JPH11112841A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and efficiently constitute a screen in each photographing at the time of continuously photographing plural related objects. SOLUTION: Images for monitoring photographed in an image pickup part 13 are passed through an A/D conversion circuit 14 and an image processing part 15 and tentatively stored in an image memory 16. A control part 17 reads a part or all of the images recorded in a previous time from a recording part 20, works them to display images by a thinning processing and then, transfers them to the prescribed partial area of the storage area of a display memory 18. Also, the control part 17 reads photographed images from the image memory 16, works them to the display images by the thinning processing and then, transfers them to the remaining area of the storage area of the display memory 18 excluding a part overlapped with displayed already recorded images. In finder display to an LCD display part 19, by simultaneously displaying a part or all of the images recorded in the previous time and referring to the images, the screen is easily constituted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a CCD (Charge C)
The present invention relates to a digital camera that photoelectrically converts a subject light image into an electric image composed of image signals using an image pickup device such as an image pickup device, and captures the captured image on a recording medium such as a memory card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a digital camera, an LCD display section is provided on the back of the camera body, and this LCD display section is used as an electronic viewfinder for visually recognizing a subject to be photographed, and a photographed image recorded on a recording medium. A device used as a display device for playing back is commercially available. In this digital camera, a shooting operation similar to that of a video camera is performed in a shooting mode (recording mode), and the shot image (video image) is displayed on the LCD display unit so that the subject image in the shooting screen can be visually recognized. Has been made. In the reproduction mode, a photographed image (image recorded on the recording medium) of the frame number designated by the reproduction frame selection button is read and reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit.

[0003]

By the way, since an image photographed by a digital camera is recorded by an electric signal, various processes such as synthesis, deletion, correction and the like can be performed by image processing. For this reason, when shooting a large subject that does not fit in the shooting screen, the subject is divided into a plurality of blocks and shot, and these divided shot images are combined by image processing to obtain a shot image of the entire subject. Can be. For example, when performing panoramic shooting, a horizontally long panoramic screen is divided into two parts, the left and right shooting ranges are respectively shot, and then the left and right shot images are pasted together at the boundary to perform image processing. A panoramic image can be obtained.

However, in a conventional digital camera having an LCD display unit, an image obtained by video shooting (ie, a subject in a shooting screen) is only displayed on a monitor of the LCD display unit. It is difficult to determine the angle-of-view configuration of each block when photographing in a divided manner. That is, in order to perform the image bonding process of the image of each block, the image of each block must have a boundary portion between adjacent blocks overlapped in the image of each block. Since the range of the image to be overlapped is not displayed on the LCD display unit,
The photographer must appropriately configure the screen, and in some cases, there will be no overlapping area, making synthesis impossible, and conversely, the overlapping area will be more than necessary, resulting in inefficient block division. Will happen.

In the case where a subject related to a photographed subject is continuously photographed, it may be necessary to perform the next photographing with reference to an already photographed image such as adjustment of framing or presence / absence of duplicate photographing. However, in the conventional digital camera, the captured image recorded on the recording medium can be reproduced on the LCD display unit only in the reproduction mode, so that the captured image recorded on the recording medium and the image to be captured are simultaneously displayed on the LCD display unit. It is inconvenient to display and confirm both images.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a digital camera capable of easily framing an object to be photographed while confirming an already photographed image when continuously photographing a related object. Is what you do.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image capturing means for photoelectrically converting a subject light image into an image signal and capturing the image signal; a recording means for recording the image signal captured by the image capturing means; A digital camera having display means for displaying an image based on an image signal, wherein at least a part of the image captured by the image capturing means is displayed on a monitor in a part of a display area of the display means, and A display control means is provided for displaying at least a part of the photographed image recorded in the recording means in the remaining display area of the display means.

According to the above arrangement, at the time of photographing, an image of the photographed subject is captured by the image capturing means, and at least a part of the image is displayed on a monitor in a partial display area of the display means. At the same time, at least a part of the images already photographed and recorded in the recording means is displayed in the remaining display area of the display means. That is, an image of the subject to be photographed is displayed in a partial area in the display area of the display unit,
At least a part of the photographed image is displayed in the remaining area.

[0009] Since the image of the subject to be photographed and the photographed image of the subject related thereto are simultaneously displayed on the display means, the photographer can refer to the photographed image to obtain the photographed subject. Framing can be easily performed.

