JPH057331A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a blur due to the movement of the hands in a video camera. CONSTITUTION:An image pickup element 2 and a field memory 3 to hold picture data obtained by this are provided. A viewfinder 7, a sight line detecting part 4 to detect the sight line direction of an operator in this finder, and a read address generation circuit 5 of a picture segmenting means to segment a prescribed picture area centering around this detected sight line direction from the picture data in the memory 3 are provided. Thus, since the operator follows instantaneously an image pickup target by his sight line, a picture free from the blur can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video camera, and more particularly to a camera shake prevention function thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional video camera of this type is shown in FIG.
Shown in. The conventional video camera shown in FIG. 2 includes an optical system 1 that forms an image of incident light on an image sensor 2, and a field memory 3 that temporarily stores output image data of the image sensor 2. Has been done. Further, the conventional video camera performs a correlation operation between the output image data of the image pickup device 2 and the output image data of the filled memory 3 to output a maximum correlation position, and a field memory centered on the maximum correlation position. 3, a read address generating circuit 5 for setting the read address of the image data 3, a viewfinder 7 for displaying the output image data from the field memory 3 corresponding to the read address to the operator, and a camera for converting the output image data into a video signal. The circuit 6 and the video signal output terminal 8 thereof are included.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a),
The output image field of view 10 of the image pickup device 2 stored in the field memory 3 is sufficiently wider than the output image field of view 11 of the field memory 3 as shown in FIG. 3B.

Here, it is assumed that the subject 12 originally located at the center of the screen has moved to the position shown in FIG. 3A due to camera shake. In this case, as compared with FIG. 3B which is the output image of the field memory 3 of the previous field, FIG.
When the image of FIG. 3A is sequentially correlated, the correlation value becomes maximum at the maximum correlation position 13 of FIG.

Then, the read address generating circuit 5 sets the read address of the field memory 3 with the maximum correlation position 13 as the center. By the above operation, an image with little camera shake is output to the terminal 8.

The image visual fields 10 and 11 have an area ratio of 2
It may be about 1 to 1.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional video camera, since camera shake is detected from the input image data, the image pickup target is kept stationary on the screen and the background is flown, and the background is kept still to display the image pickup target on the screen. It had the drawback that it could not be distinguished from the case where you wanted to move it inside.

Further, there is a drawback that when the camera starts shaking from the stationary state to the left or right or up and down, it cannot be distinguished whether the camera shake or not, and the camera moves unnaturally.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and an object thereof is to provide a video camera capable of effectively preventing camera shake.

[0010]

A video camera according to the present invention comprises an image pickup device, a memory for holding image data obtained by the image pickup device, a finder, and a visual line detecting means for detecting the visual line direction of an operator in the finder. An image cutting-out unit that cuts out a predetermined image area centered on the detected line-of-sight direction from the image data in the memory is provided.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a video camera according to the present invention, and the same portions as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, the video camera of the present embodiment is different from the conventional one in that a line-of-sight detection unit 4 is provided instead of the correlation circuit to generate a read address according to the line of sight of the operator.

In such a configuration, the optical system 1 forms an image of incident light on the image pickup device 2, and the image pickup device 2 converts the image into an electric signal. The image data output from the image sensor 2 is temporarily stored in the field memory 3 and simultaneously displayed on the viewfinder 7. The output image field of view 10 of the image sensor 2 as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a field of view sufficiently wider than the output image field of view 11 of the field memory 3 is secured.

Here, it is assumed that the subject 12 originally located at the center of the image has moved to the position shown in FIG. 4A due to camera shake. In this case, since the human eyes move quickly, the operator momentarily follows the image-capturing target with his or her line of sight, even if the image is blurred on the screen. The line-of-sight detection unit 4 detects the movement of the eyeball and outputs the value in the line-of-sight direction 14 in FIG. The read address generation circuit 5 sets the read address of the field memory 3 centering on the visual line direction 14.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the image data read from the field memory 3 becomes a stable image with less camera shake, is converted into a video signal by the camera circuit 6, and is stored from the terminal 8. It is output to a device, a monitor TV, or the like.

Next, the structure of the line-of-sight detection unit 4 will be described. First, at the time of white balance adjustment or the like, the operator's pupil is imaged from the viewfinder side and held as an initial value of the image pattern. After the start of photographing, the current pattern and the immediately preceding pattern are sequentially compared (pattern matching), and the line-of-sight direction is detected based on the difference. Then, the visual field is cut out from the image data in the field memory centering on the data in the line-of-sight direction. Further, with respect to the image pattern of the pupil, a method such as taking an average value for every predetermined time or sampling may be considered as necessary.

There is also a known method for detecting the movement of the eyeball muscle.

As described above, in the video camera of the present embodiment, the camera shake is prevented by cutting out a necessary part from the input image according to the movement of the operator's line of sight to form an output image. By intentionally moving or stopping the line of sight, it is possible to effectively deal with the case where the imaging target is kept stationary in the screen and also when it is moved.

Further, even when the camera is shaken from a stationary state, by matching the movement of the eyes with the visual field of the camera,
You can make natural movements.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, by cutting out an image in accordance with the line-of-sight direction of the operator of the video camera, there is no influence of the movement of the imaging target, and camera shake can be effectively prevented. effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional video camera.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the principle of a camera shake prevention function in a conventional video camera.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the principle of the camera shake prevention function in the video camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 image sensor 3 field memory 4 line-of-sight detection unit 5 read address generation circuit 7 viewfinder

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An image pickup device, a memory for holding image data obtained by the image pickup device, a finder, and a line-of-sight detection unit for detecting a line-of-sight direction of an operator in the finder. A video camera, comprising: an image cutout unit that cuts out a predetermined image region centered on the detected line-of-sight direction from the image data in the memory.