JPH08194275A - Stereoscopic image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a stereoscopic image pickup device capable of obtaining a distance to a main subject to which image pickup information for left and right eyes is common. CONSTITUTION: This stereoscopic image pickup device using binocular parallax is equipped with photographing lens systems 1 and 2 incorporating CCDs 3 and 4, an image pickup circuit 5 fetching subject image information for a left eye and a right eye, a detection area arithmetic circuit 9b detecting area information on the main subject common to both of video information for a left eye and a right eye incorporated in the CPU 9, and a subject distance arithmetic circuit 9a calculating the distance to the common main subject based on the area information on the common main subject incorporated in the CPU 9 and information concerning an angle showing the optical axis direction of the lens system.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image pickup device, and more specifically, to a stereoscopic image pickup device utilizing binocular parallax.
The present invention relates to measurement of subject distance, image processing, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a general distance measuring method for autofocus in a conventional silver halide camera or VTR integrated camera, infrared rays or ultrasonic waves are emitted toward a subject through an optical system different from a camera lens. There are an active method in which distance measurement is performed by receiving the reflected light or reflected wave, and a passive method in which the object distance is detected by analyzing the object image captured by the camera lens. The details of the autofocus of the VTR integrated camera are described in "Video Movie Autofocus System and Its Problems" of TV Technology (Page 37 of March 1991 issue).

On the other hand, regarding a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of a stereoscopic image pickup system for taking in two images by two lens systems, a stereoscopic vision apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-119191 has been proposed. This stereoscopic vision device uses focus measurement technology that uses two camera lens systems to perform focus adjustment,
Further, it is a device capable of controlling the convergence angle of the two camera lens systems so as to face the target subject.
The convergence angle is indicated by the included angle of the optical axes of the two lens systems when one point is gazed at.

[0004]

Of the two distance measuring methods described above, the active method requires a dedicated member such as a separate AF unit, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and space.

On the other hand, the passive method is a method of utilizing the image information captured by the taking lens and calculating the object distance from the lens position information and the lens characteristic value after focusing on the object. This method has the following drawbacks. That is, (1) multipoint distance measurement cannot be performed simultaneously. (2) For a subject that is out of focus or a subject that is out of the focus detection area, it cannot be determined whether or not the subject is in focus, so distance measurement cannot be performed. (3) As is known as the hill climbing method, it is not understood that the focus position has passed the best focus position during the lens extension operation for focus position detection.
After passing through the best focus position, the autofocus operation ends, and the distance cannot be measured until that time, which requires a long distance. (4) In the case of multi-point distance measurement, it is necessary to change the detection area.

The above-mentioned problems are caused by the problem of JP-A-60-119191.
In the stereoscopic vision device using the two lens systems disclosed in the publication, the same problem occurs when the above-mentioned autofocus system is applied. Furthermore, in stereoscopic view due to parallax, 2
There is also a problem that stereoscopic vision becomes difficult, that is, fusion does not easily occur when the parallax amount of one lens system is large or when the eye-gaze direction angle when viewing two images exceeds an allowable value. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus, a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus capable of obtaining a distance to a subject relating to video information common to left and right eye image pickup information. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stereoscopic imaging device that can observe a photographic screen that is easy to observe and does not cause fatigue to the observer.

[0008]

Means and Actions for Solving the Problems First of the Invention
The stereoscopic imaging device of, in the stereoscopic imaging device using binocular parallax, an imaging optical system, and a detection unit that detects predetermined information regarding video information common to both left-eye video information and right-eye video information, A calculation means for calculating the distance to the subject relating to the video information common to both the left-eye video information and the right-eye video information, based on the detected predetermined information and the unique information on the imaging optical system. To do. In the stereoscopic imaging device, the detection unit detects information regarding common video information of the left and right eye video information, and the subject distance related to the common video is calculated based on the common video information.

The first stereoscopic image pickup device of the present invention is the above-mentioned first stereoscopic image pickup device.
The predetermined information detecting means included in the stereoscopic image pickup device is configured by specific subject detecting means for detecting information on a specific subject from video information common to both left-eye video information and right-eye video information. ing. In the stereoscopic imaging device, the specific subject detection unit detects information regarding a specific subject from image information common to both left-eye image information and right-eye image information, and determines a subject distance related to a common image. Is calculated.

