JP6983692B2 - Image pickup device, its display control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image pickup device such as a digital camera and a display control method thereof, and a program, and more particularly to an image pickup device having a panoramic composition function and a display control method thereof, and a program.

Conventionally, there is an image pickup device that continuously shoots a plurality of images (continuous shooting) while shaking a digital camera or the like from side to side (panning), and stitches the continuously shot images into one panoramic image.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of synthesizing a panoramic image and cutting out the vicinity of the center of the generated panoramic image as a representative image.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-223291

However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, an out-of-focus portion may be cut out as a representative image, and a region that is not important to the user may be cut out as a representative image.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of cutting out a region suitable for a representative image when a representative image is generated by cutting out a part of the panoramic image, a display control method thereof, and a program. Is.

The image pickup apparatus according to the present invention is an image pickup device having an image pickup means for outputting an image obtained by photographing a subject, and is a composite that synthesizes a panoramic image based on a plurality of images output by the image pickup means. The shooting start position of the panoramic image was determined based on the means, the detection means for detecting the movement of the image pickup device and its direction, and the movement direction of the image pickup device detected by the detection means, and the determination was made. It is characterized by comprising a control means for controlling the image including the shooting start position to be cut out as a representative image from the panoramic image.

According to the present invention, when a part of a region is cut out from a panoramic image to generate a representative image, a region suitable for the representative image can be cut out.

It is external drawing of the digital camera as the image pickup apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the panoramic photography processing of Example 1 executed by the system control unit in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the album moving image creation process of Example 1 executed by the system control unit. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of Example 1, which is executed in step S405 of FIG. It is a figure explaining the area of the image cut out in each of steps S504 to S507 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the panoramic photography processing of Example 2 executed by the system control unit. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of Example 2, which is executed in step S405 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the image which is cut out when there is a posture change in step S803 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of Example 3, which is executed in step S405 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen transition when the panoramic image in Example 3 is made into an album moving image.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment described below, a case where a digital camera capable of shooting a still image and a moving image is applied as an image pickup device according to the present invention will be described as an example. The image pickup device according to the present invention is not limited to a digital camera as long as it can capture an image, and may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone.

[About the configuration of the digital camera]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera as an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 includes a display unit 28, a power switch 72, a shutter button 61, a mode changeover switch 60, a connection cable 111, a connector 112, an operation unit 70, a storage medium 200, a storage medium slot 201, and a lid 202. Be prepared.

The display unit 28 displays an image and various information. The power switch 72 switches between power on and power off.

The shutter button 61 generates the first shutter switch signal SW1 (turns on) during the user's operation (half-pressed), and generates the second shutter switch signal SW2 (turns on) when the user's operation is completed (fully pressed). ..

The mode changeover switch 60 switches various modes in the digital camera 100. More specifically, it is possible to switch modes such as a still image recording mode, a moving image recording mode, a panoramic shooting mode, and a playback mode.

The connection cable 111 connects the digital camera 100 and an external device. The connector 112 connects the connection cable 111 and the digital camera 100.

The operation unit 70 receives various operations from the user. The operation unit 70 has various buttons shown in the figure and operation members such as a touch panel provided on the screen of the display unit 28. Specific examples of the various buttons of the operation unit 70 include an erase button, a menu button, a SET button, a four-way button (up button, down button, right button, left button) arranged in a cross, a wheel 73, and the like. be.

The storage medium 200 is composed of a memory card, a hard disk, or the like. The storage medium slot 201 stores the storage medium 200. The storage medium 200 stored in the storage medium slot 201 can communicate with the digital camera 100. The lid 202 is the lid of the storage medium slot 201.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital camera 100 of FIG.

In FIG. 2, the digital camera 100 includes a shooting lens 103, a shutter 101 having an aperture function, an image pickup unit 22, an A / D converter 23, a voice control unit 11, a barrier 102, a timing generation unit 12, and a D / A converter 13. , An image processing unit 24, and a memory control unit 15. Further, the digital camera 100 includes a system control unit 50, a memory 32, a display unit 28, a microphone 10, a compression / decompression unit 16, an interface 18 for connecting a storage medium 200, a speaker 39, a non-volatile memory 56, and a system memory 52. Be prepared. Further, the digital camera 100 includes a mode changeover switch 60, a shutter button 61, an operation unit 70, a power supply control unit 80, a power supply unit 30, connectors 33 and 34, a posture detection unit 40, a connector 35, a storage medium attachment / detachment detection 98, and communication. A unit 110 is provided.