[0010] In the digital camera according to the present invention, the display control means may display a partial image of one of left, right, up, and down ends of the latest photographed image recorded in the recording means on the display means. The information is displayed at the other end on the left, right, up, or down of the area (claim 2).

According to the above arrangement, a partial image at one of the left, right, upper and lower ends of the latest photographed image recorded in the recording means is displayed in the display area at the other left, right, upper, or lower end of the display means, An image of the subject to be imaged is displayed in another display area of the display means. That is, for example, a partial image at the left end of the previously captured image is displayed at the right end of the display area of the display means, and an image of the subject to be captured is displayed in the remaining area of the display area.

Thus, for example, in order to obtain a panoramic photograph image by pasting the left and right divided images by image processing,
When the subject on the landscape screen is divided into two parts on the left and right, and the image on the right screen and the image on the left screen are taken in this order, in the second shooting, the first shot is taken at the right end of the display area of the display means and recorded. A partial image of the left end of the image of the right screen (an image of the bonded portion) recorded in the means is displayed, and the image of the left screen is displayed on the monitor in another area of the display area. The photographer can efficiently frame the image on the left screen while referring to the image of the bonded part on the right screen displayed at the right end of the display area.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera. Digital camera 1
In FIG. 1, a photographing lens 2 is disposed substantially at the center of the front surface, and a distance measuring window 3 for measuring a subject distance and a photometric window 4 for detecting a subject luminance are disposed above the photographing lens 2. In the camera body, an image pickup device composed of a color CCD is provided on the optical axis of the photographing lens 2, and the photographing lens 2 forms a subject light image on an image pickup surface of the image pickup device. Further, a distance measuring sensor including, for example, a CCD line sensor is provided at a position behind the distance measuring window 3 in the camera body, and the distance of the subject is detected by the distance measuring sensor. Also, the photometry window 4 in the camera body
A photometric sensor such as an SPC is provided at the rear of the camera, and the luminance of the subject is detected by the photometric sensor.

On the side of the digital camera 1, there is provided a card insertion slot 5 into which a hard disk card (hereinafter, referred to as HD card) 7 is inserted and removed, and an upper portion of the card insertion slot 5 for ejecting the HD card 7 is provided. A card removal button 6 is provided. The photographing result is printed on a recording paper using a printer or a personal computer to which the HD card 7 can be attached or detached, or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tuning).
be) etc. can be displayed on the monitor.

A digital camera 1 is provided with a SCSI cable interface, and the digital camera 1 is connected to a printer or personal computer to directly transfer image data from the digital camera 1 to a printer or personal computer to print a photographed image. Alternatively, display may be performed.

In this embodiment, a PCMCIA-compliant HD card 7 is used as a recording medium for image data. However, a flash memory card, a PC card, a mini disk, or the like can be used as long as it can record image data. Other recording media may be used.

A shutter button 8 is provided at the right end of the upper surface of the digital camera 1. A switch S1 that is turned on when pressed halfway and a switch S2 that is turned on when fully pressed are linked to the shutter button 8. When the switch S1 is turned on, focus adjustment of the photographing lens 2, setting of an exposure control value, and the like are performed. Preparation for shooting is performed. When the switch S2 is turned on, a photographing operation (a photographing operation of a still image) is performed, and after an image signal captured by an image capturing unit 13 (see FIG. 8) described later is subjected to predetermined signal processing, the image signal is output to the HD. Recorded on the card 7.

On the back of the digital camera 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a main switch 9 is provided at an upper portion of a left end thereof, and a liquid crystal finder 10 composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is provided substantially at the center. Further, a mode setting switch 11 is provided below the switch.

The main switch 9 is a switch for starting the digital camera 1. When the main switch 9 is turned "ON", power is supplied from the power supply battery to the electric circuit in the camera body, and the camera enters a photographable state. When the main switch 9 is turned "OFF", the power supply to the electric circuit is stopped, and the photographing is disabled. LCD finder 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a display device that displays a video image of the subject captured by the image sensor so that the screen configuration of the subject to be captured can be visually recognized in the shooting mode, and is recorded on the HD card 7 in the playback mode. This is a display device that reproduces and displays a captured image.

