JPH11313243A - Image processing method for digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the image processing method where whether or not a flash light reaches, that is, whether or not a flash luminous quantity is sufficient, is confirmed automatically and quickly in the case of photographing by bounce flash and by which an image that is properly color-balanced is obtained without being affected by a color of a reflection object of the flash light. SOLUTION: Preliminary flashing of a flash light is conducted prior to photographing with bounce flash (ST22), whether or not the flash light reaches an object is confirmed based on image data obtained by the preliminary flash (ST24), it is reported to the photographer (ST29), and a gain of an analog amplifier and white balance suitable for photographing with bounce flash are calculated (ST25, ST26). An image signal is amplified from a solid-state image pickup element by using an optimum gain in the photographing with bounce flash and color balance of the obtained image data is adjusted by an optimum white valance value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method for a digital camera, and more particularly to an image processing method for irradiating a flash light on a wall or a ceiling to diffuse the light, and performing bounce photographing of an object with the diffused light. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In bounce photography, in which a flash light is irradiated onto a wall or ceiling to diffuse the light, and the object is photographed with the diffused light, the flash light is not directly applied to the object as in normal flash photography. Not only is it difficult to calculate the reach, but also the bounce conditions vary depending on the shooting environment at that time (for example, the shape of the wall and ceiling). Can not be confirmed in many cases.

[0003] Further, since flash light having an appropriate color balance is once reflected at, for example, a ceiling, the color balance of reflected light may be biased depending on the color of the ceiling. For example, if you bounce on a blue ceiling, the light will be more blue than the proper color balance and illuminate the subject,
The resulting image will be more bluish than the proper color balance.

[0004]

In a conventional digital camera, when performing a bounce photographing, the photographing is actually performed, and an image obtained as a result is checked to see whether or not the flash light has arrived. The color balance has been adjusted using the color balance set according to the flash light.
Therefore, there is a problem in that it takes time to check whether or not the flash light reaches, and there is a possibility that an image having a biased color balance may be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. When performing bounce photography, it is automatically determined whether or not the flash light reaches, that is, whether or not the flash light amount is sufficient. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method for a digital camera capable of performing an image processing properly and quickly and obtaining an image having an appropriate color balance without being affected by the color of an object to be reflected by flash light.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for a digital camera, wherein a digital camera irradiates a reflective object with a flash light to diffuse the object, and shoots the object with the diffused light. An image processing method in a case where an exposure start switch is operated when performing bounce photography, wherein a first flash emission is performed toward the reflection target, and the first flash emission is performed by the first flash emission. (A) for confirming whether or not the object has reached the subject, and (b) performing a second flash emission toward the reflection target to obtain final image data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method for a digital camera, the step (b) is performed when it is confirmed that the first flash emission reaches the subject. Is what is done.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital camera image processing method, the step (a) may include the step of: averaging data of a predetermined portion of the first image data obtained by the first flash emission. And comparing with a predetermined reference value, and determining that the flash light by the first flash emission has reached the subject if the average value has reached the reference value (a-1). Contains.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for a digital camera, wherein a flash light is radiated to a reflection target object in a digital camera to diffuse the object, and bounce photography for photographing a subject with the diffused light is performed. An image processing method when an exposure start switch is operated, wherein a white balance value suitable for the bounce photographing is obtained from first image data obtained by a first flash emission toward the reflective object. And (b) adjusting the color tone of the second image data obtained by the second flash emission toward the reflection object using the white balance value. ing.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method for a digital camera, the light emission amount of the first flash light emission is set to be smaller than the light emission amount of the second flash light emission. .

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <A. Basic Configuration and Operation of Digital Camera> First, the basic configuration and operation of the digital camera will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera 100 having a configuration for realizing an image processing method for a digital camera according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a digital camera 100
Is provided with a main microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as a main microcomputer) 1 and is configured to control the function of each component described below.