The image pickup unit 22 is composed of a CCD, a CMOS element, or the like that converts an optical image into an electric signal, and outputs an image obtained by photographing the subject as an analog signal.

The A / D converter 23 converts an analog signal into a digital signal. The A / D converter 23 is used when converting an analog signal output from the image pickup unit 22 into a digital signal or when converting an analog signal output from the voice control unit 11 into a digital signal.

The barrier 102 covers the imaging system including the photographing lens 103 of the digital camera 100 to prevent the imaging system including the photographing lens 103, the shutter 101, and the imaging unit 22 from being soiled or damaged.

The timing generation unit 12 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image pickup unit 22, the voice control unit 11, the A / D converter 23, and the D / A converter 13. The timing generation unit 12 is controlled by the memory control unit 15 and the system control unit 50.

The image processing unit 24 performs resizing processing such as predetermined pixel interpolation and reduction and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 23 or the data from the memory control unit 15. Further, in the image processing unit 24, a predetermined calculation process is performed using the captured image data, and the system control unit 50 (AF processing execution means) performs exposure control and distance measurement control based on the obtained calculation result. .. As a result, TTL (through-the-lens) type autofocus processing (hereinafter referred to as "AF processing"), AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing are performed. Further, the image processing unit 24 performs a predetermined calculation process using the captured image data, and also performs a TTL method AWB (auto white balance) process based on the obtained calculation result.

The output data from the A / D converter 23 is written to the memory 32 via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15, or directly via the memory control unit 15.

The memory 32 stores image data obtained by the image pickup unit 22 and converted into digital data by the A / D converter 23, and image data to be displayed on the display unit 28. The memory 32 is also used to store the audio data recorded by the microphone 10, the still image, the moving image, and the file header when composing the image file. Therefore, the memory 32 has a sufficient storage capacity for storing a predetermined number of still images, moving images for a predetermined time, and audio.

The compression / decompression unit 16 compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like. The compression / decompression unit 16 uses the shutter 101 as a trigger to read the captured image stored in the memory 32, perform compression processing, and write the processed data to the memory 32. Further, the compressed image read into the memory 32 from the recording unit 19 of the storage medium 200 or the like is subjected to decompression processing, and the processed data is written to the memory 32. The image data written in the memory 32 by the compression / decompression unit 16 is filed in the file unit of the system control unit 50 and recorded in the storage medium 200 via the interface 18. Further, the memory 32 also serves as a memory (video memory) for displaying an image.

The D / A converter 13 converts the image display data stored in the memory 32 into an analog signal and supplies it to the display unit 28. The display unit 28 displays on a display such as an LCD according to the analog signal from the A / D converter 23. In this way, the image data for display written in the memory 32 is displayed by the display unit 28 via the D / A converter 13.

The microphone 10 converts the sound from an external sound source into an audio signal of an analog signal. This voice signal is supplied to the A / D converter 23 via a voice control unit 11 composed of an amplifier or the like, converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 23, and then stored in the memory 32 by the memory control unit 15. Stored in. On the other hand, the audio data recorded in the storage medium 200 is read into the memory 32 and then converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 13. The voice control unit 11 drives the speaker 39 by this analog signal and outputs voice.

The non-volatile memory 56 is a memory that can be electrically erased and recorded, and for example, EEPROM or the like is used. The non-volatile memory 56 stores constants, programs, and the like for the operation of the system control unit 50. The program referred to here is a program for executing various flowcharts described later in this embodiment.

The system control unit 50 controls the entire digital camera 100. The system control unit 50 realizes each process of the present embodiment described later by executing the program recorded in the above-mentioned non-volatile memory 56. RAM is used as the system memory 52. In the system memory 52, constants and variables for the operation of the system control unit 50, a program read from the non-volatile memory 56, and the like are expanded.

