JPH11177861A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize the contents of moving images from still images by relating desired still images to the moving images corresponding to the instruction of an operator. SOLUTION: In a photographing mode, a moving image file storing moving image data is prepared in a hard disk 50 first. After the recording of the moving images is ended, when the operator frames a desired object and presses a shutter button 58, the still image of the desired object is stored at the head of the moving image file. That is, the still image is turned to the index image of the moving image file.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly to a digital camera for recording, for example, moving images and still images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional digital camera of this type records a still image included in the first frame of a moving image as an index image when the moving image is captured.

[0003]

However, in such a digital camera, it is difficult to estimate the contents of the moving image from the index image unless the subject is captured at the start of the moving image shooting. That is, in the moving image shooting mode, the operator often shoots the floor, the sky, or the like at the start of shooting, and as a result, it is difficult to determine the content of the recorded moving image from the index image.

[0004] Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a novel digital camera capable of easily grasping the contents of a recorded moving image.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a digital camera for recording a moving image and a still image, comprising an associating means for associating one of the moving image and a desired still image with the other in response to an instruction from an operator. It is a digital camera characterized by the following.

[0006]

In the shooting mode, first, a moving image file storing moving image data is created on the hard disk.
After the recording of the moving image is completed, if the operator frames the desired object and presses the shutter button, a still image of the desired object is stored at the beginning of the moving image file. That is, this still image becomes the index image of the moving image file.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a desired still image is associated with a moving image in accordance with an operator's instruction, so that the contents of the moving image can be easily grasped from the still image. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0008]

Referring to FIG. 1, a digital camera 10 of this embodiment includes a lens 12, and a light image incident from the lens 12 is supplied to a CCD through a complementary color filter (not shown).
The light is irradiated to the imager 14. In shooting mode, CCD
The imager 14 outputs an electric signal (progressive scan signal) of each pixel according to the progressive scan (pixel sequential scan). A progressive scan signal from the CCD imager 14 is supplied to a CDS / AGC circuit 16.
Given to. The CDS / AGC circuit 16 performs known noise removal and level adjustment on the progressive scan signal, and the progressive scan signal subjected to such processing is converted into digital data (image data) by the A / D converter 18. You. First signal processing circuit 20
Performs well-known white balance adjustment and gamma correction on the image data output from the A / D converter 18, and then supplies the image data to the second DRAM 24 via the bus 22.

The memory control circuit 26 has a DMA (Direct Me
The image data is written to the second DRAM 24 by using the “mory access”, and then the image data is read out by the interlaced scan. Therefore, odd field image data and even field image data are alternately output from the second DRAM 24. The second signal processing circuit 28
The input image data is subjected to processes such as color interpolation,
The image data output from the signal processing circuit 28 is given to the D / A converter 32 via the switch SW1 and is sent to the D / A converter 32. D /
The A converter 32 converts the image data into an analog signal (image signal), outputs the image signal via the output terminal 34, and provides the image signal to the LCD 36. Therefore, the LCD3
6, a real-time moving image is displayed. When the switch SW1 is connected to the character generator 30, a predetermined menu screen is displayed on the LCD.

In the photographing mode, a moving image is first recorded in response to the operation of the shutter button 58, and then a still image is recorded as an index image indicating the content of the recorded moving image. Specifically, when the operator switches the mode changeover switch 60 to the photographing side, first, the moving image recording mode is set, and the operator presses the shutter button 58
Is pressed once, the CPU 40 executes the IPEG compression / decompression I
Activate C42. As a result, the image data output from the first signal processing circuit 20 is compressed according to the JPEG format, and the compressed data is modulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit 44. Then, the modulated data is recorded on the hard disk 50 according to the MS-DOS format. When the shutter button 58 is pressed again, the CPU 40
Disable 42. Therefore, a moving image captured between the first operation and the second operation of the shutter button 58 is recorded on the hard disk 50. Continuous moving images during this period are stored in one moving image file.

The disk motor 48 is driven by a motor control circuit 46, which is controlled by the CPU 40. Also, IC
Reference numeral 42 denotes an integrated circuit “710” manufactured by Kawasaki Steel Corporation.
06A "can be used. When the recording of the moving image is completed, the CPU 40 connects the switch SW1 to the character generator 30. Thereby, the menu screen as shown in FIG.
"YES NO" is displayed on the LCD 36, and the cursor is set to one of "YES" and "NO." The operator operates the cursor key 56 to move the cursor to "YE."
When the enter button 64 is pressed in accordance with S ", the still image recording mode is set.

In the still image recording mode, the shutter button 5
8 is pressed, the still image data output from the first signal processing circuit 20 (desired still image data) is
The data is temporarily written to the first DRAM 38 by U40. The CPU 40 performs a thinning process on the still image data held in the first DRAM 38, and generates reduced thumbnail image data. This thumbnail image is an index image. Then, the IC 42 is activated and the thumbnail image data is input to the IC 42. When the compressed data of the thumbnail image is obtained, the CPU 40
Disables the IC 42, and stores the modulation data of the thumbnail image output from the modulation / demodulation circuit 44 at the beginning of the moving image file created in the moving image recording mode.

