JPH11284902A - Image pickup device, its control method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device where a natural camera work is realized in every photographic angle of view at start of panning, in its operation and at the end of panning and to provide its control method and storage medium. SOLUTION: The image pickup device is provided with angular velocity sensors 109, 110 that sense a shake exerted on an image pickup element 106, a focal distance correction section 115e that corrects a shake detected by the angular velocity sensors 109, 110, a correction system control section 115h that conducts correction in response to its correction signal and a limit processing control section 115g that limits the correction operation in response to its correction signal. The limit processing control section 115g decides a limit amount to obtain a prescribed characteristic in response to the change in the correction signal and limits a frequency band of the correction signal depending on the decided limit amount and decides whether or not the limit of the frequency band is conducted depending on an input signal to a high pass filter 115c and the correction signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus such as a video camera having a camera shake correction function, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a video camera equipped with an image stabilizing function equipped with a camera shake preventing function is generally used. As methods of the camera shake prevention function, there are optical camera shake correction and electronic camera shake correction.

[0003] In optical camera shake correction, a prism or lens member capable of displacing the optical axis is arranged in the middle of the optical path of the photographing light incident on the image pickup device, and the optical axis is displaced in accordance with camera shake, thereby correcting the camera shake. I do. As an optical shake detection means, an angular velocity sensor such as a vibration gyro is used,
It is general to detect a shake component directly applied to the camera and to detect the angular displacement of the camera by integrating the output.

On the other hand, electronic image stabilization is often used together with a motion vector detection method in which a camera motion amount is calculated from a change in a video signal between fields and is used as a shake signal. The stored image in the field memory is corrected by extracting a part of the memory image so that the motion is removed. Also, as another system for electronic camera shake correction, a sensor is used for camera shake detection, only a part of an image received by the image sensor is cut out, and the cutout position is controlled according to the detected camera shake. Some types perform correction.

In the case of the electronic system, since the electric correction is performed on the video signal, the correction period is the field period, and the camera shake during the exposure time cannot be removed. There is. In addition, by using a high-density large-sized image sensor, the resolution of a captured image extracted from a memory or extracted from a memory is increased, and image quality degradation, which is disadvantageous compared to an optical image sensor, is being improved.

[0006] In some video cameras, shooting is performed while performing camera work such as panning or tilting for intentionally moving the camera. When shooting with these camera works, camera shake correction is restricted so that the correction ability is reduced, preventing the captured image from being disturbed by hitting the end of the correction range, and moving in the direction intended by the photographer. The present inventor has proposed a method for achieving a quick response of the above.

FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, and FIG. 17 are diagrams for explaining a restriction method at the time of panning proposed by the present inventors. This conventional example is a method in which the characteristic of the limit amount can be easily set regardless of the focal length or the case where the correction limit changes depending on the focal length. Will be described as an example.

FIG. 14 shows a configuration of a system for image stabilization by moving a shift lens for camera shake correction perpendicular to the optical axis. The lens group has an inner focus type configuration, and includes a fixed lens 1401, a zoom lens 1402, an aperture 1403, and a shift lens 140 for image stabilization.
4. It comprises a focus lens 1405. Light from the lens is focused on an image pickup device 1406 such as a CCD. The image on the image sensor is photoelectrically converted, amplified to an optimum level by an amplifier 1418, input to a camera signal processing circuit 1419, and converted into a standard television signal. The camera shown in FIG. 14 has an optical image stabilization function,
The FF performs this by detecting the state of the switch 1420.

Angular velocity sensor 1421 (pitch direction), 1
The swing angular velocity of the camera body is detected at 422 (yaw direction), amplified by amplifiers 1423 and 1424, respectively, taken in by an A / D converter of the control microcomputer 1416, and integrated by the internal processing of the control microcomputer 1416 to integrate the angular velocity signal. Convert to displacement. The control microcomputer 1416 determines the amount of movement (almost f * tan) of the captured image due to the shake on the image sensor according to the obtained angular displacement, that is, the shake angle θ and the focal length f of the optical system.
(corresponding to θ) is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the movement caused by the shaking, thereby correcting the shaking by moving the shift lens 1404 perpendicularly to the optical axis. The control microcomputer 1416 outputs a correction target. The adder 1415 compares the position signal of the shift lens 1404 (the position signal obtained by amplifying the detection signal of the encoder 1413 to a predetermined level by the amplifier 1414) with the correction target from the control microcomputer 1416, and sets the drive signal so that the difference becomes zero. Through the motor driver 1412
By outputting the signal to 11, the position of the shift lens 1404 is controlled in a loop so as to coincide with the target position.

The control microcomputer 1416 also controls a zoom lens 1402 and a focus lens 1405. In response to a signal from a rotary operation type zoom switch unit 1417 in which the resistance value is changed by the pressing force, the control microcomputer 1416 issues a drive command to the motor driver 1408.
To the motor 1407 via the zoom lens 14
02 is performed, and the zooming operation is performed. The control microcomputer 1416 sends a drive command to the motor 1409 via the motor driver 1410 so that the focus signal processed by the camera signal processing circuit 1419 is maximized.
The focus lens 1405 is moved to adjust the focus.

Next, referring to FIG.
A description will be given of the main anti-shake control flow processed in step 6. The correction amount is standardized by the focal length and the maximum correction limit, and the limit amount can be calculated with predetermined characteristics according to the standardized correction amount, so it is possible to respond to all focal length changes with only one type of characteristic It has become. The flowchart of FIG. 15 is a process of calculating angular displacement by calculating angular velocity signals detected by the angular velocity sensors 1421, 1422, and calculating a correction amount and a limit amount. The process of FIG. 15 is a periodic interrupt process executed by the control microcomputer 1416, and is executed, for example, at a frequency of 1 kHz. The activation factor of the interrupt is generated, for example, every time a counter that counts up (or down) at a predetermined frequency of the oscillation clock matches data corresponding to 1 msec. As described with reference to FIG. 14, the angular velocity signal is captured by the A / D converter of the control microcomputer 1416. In this embodiment, for simplicity, the operation mode of the A / D converter is the scan mode, and the A / D operation is performed at any time. It is assumed that it is repeated.

First, when interrupt processing is started, step S
With respect to the angular velocity signal A / D sampled in 1501,
By applying a high-pass filter process, the influence of the DC component is removed. Step S1502 is processing to limit the frequency band of the AC component angular velocity signal. In practice, this is a high-pass filter process similar to that of step S1501, and the cutoff frequency is a fixed value in step S1501, whereas the cutoff frequency can be variably set in step S1502. By changing the cutoff frequency from a low band to a high band, band limitation can be performed.

In step S1502, the cutoff frequency is controlled. During a camera work operation such as panning, the cutoff frequency is increased to reduce the image stabilization suppression ability. The cutoff frequency is reduced. In addition, band limitation control is also performed to prevent unnaturalness of a screen when a collision occurs at a correction end in an attempt to correct a shake larger than the limit of the correctable range. Next, step S15
In step 03, the angular velocity signal subjected to the band limitation is integrated to calculate the angular displacement. The calculated angular displacement corresponds to a swing angle applied to the camera body.