The mode changeover switch 60, the shutter button 61, and the operation unit 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions to the system control unit 50.

The mode changeover switch 60 can switch the operation mode of the system control unit 50 to any one of a still image recording mode, a moving image recording mode, a reproduction mode, and the like.

The shutter button 61 turns on the first shutter switch signal SW1 transmitted to the system control unit 50 when the user presses it halfway. Upon receiving the first shutter switch signal SW1, the system control unit 50 starts operations such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (autoexposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing. do.

Further, the shutter button 61 turns on the second shutter switch signal SW2, which is transmitted to the system control unit 50 when the user fully presses the shutter button 61. Upon receiving the second shutter switch signal SW2, the system control unit 50 starts a series of shooting processes from reading the signal from the image pickup unit 22 to writing the image data to the storage medium 200.

Each operation member of the operation unit 70 is assigned a function as appropriate for each scene by selecting and operating various function icons displayed on the display unit 28, and acts as various function buttons. Examples of the function buttons include an end button, a back button, an image feed button, a jump button, a narrowing down button, an attribute change button, and the like. For example, when the menu button is pressed, a menu screen on which various settings can be made is displayed on the display unit 28. The user can intuitively make various settings by using the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28 and the four-way button or the SET button.

The power switch 72 switches between power on and power off.

The power supply control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, and the like, and detects whether or not a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Further, the power supply control unit 80 controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection result and the instruction of the system control unit 50, and supplies a necessary voltage to each unit including the storage medium 200 for a necessary period.

The power supply unit 30 includes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like. The connectors 33 and 34 connect the power supply unit 30 and the power supply control unit 80.

The attitude detection unit 40 is composed of, for example, an acceleration sensor / angular velocity sensor. The posture detection unit 40 detects the posture change and the moving direction of the digital camera 100.

The interface 18 is an interface with the storage medium 200. The connector 35 is a connector for connecting the storage medium 200 and the interface 18. The storage medium attachment / detachment detection 98 detects whether or not the storage medium 200 is attached to the connector 35. The storage medium 200 includes a recording unit 19 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 37 with the digital camera 100, and a connector 36 for connecting the storage medium 200 and the digital camera 100. ..

The communication unit 110 performs various communication processes such as RS232C, USB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication. The connector (antenna in the case of wireless communication) 112 connects the digital camera 100 to another device via the communication unit 110.

[Example 1]
Hereinafter, the display control method of the digital camera 100 according to the first embodiment, which is executed by the system control unit 50 of the digital camera 100 in FIG. 2, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. The panoramic shooting process according to the first embodiment below is performed when the AF process by half-pressing the shutter button 61 is enabled in advance in the digital camera 100.

(About panoramic shooting processing)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the panoramic shooting process of the first embodiment executed by the system control unit 50.

This process starts when the user of the digital camera 100 sets the mode changeover switch 60 to the panoramic shooting mode, presses the shutter button 61 halfway, and the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on.

When the system control unit 50 receives the first shutter switch signal SW1 from the shutter button 61, the system control unit 50 performs AE / AF processing for determining exposure and focal length (step S301). The details of this AE / AF process are widely known and will not be described here.

Next, the system control unit 50 proceeds to step S302, determines whether or not the first shutter switch signal SW1 remains ON, and if it remains ON, proceeds to step S303, and the user's hand is released from the shutter button 61. If it is separated, this process ends.

The system control unit 50 determines in step S303 whether or not the user has fully pressed the shutter button 61 and the second shutter switch signal SW2 has been turned on. When the system control unit 50 is turned on as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S304, and when a plurality of captured panoramic images are captured from the image pickup unit 22, the shutter button 61 is still pressed halfway. Returns to step S302.

The system control unit 50 saves a plurality of images captured from the image pickup unit 22 in step S304 in the memory 32, and then combines the plurality of images saved in the memory 32 into a panoramic image (hereinafter, “panorama composition””. (.) (Step S305). This method of panoramic composition is widely known and will not be described here.