The configuration controlled by the main microcomputer 1 includes a distance measuring module 2 for receiving reflected light from a subject and outputting distance information of the subject, and a switch group including a power switch for a photographer to operate the digital camera 100. 3. Electrically rewritable ROM (EEPROM) 4 for recording inspection values at the time of factory shipment regarding model differences for each digital camera 100, various setting values immediately before power-off, etc. 4, setting values for subject images and photographing A display member 5 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an external interface 6 for inputting / outputting image information and the like to / from a personal computer or an external monitor, a detachable recording medium 7 for recording photographed image information, RAM 8 for performing arithmetic processing on the obtained image data, and a solid-state image sensor for capturing an image of a subject via a lens Here, since a CCD is used, the CCD may be referred to as a CCD) 9, an image sensor driver for generating a pulse for driving the solid-state image sensor 9 (timing generator: sometimes referred to as a TG) 10, a solid An analog amplifier 11 for amplifying an analog signal of an image output from the imaging element 9, an A / D converter 1 for converting an image analog signal amplified by the analog amplifier 11 to digital and outputting the analog signal to the main microcomputer 1
2. A focus driver / position detection sensor 13 that drives the focus lens group 14 in the optical axis direction, detects the position of the focus lens group 14, and a light emission direction variable Xe tube 16 that emits a flash light as a photographing auxiliary light.
Charging / light emitting circuit 15 for controlling charging and light emission to the light source, and a dimming element 1 for monitoring the reflected light of the flash light from the subject and detecting whether or not an appropriate amount of flash light has been reached.
A bounce switch 18 for outputting information as to whether or not the Xe tube 16 is directed substantially parallel to the optical axis of the taking lens;

The focus lens group 14 constitutes a part of an image pickup lens group which is an image pickup optical system. The image pickup lens group has a fixed lens group 141 fixed in addition to the focus lens group 14. .

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the basic configuration of the solid-state imaging device 9. The solid-state imaging device 9 includes a plurality of light receiving cells 21
Are arranged in a plurality of light receiving cell rows 21L. The light receiving cell 21 is configured by a photoelectric conversion element that converts light energy into electric energy. When the light receiving cell 21 is irradiated with light, an electric charge is generated, and the generated electric charge is generated at a predetermined timing generated by the image sensor driver 10. What is output in response is an image signal.

In FIG. 2, the charge of each light receiving cell 21 is changed by opening the transfer gate 22 provided adjacent to the light receiving cell row 21L (changing the depth of the potential well so as to move the charge of the light receiving cell 21). The data is discharged to a transfer register 23 attached to the transfer gate 22. The electric charge discharged to the transfer register 23 moves in the transfer register 23 by the CCD operation of moving the electric charge by sequentially changing the depth of the potential well, and is transferred to the readout register 24 orthogonal to the transfer register 23. Read register 2
Also in 4, the charge is transferred by the CCD operation and output from the output unit 25 to the outside. The transfer register 23 and the read register 24 are shielded from light, and do not cause photoelectric conversion by themselves.

The image signal output from the solid-state imaging device 9 is an analog value and is weak, and
, And is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 12 and supplied to the main microcomputer 1. The main microcomputer 1 performs various image processings on the given digital image signal, displays the digital image signal on the display member 5 as a subject image, and compresses the image based on the JPEG method according to the operation of the photographer and records it on the recording medium 7. In some cases, it is not possible to cope with the image processing only by the memory built in the main microcomputer 1. Therefore, the arithmetic processing is performed using the RAM 8.

When the digital camera 100 is in the photographing mode, the solid-state imaging device 9 always outputs an image signal, and the display member 5 displays a subject image as a moving image. If the photographer presses a photographing switch when the image on the display member 5 becomes a desired image, the image data of the desired image can be recorded on the recording medium 7.

<B. Operation According to the Invention> Next, FIGS.
The operation according to the present invention will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIGS. 3 to 6, the parts marked with the symbol “-” mean that they are connected by the same symbol.

<B-1. Preliminary Operation> First, the preliminary operation before starting the actual photographing will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, when the power switch is turned on (step ST1), the main microcomputer 1 is reset (step ST2). Reset the main microcomputer 1
Since each port is in a default state, the initial setting of the main microcomputer 1 such as setting the port to be used is performed (step ST3).

Next, the inspection values at the time of factory shipment relating to the model differences and the various set values immediately before the last power-off, such as the type of the flash mode or the type of the image compression mode, are read from the EEPROM 4 (step ST4).

Next, the presence / absence and type of the recording medium 7 and the recordable capacity based on the type are confirmed (step ST5), and the focus lens group 14 is EE while monitoring the lens position by the focus driver / position detection sensor 13.
Move to initial position set in PROM 4 (step ST
6) After that, the display member 5 is activated (step ST)
7). At this stage, the solid-state imaging device 9 is not operating,
It is only turned on to notify the photographer of the activation of the display member 5.

