when whiteout occurs in an empty area in the preparation image, whiteout occurs by replacing the empty image area in the preparation image with a partial image in which no whiteout occurs in the auxiliary preparation image. No composite ready image is obtained. Therefore, a composite preparation image having a wider dynamic range than the preparation image is obtained before photographing.

  Moreover, the composite preparation image acquired before imaging | photography can be used as a preparation image in 1st Embodiment. This is particularly effective when a plurality of captured images are acquired by changing the exposure value and a composite captured image is generated by combining the acquired plurality of captured images. That is, since two shootings are performed using two exposure values obtained by two sensors having different dynamic ranges, the dynamic range of the composite preparatory image obtained before photographing and the composite captured image obtained after photographing is obtained. Are equivalent. Thereby, it becomes easy to detect the first corresponding region in the first embodiment by pattern matching.

  On the other hand, a case where pattern matching is not performed between the auxiliary preparation image and the preparation image will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. When the partial exposure amount is greater than or equal to the threshold value Yth in the area A36 in the preparation image A34, the image data of the area A41 that is the position corresponding to the area A36 is replaced. However, since there is a positional shift between the preparation image A34 and the auxiliary preparation image A31, in the composite preparation image A42 obtained by combining the preparation image A34 and the auxiliary preparation image A31, as shown by the hatched portion A43, the tree in the empty region The accuracy of the image composition is reduced in a portion adjacent to the region and the region above the cloud.

  The above is the description of the embodiment of the present invention. Although the white balance processing has been described in the first embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to other image processing. Other image processing to which the present invention can be applied are, for example, gradation correction processing for reducing overexposure and blackout, processing for correcting color reproduction without changing white balance, and the like. In the first embodiment, the specific area is extracted by the pre-emission, but the face area of a person or an animal may be extracted as the first extracted image. Extraction of the face area can also be obtained by the image sensor, but by extracting the face area with the photometric sensor before shooting, it is possible to quickly perform data processing after shooting.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photometric sensor 27 is provided above the eyepiece optical system 25 in the first embodiment, but the photometric sensor 27 may be provided on the side of the eyepiece optical system 25 in some cases. . In this case, a positional deviation between the preparation image acquired by the photometric sensor and the captured image acquired by the image sensor occurs in the left-right direction.

  Further, in the description of FIG. 2, it has been described that the amount of displacement varies depending on the subject distance. However, in the preparation image A2 and the captured image A2 between when focusing on a person and when focusing on a tree, for example. The size of the position shift of the entire image is different. Normally, the angle of view of the prepared image is about 80% of the angle of view of the captured image, and the subject image in the surrounding portion of the captured image is not formed on the photometric sensor. Usually, the angle of view of the auxiliary preparation image is about 60 to 70% of the angle of view of the captured image. In the drawings attached to this specification, the angle of view is not considered for convenience of explanation.

  In the second embodiment, the distance measuring sensor can acquire an image for focusing at multiple points in the auxiliary preparation image, that is, at multiple points in the surface region or the surface direction. Further, the threshold value may be set to be not less than the threshold value Yth1 or not more than the threshold value Yth2 in consideration of not only whiteout but also blackout.

  In this specification, a single-lens reflex camera has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a compact digital camera. In this case, the imaging element can acquire captured image data by forming a subject image via the photographing optical system, and the photometric sensor can capture the subject image via a photometric optical system different from the photographing optical system. It is arranged at a position to acquire the preparation image data.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital camera 11 Imaging optical system 13 Image sensor (1st image sensor)
19 Finder screen 21 Ranging sensor 25 Eyepiece optical system 27 Photometric sensor (second image sensor)
53 SDRAM
55, 201 CPU
57 Signal processing unit 59 Flash 63 Operation unit 101 Photometric sensor image processing unit 103, 205 Pattern matching unit 105 Reduced image generation unit 107 Image processing unit 203 Distance sensor image processing unit 207 Image composition unit A1, A16, A23 Captured image A2, A12, A34 Preparation image A11 First extracted image A14, A21 Reduced image A31 Auxiliary preparation image A37, A42 Composition preparation image