Next, the system control unit 50 proceeds to step S307 to acquire the shooting direction (first discriminating means). To acquire this shooting direction, the user of the digital camera 100 operates the operation unit 70 to set the shooting direction in advance from "right to left (→)", "left to right (←)", and "bottom to top (↑). ) ”,“ Top to bottom (↓) ”may be specified. Alternatively, the posture detection unit 40 may detect the panned direction of the digital camera 100 and acquire the shooting direction.

Next, the system control unit 50 records the shooting direction acquired in step S307 in the MarkerNote of the EXIF header (step S308). After that, the panoramic image is compressed and encoded and stored in the storage medium 200 in the EXIF file format (step S309), and this process is terminated.

As described above, in the panoramic shooting process, the AE / AF process is performed only once when the shutter button 61 is half-pressed and the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned ON, so only the image first captured in step S304 is exposed. And in focus.

In this embodiment, the shooting direction acquired in step S307 is recorded in the header portion when the panoramic image is compressed and encoded and converted into a file, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the panoramic image and the information on the shooting direction acquired in step S307 may be separately stored in the same or different memories, and a table showing the correspondence may be provided.

In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, in the panoramic shooting process, it is not possible to know where in the panoramic image the subject for which AF / AE is performed before shooting the image is located. Then, in such a panoramic shooting process, the user can end the shooting at an arbitrary position. Therefore, the central part of the panoramic image is often insignificant.

Further, since the user can arbitrarily determine the shooting end position of the panoramic image, there is a high possibility that an important subject is not included. On the other hand, since the shooting start position is the position where the user first determines the shooting target, there is a high possibility that a relatively important subject is included in the panoramic image. Therefore, in the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, the region on the shooting start position side of the panoramic image is cut out as a representative image.

(About album video creation process)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the album moving image creation process of the first embodiment executed by the system control unit 50.

Here, the album moving image means an album in which one representative image is taken out from each of a plurality of images and the representative images of the plurality of images are combined as one moving image.

The system control unit 50 creates a moving image file in step S401. Here, it is created including various management information related to the video. This management information is widely known and will not be discussed here.

Next, the system control unit 50 selects a plurality of images for creating an album moving image and creates an album image list (step S402). In step S402, for example, an image in focus, an image showing many people, a panoramic image, and the like are preferentially selected.

Next, the system control unit 50 selects the first image from the album image list created in step S402 (step S403), and determines whether the selected image is a panoramic image (step S404). If it is a panoramic image in step S404, the panoramic image album animation process is performed (step S405). The panoramic image album animation process in step S405 will be described later with reference to FIG. On the other hand, if it is not a panoramic image in step S404, the selected image is decoded (step S406), and the decoded image is recorded in the moving image file by a predetermined frame (step S407). In step S407, the decoded image does not cut out a part of the image, and all the pixels of the image are recorded in the moving image file as the representative image.

Next, the system control unit 50 determines whether all the images in the album image list created in step S402 have been made into moving images (step S408), and ends this process when all the images have been made into moving images. On the other hand, when only a part of the images in the album image list is made into a moving image, the next image is selected from the album image list (step S409), and the process returns to step S404.

(About panoramic image album animation processing)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of the first embodiment, which is executed in step S405 of FIG.

First, the system control unit 50 decodes the panoramic image that has been compressed and encoded and stored in the EXIF file format (step S501). Next, the system control unit 50 acquires the shooting direction from the MarkerNote of the EXIF header (step S502).

Next, the system control unit 50 determines the shooting direction acquired in step S502 (step S503). When it is determined in step S503 that the shooting direction is "from left to right (→)", the left end of the panoramic image is determined as the shooting start position, and the image including the shooting start position is cut out from the panoramic image as a representative image (step). S504: Second discriminating means, cutting means). On the other hand, when it is determined in step S503 that the shooting direction is "from right to left (←)", the right end of the panoramic image is determined as the shooting start position, and the image including the shooting start position is cut out from the panoramic image as a representative image. (Step S505). Similarly, as a result of the determination in step S503, when the shooting direction is "from bottom to top (↑)", the lower end of the image is determined as the shooting start position, and the image including the shooting start position is cut out as a representative image from the panoramic image. (Step S506). Further, as a result of the determination in step S503, in the case of "top to bottom (↓)", the upper end of the image is determined as the shooting start position, and the image including the shooting start position is cut out as a representative image from the panoramic image (step S507). ..