Then, the main microcomputer 1 performs an initial setting such as setting the exposure time to 1/30 second, for example, in the image pickup device driver (TG) 10 as a spare for the image pickup operation (step ST8). Here, the exposure time is a time for accumulating charges in the light receiving cell 21 described with reference to FIG. 2, and is a so-called shutter speed (sometimes referred to as SS).
Can be called value.

When the initialization of the image sensor driver 10 is completed and the image sensor driver 10 operates, an image signal is output from the solid-state image sensor 9 and an image is displayed on the display member 5. At this time, the gain of the analog amplifier 11 is also set to a predetermined initial value, for example, 1 (step ST).
9).

The main microcomputer 1 monitors the switch operation of the switch group 3 while displaying the image on the display member 5 (step ST10), and waits for the next camera operation. If the photographer does not operate the camera with the switch group 3 for a certain period of time by a timer function inside the main microcomputer 1, the power is turned off to save power consumption. Usually, this fixed time is set to about several minutes.

When the photographer operates a predetermined switch of the switch group 3 to set the flash-on (flash emission) mode, the main microcomputer 1 detects this (step ST11), and performs the flash emission shown in FIG. As shown in (5), the shutter speed for flash photography is set in the image sensor driver 10 (step ST13), and the charge / light emission circuit 15 is controlled to store electric charge in the capacitor of the internal circuit (step ST14). At this time,
The voltage of the capacitor is monitored and charging is stopped when the voltage reaches a predetermined voltage. At the time of charging, if the capacitor voltage is a predetermined voltage sufficient for flash emission, the charging operation is not performed.

If the flash-on mode is not selected, the flash-off (flash non-emission) mode is set (step ST12). However, this mode is the same as the conventional one and has little relevance to the present invention. Omitted.

When the photographer performs a half-press operation (hereinafter, referred to as an S1 operation) of an exposure start switch (hereinafter, referred to as a release switch) of the switch group 3 after setting the flash-on mode, the main microcomputer 1 performs the operation. Is detected (step ST15), and the distance measuring module 2 is driven to obtain distance information from the camera to the subject (step ST1).
6).

If the release switch does not enter the S1 operation state, the operation from step ST10 is repeated.

When the photographer performs the S1 operation, the subject is captured in an optical viewfinder (not shown),
The distance measuring module 2 receives the reflected light from the subject, and obtains information on the distance from the camera to the subject.

Here, as the distance measuring module 2, a conventional external light passive module or the like is used. Since the principle of distance measurement is general, detailed description is omitted, but the output of the distance measurement module 2 is given as a value corresponding to the distance, and information on the correspondence is recorded in the EEPROM 4 as an inspection value before shipment. ing. Therefore, the object distance is obtained from the output of the distance measuring module 2 and is compared with the focal length information of the photographing lens recorded in advance in the EEPROM 4 to determine the amount of extension of the focus lens group 14 to be focused on the object (extending information). Calculate (Step ST
17).

Then, based on the extension information of the focus lens group 14 calculated in step ST17, the main microcomputer 1 controls the focus driver / position detection sensor 13
To move the focus lens group 14 to a target position by monitoring the position with a position detection sensor (step ST18).

Thereafter, the main microcomputer 1 monitors the output of the bounce switch 18 to detect whether or not bounce shooting has been performed (step ST19). The bounce switch 18 is a switch that outputs information as to whether or not to perform bounce shooting depending on whether or not the Xe tube 16 is directed substantially parallel to the optical axis of the taking lens, and interlocks with the direction of the Xe tube 16. Switch that operates. For example, when the direction of the Xe tube 16 is not parallel to the optical axis of the photographing lens, a signal of the potential “High” is output. When the direction of the Xe tube 16 is parallel to the optical axis of the photographing lens, for example, the potential “Low” is outputted. "
The signal of is output.

When the output of the bounce switch is "High", the main microcomputer 1 determines that the bounce shooting is being performed, and when the output of the bounce switch is "Low", it is determined that the bounce shooting is not being performed (step ST20).

If it is determined in step ST20 that the photographing is not the bounce photographing, an appropriate color balance parameter for flash photographing (hereinafter, referred to as a white balance value) stored in advance in the EEPROM 4 is read out and the RA is read.
M8 is set (step ST40).

Hereinafter, the white balance value will be described. When photographing under artificial light using a digital camera or the like, the photographed image and the subject seen by the human eye may have different color tones. This is because artificial light sources include light sources that are strong in red and green due to the color temperature, and the color balance of the reflected light from the subject that has received the artificial light source is lost. Even so, a digital camera using a light receiving element senses the color of the artificial light source. As a result, the image becomes reddish or greenish.