The third stereoscopic image pickup device of the present invention is the same as the first or second stereoscopic image pickup device, and further includes an image obtained by the image pickup from the information from the detection means and the calculation means. The image processing means for performing a predetermined image processing based on the information of 1. In the stereoscopic imaging device, image processing is performed on the image obtained by imaging based on the information from the detecting unit and the information from the calculating unit, and the subject distance is calculated based on the result.

[0011]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The stereoscopic imaging apparatus of the present embodiment uses a camera block 81 for obtaining left-eye and right-eye image information for stereoscopic images using binocular parallax, and a stereoscopic image utilizing binocular parallax using the left and right image information. The playback block 82 is a block for playing back an image and can also be used as a finder at the time of shooting.

The camera block 81 is a CC which is an image pickup device for taking in image pickup information for the left and right eyes.
Photographing lenses 1a and 2a forming an imaging optical system with D3 and D4
Each having an optical axis O, a base line length a,
A rotatable left eye or right eye photographing lens system 1 and right photographing lens system 2 for capturing imaging information, and imaging output signals of the CCDs 3 and 4 are taken in, and left and right video information is described later in a CPU 9 The left and right lens image pickup circuits 5, the image pattern recognition circuit 6 that recognizes the pattern of the subject image based on the image information of the image pickup circuit, and outputs the output to the CPU 9, which will be described later, and the overall control of the apparatus. A CPU 9 as a control unit for controlling the image processing, and a focus drive for adjusting the focus of the left and right photographing lens systems 1 and 2, a zoom drive, an iris drive for adjusting the exposure, and a lens convergence angle drive. And the like, and a camera detection circuit that constitutes detection means for detecting the rotational position and drive state of the imaging optical system driven by each of the above-mentioned drives. When the recording medium a photographed image information processed through the CPU 9, for example, a magnetic tape 12
And an image recording circuit 10 for recording in the CPU, and instructions for setting shooting conditions, shooting, and starting and stopping reproduction.
9 and an external input detection circuit 11 which is provided to the input terminal 9.

The reproduction block 82 is the CPU 9
The output of the image pickup circuit 5 is controlled by the image processing circuit 13 that outputs the video signal to the image reproduction circuit 14, and the output of the image processing circuit 13 is read, and the monitor 16 or the HMD (head mount display) is operated. ) 17 an image reproduction circuit 14 for outputting a video reproduction signal
And a line-of-sight detection circuit 15 that constitutes a specific subject detection unit that detects a line-of-sight direction angle via a line-of-sight detection optical system for detecting the line-of-sight direction of an observer built in a monitor 16 or an HMD 17, which will be described later. For stereoscopic image observation, a lenticular lens type or polarization type stereoscopic monitor 16 for monitoring left and right image signals, or two sets of liquid crystal displays for left and right images and a stereoscopic image is reproduced as a virtual image of the display image. The HMD 17 is composed of two sets of reproduction optical systems for

The CPU 9 has the image pickup circuit 5
Of the left and right images or the pattern recognition information of the recognition circuit 6 and the like, a distance calculation circuit 9a for calculating the subject distance, and a detection area calculation circuit 9b for calculating a focus detection range or a photometry range. Also, an adjusting means for driving the camera drive circuit 7 based on the above calculation result is built in.

The AF operation of the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below. In the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to the present embodiment, information unique to the image pickup optical system, for example, a lens base line length, a lens optical axis direction angle (angle with respect to the base line) obtained from the camera detection circuit 8, a lens such as a zoom position, etc. Based on the system information and the information detected by the line-of-sight detection circuit 15 in the HMD 17, and the line-of-sight direction information of the specific subject gazed by the observer, the CPU 9
, The distance to the above-mentioned focusing surface common to both lens systems,
That is, the main subject distance is calculated. After that, image processing corresponding to the subject distance is performed, and stereoscopic image information in a stable state that is easy to see and less tired is obtained.

The process of calculating the subject distance will be described in detail. Now, as shown in the photographing state diagram of FIG. 2, the optical axes O1 and O of the two lens systems 1 and 2 of the camera block 81 are described.
2 is set to gaze at the subject (person) 21,
It is also assumed that the focus is in the vicinity of the subject 21. Then, the left and right captured images are input to the reproduction block 82 so that the vergence angle of each eyeball is 0 °, that is, stereoscopic viewing is performed in a parallel viewing state. In the HMD 17 of the reproduction block 82, the left and right screens in FIG. 3 and the left and right shooting screens 24, on the liquid crystal displays 17B1 and 17B2 as shown in the optical path diagram.
25 is displayed.