Next, in step S1504, a correction amount is calculated. The correction amount is the angular displacement obtained in step S1503,
That is, f * tan according to the swing angle θ and the focal length f of the optical system.
θ. Step S1505 is equivalent to step S1504
To the maximum correction limit (shift lens 140
4). The calculation of the normalized correction amount is given by the following equation.

Pitch standardization correction amount = Pitch correction amount / Pitch maximum shift limit / 2 * 100 (%) − (1) Yaw standardization correction amount = Yaw correction amount / Yaw maximum shift limit / 2 * 100 (%) − (2) In step S1506, based on the standardized correction amount calculated in step S1505, a limit amount for restricting the correction capability is calculated. Here, the restriction amount corresponds to the cutoff frequency described in the band restriction processing step S1502.

FIG. 16 shows the characteristic of the limit amount to the correction amount, that is, the cutoff frequency. The horizontal axis indicates the normalized correction amount, and indicates the ratio of the correction amount required to correct the current shaking with respect to the case where the case where the correction is performed by shifting to half the maximum shift limit is 100%. . The vertical axis is the cutoff frequency of band limitation, which is a parameter of the amount of limitation. The degree to which the correction amount is limited is not a setting based on the threshold but a functional setting.

Therefore, even when the cutoff frequency is controlled and the panning operation is supported, smooth switching can be performed. In this example, the maximum cutoff frequency is set to 6 Hz, but this is because the main frequency component of camera shake is 5 Hz or less. The band-limiting characteristic is set so that the cutoff changes as a function of the square. The larger the correction amount, the sharper the cutoff frequency is raised, and if the correction amount is near zero, the cutoff is set as low as possible. Then, control is performed so as to enhance the anti-vibration effect. In order to expand the range where the image stabilization effect is high (the range where the correction amount is near zero) as much as possible, it is sufficient to increase the order of the square of the correction amount, and when the correction amount becomes larger, The coefficients and the like may be set so that the cutoff rises sharply.

Here, the maximum shift limit is determined as shown in FIG. 17, and FIG. 17 (a) shows that the effective image circle diameter changes with respect to the focal length change, and FIG. 17 (b) 3 shows how the maximum correction range (maximum shift limit) changes with respect to the focal length. 17 in FIG.
Reference numeral 01 denotes a point obtained by converting the mechanical maximum movement limit distance of the shift lens 1404 into an effective image circle diameter. Reference numeral 1702 denotes all focal lengths from wide to tele, and mechanically the shift lens 1404 reaches the maximum movement limit. This indicates that no vignetting occurs on the shooting screen even if the distance is moved. Therefore, the maximum correction range for 1702 is 1705
Is constant.

On the other hand, as shown by 1703, the focal length 1704
If the image circle diameter is larger than 1701 only on the telephoto side, if the shift lens 1404 is shifted to the maximum mechanically movable position on the wide side from 1704, a part of the shooting screen may be vignetted. means. Accordingly, the maximum correction range for 1703 decreases as shown by 1706 at a position wider than the focal length 1704. Generally, a lens optical system is designed as in 1703, and the lens is often downsized. As described above, even when the maximum correction range changes as indicated by 1706 depending on the focal length, the correction amount is standardized by the maximum correction range, so that the limiting characteristic does not need to be changed for each focal length (characteristic change). Even without having many parameters), prevention of end collision and smooth transition and release of panning operation can be realized.

Returning to FIG. The cutoff frequency determined in step S1506 is set in the next band limitation processing, and the angular velocity signal is limited. For example,
When the calculated cutoff is large, the correction effect is reduced with respect to the fluctuation of the camera shake frequency lower than the cutoff frequency. Next, in step S1507, step S15
The shift target value command calculated in step S04 is output to the adder 1415, and the process ends (step S150).
8).

[0021]

However, in the above-described panning operation control in the conventional imaging apparatus, the limit amount is determined according to the correction amount standardized in the maximum correction range of the correction means. If the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter is increased so as to increase the limit amount, the correction amount to be calculated next decreases, and the limit amount for this correction is also calculated to be small. When a small limit amount is set, the correction amount is again calculated to be large. Therefore, when the panning operation is continuously performed, if the above-described restriction operation is performed, hunting occurs in which the restriction becomes stronger or weaker, and a problem that smooth camera work is impaired. there were.

In particular, when the cutoff frequency is changed by the limiting operation, if the change amount is large, the change may be visible on the screen. On the other hand, when the amount of change is set to be small so that the screen change is small, there is a problem that the responsiveness of the limiting operation to the panning operation is deteriorated.

In the above conventional example, the limit amount during the panning operation is determined according to the standardized correction amount, and the focal length is corrected for each angle of view (f * tan θ). This is due to the fact that the panning operation is generally performed such that the moving speed of the screen is constant (there is a tendency to perform slow panning at telephoto and fast panning at wide-angle). At the start of panning, when panning is performed at the optimum speed for the shooting angle of view, there is no problem because the same amount of restriction is applied, but the end of panning does not depend on the change in focal length and the camera operation is actually performed. A stable condition should be detected. Since this consideration was lacking, the conventional example described above had a problem that the response of limiting the amount of restriction differs between wide-angle and telephoto when the camera shake gradually decreases in the operation of ending panning. Was. In particular, when photographing in telephoto, there is a problem in that it takes time for the camera shake correction to start to take effect after panning is completed.

Further, in the above conventional example, the angular displacement signal obtained by integrating the angular velocity signal after the DC component has been cut by the high-pass filter is used as the correction signal (step S150 in FIG. 15).
1, S1503), since the angular displacement signal is as shown in FIG. 12 at the time of panning, a swingback phenomenon in which the screen moves even though the camera is still at the end of panning has occurred. Here, FIG. 12A shows a change of the angular velocity signal at the time of the panning operation, and 1201 in FIG.
An output signal (angular displacement signal) 1201 that has been subjected to the high-pass filter processing of 501 is an angular displacement signal obtained by integrating 1701 in step S1503. That is, although the panning operation has been completed at time 1203, the swing-back phenomenon occurs in the output signal 1202 after time 1203.
However, there is a problem that this occurs due to having a displacement output in the negative direction.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can realize a natural camera work at any photographing angle of view not only at the start and during operation of panning but also at the end of panning. It is an object to provide an imaging device, its control, and a storage medium.

[0026]

An image pickup apparatus, a control method thereof, and a storage medium according to the present invention are configured as follows.

(1) Detecting means for detecting fluctuation, correction signal generating means for generating a motion correction signal for an image caused by the fluctuation detected by the detecting means, and correction for performing a correcting operation according to the correction signal Means, and limiting means for limiting the correction operation according to the correction signal, the limiting means,
A limiting characteristic determining unit that determines a limiting amount so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal; a band limiting unit that limits a band of the correction signal according to the determined limiting amount; A limiting operation determining means for determining whether or not to perform the restriction in accordance with the input signal to the band limiting means and the correction signal is included.

(2) An image pickup device for converting an optical image from a lens system into an electric signal, a detecting means for detecting the fluctuation, and a correction for correcting the image movement caused by the fluctuation detected by the detecting means. Correction signal generation means for generating a signal in accordance with the focal length of the lens system, correction means for performing a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, and correction operation in such a manner that predetermined characteristics are obtained in response to a change in the correction signal. And a limiting operation of determining whether or not to perform the limiting operation based on the signal before amplification at the amplification factor according to the focal length by the correction signal generating unit and the correction signal. Judgment means.