In the moving image recording mode, recording of a moving image is started in response to the first operation of the shutter button 58.
Still image data (initial image data) in the first frame of the moving image to be recorded is also held in the first DRAM 38. If “YES” is selected when the menu screen shown in FIG. 2 is displayed, the initial image data is updated with the still image data shot in the still image recording mode, but “NO” is selected on the menu screen Then, after the moving image file is created, the same processing as described above is executed, and the thumbnail image of the initial image is stored at the beginning of the moving image file as an index image. CP
U40 previously forms a storage area for storing a thumbnail image at the beginning of the moving image file when the file is created, and the modulation data of the thumbnail image is stored in this storage area. Note that the initial image data is predetermined image data.

The CPU 40 processes the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 in the photographing mode. That is, first, the switch SW1 is connected to the second signal processing circuit 28 in step S1. From this time, the moving image recording mode is started, and a real-time moving image is displayed on the LCD 36. Next, step S3
To determine whether the shutter button 58 has been turned on,
If "YES", the initial image data is held in the first DRAM 38 in step S5, and the IC 42 is activated in step S7. Subsequently, in step S8, a moving image file is created, a storage area for thumbnail images is formed at the beginning of the file, and in step S9, image data is recorded following the storage area. In step S11, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 58 has been pressed. If "NO", the process returns to step S9 to continue recording the image data.
If "YES", the IC 42 is disabled in step S13, and the recording of the image data is stopped in step S15.
At this point, creation of one moving image file is completed, and the moving image recording mode ends.

The CPU 40 then switches the switch SW1 to the character generator 30 in step S17, and displays a menu screen shown in FIG.
If the operator sets the cursor key 56 to "NO" and presses the enter button 64, the CPU 40 determines "NO" in step S19, and proceeds to step S29. That is, the thumbnail image data of the initial image data held in the first DRAM 38 is created, the thumbnail image data is stored in the storage area of the moving image file in step S31, and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the operator selects "YES" on the menu screen shown in FIG.
At 21, the switch SW 1 is returned to the second signal processing circuit 28 side, and a moving image is output from the LCD 36. From this point, the still image recording mode is started. Accordingly, when the shutter button 58 is pressed by the operator, the CPU determines "YES" in the step S23, and proceeds to the step S25.
Then, the image data for one frame output from the first signal processing circuit 20 when the shutter button 58 is pressed is written to the first DRAM 38. That is, the initial image held in the first DRAM 38 at the start of recording the moving image is updated with the desired still image captured by the operator. C
Then, the PU 40 disables the CCD imager 14 in step S27 and outputs a freeze image at the time of shutter-on to the LCD 36. Then, the process proceeds to step S29.

In this way, a thumbnail image as an index image is recorded at the beginning of a moving image file,
The thumbnail image and the moving image are associated with each other. The reproduction mode is set by the operator switching the mode switch 60 to the reproduction side. Then, a thumbnail image is reproduced from the moving image file recorded last on the hard disk 50, and demodulation processing by the modulation / demodulation circuit 44 and expansion processing by the IC 42 are performed. IC
The thumbnail image data decompressed by the
2 is written to the second DRAM 24. After that, the same process as in the shooting mode is executed,
A thumbnail image is displayed on the lower right of the LCD 36 as shown in FIG. At this time, if the operator presses the play button 54, the moving image related to the displayed thumbnail image is reproduced from the hard disk 50, and the moving image data output from the IC 42 is written in the second DRAM 24. Thereafter, the same processing as described above is performed, and the LCD 36
The moving image is reproduced.

When one multi-display button 62 is operated by the operator while one thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG. 5, thumbnail images are obtained from nine moving image files recorded on the hard disk 50. Playback is performed, and nine thumbnail images are multi-displayed on the LCD 36 as shown in FIG. A cursor is displayed on any of the thumbnail images. When the operator operates the cursor key 56, the cursor moves. If the operator presses the play button 54 when the cursor indicates a desired thumbnail image, a moving image related to the thumbnail image indicated by the cursor is reproduced.

As described above, when the operator does not select the still image recording mode in the photographing mode, the initial image is recorded in the moving image file. That is, if the operator does not select the still image recording mode even when the operator is framing the sky at the start of recording a moving image, FIG.
Is recorded as a thumbnail image showing only the cloud as shown in the center of the lowermost part. In addition, if recording of a moving image is started with the ground being framed on the riverbank, and a still image is not taken thereafter, a thumbnail image showing only the river and the ground as shown in the center of the uppermost row in FIG. 6 is recorded. I will.

In such a case, a desired image may be found from the reproduced moving image, and the shutter button 58 may be pressed. Then, when the shutter button 58 is pressed, the IC
The still image data (desired still image data) output from 42 is taken into the first DRAM 38, and after the reproduction of the moving image is completed, the thumbnail image of the still image held in the first DRAM 38 is recorded in the moving image file. . That is, the thumbnail image on which the clouds and the ground are reflected is updated with the desired thumbnail image.