Therefore, in the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of this embodiment, H
MD17 line-of-sight detection optical system (described later with reference to FIG. 5)
The eye-gaze direction angle θ ′ of the eyeball on the HMD 17 when gazing at the subject (person) 21 and the subject (flower) 22 via the is detected by the line-of-sight detection circuit 15. Then, the subject distances LA and LB to the subject (person) 21 and the subject (flower) 22 are calculated by the angle φ of the lens systems 1 and 2 in the optical axis direction and the angle θ ′ of the line of sight of the eyeball. be able to.

That is, for the subject (person) 21,
The angle of the line-of-sight of the observer coincides with the optical axis O1 or O2, and the lens setting condition shown in FIG. 2, that is, the base line length; a (however, the subject is on the intermediate position a / 2 extension line) The angle LA between the optical axes O1 and O2 and the base line 23 is φ (however, this value is detected by the camera detection circuit 8), and the distance LA to the subject (person) 21 is LA = (a / 2) × tan φ ... (1)

The subject (flower) 22 is shown in FIG.
The angle θ ′ of the line of sight of the observer, which is the above-described detection result shown in
On the other hand, the ratio Z / Z ′ between the field angle 2 × Z of the lens systems 1 and 2 and the viewer's viewing angle 2 × Z ′ with respect to the image on the HMD 17.
Is multiplied by to obtain the line-of-sight direction angle θ with respect to the subject (flower) 22 of the lens system. That is, θ = θ ′ × Z / Z ′ (2)

By applying the above-mentioned lens setting conditions based on the line-of-sight angle θ of the lens system, the distance LB to the subject (flower) 22 is LB = (a / 2) × tan (φ-θ) ... ... (3) is required. In this way, each subject distance can be obtained by the above-described detection and calculation of the line-of-sight direction.

Incidentally, in the photographing state diagram of FIG.
For convenience of explanation, the subject is on the extension line of the middle position of the baseline,
Moreover, the subject is assumed to be located on the optical axis of the lens,
Actually, not only in this state, the subject distance can be obtained by applying the respective numerical values when the subject is located on the extension line of any point of the base line.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of subject distance calculation processing in the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of this embodiment. The procedure of the above calculation process will be described in detail with reference to this figure. First, in step S1, the setting conditions of each lens system are fetched. That is, the base line length a of the lens system, the camera detection circuit 8
Lens system optical axis direction angle φ detected by, lens system angle of view 2
* Z is taken in and the calculation conditions are determined. Then, in step S2, a subject is imaged to focus on a certain subject surface.

In step S3, the HMD 17 makes the observer gaze at the subject whose distance is to be measured, and the line-of-sight direction angle θ'of the eyeball at that time is detected by the line-of-sight detecting means 15, which is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The processing block 31 is used to detect the line-of-sight angle θ of the lens system toward the subject. Then, in step S4, the subject distances LA and LB are calculated based on the equation (1) or the equation (3) based on the data obtained in steps S1 and S3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of the liquid crystal optical system, the visual axis detecting optical system, and the detecting section of the visual axis detecting circuit 15 incorporated in the HMD 17. The line-of-sight detection unit detects the position and direction of the same subject for the left and right eyes. That is, the liquid crystal optical system section includes the optical system 17a and the liquid crystal display panel 17b. The line-of-sight detection optical system includes a dichroic mirror 17c and a condenser lens 1.
It is composed of 7d. As the detection unit of the line-of-sight detection circuit 15, the infrared light emitting diode 15a and the line-of-sight detection CCD 1 are used.
5b is provided.

The light of the infrared light emitting diode 15a is reflected by the pupil part of the eyeball, then by the dichroic mirror 17c, and then the line-of-sight detection CCD 15b through the condenser lens 17d.
Image on top. Then, the eye gaze direction, that is, the angle θ ′ of the eye gaze direction of the eyeball is detected from the image formed by the CCD 15b.