(3) An image sensor for converting an optical image from a lens system into an electric signal, a detecting means for detecting the fluctuation, and a correction for correcting the image movement caused by the fluctuation detected by the detecting means. A correction signal generation unit that generates a signal, a correction unit that performs a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, a limiting unit that limits the correction operation to have a predetermined characteristic in accordance with a change in the correction signal, A limiting operation determining means for determining whether to perform the limiting operation according to the output signal of the detecting means and the correction signal.

(4) The imaging apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (3) has a first restriction mode for increasing the restriction on the correction operation and a second restriction mode for reducing the restriction on the correction operation. The rate of change of the limiting strength with time differs between the first and second limiting modes.

(5) In the imaging apparatus of (4), the rate of change of the limiting strength with time is smaller in the second limiting mode than in the first limiting mode.

(6) In the imaging apparatus of the above (1), the limiting operation determining means determines the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal, and cancels the limiting operation according to the input signal to the band limiting means. Was to judge.

(7) In the imaging apparatus of the above (2), the limiting operation judging means judges the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal, and converts the signal before amplification at the amplification factor according to the focal length. The release of the limiting operation is determined accordingly.

(8) In the image pickup apparatus of (3), the limiting operation determining means determines the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal, and determines the release of the limiting operation according to the output signal of the detecting means. I did it.

(9) In any one of the imaging devices (1) to (3), the limit strength is reduced during a period in which the limit operation is not canceled by the limit operation determining means.

(10) In any one of the imaging devices (1) to (3), the predetermined characteristic is determined according to a correction signal standardized by the focal length and the maximum correction range of the correction means. I made it.

(11) In the imaging device of the above (1),
The band limitation by the band limiting means is performed by changing the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter.

(12) In the imaging device of (1),
The band limitation by the band limiting means is performed by changing the integral feedback ratio of the integration filter.

(13) In any one of the above-mentioned imaging devices (1) to (3), the predetermined characteristic is such that the limiting characteristic is determined in substantially proportion to the n-th power of the correction amount (where n is an integer of 1 or more). I was doing it.

(14) Detecting the fluctuation and generating a correction signal for correcting the movement of the image due to the detected fluctuation,
Perform a correction operation according to the correction signal, at that time, limit the correction operation according to the correction signal, determine a limit amount to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change of the correction signal,
The band limitation of the correction signal is performed according to the determined limit amount, and whether to perform the band limitation is determined according to the input signal to the band limitation unit that performs the band limitation and the correction signal. I made it.

(15) A swing is detected, a correction signal for correcting the movement of the image due to the detected swing is generated according to the focal length of the lens system, and a correction operation is performed according to the correction signal. At this time, the correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change of the correction signal, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is determined by the correction signal generation unit that generates the correction signal. The determination is made according to the signal before amplification at the amplification factor according to the distance and the correction signal.

(16) A swing is detected, and a correction signal for correcting the motion of the image due to the detected swing is generated.
A correction operation is performed according to the correction signal. At this time, the correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is added to the image sensor. The determination is made according to the output signal of the detecting unit for detecting the swing and the correction signal.

(17) In the control method of any one of the above-mentioned (14) to (16), the control method of the image pickup apparatus includes a first restriction mode in which the restriction of the correction operation is strengthened and a second restriction mode in which the restriction of the correction operation is weakened. The limiting operation is performed so that the rate of change of the limiting strength with time differs between the first and second limiting modes.

(18) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus of (17), the rate of change of the limiting intensity with time is smaller in the second limiting mode than in the first limiting mode.

(19) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus of (14), the operation of the limiting operation is determined according to the correction signal, and the release of the limiting operation is determined according to the input signal to the band limiting unit. I did it.

(20) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus according to the above (15), the operation of the limiting operation is determined in accordance with the correction signal, and the operation is performed in accordance with the signal before amplification at the amplification factor corresponding to the focal length. Judgment of release of restriction operation.

(21) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus of (16), the operation of the limiting operation is determined according to the correction signal, and the release of the limiting operation is determined according to the output signal of the detection unit. did.

(22) In the control method of any one of the above (14) to (16), the limiting strength is reduced during a period in which the restriction operation is not canceled.

(23) In the control method of any one of the above (14) to (16), the predetermined characteristic is determined according to a correction signal standardized by a focal length and a maximum correction range. I made it.

(24) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus of (14), the band is limited by changing the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter.

(25) In the control method of the image pickup apparatus of (14), the band is limited by changing the integral feedback ratio of the integral filter.

(26) In the control method of any one of the above (14) to (16), the predetermined characteristic is limited in proportion to the correction power substantially in the nth power (where n is an integer of 1 or more). The characteristics are determined.

(27) A swing is detected, and a correction signal for correcting the motion of the image due to the detected swing is generated.
Perform a correction operation according to the correction signal, at that time, limit the correction operation according to the correction signal, determine a limit amount to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change of the correction signal,
Performing the band limitation of the correction signal according to the determined limit amount, and determining whether to perform the band limitation according to the input signal to the band limitation unit that performs the band limitation and the correction signal. And a storage medium storing a program for realizing the above.

(28) A swing is detected, and a correction signal for correcting the movement of the image due to the detected swing is generated with an amplification factor corresponding to the focal length of the lens system, and the correction signal is generated in accordance with the correction signal. A correction signal generation unit that limits the correction operation so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal, and determines whether or not to perform the restriction operation. And a storage medium storing a program for realizing the determination according to the signal before amplification at the amplification factor corresponding to the focal length and the correction signal.

(29) A swing is detected, and a correction signal for correcting the movement of the image due to the detected swing is generated.
A correction operation is performed according to the correction signal. At this time, the correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is added to the image sensor. There is provided a storage medium storing a program for realizing the determination in accordance with the output signal of the detecting unit for detecting the swing and the correction signal.

(30) In the storage medium according to any one of (27) to (29), the limiting operation is performed in a first limiting mode in which the limiting of the correcting operation is strengthened and in a second limiting mode in which the limiting of the correcting operation is weakened. Then, a program for realizing that the time rate of change of the limiting strength is different between the first and second limiting modes is stored.

(31) In the storage medium of the above (30), a program for realizing that the rate of change of the limiting strength with time is smaller in the second limiting mode than in the first limiting mode is stored.

(32) In the storage medium of the above (27), it is possible to determine the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal and to determine the cancellation of the limiting operation according to the input signal to the band limiting unit. The program for making it memorize was stored.

(33) In the storage medium of the above (28), the operation of the limiting operation is determined according to the correction signal, and the limiting operation is performed according to the signal before amplification at the amplification factor according to the focal length. A program for realizing the determination of cancellation is stored.

(34) In the storage medium according to the above (29), it is possible to determine the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal and to determine the cancellation of the limiting operation according to the output signal of the detection unit. Memorized the program.

(35) In any one of the storage media (27) to (29) described above, a program for realizing that the limiting strength is reduced during a period in which the restriction operation is not canceled is stored.