The digital camera has a function of adjusting the color tone of a subject image taken into the light receiving element and adjusting the color balance so that the color tone becomes the same as that of the subject viewed by human eyes. Such color balance adjustment is called white balance adjustment in the sense that colors are reproduced under a white light source with an appropriate color balance. In order to adjust the white balance, R / G and B / G, which are the intensity ratios of the three primary colors R (red), G (green), and B (blue) under an appropriate white light source, are used. Use a value that is This value is the white balance value.

After setting the white balance value, a default gain (initial setting gain) is set for the analog amplifier 11 (step ST41). Normally, 1 is set as the default gain.

If it is determined from the information on the distance from the camera to the object calculated in step ST16 and the guide number of the Xe tube 16 read from the EEPROM 4 that the amount of flash light is not sufficient with the default gain,
The gain of the analog amplifier 11 may be changed accordingly. Thereafter, the main microcomputer 1 waits until the photographer detects a full-press operation of the release switch (hereinafter, referred to as an S2 operation).

<B-2. Bounce shooting preparation operation>
The preparation operation for the bounce shooting (main shooting) will be described with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step ST20 shown in FIG. 4 that bounce shooting has been performed, the main microcomputer 1 instructs the analog amplifier 11 to set the maximum gain (step ST21).

By controlling the image pickup device driver 10 to perform image pickup and controlling the charge / light emission circuit 15, a predetermined light emission amount (for example, a light emission amount of about 1/20 of full light emission) from the Xe tube 16 is obtained. Performs pre-flash (first flash) (step ST22).

The information on the predetermined light emission amount is E
The EPROM 4 stores the light emission amount and the light emission time, and controls the pre-emission based on this information. The value of the light emission amount is also used later to determine whether or not the flash light can reach.

Here, the light emission amount of the pre-emission is set to 1
The reason for setting to about / 20 is that if the same light emission as the full light emission is performed in the pre-emission, it takes time to recharge the capacitor for light emission, but the capacity of the capacitor can be made sufficiently large, If the full light emission can be continuously performed, the light emission amount of the pre-light emission may be approximately equal to the full light emission. In that case, the gain of the analog amplifier 11 does not necessarily have to be set to the maximum.

After the end of imaging, the image signal output from the solid-state imaging device 9 is amplified by the analog amplifier 11 and
The digital image data (first
Image data) and is taken into the main microcomputer 1 (step ST23).

The main microcomputer 1 performs various arithmetic processings on the RAM 8 with respect to the taken digital image data. One of the arithmetic processes is to compare the average value of the pixel output near the center of the screen with a preset reference value, and to determine whether the flash light has arrived based on whether the average value has reached the reference value. Is determined (step ST24).

Here, the preset reference value will be described. When performing normal flash photography, the amount of light reflected from the subject is measured by the dimming element 17, and the emission from the Xe tube 16 is stopped when the quantity of light suitable for photography (predetermined) is reached. Although the operation is being performed, the reference value is set based on the light amount suitable for this photographing.

That is, the reference value is set based on a value obtained by multiplying the light amount suitable for photographing by the coefficient (here, 1/20) of the light emission amount during the pre-emission. However, since the analog amplifier 11 is set to the maximum gain prior to the pre-emission, if the gain in normal flash photography is 1, the coefficient of the emission amount is adjusted by an amount corresponding to the maximum gain. Therefore, for example, if the maximum gain is 4, the above-mentioned reference value is set based on a light amount that is one fifth of the light amount suitable for photographing.

If the average value of the pixel outputs near the center of the screen has reached the reference value, it is determined that the flash light has reached the subject, and the optimum gain of the analog amplifier 11 is determined from the average value of the pixel outputs. Calculate (Step ST2)
5). The method of calculating the optimum gain in step ST25 is a known method. In this case, for example, when the average value of the pixel output is equal to the reference value, the maximum gain of the analog amplifier 11 becomes the optimum gain, and when the average value of the pixel output exceeds the reference value, the optimum gain becomes the analog amplifier 11
Becomes smaller than the maximum gain.

If it is determined in step ST24 that the flash light has reached the subject, an appropriate white balance value is calculated for the obtained image data (step ST26).