As described above, in the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of the present embodiment, the observer simply looks at the subject 22 on the HMD 17 and quickly and easily without searching the focus plane. The distance to the subject can be calculated. Further, it is possible to detect the main subject from the image position of the subject and the subject distance, and it is possible to prevent AF confusing or AF mistake by performing AF again according to the position. Also, if you gaze at another specific subject on the HMD,
It is possible to measure the distance of the subject, and it is possible to easily perform multi-point distance measurement. Since the distance can be measured by gazing, it is possible to measure the distance even if the image is blurred.

In the apparatus of the above-described embodiment, the state in which the subject is set at the center of the lens base line length and at the position symmetrical with the optical axis of the lens has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The subject is not limited to the center of the baseline length,
Further, the system of the apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment can be applied to a state where the optical axis direction of the lens system is not symmetrical either. Furthermore, the same can be said for the setting conditions of the lens.

Next, a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a left eye,
The pattern recognition circuit 6 detects the position of the specific subject on the photographing screen for the right eye by pattern matching processing. The device calculates a subject distance based on the specific subject position information. Other than that, the configuration of the apparatus itself is the same as the block configuration of FIG. 1 applied to the apparatus of the first embodiment.

The pattern matching process is, for example,
The left and right image screens 26 and 27 photographed by the lens systems 1 and 2 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B are divided into several areas, and the divided areas a1 to a5 and b1 to b5 are divided.
Is compared with each other to detect a matching image information on the area, and the position of the detected area is identified as a specific subject.

For example, the screens 26 of FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B),
When the pattern matching process is performed based on 27,
It is detected that the area a3 and the area b3 in which the subject 21 is located and the area a4 and the area b2 in which the subject 22 is located match. And HM
The area spacing S'from the center on the D screen is known. Further, based on the space S ′, the HMD indicating the direction in which the subject 21 and the subject 22 are located as shown in the optical path diagram of the HMD in FIG.
The upper line-of-sight direction angle θ ′ can be obtained. When this line-of-sight direction angle θ'is detected, the subject distance LB can be calculated by the equations (2) and (3).

The flow of the subject distance calculation processing of this embodiment is the same as that of the flow chart of FIG. 4, but in step S3, as shown in FIG. 4, the image position S as the shift amount of the subject. Will be detected in block 32.

The configuration itself of the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of this embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1 applied to the apparatus of the first embodiment, but in the case of this apparatus, the visual axis detection circuit is used. A detection element such as 15 is not required, and only image information processing such as pattern recognition is required. Also, a person who observes the image can measure the distance without gazing at the subject when detecting the subject distance. Further, by sharing the specific subject detection process and the line-of-sight direction detection process by the pattern recognition described above, it is possible to simultaneously measure the multipoint subject distances, and it is possible to obtain a user-friendly stereoscopic imaging device.

Next, a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus showing a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The stereoscopic image pickup device includes the first,
Alternatively, by incorporating the position information, area information, and distance information of each subject captured by the method of the stereoscopic imaging apparatus shown as the second embodiment, a stereoscopic vision unit that allows only the subject to which fusion is permitted to be observed is built-in. are doing. Prior to a detailed description of the present apparatus, the range (angle) in the line-of-sight direction in which fusion is possible will be described.

When observing a stereoscopic image by observing the images on the two left and right screens by fusion, there is a permissible range in the direction of the line of sight in which fusion is possible, and the permissible limit is on the camera side and the reproducing side. It is determined by the condition and the distance of the subject and the angle range in which the eyes move, and is indicated by the fusion allowable line-of-sight angle on the side of the cross eye and the side of the diffusion eye.

Distance L0, as shown in the photographing state diagram of FIG.
Consider a case where the subjects 41, 42, and 43 located at LA and LB are photographed by the lens systems 1 and 2, and the photographed screen is observed by the HMD 17. At that time, the lens systems 1 and 2 are in a convergence angle setting state in which the position of the subject 41 is the gazing point of the lens system. In the HMD optical path diagram of FIG. 8, the angles of the observer's outer and inner line-of-sight directions with respect to the subjects 42 and 43 are θLA ′ and θLB ′, respectively, as shown in the left photographing screen 45, and FIG.
As shown on the right photographing screen 46, the angles of the observer's outer and inner gaze directions with respect to the subjects 42 and 43 are θRA ′ and θRA ′, respectively.
θRB ′. However, the convergence angle of the HMD 17 is set to be parallel.