(36) In the storage medium according to any one of the above (27) to (29), the predetermined characteristic is determined according to a correction signal standardized by a focal length and a maximum correction range. Memorized the program.

(37) In the storage medium of the above (27), a program for realizing the limitation of the band by changing the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter is stored.

(38) In the storage medium of the above (27), a program for realizing the limitation of the band by changing the integration feedback ratio of the integration filter is stored.

(39) In any one of the storage media (27) to (29), the predetermined characteristic is substantially equal to the correction amount n.
A program for realizing that the limiting characteristic is determined in proportion to the power (where n is an integer of 1 or more) is stored.

[0066]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A case where a video camera as an imaging apparatus has an electronic image stabilizing function will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lens group has an inner focus type configuration, and includes a first fixed lens 101, a zoom lens 102, an aperture 103, a second fixed lens 104, and a focus lens 105. The light from the lens is focused on an image sensor 106 such as a CCD, amplified to an optimum level by an amplifier 107, input to a camera signal processing circuit 108, and converted into a standard television signal. Further, the camera in FIG. 1 has an electronic camera shake correction function, and ON / OFF of image stabilization is performed by detecting a state of the switch 117.

The angular velocity sensors 109 (pitch direction) (detection means) and 110 (yaw direction) (detection means) detect the swing angular velocity of the camera body (image sensor 106), and
After amplification at 1 and 112, respectively, the anti-vibration control microcomputer 115
The A / D converter 115a captures the angular velocity signal from which the DC component has been cut by the high-pass filter 115b, and integrates the converted signal into angular displacement by the integration processing unit 115d. The focal length correction unit (correction signal generation unit) 115e corrects the focal length f of the optical system with respect to the swing angle θ calculated by the integration processing unit 115d, and calculates a correction signal that becomes f * tan θ. The correction system control unit (correction unit) 115h outputs a correction signal (the image sensor 106) which is an output signal of the focal length correction unit 115e.
(Corresponding to the amount of pixel movement due to the upward swing), the shake is corrected by moving in the direction opposite to the direction of movement due to the swing.
Incidentally, 115c is a high-pass filter for band limitation,
In accordance with the normalized correction amount obtained by normalizing the correction signal by the correction amount normalization unit 115f and the output of the high-pass filter 115b,
The restriction processing control unit (restriction unit) 115g controls the high-pass filter 115c to restrict the vibration reduction capability during the panning operation. This restriction operation will be described later in detail.

The image area extracted by the electronic image stabilization control is, for example, an extraction screen 202 shown in FIG. 2, and the image extracted using FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 2A illustrates an imaging screen of the imaging element 107, and 201 corresponds to a region of the entire imaging screen. Of these, only a part of the area, for example, the extraction screen 202 is extracted, and this extraction screen is shown in FIG.
Display and recording processing are performed as a full screen as in 204 of FIG. The position of the extraction screen 202 is changed so as to correct camera shake, and is performed by changing the vertical and horizontal position coordinates (V0, H0) indicated by 203. Coordinate 20
The position change range of 3 includes the entire imaging screen 201 and the extraction screen 20
2 horizontal / vertical pixel count difference (hereinafter referred to as surplus pixels)
Is determined. The coordinates 203 are determined so as to determine the origin coordinates in the case where there is no camera shake, and to perform correction by changing the position coordinates in accordance with the amount and direction of camera shake based on the origin.

The method for extracting the extraction screen 202 is as follows.
A method of temporarily storing an image of the entire imaging screen 201 using a field memory, reading out only an image of the extraction screen 202, and enlarging the image to the size of the entire imaging screen 201 to obtain a display of the screen 204; The image pickup device is made of a high-density, high-pixel type large-size C
There is a method using a CD. Since both the former and the latter require expensive field memories and large CCDs, this embodiment employs a general-purpose PAL CCD for use in an NTSC camera.

Since the PALCCD has a high pixel density in the vertical direction, the vertical scanning direction is the same as the CC of the timing generator or the like.
If the number of lines to be swept at high speed is changed in accordance with the angular displacement within the range of the number of extra lines for the NTSC standard with the D drive circuit, the position of the vertical cutout image can be changed. Becomes In the horizontal scanning direction, if the relationship between the write start pixel position and the read start pixel position in the line memory is changed while performing the enlargement process by the V / W ratio with the configuration of the line memory and the memory control circuit, the horizontal direction can be obtained. The screen position can be changed, and inexpensive shake correction can be realized.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the correction system as described above. Pixel movement in the vertical scanning direction is controlled by the image stabilization control microcomputer 1.
15 controls the CCD driving circuit 116 to perform high-speed sweeping control, thereby extracting a desired scanning area, and moving the pixels in the horizontal scanning direction takes in the video signal processed by the camera signal processing circuit 108. With the line memory 113 and the memory control circuit 114, the readout position of the stored horizontal scanning image is made variable according to the amount of movement of the shake correction pixel, and at the same time, the enlargement processing (by changing the memory readout rate) to match the vertical / horizontal ratio. The signal is returned to the camera signal processing circuit 108 and subjected to color processing or the like to convert the signal into a standard TV signal.

The anti-shake control microcomputer 115 also controls the zoom lens 102 and the focus lens 105.
The anti-vibration control microcomputer 115 sends a drive command to the motor 119 via the motor driver 120 in response to a signal from the rotary operation type zoom switch unit 118 in which the resistance value is changed by the pressing force, so that the zoom lens 102 is moved. A scaling operation is performed. Also, the anti-shake control microcomputer 115 sends the drive command to the motor driver 1 so that the focus signal processed by the camera signal processing circuit 108 is maximized.
When the focus lens 105 is moved to the motor 121 via the motor 22, the focus is adjusted.

Next, an anti-shake control operation performed by the anti-shake control microcomputer 115 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. An object of the present invention is to provide a natural camera shake that does not hinder camera work or a captured image while smoothly switching a control for limiting an image stabilization ability even when a panning operation is started or ended. It is to realize the correction. As a feature of the present invention, the limit amount is changed with a predetermined characteristic according to the correction amount, and the degree of correction is changed.However, the signal used for operation determination is different depending on whether the limit operation is activated or canceled. ing. In particular, by using a correction signal for operation determination and by using a signal before band limitation or focal length correction is performed for release determination, hunting of the limiting operation is prevented, and a uniform response characteristic independent of a change in the angle of view can be obtained. Like that. Further, the rate of change of the limiting strength is changed between the case where the limiting operation is strengthened and the case where the limiting operation is weakened, thereby achieving both quick response and provision of a natural captured image. Although the description of the processing flow in FIGS. 3 and 4 overlaps with the processing in the anti-shake control microcomputer 115 in FIG. 1, it is shown as a block diagram in FIG. Has been processed in advance by a program stored in a ROM (not shown), and will be described again as a program here.

The flowchart of FIG.
By integrating the angular velocity signals detected at 09 and 110,
This is a process for calculating the angular displacement. This processing is a fixed-period interruption processing executed in accordance with an instruction from the anti-vibration control microcomputer 115.
Is performed at a frequency of 600 Hz. This frequency corresponds to the sampling frequency of the angular velocity signal and the calculation frequency of the angular displacement. For example, a counter that counts up (or down) at a predetermined frequency of the oscillation clock is 1 /
It occurs every time it matches the data corresponding to 600 seconds. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the A / D converter 115a of the anti-vibration control microcomputer 115 captures the angular velocity signal. However, in this embodiment, the A / D converter 115
The operation mode a is the scan mode, and the A / D operation is repeated at any time.