The mode setting switch 11 is for switching and setting the display mode of the liquid crystal finder 10 in the photographing mode. In the present embodiment, when a horizontally long subject that does not fit in the shooting screen is divided into a plurality of blocks and shot, the shooting screen of each block is easily and efficiently configured so that the screen configuration of the second and subsequent blocks can be performed easily and efficiently. In the display of (1), the image of the boundary portion of the image of the previously captured block is displayed at the right end or left end of the liquid crystal finder 10 as an index image of the screen configuration. The mode setting switch 11 is a mode for displaying only the object to be photographed at present (a mode functioning as an optical finder; this display mode is hereinafter referred to as a normal display mode) and the image at the boundary between the above-described photographed image. (Hereinafter, this display mode is referred to as a boundary display mode).

The mode setting switch 11 is an operation button 1
1A is a switch that slides in the horizontal direction, and the contact position can be switched between a central position and “R” and “L” positions provided on both sides thereof. When the operation button 11A is set at the center position, the normal display mode is set. When the operation button 11A is set at the "R" position or the "L" position, the boundary display mode is set.

There are two types of setting positions for setting the boundary display mode. When a horizontally long subject is divided into a plurality of blocks and each block is photographed in order, each block is sequentially moved from the right block to the left. Whether the subject of the block is photographed or the subject of each block is photographed in order from the left block to the right, an image of a boundary portion to be displayed as an index image of a screen configuration at the time of photographing each block and a liquid crystal finder 10 of the image. Is different. The “L” position is a setting position of the boundary display mode when shooting the subject of each block in order from the left block to the right,
The “R” position is a setting position of the boundary display mode when the subject of each block is photographed in order from the right block to the left. For convenience of explanation, when the boundary display mode set at the “L” position side and the boundary display mode set at the “R” position side are described separately, the former is referred to as “L side boundary display mode”. The latter is referred to as “R-side boundary display mode”.

When the horizontally long subject shown in FIG. 3 is divided into two blocks A and B, and the subject in each block A and B is photographed twice consecutively, the "L side boundary display mode" is set. And at the time of the second shooting of the subject in block B,
As shown in FIG. 4B, a first image shown in FIG. 4B is taken at the left end of the display area K of the liquid crystal finder 10,
Already image G _AL at the right end of the captured image G _A recording block A (image G _AL of the boundary portion) is displayed (video images for monitor) photographic image of a subject of the block B in the remaining area G _B Is displayed. Also, “R side boundary display mode”
Is set, during the second shooting of the subject in the block A, as shown in FIG.
The right end of the display region K 0, is taken first shown in the FIG. 5 (a), the previously taken image G _B of recorded blocks B
Left portion of the image G _BR (image G _BR of the boundary portion) is displayed in, the G _A (video images for monitor) photographic image of a subject of the block A in the remaining area are displayed.

The photographer moves the photographing direction of the digital camera 1 to the left in the display state of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, if the framing so that the video image G _B image G _AL and the block B of the boundary of the block A are continuous, a suitable imaging for the block B in relation to the photographed image of the block A The screen can be configured.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the video image of the block B (or A) to be photographed this time is the image G _AL (or G) of the boundary portion of the block A (or B) photographed last time.
_{Although the} image content is deleted and displayed for the display area of ( _BR ), the entire video image may be displayed by compressing in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 4 to 7, the numbers in the screen are frame numbers.

When a horizontally long subject is divided into three or more blocks, the second and subsequent shots of each block are previously shot at the left end or right end of the display area of the liquid crystal finder 10 and are already recorded. The image of the boundary portion of the captured image of the block is displayed, and the captured image (monitor video image) of the subject of the block to be captured this time is displayed in the remaining area.

In this embodiment, the boundary display mode can be set only when the subject is divided in the horizontal direction and photographed. However, the boundary display mode can be set in the case where the subject is divided and photographed in the vertical direction. Alternatively, the boundary display mode may be set.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an optical system 12 corresponds to the photographing lens 2. Also, the imaging unit 13
Is for photoelectrically converting a subject light image formed on the imaging surface of the imaging device by the optical system 12 into an image signal and outputting the image signal. The image pickup section 13 includes an image pickup device composed of a color CCD, a CCD drive control circuit for controlling the driving of the image pickup device, and predetermined signal processing such as noise reduction and level adjustment of an image signal (analog signal) output from the image pickup device. An analog signal processing circuit is included.