When the outside or inside angle of the line of sight exceeds a predetermined angle, a subject farther from the gazing point becomes a diffusion eye and an object closer to the gazing point becomes a cross eye in the observation state on the HMD 17. The degree depends on the subject distance. If the degree of diffused eyes or cross-eyed eye increases and exceeds the fusion allowable value, fusion will not occur and stereoscopic viewing will be impossible, or if stereoscopic viewing at the allowable limit is continued for a long time Gets tired. Therefore, when performing stereoscopic vision by fusion, it is necessary to perform stereoscopic vision within the angle of the fusion-allowed line-of-sight direction on the outer side or the inner side, that is, on the side of the diffuser eye or the cross-eye side.

The stereoscopic vision unit built into the apparatus of the above embodiment is composed of an HMD or the like.
The same as in the first and second embodiments. Therefore,
The distance to the main subject can be detected by the same processing as that of the apparatus of the first and second embodiments. Then, in the stereoscopic vision unit of the present embodiment, an object outside the fusion allowable range is detected on the HMD observation screen, and the image processing circuit 13 blurs, mosaics, or masks the object. And the like. By this process,
An object outside the fusion allowable range is not perceived as a stereoscopic image, and the eye strain of the observer is relieved.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a certain photographing state. A main subject 51 is within the fusion allowable range within the photographing field angle, and a subject (house) 53 and a subject (flower) 54 are outside the fusion allowable range. The figure shows a state in which the left and right lens systems 1 and 2 are used to photograph the position. When the state of such a subject is photographed by the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of the present embodiment, first, FIG.
The left and right photographing screens 55 and 56 shown in (B) are captured.
Therefore, the stereoscopic vision unit checks the line-of-sight direction of each subject on the photographing screen to identify the subjects 53 and 54 whose line-of-sight angle is outside the fusion allowable range. And FIG.
As shown on the left and right screens 5 and 58, the subject 53 and 54, which are outside the fusion allowable range, are displayed on the HMD with blurring, mosaic, masking, or the like. .

As described above, in the present embodiment, processing such as blurring the subject outside the fusion allowable range or not displaying the subject by masking is performed on the playback screen on the HMD. This prevents the eyestrain of the observer.

Furthermore, as a modification of the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of the third embodiment, it is possible to propose an apparatus which performs an appropriate AF process on an object within the fusion range on the HMD. FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the AF process in the present modified example. First, in step S11, the distance and position of each subject are detected from the images on the left and right shooting screens. In step S12, it is checked whether or not a subject within the fusion allowable range exists in a certain central area.

If no such subject exists,
The process jumps to step S15 to change the convergence angle of the lens system. If the above-mentioned subjects are present, the process proceeds to step S13 to check the number of the subjects. If the single subject is single, the process jumps to step S16, and the AF process is performed again on the single subject. If the number of subjects is plural, step S1
In step 4, the AF area is set to the area in which the closest subject is located among the plurality of subjects, the AF process is executed again, and this process ends.

As described above, in the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of this modification, when there are some subjects at the center of the screen, the subject in front is preferentially subjected to AF processing.
This makes it easier to observe the shooting screen. Also, when there is no main subject in the center, it is possible to automatically change the convergence angle on the camera lens system side to detect the main subject and display it on the screen.

(Supplementary Note) The stereoscopic image pickup device described below can be provided based on the embodiment described above. That is, (1) in a stereoscopic imaging device using binocular parallax, an imaging optical system, and a detection unit that detects predetermined information regarding video information common to both left-eye video information and right-eye video information, And a calculation means for calculating a distance to a subject relating to image information common to both left-eye image information and right-eye image information, based on the detected predetermined information and unique information relating to the imaging optical system. To do. According to the stereoscopic imaging device, the distance to the subject can be accurately and quickly obtained.

(2) The detecting means in the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to the above-mentioned supplementary note (1) detects the information relating to the specific subject from the image information common to both the left-eye image information and the right-eye image information. A stereoscopic imaging device that is a subject detection unit.

According to the above stereoscopic image pickup device, the distance to a specific subject is searched for without searching the focus plane of each subject.
There is no doubt that you can ask for it accurately and quickly.

(3) In the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to the above-mentioned supplementary note (1) or (2), the image obtained by the image pickup is further determined based on the information from the detection means and the information from the calculation means. Stereoscopic imaging device having an image processing means for performing the image processing of 1.