First, when the interrupt processing is started, the angular velocity signal A / D sampled in step S301 is
By applying a high-pass filter process, the influence of the DC component is removed. Step S302 is processing for limiting the frequency band to the angular velocity signal of the AC component.
It is composed of steps 302a to S302e (the detailed description of step S302 will be made in the description of FIG. 4). Actually, the same high-pass filter processing as in step S301 is performed.
In contrast to the fixed value 301, variable setting is possible in step S302. By changing the cutoff frequency from a low band to a high band, band limitation can be performed.

How to control the cutoff frequency in step S302 will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. However, during camera work operation such as panning, the cutoff frequency is increased to suppress image stabilization. The control is performed so as to reduce the vibration capability and to reduce the cutoff frequency in order to remove camera shake during normal shooting. Also,
Band limitation control is also performed to prevent unnaturalness of the screen when colliding with the correction end in an attempt to correct a shake larger than the limit of the correctable range.

Next, in step S303, the angular velocity signal whose band has been limited is integrated to calculate the angular displacement. The calculated angular displacement corresponds to the swing angle θ applied to the camera body. Next, in step S304, the focal length is corrected, and the correction amount is calculated. The correction amount is determined in step S3 as described above.
A correction amount is calculated as f * tan θ according to the angular displacement obtained in step 03, that is, the swing angle θ and the focal length f of the optical system. The processing from step S303 to step S307 is 1
In a processing routine for determining whether or not the swing angle has been calculated ten times between fields, the number parameter “m”, which is a RAM, is incremented (step S305), and “m” is incremented.
= 10 ”(step S306), and if there are 10 interrupts, initialization is performed for the next field with“ m = 0 ”in step S307, and the interrupt processing ends.
Steps S301, S302, S303, and S in FIG.
At 304, the vertical swing signal processing is performed by the angular velocity sensor 1
The angular velocity signal in the yaw direction, which is the output of the angular velocity sensor 110, performs the horizontal swing signal processing in response to the angular velocity signal in the pitch direction, which is the output of the angular velocity sensor 09.

In the processing of FIG. 4, the processing is performed once for one field, the processing of FIG. 3 is performed ten times, and the processing is performed until the next first processing, that is, at the end of the current field. Will be.

First, when the process is started, step S4
It waits on the spot until “m = 0” at 01. After the interrupt processing is performed 10 times in the current field and m is initialized, the correction amount calculated in step S304 is normalized in step S402. The calculation of the normalized correction amount is given by the following equation.

Pitch standardization correction amount = Pitch correction amount / vertical pixel size / vertical surplus pixel number / 2 * 100 (%) − (3) Yaw standardization correction amount = Yaw correction amount / horizontal pixel size / horizontal surplus pixel Number / 2 * 100 (%)-(4) In the configuration of this embodiment, the NTSC camera is
It was assumed that CD (582V * 752H) was used. From this, if 485 vertical lines of the NTSC standard are cut out, the number of extracted pixels in the vertical direction is 627H from the aspect ratio.
Therefore, the surplus pixels are 97V * 125H, and the correction direction is positive or negative depending on the direction of camera shake, so that normalization is performed with half the number of surplus pixels.

In step S403, step S402
Based on the standardized correction amount calculated in (1), a limit amount for restricting the correction capability is calculated. Here, the limited amount corresponds to the cutoff frequency of the band-limited high-pass filter 115c. First, in step S403a, a limit target cutoff frequency fc corresponding to the normalized correction amount is calculated. This target cutoff frequency fc is determined by the characteristics shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the characteristic of the limit amount for the correction amount, that is, the cutoff frequency. The horizontal axis is the normalized correction amount,
The case where the correction is performed using all the half of the surplus pixels which is the maximum correction limit is set to 100%. The vertical axis is the cutoff frequency of band limitation, which is a parameter of the amount of limitation. Similar to FIG. 16 of the conventional example, the cut-off characteristic is changed by a square function, and the characteristic shown in FIG. Is set so that the cutoff is sharply increased as the correction ratio approaches the maximum correction limit.

Next, in step S403b, step S4
It is determined whether or not the target fc calculated in 03a is equal to or higher than the current cutoff frequency fc. If target fc ≧ current fc, the “release flag” is cleared in step S403e. Here, the release flag is a flag that is set when the panning is completed. Until this flag is set, control is performed in step S302 in FIG. 3 so as not to lower the cutoff frequency fc. That is, it is prohibited to weaken the limiting strength to increase the vibration-proof effect. This is mainly for preventing the hunting of the limiting operation described in "Problems to be Solved by the Invention".

In step S403b, the target fc is the current fc
If it is determined that the value is smaller than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S403c.
To determine whether the panning operation has ended,
The output angular velocity signal of the high-pass filter 115b has a predetermined value γ
Determine if it is smaller. High pass filter 11
The output signal 5b is a signal before the band limitation and the focal length correction are performed, so that the camera shake can be directly detected regardless of the shooting angle of view, and the hunting of the limiting operation and the difference in responsiveness for each angle of view are performed. Can be prevented. Note that the predetermined value γ
Is determined by measuring the output level of the high-pass filter 115b at the end of panning in advance. If the absolute value of the output of the high-pass filter 115b is equal to or more than γ in step S403c, it is determined that panning is being continued and step S403 is performed.
The process advances to step 403e. If not, it is considered that panning has been completed, and the "cancel flag" is set in step S403d. At the time of normal hand-held shooting, there is no restriction, so the target fc and the current fc are equivalent in the processing step S403b, and the “release flag” remains in the clear state.

While the photographing state is determined during the panning operation, the limiting operation is controlled in step S302 in FIG. In step S302a of FIG. 3, it is determined whether the target fc is equal to the current fc. If true, the process proceeds to step S303, and the cutoff frequency is not changed. If false in step S302a, step S302
At b, it is determined whether the current cutoff frequency fc is smaller than the target value. If it is true, the current value has not yet reached the target value, and it is determined in step S403 in FIG. 4 that the restriction should be increased. In this case, in step S302e, the cutoff frequency fc is increased from the current value by a predetermined value α. If the target fc is smaller in step S302b, step S302
In step c, it is determined whether the "release flag" is set.
If the release flag is clear, the cutoff frequency is not reduced and is kept at the current value, and the process proceeds to step S303. When the release flag is 1, since the panning is completed and the cutoff frequency may be reduced, the cutoff frequency may be set in step S302d.
A value smaller than the current value by a predetermined value β is set.