In the image pickup section 13, the light image of the subject is R, G, B
Are separated into color components and photoelectrically converted into image signals, respectively.
Predetermined analog signal processing is performed for each color component. In a shooting standby state (a state until shooting is instructed by the shutter button 8), the imaging unit 13 performs a moving image shooting operation,
The captured image (video image) is displayed on the monitor (finder display) on the liquid crystal finder 10. When the photographing is instructed by the shutter button 8 (when the S2 switch is turned on), a still image photographing operation is performed based on the exposure control value set at the time of preparing for photographing, and the photographed image (still image) is obtained.
Is recorded on the HD card 7.

The A / D conversion circuit 14 converts an analog image signal output from the image pickup unit 13 into a digital image signal (hereinafter, referred to as image data) of, for example, a 10-bit configuration. In addition, the image processing unit 15 performs A / D
The image data output from the conversion circuit 14 is subjected to image processing such as shading correction, white balance adjustment, and gamma correction. The image processing unit 15 performs the predetermined image processing for each of the image data of the R, G, and B color components.

The image memory 16 is a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data output from the image processing unit 15. The image memory 16 has a memory capacity of, for example, three frames, and stores image data separated into image data of R, G, and B color components.

The control unit 17 comprises a microcomputer, which centrally controls the photographing operation of the digital camera 1 and centrally controls the operation of displaying the photographed image on the liquid crystal finder 10 and the operation of recording / reproducing on the HD card 7. It is.

In the display operation on the liquid crystal finder 10, the control unit 17 performs a thinning process of image data to generate image data for display (hereinafter, this image data is referred to as display data). In the case of a color image, the image of each color component of R, G, and B is subjected to thinning-out processing, and then these images are combined to generate image data for color display. The thinning process of image data
Since the number of pixels constituting the image displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10 is smaller than the number of pixels constituting the image photographed by the imaging unit 13, the image (video image) temporarily stored in the image memory 16 and the image recorded on the HD card 7 are recorded. When displaying the displayed image (still image) on the liquid crystal finder 10, display data is generated by evenly thinning out some image data from the image data constituting the image. The generated display data is transferred to a display memory 18 which is a buffer memory for the liquid crystal finder 10.

Further, in the recording operation on the HD card 7, the control unit 17 controls, for example, a JPEG (Joint Photograph).
The compression processing of the photographed image (still image) is performed at a predetermined compression rate set in advance by the Ic Coding Experts Group) method, and the compressed image is recorded on the HD card 7. On the other hand, H
Liquid crystal finder 10 of compressed image recorded on D card 7
In the reproducing operation for the display, the control unit 17 performs the decompression processing of the compressed image, generates the display data by performing the thinning processing, transfers the display data to the display memory 18, and reproduces and displays the display data on the liquid crystal finder 10. I do.

In the display operation on the liquid crystal finder 10 in the boundary display mode, the control unit 17 reads out the image data recorded and recorded last time from the HD card 7 and performs the decompression process and the thinning process to display. Generate data. Then, the set “L side boundary display mode”
(Or the "R-side boundary display mode"), the image data of the boundary portion of the preset predetermined size at the left end (or right end) corresponding to the end opposite to the corresponding end of the storage area of the display memory 18 And displays the image of the boundary portion at the right end (or left end) of the display area of the LCD display unit 19. Further, the control unit 17 reads out the captured image from the image memory 16, performs the thinning process, generates the display data, and then removes the image data of the right end (or the left end) overlapping with the image of the boundary. The image data is transferred to the remaining storage area of the display memory 18, and the image to be photographed (the finder image) is displayed on the LCD display unit 19 together with the image of the boundary (see FIG. 4).

For example, when the “L side boundary display mode” is set, the storage area of the display memory 18 is m (rows) × n
If the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the boundary portion is set to r (<n), the image data (the stippling portion) of the previous shooting recorded on the HD card 7 will be described. The display data H1 of the number of pixels (m × n) is generated using the display data H1. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, image data of the number r of pixels in the horizontal direction at the right end of the display data H1 is extracted and transferred to the left end of the number r of pixels in the horizontal direction of the display memory 18. That is, the pixel position (i, j) (i = 1, 2, 2, 3)
.. M, j = 1, 2,..., N) are g1 (i, j), and the image data g1 (i, n−r + 1), g1 (i,
.. g1 (i, n) are transferred to the pixel positions (i, 1), (i, 2),... (i, r) in the display memory 18, respectively.