The CPU 40 processes the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 in the reproduction mode. That is, first, step S
At 41, the thumbnail image is reproduced from the latest moving image file, and then at step S43, it is determined whether or not the reproduction button 54 has been pressed. If "YES" here, the moving image related to the currently displayed thumbnail image is reproduced in a step S47, and then it is determined whether or not the shutter button 58 is pressed in a step S49. If "NO" here, the process directly proceeds to the step S55, but if "YES", the reproduced one-frame image data is taken into the first DRAM 38 in a step S51, the flag 40a is set in a step S53, and Proceed to step S55.

In step S55, it is determined whether or not the reproduction of the moving image has been completed. If "NO", the process returns to step S47. If "YES", in step S57, it is determined whether flag 40a is set. . If “NO” here, the process is terminated as it is, but “YE
If S ", the still image is held in the first DRAM 38, so that thumbnail image data of the still image is generated in step S59. In step S61, the moving image file containing the reproduced moving image is stored. Then, the generated thumbnail image data is recorded in the storage area of the storage area, thereby updating the thumbnail image in the storage area.After that, the flag 40a is reset in step S63, and the process is terminated.

As can be seen from steps S47 to S55, if the shutter button 58 is pressed twice or more during the reproduction of the moving image, the still image data reproduced at the time of operating the last shutter button 58 is loaded into the first DRAM 38. . In other words, the still image held in the first DRAM 38 can be updated many times during the reproduction of the moving image. As described above, by operating the shutter button 58 during reproduction of a moving image, a desired still image included in the moving image can be associated with the moving image.

According to this embodiment, the desired still image is associated with the moving image file by operating the shutter button 58 in both the photographing mode and the reproducing mode. The content of the moving image can be easily grasped.
In this embodiment, the moving image is also compressed by the JPEG decompression / processing IC. However, the compression process on the moving image is a method called motion JPEG, and is performed by expanding a plurality of continuous JPEG compressed data. A moving image can be reproduced. In this embodiment, the thumbnail image is stored in the moving image file. However, the thumbnail image and the moving image file may be recorded in different areas as long as they are associated with each other. Further, in order to reproduce a moving image using the thumbnail image as a clue, it is not necessary to associate the thumbnail image with the moving image file. That is, it is only necessary to associate the thumbnail image with the moving image file by adding a pointer indicating the moving image file to the thumbnail image data. Further, it goes without saying that an MPEG format may be used in place of the above-mentioned motion JPEG for the compression / decompression processing of a moving image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing a menu screen;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the CPU in a shooting mode;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another part of the operation of the CPU in the reproduction mode.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative view showing one portion of a thumbnail image displayed on the LCD;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing one example of a thumbnail image multi-displayed on an LCD;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the CPU in a reproduction mode.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another part of the operation of the CPU in the reproduction mode.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another portion of the operation of the CPU in the reproduction mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Digital camera 38 First DRAM 40 CPU 42 IC 44 Modulation / demodulation circuit

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera for recording a moving image and a still image, comprising: an associating means for associating one of the moving image and the desired still image with the other according to an instruction from an operator. camera. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said desired still image is an index image indicating a content of said moving image. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said moving image is recorded prior to said desired still image. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the associating unit includes a creating unit that creates a moving image file storing the moving image, and a still image associating unit that associates the desired still image with the moving image file. 3. The digital camera according to any one of 3. 5. The digital camera according to claim 4, wherein said still image association means includes storage means for storing said desired still image in said moving image file. 6. The digital camera according to claim 5, wherein said creating means includes securing means for securing a storage area for storing said desired still image at a predetermined position of said moving image file. 7. The digital camera according to claim 6, wherein said storage area is secured at the beginning of said moving image file. 8. A memory having a capacity corresponding to the still image, writing means for temporarily writing the desired still image to the memory, and reading means for reading the still image written to the memory, The digital camera according to claim 4, wherein the still image association unit associates the still image read from the memory with the moving image. 9. The thumbnail image reading means according to claim 8, wherein said reading means includes thumbnail image creating means for creating thumbnail image data of said still image written in said memory, and thumbnail image reading means for reading said thumbnail image data. Digital camera. 10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: capture instruction means for giving an instruction to capture said still image, wherein said writing means writes said desired still image to said memory in response to said capture instruction. Digital camera as described. 11. The digital camera according to claim 10, further comprising a photographing mode setting means for setting a photographing mode, wherein in said photographing mode, said capture instruction is a photographing instruction. 12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising an extracting unit configured to extract the predetermined still image from the captured moving image prior to the photographing instruction, wherein the writing unit writes the predetermined still image into the memory. 12. The digital camera according to item 11. 13. The digital camera according to claim 11, further comprising a disabling unit for disabling the capture instruction unit in the photographing mode in response to an instruction from the operator. 14. A reproducing mode setting means for setting a reproducing mode, and a moving image reproducing means for reproducing the moving image from the moving image file in the reproducing mode, wherein the capture instruction is reproduced in the reproducing mode. The digital camera according to claim 10, wherein the instruction is an instruction to extract a desired still image included in the moving image. 15. The digital camera according to claim 14, wherein said still image association means updates said still image related to said reproduced moving image to said still image extracted in accordance with said extraction instruction.