While the processing of FIG. 4 is executed in the field cycle, the processing of FIG. 3 is performed ten times in one field, and the cutoff frequency fc is changed at the rate of change of the predetermined values α and β used in steps S302d and S302e. Increase / decrease is controlled.
Here, the predetermined value for determining the rate of change is determined so as to have a limited strength change characteristic as shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG.
(A) is a change characteristic of the cutoff frequency at the start of panning, and shows an example in which panning is started from the coordinate position 601 with respect to the time axis. At the start of panning, if the target cutoff frequency does not reach the target cutoff frequency with a quick response, there is a possibility that an end contact that collides with the correction limit may occur. Also, since the photographing screen is flowing during panning, even if the cutoff frequency is rapidly changed, no disturbance on the screen occurs. Therefore, at the start of panning, 60
The predetermined value α is a relatively large value such that the target limit amount is obtained in a short time as shown in FIG. FIG. 6B shows a case where panning has been completed at the coordinate position 603.

In the time after the coordinate position 603, the photographing screen is close to a stationary state, so that a rapid change in the cutoff frequency causes a movement on the screen, and the correction capability is increased immediately after the panning ends. Then, since the angular displacement signal 1202 shown in FIG. 12 is to be corrected, swing back occurs. In order to prevent these problems, the predetermined value β is determined at the end of panning so that the responsiveness is reduced and the cutoff frequency changes slowly as indicated by 604. In the present embodiment, the predetermined values α and β, which are the change rate data of the cutoff frequency, have been described as constants, but the change rate data may be a time function or a function according to the cutoff frequency. For example, when the cut-off is high, for example, with the characteristics like 605 in FIG. 6C, by making use of the fact that the change is difficult to see, the vibration-proofing ability is quickly increased to some extent to increase the responsiveness, and then slowly. It is better to gradually increase the anti-vibration ability
Natural anti-shake control for camera work is preferable.

Now, returning to the description of FIG. 4, step S4
In step 04, target position coordinates (V0, H0) of the cutout position are calculated based on the correction signal (f * tan (θ)) calculated in step S303 in FIG. Here, the target position is given by the following equation, and the number of pixels to be moved by blur correction is obtained.

V0 = vertical origin position ± number of moving pixels for correcting the swing angle in the pitch direction = vertical origin position ± (−1) * pitch correction amount / vertical pixel size− (5) H0 = vertical origin position ± Number of moving pixels for correcting yaw direction swing angle = vertical origin position ± (−1) * yaw correction amount / horizontal pixel size− (6) Next, in step S405, the target position coordinates calculated in step S404 ( (V0, H0) as a cutout position, outputs a command to the CCD drive circuit 116 and the memory control circuit 114, and returns to step S401 for the next field so as to wait until ten integration processes are performed. Controlled.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the limiting operation judging means is provided to prevent the hunting of the restriction from becoming stronger or weaker by making the signals to be referred to different between the operation and the release of the restriction operation. In addition, by using the signal before the focal length correction as the reference signal for releasing the restriction operation, it is possible to make the responsiveness of suppressing the restriction amount the same between the wide angle and the telephoto. Furthermore, by changing the limiting strength change rate at the time of starting the limiting operation and at the time of canceling, it is possible to suppress the influence of the limiting strength change on the screen and the phenomenon of swinging back while securing a quick response during panning. Can,
Natural camera work can be realized at any shooting angle of view.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a PAL CCD.
Although the configuration using the line memory and the line memory has been described, the position may be corrected by controlling the position of the extracted image using the field memory. Alternatively, an optical correction means may be used. In the present embodiment, an angular velocity sensor is used as the shake detecting means, but an acceleration sensor may be used.
Further, the integration process may be performed once. Although the calculation of the swing angle displacement has been described as a software process in FIG. 1, it may be configured by hardware. Further, although the characteristic to be restricted has been described as being determined functionally with respect to the correction amount, as a characteristic determining method, even if it is calculated and determined by a mathematical expression, it is stored in advance as a data table that becomes the characteristic. No problem.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the band limiting means of the swing signal by changing the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter is taken as an example of the limiting means. However, in the second embodiment, the integration processing is performed. This is an example in which the change of the feedback rate in the above is used as the limiting means. The limiting means is not limited to these, and may be limited by changing the correction gain. In this case, even if the detecting means is a motion vector detection,
The present invention is applicable.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image pickup apparatus according to the second embodiment. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 7, the angular velocity sensors 109 (pitch direction), 11
At 0 (yaw direction), the swing angular velocity of the camera body is detected, amplified by the amplifiers 111 and 112, captured by the A / D converter 115a of the anti-shake control microcomputer 115, and the angular velocity signal from which the DC component is cut by the high-pass filter 115b is obtained. The integration is performed by an integration processing unit 1202 and converted into angular displacement.
The focal length correction unit 115e corrects the focal length f of the optical system with respect to the swing angle θ calculated by the integration processing unit 702, and calculates a correction signal f * tan θ. The correction system control unit 115h performs shake correction by moving in the direction opposite to the movement direction due to the shake in accordance with the correction signal (corresponding to the pixel movement due to the shake on the image sensor 106) which is the output signal of the focal length correction unit 115e. Do. The integration processing unit 1202 can change the gain characteristic of the integrator and variably set the feedback rate for determining the feedback amount of the integration, so that the band can be limited. Be executed.
The correction signal calculated by the focal length correction unit 115e is normalized by a correction amount normalization unit 115f, and the limiting processing control unit 1201 controls the integration processing unit 1202 according to the normalized correction amount and the output of the high-pass filter 115b. Control and limit the vibration isolation capability during the panning operation.

In the limiting operation control of this embodiment, the integral feedback ratio is set as a change parameter instead of the cutoff frequency fc for band limitation in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 described in the first embodiment. In the comparison and addition / subtraction logic of the processing portion relating to the cutoff frequency fc in step S302 in FIG. 3 and step S403 in FIG. 4, the magnitude discrimination logic is reversed, and addition and subtraction are exchanged.
FIG. 5 shows the limiting parameter change characteristic determined in 403a.
Instead of having the characteristic shown in FIG. 8, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the number of operations of the high-pass filter processing in the interrupt processing can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment. Because of this, the load on the anti-vibration control microcomputer can be reduced.

(Third Embodiment) In the first and second embodiments, the output (1201 in FIG. 12) of the high-pass filter 115b is used as the reference signal used for the restriction release determination.
Therefore, in step S403c in FIG. 4, when the absolute value level of the output of the high-pass filter 115b is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value γ, the state becomes either 1204 or 1205 in FIG. In the case of 1205, a predetermined time after the end of panning is captured), which of the restrictions is released
It was influenced by shooting conditions such as panning speed and panning time. Therefore, when the restriction is released at 1204, a swing-back phenomenon is likely to occur, and when the restriction is released at 1205, there is a problem that responsiveness is deteriorated.

In the third embodiment, in order to avoid the above-described problem, a method of determining the restriction release using the angular velocity signal before high-pass filtering will be described. Since the DC component of the signal before the high-pass processing may change in accordance with the signal output level, this embodiment also employs a technique that can reliably detect the end of panning without being affected by the DC component change. Will be explained.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image pickup apparatus according to the third embodiment. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 9, the angular velocity sensors 109 (pitch direction), 11
At 0 (yaw direction), the swing angular velocity of the camera body is detected, amplified by the amplifiers 111 and 112, respectively, taken in by the A / D converter 115a of the anti-shake control microcomputer 115, and converted into an angular velocity signal in which the DC component is cut by the high-pass filter 115b. On the other hand, the band is limited by the high-pass filter 115c, and the integration is performed by the integration processing unit 115d to be converted into angular displacement.
The focal length correction unit 115e corrects the focal length f of the optical system with respect to the swing angle θ calculated by the integration processing unit 115d, and calculates a correction signal f * tan θ.