The display data H2 having the number of pixels (m × n) is obtained by using the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 16.
Is generated. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, image data (a stippled portion) other than the image data of the number r of pixels in the horizontal direction at the left end is extracted from the display data H2, and the display memory 1 is displayed.
8 is transferred to an area other than the left end of the number r of pixels in the horizontal direction. That is, the pixel position (i, j) (i = 1, 2,...)
Assuming that the image data of m, j = 1, 2,... n) is g2 (i, j), the image data g2 (i, r + 1), g2 (i, r +) of each line
2),... G2 (i, n) are transferred to the pixel positions (i, r + 1), (i, r + 2),.

On the other hand, when the "R-side boundary display mode" is set, the position of the image data at the boundary portion to be extracted and the transfer position of this image data to the display memory 18 are reversed from the above case. As shown in FIG. 10, for the display data H1, the image data g1 (i,
1), g1 (i, 2),... G1 (i, r) are stored in the display memory 18 respectively.
Pixel positions (i, n−r + 1), (i, n−r + 2),
.. (I, n), and for the display data H2,
Image data g2 (i, 1), g2 (i, 2),.
(i, r-1) are the pixel positions (i, r,
1), (i, 2),... (I, r−1).

Returning to FIG. 8, the display memory 18 is a buffer memory for the liquid crystal finder 10, and the LCD display unit 19 is a display unit corresponding to the liquid crystal finder 10. The display memory 18 has substantially the same pixel density as the display area of the LCD display unit 19. That is, the display memory 18 has a storage area in which image data at the pixel position is stored corresponding to each pixel position in the display area of the LCD display unit 19. When the display data is transferred to the display memory 18, the image data at each pixel position is sequentially read at a predetermined read speed, and the corresponding pixel position in the display area of the LCD display unit 19 is displayed.

The recording section 20 is for recording image data (compressed data) constituting a photographed image. The recording unit 20 includes an HD card 7 as a recording medium and a drive control circuit for writing / reading image data to / from the HD card 7.

The memory 21 stores a processing program for controlling a photographing operation and a reproducing operation and data necessary for various arithmetic processings related to the control of photographing or reproducing (for example, a compression rate and a thinning rate). Data, data such as the display size of the boundary portion in the boundary display mode.

The photometric section 22 has the photometric sensor described above,
This is to detect the subject brightness. The distance measuring unit 23
Has the photometric sensor described above and detects the subject distance. The data of the subject luminance and the subject distance detected by the photometry unit 22 and the distance measurement unit 23 are input to the control unit 17. The control unit 17 calculates an exposure control value at the time of shooting using the subject luminance data. Further, a focus control value of the photographing lens 2 is calculated using the data of the subject distance.

The switch S1 is a switch for detecting that the shutter button 8 is half-pressed.
Is a switch for detecting that the shutter button 8 is fully pressed. The switches Sa and Sb are:
The switch detects the setting position of the mode setting switch 11. ON / OFF of switch Sa and switch Sb
The contents of the display mode set by the combination of the states are determined as shown in Table 1 below.

[0044]

[Table 1]

Table 1 is an example and ON / OFF of the switches Sa and Sb for each display mode is shown.
The combination of the states may be another combination.

Next, the photographing control in the photographing mode of the digital camera 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the main switch 9 is turned on and the digital camera 1 is started, the digital camera 1 is ready to take a picture. First, the distance measuring section 23 detects the subject distance (# 1), and the focus of the taking lens 2 is determined based on the detection result. Adjustments are made (#
3). Subsequently, the luminance of the subject is detected by the photometry unit 22 (# 5), and the gain of the imaging unit 13 is adjusted based on the detection result (# 7).

Subsequently, the image pickup section 13 picks up an image for finder display (# 9). The image signal output from the imaging unit 13 is converted into image data of a digital signal by an A / D conversion circuit 14, subjected to predetermined digital signal processing by an image processing unit 15, and temporarily stored in an image memory 16. It is memorized.

Subsequently, the setting contents of the display mode are determined (# 11, # 13). If the normal display mode is set (NO in # 11, # 13), the image captured in step # 1 is displayed. It is displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10 as it is (#
15). That is, the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 16 is read by the control unit 17, processed into display data by a thinning process, and then transferred to the display memory 18. Then, the photographed image is displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10 by driving the liquid crystal finder 10 based on the display data transferred to the display memory 18.