According to the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus, it is possible to observe the picked-up image in good condition and without fatigue.

(4) In addition to the stereoscopic image pickup device according to the above (3), an image obtained by subjecting the image obtained by the image pickup to a predetermined image processing based on the information from the detection means and the information from the calculation means. A stereoscopic image pickup apparatus, comprising a processing means, for performing a predetermined process for distinguishing an image outside a fusion range from an image inside a fusion range.

According to the above-mentioned stereoscopic image pickup apparatus, it is possible to prevent the eyestrain of the observer by performing image processing so that the subject located outside the fusion range cannot be observed in the photographed image.

(5) The above supplementary notes (1), (2), (3),
Alternatively, in addition to the stereoscopic imaging device described in (4),
A stereoscopic image pickup apparatus comprising: a focus adjustment unit that drives an image pickup optical system to adjust the focus based on the distance information obtained by the calculation unit.

According to the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus, the distance to the subject can be accurately and quickly obtained.

[0052]

The stereoscopic image pickup device according to the first aspect of the present invention is based on predetermined information regarding the image pickup information common to the left-eye image pickup information and the right-eye image pickup information and unique information regarding the image pickup optical system. Since the distance to the subject is calculated, the distance to the subject can be calculated accurately and quickly.

The stereoscopic image pickup device according to claim 2 of the present invention is
By detecting the information related to the specific subject from the video information that is common to the left-eye imaging information and the right-eye imaging information, it is possible to calculate the distance to the specific subject. The distance to can be accurately and quickly obtained without searching the focus plane of each subject.

A stereoscopic image pickup device according to claim 3 of the present invention is
Since the predetermined image processing is performed on the image obtained by the image pickup based on the information from the detection unit and the information from the calculation unit, it is possible to observe the imaged image in good condition and without fatigue. It will be possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a stereoscopic image pickup apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a certain photographing state photographed by the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an optical path diagram of a shooting screen and an HMD in the shooting state of FIG.

4 is a flowchart of subject distance calculation processing in the stereoscopic imaging apparatus of FIG.

5 is a configuration diagram of a liquid crystal optical system, a line-of-sight detection optical system, and a detection unit of a line-of-sight detection circuit incorporated in the HMD in the stereoscopic imaging apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a shooting screen of the stereoscopic imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a divided state of a pattern matching processing area, (A) is a left-eye shooting screen, and (B) is a right view. An eye photographing screen is shown.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a certain photographing state for explaining an angle in a fusion-allowed line-of-sight direction in the stereoscopic imaging apparatus showing the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an HMD showing a shooting screen in the shooting state shown in FIG. 7;
The figure which shows the screen and optical path when it observes with.

9 is a diagram showing a certain photographing state photographed by the stereoscopic image pickup apparatus of FIG. 7;

10 shows a shooting screen of the shooting state of FIG. 9 taken by the stereoscopic imaging device of FIG. 7 and a masking processing screen on the HMD, and (A) shows a shooting screen and a masking processing screen for the left eye. , (B) are a photographing screen and a masking processing screen for the right eye.

11 is a flowchart of AF processing in a device of a modified example of the stereoscopic imaging device in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... left-eye taking lens system (imaging optical system) 2 ... right-eye taking lens system (imaging optical system) 7 ... camera drive circuit (focus adjusting means) 9 ... CPU (calculate distance to subject) Means, detecting means for detecting predetermined information) 9b ... Detection area arithmetic circuit (detecting means for detecting predetermined information) 9a ... Distance arithmetic circuit (means for calculating distance to subject) 13 ... Image processing Circuit (image processing means) 15 ... Line-of-sight detection circuit (specific subject detection means)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G03B 35/10

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stereoscopic image pickup apparatus utilizing binocular parallax, and an image pickup optical system, and detection means for detecting predetermined information relating to image information common to both left eye image information and right eye image information. Calculating means for calculating the distance to the subject relating to the image information common to both the left-eye image information and the right-eye image information, based on the detected predetermined information and the unique information relating to the imaging optical system, A stereoscopic image pickup device comprising. 2. The stereoscopic image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a specific subject detecting means for detecting information relating to a specific subject from video information common to both left-eye video information and right-eye video information. 3. An image processing means for performing a predetermined image processing on the image obtained by the image pickup based on the information from the detecting means and the information from the calculating means.
The stereoscopic imaging device described.