Next, the system control unit 50 records the images cut out in steps S504 to S507 in a moving image file for a predetermined frame (step S508), and ends this process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an area of an image clipped in each of steps S504 to S507 of FIG.

When the shooting direction is “from left to right (→)”, the portion 601 is cut off (step S504). Similarly, when the shooting direction is "right to left (←)", the part 602 is shot (step S505), and when the shooting direction is "bottom to top (↑)", the part 603 is shot (step S506). When the direction is "from top to bottom (↓)", the portion 604 is cut off (step S507). That is, the vicinity of the image first captured when creating the panoramic image is cut out. As a result, the image that has undergone AE / AF processing can be cut out. This cut-out image is recorded in an album movie as a representative image of a panoramic image.

According to the first embodiment, it is possible to cut out the in-focus portion of the panoramic image as a representative image to be included in the album moving image.

[Example 2]
Hereinafter, the display control method of the digital camera 100 according to the second embodiment, which is executed by the system control unit 50, will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

(About panoramic shooting processing)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the panoramic shooting process of the second embodiment executed by the system control unit 50. Since steps S301 to S309 have been described above with reference to FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

The system control unit 50 turns off the attitude change flag after performing the AE / AF process in step S301 (step S701). Next, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the first shutter switch signal SW1 remains ON (step S302), and if it remains ON, the process proceeds to step S702, and the user's hand is released from the shutter button 61. If it is separated, this process ends.

In step S702, the system control unit 50 detects whether or not the posture detection unit 40 has changed the posture by a predetermined value or more. The system control unit 50 determines that the posture has changed when the digital camera 100 is moved by a user operation or the like. As a result of this detection, when there is a posture change, the posture change flag is turned on (step S703), and when there is no posture change, the process proceeds to step S303 as it is. Next, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the second shutter switch signal W2 is turned ON (step S303), and returns to step S302 when the shutter button 61 is still pressed halfway. As a result, when the digital camera 100 moves while the first shutter switch signal SW1 is ON, the posture change flag is turned ON. If the digital camera 100 moves after the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on and the AE / AF process is performed, it is considered that the subject to which the AE / AF process has been performed is not at the shooting start position. Therefore, in the panoramic shooting process of the second embodiment, by turning on the posture change flag, information indicating that the AE / AF process is not performed at the shooting start position is retained. The posture detection unit 40 detects the movement of the digital camera 100, and the system control unit 50 determines that there is a posture change when the movement amount after the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on becomes equal to or more than the threshold value. do. Further, when the posture detection unit 40 can detect the direction (shooting direction) of the digital camera 100, even if the amount of movement of the digital camera 100 itself is small, the direction of the digital camera 100 changes (moves) by a predetermined value or more. , You may decide that there is a change in posture. Here, the movement of the digital camera 100 includes the case where the digital camera 100 is translated in a fixed direction without changing the direction (shooting direction) of the digital camera by panning or the like. Further, when the digital camera 100 performs such a parallel movement, the posture detection unit 40 detects the presence / absence of the movement, the movement direction and the movement amount when the movement occurs.

After that, the system control unit 50 saves the panoramic image in step S309, reads out the value of the posture change flag, and records the presence or absence of the posture change in the EXIF-MakerNote before the end of this process. Specifically, 1 is recorded when the posture change flag is on, and 0 is recorded when the posture change flag is off.

(About panoramic image album animation processing)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of the second embodiment, which is executed in step S405 of FIG. Since the album moving image creation process is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the description thereof will be omitted. Further, since steps S501 to S508 have been described above with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

The system control unit 50 decodes the panoramic image compressed and encoded in step S501 and saved in the EXIF file format, and then acquires the presence or absence of a posture change from the MarkerNote of the EXIF header (step S801).

Next, the system control unit 50 detects whether or not there has been a posture change (step S802), and when the posture change is detected, proceeds to step S803. The system control unit 50 cuts out the central portion of the image as a representative image in step S803. On the other hand, when the posture change is not detected, steps S502 to S507 are executed.