If the display mode set by the mode setting switch 11 is "L side boundary display mode"(# 11
NO at # 13, YES at # 13), the boundary image at the right end of the screen of the previously photographed image (recorded image) is displayed on the left end of the display area of the liquid crystal finder 10 as an index image of the screen configuration, and the remaining image is displayed. Are displayed in the display area (# 17 to # 21). That is, the image data (compressed data) captured and recorded the last time from the HD card 7 is read out by the control unit 17 and processed into display data by decompression processing and thinning processing (#
17), display data of a predetermined size at the right end of the screen (display data forming the image of the boundary portion) is extracted and transferred to the corresponding storage area at the left end of the display memory 18 (# 1)
9). Further, after the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 16 is read out to the control unit 17 and processed into display data by thinning-out processing, the display data having the same size as the display data constituting the image of the above-mentioned boundary portion at the left end of the screen is displayed. A part of the display data except the display data is transferred to the corresponding storage area of the remaining storage area of the display memory 18 (# 21). Then, by driving the liquid crystal finder 10 based on the display data transferred to the display memory 18, a photographed image having an index image having a screen configuration at the left end is displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10.

If the display mode set by the mode setting switch 11 is the "R side boundary display mode"(# 11
YES), a boundary image at the left end of the screen of the previously photographed image (recorded image) is displayed on the right end of the display area of the liquid crystal finder 10 as an index image of the screen configuration, and a step is performed in the remaining display area. The image captured in # 9 is displayed (# 23 to # 27). That is, the image data (compressed data) captured and recorded from the HD card 7 last time is read out by the control unit 17 and processed into display data by decompression processing and thinning-out processing (# 23). Is extracted and transferred to the corresponding storage area at the right end of the display memory 18 (# 25). Further, after the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 16 is read out to the control unit 17 and processed into display data by thinning-out processing, the display data having the same size as the display data constituting the image of the above-described boundary portion at the right end of the screen is displayed. A part of the display data except the display data is transferred to the corresponding storage area of the remaining storage area of the display memory 18 (# 27). Then, by driving the liquid crystal finder 10 based on the display data transferred to the display memory 18, a photographed image having an index image having a screen configuration at the right end is displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10.

Although not included in the processing of the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12, if there is no previously captured image in the processing of steps # 17 to # 27, the index image cannot be displayed. Therefore, error processing such as a warning is performed as a photographer's selection error in the display mode.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a release has been instructed by the shutter button 8 (# 29). If no release has been instructed (NO in # 29), the flow returns to step # 1, and the above-described liquid crystal finder is operated. The display processing in 10 is performed, and the shooting standby state is continued.

When the release is instructed (# 29)
YES), the actual shooting (still image capture) is performed (#
31). The actual photographing is performed by setting an exposure control value based on the luminance of the subject detected by the photometry unit 22 and driving the imaging unit 13 based on the exposure control value. The image signal output from the imaging unit 13 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 14, and after the image processing unit 15 performs predetermined digital signal processing such as shading correction, white balance adjustment, and γ correction, It is temporarily stored in the image memory 16. When the storage of the image data in the image memory 16 is completed, the image data is immediately read out by the control unit 17 and subjected to a predetermined compression process (# 33).
0 and recorded on the HD card 7 (# 35).
This completes the photographing operation for one image, and returns to step # 1 to perform the next photographing operation.

As described above, in the viewfinder display on the liquid crystal viewfinder 10, a partial image at the right end (or the left end) of the previously shot image is displayed on the liquid crystal viewfinder 10 as an index image of the screen configuration in the current shooting. Since it is displayed at the left end (or right end) of the area,
When a horizontally long panoramic photograph is taken by dividing it into a plurality of blocks in the horizontal direction, the screen configuration of each block is easily performed using the index image displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10 (the image of the previously captured block boundary portion) as a guide. be able to. Further, it is possible to efficiently perform the block division of the landscape screen.

In the above-described embodiment, taking into account the convenience of the screen configuration in photographing each divided image when dividing and photographing a subject larger than the photographing screen, one view of the display screen of the liquid crystal finder 10 is displayed. Part of the captured image was displayed in the unit, but when continuously shooting the same or similar related subjects,
In some cases, it is desired to determine the screen configuration of each shooting and the necessity of shooting with reference to the already shot images. Even in such shooting, the shot image is displayed in a part of the display screen in the viewfinder display of the liquid crystal viewfinder 10. It is convenient to display a part or all of.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show a modification of the display mode. FIG. 13 shows a thumbnail image of the image G ₃ already photographed in the upper left corner of the display screen K of the liquid crystal finder 10. Then, the captured image G is displayed in the remaining display area. The number in each image is a frame number. The thumbnail image may be displayed at another corner of the display screen.