This calculation process is performed for R (red), G (green), B
This is achieved by changing the respective output ratios of (blue) by arithmetic processing. For example, when the R and B image data protrude from the G image data, the output ratio is changed by multiplying the R and B image data by a predetermined value. This value is the white balance value (R /
G, B / G).

Then, the white balance value calculated in step ST26 is stored in the RAM 8 for later processing.
Is stored in the memory (step ST27), and is stored in step ST2.
The appropriate gain calculated in step 5 is
(Step ST28).

If it is determined in step ST24 that the flash light has not reached the subject, information indicating the fact is displayed on the display member 5 (step ST24).
29). The photographer who has been notified can change the photographing conditions or take measures such as stopping the bounce photographing. Also, by notifying the display member 5 that the flash light has not reached the subject and controlling the operation mechanism of the release switch so that the S2 operation cannot be performed, if the flash light does not reach the subject, Can be prevented from performing the S2 operation by mistake.

Thereafter, the main microcomputer 1 waits until the photographer detects the operation of the release switch S2.

In the above description, the case where the flash light reaches the subject will be described, and FIG. 5 does not show the operation after the notification in step ST29.
After notifying that the flash light has not reached the subject in step ST29, the operation after step ST25 is performed to calculate an appropriate gain or an appropriate white balance value, and the calculated values are used to execute step S29 described below.
The operation below T30 may be performed.

<B-3. Next, bounce shooting (main shooting) will be described with reference to FIG. After the operation of step ST29 shown in FIG. 5, the main microcomputer 1 checks whether or not the release switch is in the S1 operating state (step ST30). It waits until the release switch S2 operation is performed, and detects the photographer's S2 operation (step ST
31) and the exposure operation for actual photographing starts. If the release switch is not in the S1 operation state (if S1 is off), the operation from step ST10 is repeated.

After detecting the S2 operation, the main microcomputer 1 controls the solid-state imaging device 9 to perform an imaging operation, and controls the charging / light-emitting circuit 15 to emit flash light (second flash light emission) from the Xe tube 16. While performing, the light control element 17
By monitoring the reflected light amount of the flash light from the subject, the flash light emission stop timing is determined and the light emission stop is controlled (step ST32). The light emission is completely stopped within the exposure time.

After the end of the image pickup, the image signal from the solid-state image pickup device 9 is amplified by the analog amplifier 11 set to the appropriate gain calculated in step ST25.
Is converted into a digital output by the / D converter 12,
The digital image data is taken into the main microcomputer 1 as digital image data (second image data) (step ST33).

The captured image data is calculated in step ST25 shown in FIG. 5, and based on the white balance value at the time of bounce photography stored in the RAM 8 in step ST28, a process of setting an appropriate color balance in the RAM 8 is performed. , The image data on which the white balance has been adjusted is temporarily stored in the RAM 8 as final image data (step ST34).

Thereafter, to record on the recording medium 7, R
Compress the white balance adjusted data on AM8,
The compressed white balance adjusted data is recorded on the recording medium 7 (step ST35). Since image data generally has a large data size, data compression is performed to record more on the recording medium 7. The JPEG method is used as a general compression method.

After the end of step ST35, the main microcomputer 1 checks whether or not the photographer is performing the operations S1 and S2, and if it is detected that the photographer is not performing the operations S1 and S2, that is, the finger is pressed from the release switch. When it has been released, the operation from step ST10 shown in FIG. 3 is repeated. When the S1 and S2 operations are performed, that is, when the finger is not released from the release switch,
Continue checking the release switch until you release your finger.

When it is determined in step ST20 shown in FIG. 4 that it is not the bounce shooting, the shooting operation in steps ST30 to ST36 shown in FIG. 6 is performed. In this case, the gain of the analog amplifier 11 is set to the default gain. Since the color balance of the set image data is adjusted using the white balance value for flash photography, steps ST30 to ST36 are normal flash photography operations.

The operation of the digital camera according to the present invention has been described above. In addition to recording photographed video data on the recording medium 7, an external device such as a personal computer is connected to the external interface 6 and output there. It does not matter. The recording medium 7 includes a smart media, a compact flash (CF) card, a PC memory card, and the like.

Further, camera control from an external device via the external interface 6 is also possible. The external interface 6 includes a terminal to which a serial cable such as RS-422C can be connected, an NTSC output terminal corresponding to output to a television receiver, a printer output terminal to a printer, and the like.