After that, the images cut out in steps S504 to S507 and S803 in step S508 are recorded in the moving image file for a predetermined frame, and this process is terminated.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image cut out when there is a posture change in step S803 of FIG.

FIG. 9A shows the direction (shooting direction) of the digital camera 100 when the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on. Here, the digital camera 100 is pointed at the landscape near the center of the captured panoramic image. Here is an example.

On the other hand, FIG. 9B shows the direction (shooting direction) of the digital camera 100 when the second shutter switch signal SW2 is turned on. Here, the digital camera 100 is attached to a child near the left end of the captured panoramic image. Here is an example of pointing.

As described above, when the direction of the digital camera 100 is significantly changed while the first shutter switch signal SW1 is ON, the focus is not on the vicinity of the first image of the captured panoramic image. In the example of FIG. 9B, the digital camera 100 was pointed at the center of the captured panoramic image when the first shutter switch signal SW1 was turned on, not the child captured near the first image. The focus is on the surrounding landscape. In this way, the posture of the digital camera 100 is from the time when the first shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on by half-pressing the shutter button 61 until the second shutter switch signal SW2 is turned on by pressing the shutter button 61 fully. May change significantly. In such a case, the central portion of the panoramic image is cut out as a representative image, and the cut out image is recorded in the album moving image as a representative image of the panoramic image.

According to the second embodiment, for a panoramic image in which it cannot be determined where the focus is, the central portion is cut out as a representative image. This makes it possible to include in the album video the part that the user of the digital camera 100 wants to check most.

[Example 3]
Hereinafter, the display control method of the digital camera 100 according to the third embodiment, which is executed by the system control unit 50, will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

(About panoramic image album animation processing)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the panoramic image album animation processing of the third embodiment, which is executed in step S405 of FIG. Since the panoramic shooting process and the album moving image creation process are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the description thereof will be omitted. Further, since steps S501 to S508 have been described above with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

The system control unit 50 records the representative image of the panoramic image in the moving image file for a predetermined frame in step S508, and then proceeds to step S1001. In step S1001, the images of the portion other than the representative image of the panoramic image are recorded in the moving image file in the form of a slide show, that is, as one frame.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing screen transitions when the panoramic image in Example 3 is converted into an album movie. Here, it is assumed that the panoramic image shown in FIG. 6 is taken in the “left to right (→)” direction. FIG. 11A is a representative image recorded in step S508 of FIG. 10, and the representative image is displayed for a predetermined time (1 second or the like). Next, by the processing in step S1001, the portion of the panoramic image other than the representative image is gradually shifted from the left end to the right as shown in FIGS. 11 (b) to 11 (d), and the same is shown in FIG. 11 (e). Cut out to the right end in order and record these as frames of the moving image file. That is, the entire panoramic image is recorded while sliding, and at that time, the vicinity of the representative image shown in FIG. 11A is recorded for a longer time than the images of other parts shown in FIGS. 11B to 11E. do.

With this configuration, when a panoramic image is converted into an album movie, it is possible to display the representative image in focus for a long time and to browse the entire panoramic image.

[Example 4]
In the second embodiment, when the posture of the digital camera 100 changes significantly between the half-pressing and the full-pressing of the shutter button 61, it is not possible to determine where the panoramic image is in focus, so that the vicinity of the center of the panoramic image is a representative image. Cut out as. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the panoramic image in which the focus cannot be determined is configured so that the vicinity of the center is the representative image.

Specifically, it is highly possible that the panoramic image taken when the AF process by half-pressing the shutter button 61 is effective as in the first embodiment is in focus near the first image. On the contrary, when AF processing by half-pressing the shutter button 61 is invalid, specifically, when MF (manual focus) or focus lock is set, the focus is on the vicinity of the first image of the panoramic image. Not likely.

Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, instead of acquiring the presence / absence of the posture change from the EXIF-MakerNote in step S801 of FIG. 8, the presence / absence of the MF and the focus lock setting is acquired. After that, if it is determined that there is such a setting (YES in step S802: third determination means), the process proceeds to step S803, and the image including the central portion of the panoramic image is cut out as a representative image.