This viewfinder display is used for photographing a plurality of similar subjects with substantially the same composition or for photographing the same subject in a plurality of shots by changing the photographing direction. This is convenient because the composition can be set.

FIG. 14 shows a plurality of images G already photographed in the left and lower regions of the display screen K of the liquid crystal finder 10.
Thumbnail image ₂ ~G _6, is obtained by displaying the photographed image G in the remaining display region. The number in each image is a frame number. Also in this display, a plurality of thumbnail images may be displayed on the upper side or the right side.

This finder display has an effect that, when consecutively photographing a plurality of similar subjects, referring to a plurality of already photographed images can prevent duplicate photographing and photographing leakage.

In the above description, part or all of the latest image among the recorded images is replaced with the liquid crystal viewfinder 10.
However, a frame selection switch may be provided, and an arbitrary recorded image may be selected by the frame selection switch and displayed on the liquid crystal finder 10 at the same time. In this case, the frame number of the recorded image displayed during the viewfinder display may be changeable.

The present invention is not limited to a digital still camera, but can be applied to a digital video camera.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a digital camera, at least a part of an image captured by an image capturing unit is displayed on a monitor in a partial display area of a display unit, and the image is recorded on a recording unit. Since at least a part of the recorded photographed image is displayed in the remaining display area of the display means, the composition of the photographing screen can be easily set by referring to the photographed images simultaneously displayed on the display means. be able to. In addition, it is possible to prevent the same photograph from being repeatedly photographed or from missing a plurality of similar photographs.

In particular, a partial image at one of the left, right, upper and lower ends of the latest photographed image recorded in the recording means is displayed at the other of the left, right, upper and lower ends of the display area of the display means. In a case where a subject larger than a shooting screen is divided into a plurality of blocks and continuously shot, and these shot images are combined to obtain a shot image of the entire subject, a screen configuration in photographing each block can be easily performed. At the same time, the block division of the subject can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a horizontally long subject wider than a shooting screen when shooting in a boundary display mode.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a liquid crystal finder in a boundary display mode when a divided image is sequentially photographed from the left side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a liquid crystal finder in a boundary display mode when a divided image is sequentially photographed from the right side.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a suitable photographic screen for a current photographic subject is framed in relation to a previous photographic image based on the display state of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another display example of the liquid crystal finder in the boundary display mode when the divided images are sequentially photographed from the left.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating image data displayed on the liquid crystal finder in the “L-side boundary display mode”.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating image data displayed on the liquid crystal finder in the “R side boundary display mode”.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating shooting control in a shooting mode of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating shooting control in a shooting mode of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modification of the display mode, in which a thumbnail image of an image already taken is displayed in the upper left corner of the display screen of the liquid crystal finder.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another modification of the display mode, in which thumbnail images of a plurality of images already taken are displayed on the left side and the lower side of the display screen of the liquid crystal finder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Photographing lens 3 Distance measuring window 4 Photometry window 5 Card slot 6 Card ejection button 7 HD card (recording means) 8 Shutter button 9 Main switch 10 Liquid crystal finder (Display means) 11 Mode setting switch 12 Optical system 13 Imaging Unit (image capturing unit) 14 A / D conversion circuit 15 Image processing unit 16 Image memory 17 Control unit (display control unit) 18 Display memory 19 LCD display unit 20 Recording unit (recording unit) 21 Memory 22 Photometry unit 23 Distance measurement Section S1, S2, Sa, Sb switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing means for photoelectrically converting a subject light image into an image signal and capturing the image signal, a recording means for recording the image signal captured by the image capturing means, and displaying an image based on the image signal. And a monitor that displays at least a part of the image captured by the image capturing unit on a part of a display area of the display unit, and that the captured image recorded by the recording unit is recorded. A digital camera, comprising: display control means for displaying at least a part of an image in a remaining display area of the display means. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said display control means displays a partial image at one of left, right, up, and down ends of the latest captured image recorded in said recording means. A digital camera for displaying an image at the other end on the left, right, up, or down of an area.