<B-4. Characteristic Effects> As described above, pre-flash of flash light is performed prior to bounce shooting, and image data obtained by the pre-flash is used to confirm whether or not the flash light reaches the subject, and ask the photographer Notify and calculate the gain and white balance value of the analog amplifier suitable for bounce photography, and in bounce photography, amplify the image signal from the solid-state imaging device 9 using the optimal gain, and adjust the color balance of the obtained image data. Is adjusted using the optimum white balance value, so that the photographer can know whether the flash light amount is sufficient, that is, whether or not the bounce photography is possible, before performing the bounce photography. In addition, when the bounce shooting is performed, an image having an appropriate color balance can be obtained without being affected by the color of the object to which the flash light is reflected.

<C. Modified Example> In the above description, it is determined whether or not the flash light due to the pre-emission reaches the subject from the image data of the solid-state imaging device 9 in step ST24 shown in FIG. 5, and the optimum gain is calculated in step ST25. However, it may be determined whether or not the flash light reaches the subject by directly monitoring the amount of reflected light by the light control element 17 during the pre-emission. In that case, the operation of step ST21 of setting the gain of the analog amplifier 11 to the maximum is not necessarily performed.

Since the dimming device 17 is a device for monitoring the amount of reflected light, there is no need to add a special configuration for monitoring the amount of reflected light of pre-emission, and simple software is added to the dimming device 17. , The reflected light amount of the pre-emission can be monitored.

[0067]

According to the image processing method of the digital camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is confirmed whether or not the first flash light emitted toward the reflection target reaches the subject. After that, the second flash emission is performed to obtain the final image data, so that it is possible to automatically know whether or not the flash light reaches the subject before the bounce shooting, that is, whether or not the flash light amount is sufficient. In addition, processing can be performed more quickly than in the case where it is determined from the obtained final image data whether the flash light amount is sufficient.

According to the image processing method for a digital camera according to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of step (b) is performed when it is confirmed that the flash light by the first flash emission reaches the subject. Because I tried to run
If the flash light does not reach the subject, the bounce shooting, that is, the main shooting is not performed, and it is possible to prevent the acquisition of final image data with insufficient light intensity.

According to the image processing method of the digital camera according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the flash light of the first flash emission reaches the subject based on the first image data. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the flash light amount in the final image data from being largely deviated from the prediction.

According to the image processing method for a digital camera according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the image can be obtained by the second flash emission using a white balance value suitable for bounce photography calculated from the first image data. Since the color tone of the second image data is adjusted, even if the reflected light of the second flash emission has a biased color tone reflecting the color of the object to be reflected, the second image data has an appropriate color tone. Image data.

According to the image processing method for a digital camera according to the present invention, the predetermined amount of the first flash light emission is adjusted to the amount of the second flash light emission, that is, suitable for the exposure of the subject. Since the light emission amount is set to be smaller than the light emission amount, the time required for the second flash light emission, that is, the time required for recharging for actual photographing after the first flash light emission is performed can be shortened or omitted. It can be prevented that it takes time from emission to the second flash emission.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital camera having a configuration for realizing an image processing method for a digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration and operation of a solid-state imaging device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of the digital camera according to the present invention.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image processing method in which an exposure start switch is operated in a digital camera for irradiating a reflection target object with a flash light to diffuse the light, and performing a bounce photographing operation of photographing a subject with the diffused light. (A) performing a first flash emission toward the reflection target, and confirming whether or not the first flash emission has reached the subject; and (b) Performing a second flash emission toward the reflective object to obtain final image data. 2. The image processing method for a digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the step (b) is performed when it is confirmed that the flash light by the first flash emission reaches the subject. 3. The step (a) includes: (a-1) comparing an average value of data of a predetermined portion of the first image data obtained by the first flash emission with a predetermined reference value. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, further comprising: determining that the flash light by the first flash emission has reached the subject if the average value has reached the reference value. Image processing method. 4. An image processing method in which an exposure start switch is operated when a digital camera irradiates a reflecting object with a flash light to diffuse the light, and performs a bounce photographing operation of photographing a subject with the diffused light. (A) calculating a white balance value suitable for the bounce photography from first image data obtained by a first flash emission toward the reflection target; (b) the reflection target Adjusting the color tone of the second image data obtained by the second flash emission toward the object using the white balance value. 5. The light emission amount of the first flash light emission is:
5. The image processing method for a digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the light emission amount of the second flash light emission is set to be smaller than the light emission amount.