Similarly, for a panoramic image taken at infinity, the image including the central portion thereof may be cut out as a representative image. The reason is that an image with infinity in focus is likely to be in focus on the entire image like a landscape photograph.

According to the fourth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, for the panoramic image in which it cannot be determined where the focus is, the vicinity of the center is cut out as a representative image. This makes it possible to include in the album video the part that the user of the digital camera 100 wants to check most.

[Example 5]
In Examples 1 to 4, the representative image was used to create the album moving image. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a representative image may be used, for example, as a thumbnail image or a review image immediately after shooting.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof.

[Other Examples]
Needless to say, the object of the present invention is also achieved by supplying the device with a storage medium in which the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is recorded. At this time, the computer (or CPU or MPU) including the control unit of the supplied device reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

As the storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

Further, based on the instruction of the above-mentioned program code, the OS (basic system or operating system) running on the device performs a part or all of the processing, and the processing realizes the function of the above-described embodiment. Needless to say, cases are also included.

Further, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the device or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, and the functions of the above-described embodiment may be realized. Needless to say, it is included. At this time, based on the instruction of the program code, the function expansion board, the CPU provided in the function expansion unit, or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing.

100 Digital camera 22 Imaging unit 24 Image processing unit 32 Memory 40 Attitude detection unit 50 System control unit 56 Non-volatile memory 60 Mode changeover switch 61 Shutter button 70 Operation unit

Claims (13)

An image pickup device having an image pickup means for photographing a subject and outputting the obtained image.
A compositing means for synthesizing a panoramic image based on a plurality of images output by the imaging means, and a compositing means.
A detection means for detecting the movement of the image pickup apparatus and its direction, and
The shooting start position of the panoramic image is determined based on the moving direction of the image pickup device detected by the detection means, and the image including the determined shooting start position is controlled to be cut out as a representative image from the panoramic image. An image pickup apparatus comprising: and a control means for the operation. Further, an AF processing executing means for executing an autofocus processing using the image output by the imaging means is provided.
When the detection means detects that the image pickup apparatus has moved from the execution of the autofocus process to the start of shooting the image used for the panoramic image, the control means of the panoramic image. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image including a central portion is controlled so as to be cut out as the representative image. The detection means detects the amount of movement of the image pickup apparatus and detects the amount of movement of the image pickup apparatus.
When the movement amount of the image pickup apparatus detected by the detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value between the time when the autofocus process is executed and the time when the image to be used for the panoramic image is taken. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image including the central portion of the panoramic image is controlled to be cut out as the representative image. The detection means detects the amount of movement of the image pickup device in the shooting direction, and the detection means detects the amount of movement of the image pickup device in the shooting direction.
In the control means, the amount of movement of the image pickup device detected by the detection means in the shooting direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value from the execution of the autofocus process to the start of shooting the image used for the panoramic image. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the image including the central portion of the panoramic image is controlled to be cut out as the representative image. The first aspect of claim 1, wherein the control means cuts an image including a central portion of the panoramic image as the representative image when the autofocus process using the image output by the image pickup means is invalid. Imaging device. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the execution of the autofocus process is invalid, either manual focus or focus lock is set in the image pickup apparatus. With more means to create album videos,
The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the creating means creates the album moving image using the representative image. The creation means is characterized in that, when creating an album moving image, the entire panoramic image is recorded while sliding, and at that time, the vicinity of the representative image is recorded for a longer time than the image of another portion. Item 7. The image pickup apparatus according to Item 7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the panoramic image is an image having a focus at infinity, the control means cuts out an image including a central portion of the panoramic image as the representative image. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the representative image is used as a thumbnail image. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the representative image is used for a review image immediately after being photographed by the image pickup means. In a display control method of an image pickup device having an image pickup unit that captures a subject and outputs an image obtained.
A compositing step of synthesizing a panoramic image based on a plurality of images output from the imaging unit, and
A detection step for detecting the movement of the image pickup apparatus and its direction, and
The shooting start position of the panoramic image is determined based on the moving direction of the image pickup device detected in the detection step, and the image including the determined shooting start position is controlled to be cut out as a representative image from the panoramic image. A display control method comprising: a control step to perform. A program comprising executing the display control method according to claim 12.

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