The correction system control unit 115h includes the focal length correction unit 1
In response to the correction signal (corresponding to the pixel movement due to the shake on the image sensor 106) which is the output signal of 15e, the shake is corrected by moving in the direction opposite to the movement direction due to the shake. In addition, 1
Reference numeral 15c denotes a high-pass filter for band limitation, and the limiting processing control unit 1402 determines the correction signal in accordance with the normalized correction amount obtained by normalizing the correction signal by the correction amount normalization unit 115f and the output signal 901 of the A / D converter 115a. High pass filter 11
5c to limit the image stabilizing ability during the panning operation. Using this signal 901, the end of panning is detected. The output signal 901 at the time of panning is shown in FIG.
Of the output signal 9
By using 01, the end of panning is more reliably achieved.
The timing of the end time 1203 can be detected more accurately.

Next, an anti-shake control flow of the third embodiment, which is processed by the anti-shake control microcomputer 115, will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

Note that the processing flow of FIGS.
The processing is substantially the same as the processing flow of FIGS. 3 and 4 described in the third embodiment, and the same processing as in the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference numeral, and description thereof is omitted.

As a feature of the present embodiment, the end of panning is determined with reference to the angular velocity signal before DC component removal. Also, without being affected by the DC component fluctuation of the reference signal,
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration in which only the slope portion (panning start period and end period) of the angular velocity signal 1301 in FIG.
Referring to the time change signal 1302 of the angular velocity as shown in FIG. 3 (b), it is determined whether or not the time when the signal level is equal to or more than the predetermined value k has continued for a predetermined value δ or more, thereby determining the shift to the panning operation. Using this determination method, even if the DC component amount fluctuates according to the output level of the angular velocity sensor,
The characteristics of the small fluctuation amount and the long fluctuation time constant make it possible to distinguish the panning start / end case.

In the first and second embodiments, the panning end is determined using the output signal of the high-pass filter 115b, and the angular velocity time change signal 1302 shown in FIG.
But the high-pass filter 115b
Since it is desired to block only the DC component without blocking the camera shake signal, the filter has a cutoff frequency smaller than 1 Hz and a long time constant. On the other hand, FIG.
1302 in (b) is defined as an angular acceleration signal generated by differential processing or the like having a short time constant (calculated as a difference amount of the angular velocity signal in a predetermined time in this embodiment).

The flowchart of FIG. 10 is a process for calculating an angular displacement by integrating the angular velocity signals detected by the angular velocity sensors 109 and 110, and is the same process as FIG. This process is performed by a vibration control microcomputer 115 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown) in advance.
It is performed according to the instruction of. 3 is that the output signal of the A / D converter 115a is differentiated in step S1001 before performing the DC component removal high-pass filter processing in step S301 (in this embodiment, the previous sampling is performed). In step S1002, it is determined whether the absolute value of the calculated differential amount is greater than a predetermined value k (threshold value 1303 in FIG. 12). If it is less than k, the time measurement counter n for transition to panning is cleared in step S1003, and if it is greater than k, the counter n is incremented in step S1004.

This panning transition time measurement counter n
Is a counter that indicates how long the angular acceleration signal level has continued for k or more. For example, FIG.
If it is continued for 3 or more than 1304, it is determined that the panning has been started or ended. As a feature of the present invention, when panning is started, responsiveness is emphasized.
Restriction control is performed using the standardized correction signal of f output, and the restriction release determination at the end of panning is determined with reference to the angular acceleration signal. Therefore, the setting of the “release flag” for permitting the release of the restriction is performed when the time measurement counter n is larger than the predetermined value δ in step S1101 in FIG.
This is done by shifting to 3d, and then control is performed in step S302 in FIG. 10 so that the correction capability is enhanced.

[0106]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Detecting means for detecting the fluctuation, correction signal generating means for generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of the image due to the fluctuation detected by the detecting means, and correcting means for performing a correcting operation according to the correction signal And limiting means for limiting a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, wherein the limiting means determines a limiting amount so as to have a predetermined characteristic in accordance with a change in the correction signal. A band limiting unit that limits the band of the correction signal according to the determined limit amount, and determines whether to perform the band limitation according to an input signal to the band limiting unit and the correction signal. Hunting, in which the restriction becomes stronger or weaker, can be prevented, and the natural operation is performed not only at the start and during the panning operation but also at the end of the panning operation. There is an effect that it is possible to realize a Rawaku in any shooting angle.

Also, an image sensor for converting an optical image from the lens system into an electric signal, detecting means for detecting the fluctuation, and a correction signal for correcting the image movement caused by the fluctuation detected by the detecting means. Correction signal generation means for generating a correction operation according to the focal length of the lens system, correction means for performing a correction operation according to the correction signal, and a correction operation so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal. Limiting means for limiting, and a limiting operation determination for determining whether or not to perform the limiting operation, based on a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to the focal length by the correction signal generating means and the correction signal. Therefore, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

An image sensor for converting an optical image from the lens system into an electric signal, detecting means for detecting the fluctuation, and a correction signal for correcting the movement of the image due to the fluctuation detected by the detecting means. A correction signal generating means for generating a correction signal, a correction means for performing a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, a restriction means for restricting the correction operation so as to have a predetermined characteristic in response to a change in the correction signal, The same effect as described above can be obtained because of the provision of the limiting operation determining means for determining whether or not to perform an operation according to the output signal of the detecting means and the correction signal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an extraction screen according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image stabilization control operation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an image stabilization control operation according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a limiting amount characteristic of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a limiting strength change characteristic of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a limiting amount characteristic of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an image stabilization control operation according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an image stabilization control operation according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the timing of releasing the limiting operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating determination of a panning period according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional imaging apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional image stabilization control operation.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a limit amount characteristic of a conventional example.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a maximum shift limit of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 106 Image sensor 108 Camera signal processing unit 109 Angular velocity sensor (detection unit) 110 Angular velocity sensor (detection unit) 115 Anti-vibration control microcomputer 115c High-pass filter 115d Integration processing unit 115e Focal length correction unit (correction signal generation unit) 115g Limit processing control unit (Limiting means) 115h Correction system controller (correction means)