Claims (11)

A first image sensor for acquiring captured image data of a subject;
A second imaging device for obtaining preparation image data different from the first imaging device;
Image data temporary storage means for temporarily storing the captured image data and the preparation image data;
Image processing means for performing image processing on the captured image data;
Area extraction means for extracting a specific area from the captured image data and the preparation image data;
Area extraction means, before Symbol prepared image data by extracting a specific area received light amount is relatively large as the first extracted image, a first corresponding corresponding to said first extracted image from the captured image data Detect the area,
The image processing means executes image processing based on the captured image data of the first corresponding area for the first corresponding area , and based on the captured image data of the other area for the other areas. An image pickup apparatus that performs image processing .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing is white balance (WB) processing. The image data temporary storage means stores the reduced image data generated from the RAW data together with the RAW data of the captured image data,
Area extraction means, wherein the first extracted image as compared to the reduced image, the imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that detecting the first corresponding region. Exposure control means for obtaining an exposure value at the time of acquiring the captured image based on the preparation image data;
The shooting Kageji, imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that to obtain the captured image data on the basis of the exposure value determined by the exposure control means. Pre-flash means for emitting light to the subject before photographing the subject,
Area extraction means, the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that extracting the first extract the image from the preparatory image data obtained by executing the pre-emission means . A distance measuring sensor that acquires auxiliary preparation image data that is an image shifted in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis with respect to the preparation image data;
Image synthesis means for generating synthesis preparation image data obtained by synthesizing the preparation image data and the auxiliary preparation image data;
Area extraction means, Ta before shadow, wherein the image data temporary memory as second extracted image portion exposure amount is an exposed amount of the supplementary preparation image data from each of the partial areas by extracting or more regions a predetermined threshold value Means for detecting a second corresponding region corresponding to the second extracted image from the preparation image data,
The image synthesizing unit generates the synthesis preparation image by replacing the second corresponding region with the second extracted image;
Area extraction means, during the execution of the photographing operation, the image pickup apparatus according to any of claims 1 through 3 by extracting a specific area from the combining preparatory image data, characterized in that said first extracting image . A distance measuring sensor for performing focusing control at the time of acquiring the captured image based on the auxiliary preparation image data;
At run time of the shooting operation, and a focus control which is determined by the distance measuring sensor, according to claim 6, characterized in that to obtain the captured image data on the basis of the exposure value obtained by the distance measuring sensor Imaging device. When the movable mirror is disposed in the optical path from the imaging optical system to the image sensor, and the movable mirror is disposed in the optical path, a subject image is formed on the finder screen, and the movable mirror is retracted from the optical path. In a state, a subject image is formed on the image sensor, and further includes a single-lens reflex configuration capable of acquiring the captured image data,
The second imaging device, the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that obtaining the preparatory image data from the subject image formed on the viewfinder screen. The first image sensor is capable of acquiring the captured image data by forming a subject image via a photographing optical system,
The second imaging device, of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it is arranged in a position to get the ready image data by the subject image through the different photometric optical system and the imaging optical system The imaging device according to any one of the above. A captured image data acquisition method for acquiring captured image data of a subject;
A preparation image data acquisition method for acquiring preparation image data which is an image different from the captured image data;
And an image processing method for performing image processing for the previous SL captured image data,
A region extraction method for extracting a specific region from the captured image data and the preparation image data,
Area extraction method, the shooting Kageji, the amount received from the preparatory image data is a first extraction image by extracting a relatively high specific area, corresponds from the captured image data into the first extraction image Detecting a first corresponding region;
The image processing method executes image processing based on captured image data of the first corresponding region for the first corresponding region , and based on captured image data of the other region for other regions. An imaging method characterized by executing image processing . The region extraction unit extracts a region of a human or animal face as a first extracted image when extracting the first extracted image from the preparation image data. The imaging apparatus according to any one of 9 .

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