Claims (39)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting a swing, a correction signal generating means for generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image due to the swing detected by the detecting means, and a correction according to the correction signal Correction means for performing an operation, and restriction means for restricting the correction operation according to the correction signal, wherein the restriction means determines a limit amount so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal. Limiting characteristic determining means, a band limiting means for limiting the band of the correction signal according to the determined limiting amount, an input signal to the band limiting means and a signal indicating whether or not to perform the band limiting and the correction signal. And a limiting operation judging means for judging according to the following. 2. An image pickup device for converting an optical image from a lens system into an electric signal, a detecting unit for detecting a swing, and a correction signal for correcting a motion of the image due to the swing detected by the detecting unit. Correction signal generation means for generating a correction operation according to the focal length of the lens system, correction means for performing a correction operation according to the correction signal, and a correction operation so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal. Restricting means for restricting,
A limiting operation determining unit configured to determine whether to perform the limiting operation based on a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to the focal length by the correction signal generating unit and the correction signal. Characteristic imaging device. 3. An image pickup device for converting an optical image from a lens system into an electric signal, detecting means for detecting fluctuation, and a correction signal for correcting the image movement caused by the fluctuation detected by the detecting means. A correction signal generating means for generating a correction signal, a correction means for performing a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, a restriction means for restricting the correction operation so as to have a predetermined characteristic in response to a change in the correction signal, An imaging apparatus comprising: a limiting operation determining unit that determines whether or not to perform an operation according to an output signal of the detecting unit and the correction signal. 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a first restriction mode for increasing the restriction on the correction operation, and a second restriction mode for reducing the restriction on the correction operation. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the change rates are different. 5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a time rate of change of the limit intensity is smaller in the second limit mode than in the first limit mode. 6. The limiting operation judging means judges the operation of the restricting operation according to the correction signal, and judges the cancellation of the restricting operation according to an input signal to the band limiting means. The imaging device according to 1. 7. The limiting operation determining means determines the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal, and determines the release of the limiting operation according to a signal before amplification at an amplification factor corresponding to the focal length. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein: 8. The limiting operation judging means judges the operation of the restricting operation according to the correction signal and judges the cancellation of the restricting operation according to the output signal of the detecting means. Imaging device. 9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intensity of the restriction is reduced during a period in which the restriction operation is not canceled by the restriction operation determination unit. 10. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined characteristic is determined according to a correction signal standardized by a focal length and a maximum correction range of the correction unit. 11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the band limitation by the band limitation means is performed by changing a cutoff frequency of a high-pass filter. 12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the band limitation by the band limitation means is performed by changing an integral feedback ratio of the integration filter. 13. The characteristic according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined characteristic is such that the limiting characteristic is determined in proportion to the correction amount substantially to the nth power (where n is an integer of 1 or more). Imaging device. 14. Detecting a swing, generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image caused by the detected swing, performing a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, Limit the correction operation accordingly, determine a limit amount so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change of the correction signal, perform the band limitation of the correction signal according to the determined limit amount, the band A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: determining whether to perform a limitation based on an input signal to a band limiting unit that performs the band limitation and the correction signal. 15. A swing signal is detected, a correction signal for correcting an image movement caused by the detected swing is generated according to a focal length of the lens system, and a correction operation is performed according to the correction signal. In doing so, the correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to a change in the correction signal, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is determined by the correction signal generation unit that generates the correction signal. A method for making a determination according to a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to the correction signal and the correction signal. 16. Detecting a swing, generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image caused by the detected swing, performing a correction operation in accordance with the correction signal, The correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is determined based on an output signal of a detection unit that detects a swing applied to the image sensor and the correction signal. A method for controlling an imaging device, comprising: 17. A restriction operation is performed in a first restriction mode in which the restriction of the correction operation is strengthened and in a second restriction mode in which the restriction of the correction operation is weakened, and the restriction strength is limited in the first and second restriction modes. 17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the rate of change with time is different. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the rate of change of the limiting strength with time is smaller in the second limiting mode than in the first limiting mode. 19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the operation of the limiting operation is determined according to a correction signal, and the release of the limiting operation is determined according to an input signal to the band limiting unit.
The control method of the imaging device according to the above. 20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising: judging the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal, and judging cancellation of the limiting operation according to a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to the focal length. Item 16. A method for controlling an imaging device according to Item 15. 21. The method according to claim 16, wherein the operation of the limiting operation is determined according to a correction signal, and the release of the limiting operation is determined according to an output signal of a detection unit. . 22. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the limit strength is reduced during a period in which the restriction operation is not canceled.
The control method of any one of the imaging devices. 23. The method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined characteristic is determined according to a correction signal standardized by a focal length and a maximum correction range. 24. The control method according to claim 14, wherein the band is limited by changing a cutoff frequency of a high-pass filter. 25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the band is limited by changing an integral feedback ratio of the integral filter.
5. The control method of the imaging device according to 4. 26. The method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined characteristic is such that the limiting characteristic is determined in proportion to the correction amount substantially to the nth power (where n is an integer of 1 or more). A method for controlling an imaging device. 27. Detecting a swing, generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image caused by the detected swing, performing a correction operation according to the correction signal, Limit the correction operation accordingly, determine a limit amount so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change of the correction signal, perform a band limit of the correction signal according to the determined limit amount, the band A storage medium storing a program for realizing a determination as to whether or not to perform the restriction in accordance with an input signal to a band restriction unit that performs the band restriction and the correction signal. 28. A method for detecting a swing, generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image due to the detected swing at an amplification factor according to a focal length of the lens system, and generating a correction signal according to the correction signal. A correction operation is performed, and at this time, the correction operation is restricted so as to have predetermined characteristics according to a change in the correction signal, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is determined by a correction signal generation unit that generates the correction signal. A storage medium storing a program for realizing a determination according to a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to the focal length and the correction signal. 29. Detecting a swing, generating a correction signal for correcting a motion of an image caused by the detected swing, performing a correcting operation in accordance with the correction signal, and at this time, The correction operation is restricted so as to have a predetermined characteristic according to the change, and whether or not to perform the restriction operation is determined based on an output signal of a detection unit that detects a swing applied to the image sensor and the correction signal. A storage medium storing a program for realizing the operation. 30. A limiting operation is performed in a first limiting mode in which the limiting of the correcting operation is strengthened and in a second limiting mode in which the limiting of the correcting operation is weakened, and the limiting strength is set in the first and second limiting modes. 30. The storage medium according to any one of claims 27 to 29, storing a program for realizing different time change rates. 31. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein a program for realizing that the time rate of change of the limit strength is smaller in the second limit mode than in the first limit mode. 32. A program for realizing judging the operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal and judging cancellation of the restricting operation according to the input signal to the band limiting unit. The storage medium according to the above. 33. A method for judging operation of a limiting operation in accordance with a correction signal, and judging cancellation of said limiting operation in accordance with a signal before amplification at an amplification factor according to a focal length. The storage medium according to claim 28, wherein the storage medium stores a program. 34. A program according to claim 29, wherein a program is stored for realizing judging operation of the limiting operation according to the correction signal and judging cancellation of said restricting operation according to an output signal of the detection unit. Storage medium. 35. The storage medium according to claim 27, wherein a program for reducing the limit strength during a period in which the restriction operation is not canceled is stored. 36. A program for realizing that the predetermined characteristic is determined in accordance with a correction signal standardized by a focal length and a maximum correction range.
9. The storage medium according to any one of 9 above. 37. The storage medium according to claim 27, wherein a program for realizing the limitation of the band by changing the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter is stored. 38. The storage medium according to claim 27, wherein a program for realizing the limitation of the band by changing the integration feedback rate of the integration filter is stored. 39. The program according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined characteristic stores a program for realizing that the limiting characteristic is determined in proportion to the correction amount substantially to the nth power (where n is an integer of 1 or more).
30. The storage medium according to any one of 7 to 29.